[Community health agents: profile and education].

This research discusses the profile and education of the community health agents. There is no clarity about the kind of professional needed and the appropriate training to the fulfillment of the function. The research is a case study with exploratory methodology and qualitative approach.

[The construction of care by the health team and the caretaker within a home-care program for bedridden patients in Porto Alegre (RS, Brazil)].

The main objective of this case study was to understand the construction of care in the Homecare Program for Bedridden Patients (PADA) of a basic health unit (UBS) in Porto Alegre, RS. Data were obtained from 13 caretaker groups in the UBS, and participating observation recorded in field diary in the patient's homes. An analysis of the discourse practices was performed inspired in Foucault's discourse concepts speeches and in studies on ethics and self-care.

[Work processes in the family health program: crossings and transverses].

The study was performed with the objective to understand the ethical challenges of implementing the Program, using a qualitative approach and focal group discussion. The study included members from different FHP teams in the city of Campo Bom (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil): three physicians, three nurses, two technicians, and four community health agents. Eight situations were created to discuss different aspects of the FHP.

Dysthanasia: nursing professionals' perception.

Dysthanasia means slow and painful death without quality of life. This study aimed to know whether nurses identify dysthanasia as part of the final process of the lives of terminal patients hospitalized at an adult ICU. This is an exploratory-qualitative study.

Family Health Program professionals' view on family structures and health implications.

Objective: To describe perception of family structures and understanding of a healthy family by Programa Saúde da Família (Family Health Program) team members.

Methods: Research with a qualitative approach, employing the focus group technique, and involving the Program professionals from the city of Campo Bom, Southern Brazil, between June and August 2005. Sample was comprised of 12 professionals, including doctors, nurses, nursing technicians and community health agents.

Beneficiaries of volunteering: a bioethical perspective.

Objective: To describe volunteers' perceptions of the beneficiaries of volunteering within the hospital setting and the influence that the theme of benefits exercises on their motivations.

Methods: This is an exploratory study with a qualitative approach. One hundred and ten volunteers working in health services that are references for the treatment of cancer in Rio de Janeiro (Southeastern Brazil) are the subjects of this study.

Bioethics and environment: a hermeneutic approach.

This article presents the discussion about environmental bioethics in Brazil. Brazil's naturally environmentalist vocation is due to the wealth of its biodiversity and to the possible contribution it can offer, in international forums, to defining the close relation between the protection of the environment and social justice--a challenge that Brazil has to face. A first important aspect is the discussion on natural and cultural biodiversity.

[Women with HIV/AIDS: fragments of their hidden face].

The study aimed at determining factors that generate the fear visiting upon HIV-positive women and consequences in routine family, work and social life relations. The method employed is of qualitative nature Women with HIV/AIDS that were followed at the Health Clinic of São Leopoldo-RS were focused. Data collection was performed by a semi-structured interview, seeking 18 women, from 23 to 55 years old.

[Myths and taboos of motherhood: focusing on the health-disease process].

Objective: To learn about myths and taboos related with motherhood and their implications in the health/disease process.

Method: Study carried out using a qualitative approach, in a natural setting, with women of poor classes who experienced motherhood. The selection of subjects was performed intentionally, and data collection was made by means of semi-structured interviews and participant observation at the moment those women were given healthcare attention.

[Workers' contribution to the consolidation of municipal health surveillance services].

This study aimed to expand knowledge on the role and possible contribution of workers in the consolidation of health surveillance services in three municipalities in Greater Metropolitan Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The research used a qualitative methodology based on focus groups and participatory observation. The resulting data were categorized by content analysis.

[Nursing in life re-significance on the face of disease].

The paper deals with the educational role played by the health care provider. The ideas exposed stem from a reflection made from a research on the resignification of life of individuals affected by diseases that entail changes to their lifestyle. The health care provider has a key role in this process, influencing the patient positively or negatively.

[Educational techniques in diabetes treatment].

This study focused on an educational program for type 2 diabetics and monitoring of the following variables: blood glucose, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and self-care of feet since the initial diagnosis over a 5-year period. This was an exploratory study from 1996 to 2000. The study was carried out with 189 patients diagnosed as type 2 diabetics, divided into two groups: compliant patients (n = 101) and non-compliant (n = 88), the latter having participated for less than 2 years.

[Bioethics, critical solidarity and organic volunteering].

Objective: The study proposes "critical solidarity" as a value to be incorporated into the 21st century's bioethics agenda and as an instrument to guide people and associations in volunteer praxis.

Methods: To explain how solidarity materializes itself, the motivations for engaging in volunteer activities in associations that integrate the corps of volunteers of the Instituto Nacional do Cancer [National Cancer Institute] in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are analyzed. The data for analysis were obtained by applying two instruments.