RCAAP Repository

This research is aimed at validating a non-verbal communication model for the delivery of nursing care to blind patients, in line with the theoretical framework developed by Hall. It was developed at the Health Communication Laboratory of the Nursing Department at the Federal University of Ceará, Brazil between October 2007 and June 2008. It is a methodological research due to the validation of a protocol of nonverbal communication. The Non-Verbal Communication Protocol was constructed and submitted to three communications specialists for analysis and validation of the content. To test the validity of nonverbal communication protocol the subjects were divided into two groups which contained 15 nurses and 15 blind people. The protocol was entirely developed by the authors based on literature review. The nursing consultations were subdivided into four steps, called care steps. This research concluded that the protocol is valid for application in nursing practice.

In recent years, plagiarism has become a concern in the national academic realm, although internationally this subject has been debated for decades. Considering some of these aspects may be important not to repeat mistakes already made and overcome in relation to plagiarism and at the same time represent an opportunity to deal with the problem at a national level from what is already consolidated globally. In this sense, the aim of this text is to present some of these perspectives without intending to indicate immediate solutions to exterminate plagiarism, but rather contribute to a debate on the subject. 

This descriptive study aimed to verify factors which motivate compliance with hand hygiene on the part of the nursing team in a public hospital in Londrina, PR, Brazil, in 2012, and to propose strategies for improving this. A total of 135 nursing professionals participated, providing information on professional identification, continuing education, and the undertaking of hand hygiene. The motivation for complying with hand hygiene was linked to satisfaction in personal life for 45 (33.3%) and to satisfaction in the work for 58 (42.9%), as well as to autonomy for undertaking the nursing care, for 76 (56.3%). The motivational factors which influence compliance with the practice of hand hygiene were: professional development/growth, interest in the work, flexibility for prioritizing the care actions, autonomy, and participation in the decisions. These must be taken into account in planning the continuing education, so as to improve compliance with hand hygiene, as well as the quality of the care provided.

This study aimed at characterizing how two teams of 22 subjects of the Family Health of a city in São Paulo, Brazil, observe its process to protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding. The theoretical framework was the Symbolic Interactionism and the methodological one and the Thematic Content Analysis. The focus group was a resource for data collection which occurred between February and May 2011. The results were categorized into: “Obligation to promote exclusive breastfeeding”, “Autonomy of the mother” and “Personal experience and professional practice”. We conclude that the teams follow the guidelines for promotion and support of breastfeeding, they identify that the autonomy of the mother is determinant for the practice, integrating and respecting how each woman breastfeeds. They believe they are effective in promoting and supporting breastfeeding and conceive the relevant international protocols, but need to be incorporated with flexibility in the everyday life.

This study is aimed at evaluating the factors that hinder the eating of hospitalized elderly. It is a quantitative and cross-sectional research, made with 92 hospitalized elderly patients in two hospitals in southern Brazil, between January and September 2012. For data collection an instrument called Eating Assessment Scale for the Elderly Hospitalized was used. A factorial and descriptive data analysis was made. Four factors related to the difficulty of eating in hospitalized elderly were identified: environmental factors, food, health team and physiological factors. The environmental factors were highlighted as the most difficult concerning eating of the elderly. It is concluded that the identified factors can contribute to the development of strategies which are aimed at assuring that the eating of the elderly occurs effectively during the period of hospitalization.

We aimed at analyzing the difficulties experienced by nursing professionals during the preparation of medication. It is a descriptive study conducted in a university hospital in a city in northeastern Brazil. 25 nursing professionals were interviewed, using a semi-structured interview script, during the months of January and February 2013. The difficulties during the preparation of medicine were: prescription barely legible; labels of medicine with small and similar letters; lack of exclusive venue for this activity; wrong expedition by the drugstore; inadequate lighting, and accumulation of functions. The conclusion is that difficulties related to the pharmaceutical process were identified. So, in order to ensure safe medicine therapy, it is necessary to have mandatory strategies which favor the effectiveness of this process.

