[Quality of life among frail older people].

Background: Frailty has a great impact in the wellbeing of older people.

Aim: To evaluate the quality of life of older people with and without frailty.

Material And Methods: We assessed sociodemographic variables, health, integral geriatric assessment, quality of life using the WHOQoL-BREF questionnaire and the level of fragility using the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) in 538 participants.

[Changes in social psychological and functional variables among older people attending a day care center].

Background: Older people attending day care centers improve their social activities, perception of quality of life and reduce their institutionalization rate and risk of mortality in the medium term.

Aim: To evaluate the changes in the integral geriatric assessment and frailty of a group of older people attending a day care center in Santiago.

Material And Methods: Health self-perception, integral geriatric assessment, Barthel scale, frailty indicators, mini-mental state scale, Yesavage depression score and a scale about solitude perception were evaluated in 35 participants aged 73 ± 6 years on admission and at discharge from a day care center for older people.

[Fear of falling: Validation of a measurement tool in Chilean elderly living in the community].

Unlabelled: INTRODUCCIóN: Fear of falling, with or without previous falls history, is a risk factor for decreased mobility, disability, as well as a decreased quality of life, and can trigger the self-restriction of activities with loss of independence and functionality. Validated tools for measuring the fear of falling in the Chilean population is a needed to detect those at risk. There are currently no validated instruments to measure this phenomenon in Chile.

Why Do Chilean Women Choose to Have or Not Have Pap Tests?

Objective: To describe the perceptions of Chilean women about why women choose to have or not have Pap test screening.

Design: Qualitative research using content analysis according to Krippendorf.

Setting: Four urban health clinics in Santiago, Chile.

[Recommendations of health care users and professionals to achieve a timely access to HIV diagnosis].

Background: Early HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) diagnosis optimizes therapies aimed at reducing viral load, increasing survival, lowering health costs and reducing the number of people infected with the virus. In Chile, despite widespread and readily available HIV testing, infected people continue to get tested in a late fashion and are usually diagnosed in advanced stages of the disease.

Aim: To determine the elements that facilitate or impede a timely HIV testing and to evaluate how to improve the access to HIV testing.

Validation of the Spanish-language version of the Prolapse Quality of Life questionnaire in Chilean women.

Introduction And Hypothesis: The Prolapse Quality of Life (P-QOL) questionnaire is a specific health-related quality of life (HRQL) instrument to assess the impact of POP on women. It has been validated in English-speaking women and to date has been translated into several other languages. However, currently there is no Spanish translation of the P-QOL questionnaire.

[Facilitators and barriers to HIV testing: a literature review].

Background: Late diagnosis of HIV is a problem of international and national relevance. Despite the availability of HIV testing in primary health care, it is often performed too late.

Aim: To identify facilitators and barriers to early HIV testing in primary health care.

[Effectiveness of an educational program about the Chilean AIDS law in primary care health workers].

Background: In Chile, members of the civil society and government achieved the passing of the HIV/AIDS Law (19.779). The level of knowledge of the law held by healthcare workers in Chile is not well known.

Peer group intervention for HIV prevention among health workers in Chile.

We tested the impacts of a professionally assisted peer-group intervention on Chilean health workers' HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors using a quasi-experimental design with a pretest and 3-month posttest. Two Santiago suburbs were randomly assigned to the intervention or delayed intervention control condition. Five community clinics per suburb participated.

Observed use of standard precautions in Chilean community clinics.

Objectives: In Chile, little information about the use of standard precautions (SP) among health care workers (HCWs) exists. As part of a larger study to tailor and test an HIV prevention intervention for community HCWs, this study describes the observed frequency with which appropriate SP were used by HCWs in low-income community clinics of Santiago. Also, the availability of supplies is described.

HIV Issues and Mapuches in Chile.

Chile is a country with an incipient HIV epidemic. Just as in other countries, disadvantaged groups in Chile are contributing to the increased incidence of the disease. The Mapuche indigenous population is one such group that has been affected by the spread of HIV.

Chilean university students: knowledge and concern about HIV/AIDS.

According to a 2004 report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Chile has an incipient HIV/AIDS epidemic. Regardless of the classification, every year the cumulative incidence of HIV/AIDS increases. Young Chileans have been the most affected group; still, their knowledge, attitudes, and concerns about HIV/AIDS are not known.

[A predictive model for the quality of sexual life in hysterectomized women].

Background: The effects of hysterectomy on sexuality has been extensively studied.

Aim: To establish a model to predict the quality of sexual life in hysterectomized women, six months after surgery.

Material And Methods: Analytical, longitudinal and prospective study of 90 hysterectomized women aged 45+/-7 years.

[Estimation of the number of institutionalized elderly in Chile].

Background: Elderly people (>60 years) in Chile represented 11.4% (n=1,717,478) of the total population in 2002. The group with disabilities or mental problems is increasing and there is no reliable information about the number of institutionalized elderly subjects.