Experience of care through patients, family members and health professionals in an intensive care unit: a qualitative descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: A patient's stay in an intensive care unit (ICU) can lead to psychological and social alterations in patients and their nearest family circle. Healthcare staff and patients' family members strongly influence patients' stays in ICU. AIMS: To explore the perceptions about the experiences of patients in the ICU, their family members and nurses who attend them. METHODS: A descriptive phenomenological design was used to guide the research. A purposive sample of 27 male and female participated. Nine hospitalised patients, nine nurses and nine family members were interviewed in 2016 using a semi-structured, face to face interview. Steps of Giorgi phenomenological method were used to analyse the qualitative data. FINDINGS: Among the three categorised groups, there is a common point that is the constant of humanization in care and it is very clear on the part of the patient, the patient's family and the nurses whom they attend. In addition, both in the group of patients and in the group of families allude to the fear and anguish that responds to patients, this problem does not appear in the speeches of nurses, who are torn between excessive technology and the performance of their work correctly for better patient welfare. CONCLUSIONS: A stay in an ICU implies emotional expense for both patients and their families, which leads to a series of changes in their affective and social sphere, manifested by a set of requirements that must be responded by the multidisciplinary team that attends to patients. It would be fundamental to inform the health authorities about these requirements in order to modify the usual conduct habits displayed in ICU, which would help improve all levels for patients, their families and nurses.

[Use of nopal dietary fiber in a powder dessert formulation]. / Uso de fibra dietética de nopal en la formulación de un polvo para flan.

The development of diverse types of foods of low caloric value and with high content in dietary fiber have occupied a preponderant place in the food industry in the last years, due to the growing interest of the consumers for a healthy and nutritious diet. Pre-cooked or quick to prepare foods are attractive for the time they save; if to this you add their nutritious value, the attractiveness is even greater. For this reason, this study analyzes different formulations of a powder to prepare a dessert (flan), with different percentages of incorporation of nopal flour, as a source of dietary fiber (16%, 18%, 20%). Two flavors (melon and banana) were tried. It was observed that the flan flavored with banana and with 16% of nopal flour, reached better sensorial characteristics. Greater percentages of nopal flour negatively affected the sensorial characteristics, mainly flavor, color and texture. The analysis showed that the powder presented 5.7% of moisture, low water activity (0.48) and therefore a low total recount of microorganisms. The content of protein was high (27.2%), the ether extract low (2.0%) similar to the caloric contribution (40 Kcal/portion). The flan showed a 9.8% of total dietary fiber, being greater the contribution of soluble fiber (6.1%) than that of insoluble fiber (3.7%). Due to these characteristics this formulation could be considered as a food that provides benefits for the human health.

Estudio psicosocial del retraso escolar en el barrio de Cayo Hueso / Psychosocial study of school retardation at Cayo Hueso Suburb

En el presente trabajo se estudian algunos componentes de la forma y el modo de vida de las familias y escolares residentes en el barrio capitalino de Cayo Hueso y que manifiestan retraso escolar en comparación con un grupo testigo de familias de niños que no presentan retraso escolar. Los resultados arrojan diferencias significativas entre ambos grupos en lo que respecta a una serie de indicadores de condiciones y modo de vida(AU)