The aim of the study was at accessing the feasibility of a guideline of nursing care in the puerperium in primary health care. It is a quasi-experimental research conducted with 168 postpartum women in Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil, from November 2011 to May 2012. In the intervention group, women were subjected to the guidelines with five puerperal appointments and the control group women were not exposed to the guideline. The results were significant for exclusive breastfeeding, with 42.9% in the intervention group and 25.4% in the control (p=0.002); Panicolaou’s test with 85% in the intervention group and 63.2% in the control (p=0.002); use of ferrous sulfate 26.2% in the intervention group and 18.3% in control (p<0.001). A better vaccination coverage in the intervention group  was also observed. The significant results in most variables show the feasibility of the guideline of nursing care in the puerperium.

his study aimed to evaluate health professionals’ perception regarding the organization and functioning of the Tuberculosis Control Program in Foz do Iguaçu, PR, Brazil. It is a qualitative study, in which the thematic axis was the structure and the centralization/decentralization of the control of tuberculosis. It was undertaken through open interviews, held in May 2009. Based on these, the empirical material was organized in the light of content analysis. The results revealed weakness in relation to the dimension of the physical structure and the human resources. Questions arose indicating Directly Observed Treatment as a paternalistic action. It was evidenced that there is a need for managers to take a position regarding the decentralization of tuberculosis control to Primary Health Care. However, the Central Thematic Unit revealed ambivalence relating to this theme. It is concluded that the Program, generally speaking, functions in line with the Ministry of Health’s recommendations.

This study aimed to describe the treatment of patients with wounds in the Primary Health Care. A descriptive research with quantitative approach. Ninety-three Family Health Units of the city of Recife-PE, Brazil, were selected, and 112 nurses were interviewed from July to December 2011. The record book of bandages and procedures and the dressing form were used as an additional source of data. Frequencies, measures of central tendency and dispersion, prevalence and, for continuous variables, the analysis of variance were estimated. The prevalence of patients with wounds was 1.9% of the estimated covered population. Vascular ulcers accounted for 74.1% of the treated wounds. The dressing was predominantly performed by Nursing technicians, and the products available for this procedure did not match the current technological development. 

This study aimed at identifying and analyzing the social and cultural dimensions of parents of premature infants discharged from neonatal intensive care units. It is a qualitative and descriptive study, based on ethno-nursing and in the Theory of Diversity and Universality Cultural Care with 12 participants. The setting was a university hospital in the city of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Data collection occurred between November, 2012 and April, 2013, through a social economic and cultural questionnaire and from the observation, participation and reflection. The analysis based on ethno-nursing and on the use of Atlas-ti software allowed to find the analytical category: the sociocultural structure of parents of premature infants discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit. Results should be used to promote a culturally relevant care and respecting the popular knowledge of parents while taking care of the children discharged from neonatal intensive care units.

This study aimed to analyze maternal deaths and present the Maternal Mortality Ratio in the city of Fortaleza, in the Northeast region of Brazil, from 2008-2010. This is a descriptive study. Data collection occurred in the Mortality Information System and in the maternal death investigation files of the Local Health Department. Fifty-six maternal deaths were investigated with a Maternal Mortality Ratio of 39.75/100,000 live births. The prevalent age group was 20-29 years (50.0%). Hypertensive disorders (50.0%) were the most prevalent causes of direct obstetric deaths. As for indirect obstetric deaths, infectious and parasitic diseases (28.1%) prevailed. Nearly all deaths were considered preventable or possibly preventable (91.1%). Thus, it can be assumed that most deaths could have been avoided by ensuring the quality of prenatal care.

This study aimed to understand better the experiences of women who consume crack. It is a qualitative research conducted through a semi-structured interview with 16 women registered in the Estratégia de Redução de Danos de Pelotas/RS [Harm Reduction Strategy of Pelotas/RS/Brazil], in 2012. For data analysis, one used the content analysis, in the modality thematic analysis, from the perspective of gender relations. The results were grouped into two categories: prejudice, prostitution and crime situations and family and friends relationships. One identified women labeled by society as criminals who suffer daily with situations of prejudice, for not having a behavior socially and culturally expected for women, such as being docile and fragile. Adverse events during childhood were identified, however, there was a network of solidarity among people who consume this drug. Based on genders, it can be seen the concrete and symbolic organization of these women’s social life and the connections of power in gender relations.

This study aimed to identify the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics; obtain the risk factors for pressure ulcers identified in hospitalized senior citizens. This is a prospective, descriptive, and quantitative study. The sample consisted of 215 hospitalized elderly people in a public hospital in Teresina, PI, Brazil, in orthopedic, neurological, medical, and surgical clinics, and Intensive Care Units from November/2012 to February/2013. Data collection happened through interviews, physical examinations, and medical records. The average age was 71.8 years old, most patients were female (55.3%), with low education, and married. The majority were taken into orthopedics (42.3%). For the length of hospital stay, the average was of 12.4 days. The most prevalent risk factors were hypertension, use of analgesics, antihypertensives, and anticoagulants. Eighty-seven senior citizens (40.5%) presented low risk. One highlights the importance of nursing care in the prevention and assessment of risk for pressure ulcers in order to reduce its incidence in hospitals.

This study aimed at unveiling the feeling of hope in people who experience cancer in their existence. Qualitative study based on Heidegger’s phenomenology, performed with eight cancer patients assisted in a philanthropic organization, between December 2013 and February 2014, in a northwestern city in Paraná, Brazil, using the following guiding question: “How do you perceive the feeling of hope at this time in your life?” The analysis resulted in the ontological themes: searching for hope in dealing with cancer, and experiencing feelings of hope and despair in being with others. Patients revealed mixed feelings, going from the lack of hope at the time of diagnosis to a rekindling of hope, as well as those who never lost the will to live. We conclude that living with cancer causes extreme feelings; and hope emerges as a feeling capable of influencing and causes an expressive impact in coping with that.

This study aimed to identify the health conditions and environmental factors that influence the activities of daily living of elderly people. Cross-sectional epidemiological research conducted with 167 elderly in a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from May to July 2013, using a structured instrument. Data were grouped for statistical/descriptive treatment. Circulatory diseases were the most frequent. The commonly used drug was aspirin, and falls were prevalent in 65 elderly. There was a significant difference in eating in age group older than 80 years (p=0,002). Dressing had significance in the age group above 80 years old (p=0.010), but was not significant when associated architecture with age. It was concluded that knowledge of the socio-demographic and health characteristics of the elderly enables the implementation of specific actions by health professionals, besides helping managers to formulate health indicators.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of life related to the health of people with diabetes mellitus type 2. It was a cross-sectional research conducted with 100 diabetics. Data collection was conducted during March and April 2012 with two teams of the Family Health Strategy in Picos, PI, Brazil through individual interviews. A form containing socioeconomic, clinical and the Medical Outcomes Study 36 – Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The average among the participants of the SF-36 ranged from 34.8 (physical aspects) to 72.0 (mental health). There was a statistically significant association between pain and functional capacity with sex, as well as functional capacity and emotional aspects with physical activity (p <0.05). It was concluded that the participants had a better quality of life in the assessment in the dimensions that comprise mental components.

his study aimed at understanding the conceptions of women in a rural settlement concerning education in health, focusing on the health of women, in the pursuit of apprehending matters of gender. This is a qualitative study of exploratory and descriptive type, made in a rural settlement of the Workers Without Land Movement in Southern Brazil. Data collection occurred from March to May 2011, through semi-structured interviews with nine women between 35 and 60 years of age residents in the settlement. The thematic analysis was used for the data. There is a multiplicity of opinions, beliefs, feelings, once the concepts of education in health of the settled workers are based on the value of more sensitive educational practices and their needs that transcend the reproductive dimension. Therefore, the peculiarities and diversities around the world of the settled workers must be considered in planning actions of health.

This study aimed to verify the complaints causing elderly hypertensive patients to seek a health center in a municipality of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Analytical and exploratory retrospective study conducted between November 2013 and January 2014, with 106 medical records of hypertensive elderly who attended nursing consultations in the past five years. Female elderly (73.5%), aged up to 70 years (61.3%), with a partner (57.5%) and with up to 4 years of education (73.5%) composed most of the sample. The main complaints causing elderly hypertensive patients to seek health care focused on endocrine and nutritional diseases (36%). There was significant association between gender and seeking the health service, with hypertension as major complaint, but no association was observed between complaints related to hypertension and number of interventions prescribed by nurses. The data revealed enable the planning of specific interventions to the needs of hypertensive elderly, allowing adjustments in care.

This study aimed to synthesize the knowledge produced in articles about nursing care for chronic renal patients on hemodialysis. This is an integrative literature review conducted on the databases SCOPUS, CINAHL, PUBMED, LILACS and COCHRANE. The sample consisted of ten articles. Nursing care was categorized and grouped in areas according to NANDA International. The publications occurred between the years 2009 and 2012, prevailing descriptive studies with level VI of evidence. Given the findings, it was identified that nursing care to chronic renal patients is focused on infection prevention, promotion of self-care, guidance to the family and the patient, diet control and the promotion of a comfortable environment. Thus, knowing nursing care provides nurses with subsidies for the development of a specific care plan, targeted on the needs of each individual.

This integrative review aimed to analyze the available evidence in the literature regarding nursing care in the perioperative period for patients who underwent bariatric surgery. The search for primary studies was carried out in the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature databases. The sample was comprised of 11 primary studies, published between January 2002 and July 2013, and grouped in two categories. The main nursing care activities identified were: bed mobility, ambulation at 12 hours, thromboembolic prophylaxis using compression devices, antibiotic prophylaxis, care for surgical drains, catheters and wound dressings, and guidance for patients regarding pre and postoperative preparation. The difficulties experienced by nurses and the team in the care provided were also discussed.