General Beliefs and Stigma Regarding Illicit Drug Use: Perspectives of Family Members and Significant Others of Drug Users in an Inner City in Brazil.

People who use drugs are continuously subjected to harsh stigmatization through a process of relational and social degradation, which limits their possibility for recovery. This quantitative study explores the perspectives of family members or significant others of illicit drug users, regarding general beliefs about illicit drug use and their stigma. Respondents agree that most people do not trust people who use drugs, disregard individuals who have been hospitalized due to drug problems and do not think people who use drugs are as intelligent as the general population.

Validity and reliability of the Questionnaire for Compliance with Standard Precaution.

Objective: To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Questionnaire for Compliance with Standard Precaution for nurses.

Methods: This methodological study was conducted with 121 nurses from health care facilities in Sao Paulo's countryside, who were represented by two high-complexity and by three average-complexity health care facilities. Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach's alpha and stability was calculated by the intraclass correlation coefficient, through test-retest.

Validation of an instrument to assess factors associated with adherence to standard precautions among dentists in primary healthcare.

Accidents with biological material are a reality in dental practice. The use of preventive measures such as the adoption of Standard Precautions (SP) is essential, thus this study aims to validate an instrument to check factors associated with adherence to SP among dentists. The scales of psychosocial and organizational factors that influence adherence to SP were the starting point.

Under-reporting of accidents involving biological material by nursing professionals at a Brazilian emergency hospital.

Background: Pathogens can be transmitted to health professionals after contact with biological material. The exact number of infections deriving from these events is still unknown, due to the lack of systematic surveillance data and under-reporting.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out, involving 451 nursing professionals from a Brazilian tertiary emergency hospital between April and July 2009.

Metoprolol oxidation polymorphism in Brazilian elderly cardiac patients.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to phenotype the CYP2D6 in elderly with heart disease classified as extensive metabolizer or poor metabolizers (PM) of metoprolol, develop and validate the method of analysis of metoprolol tartrate and its metabolite in urine using HPLC, and identify potential correlations between anthropometric factors with metabolic ratios of metoprolol/α-OH metoprolol in urine.

Methods: The sample was composed of 130 elderly individuals with a previously identified type of heart condition, with normal renal and hepatic functions. The urine of all the patients were collected 0-8 h after the administration of a pill of 100 mg of metoprolol to determine concentrations of metoprolol and α-hydroxymetoprolol.

[Care and specialized clinical follow-up of nursing professionals who have been victims of accidents with biological material].

This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the conduct of nursing professionals who had been victims of accidents with biological material in a teaching hospital in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, regarding their care and specialized clinical follow-up. The study population consisted of 1,215 nursing professionals, who were interviewed individually between 2010 and 2011. Of the 1,215 nursing professionals interviewed, 636 (52.

Cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the family questionnaire in a Brazilian sample of relatives of schizophrenia outpatients.

Aims And Objectives: To evaluate the internal reliability and validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Family Questionnaire among families of schizophrenia outpatients.

Background: The main studies about the family environment of schizophrenia patients are related to the concept of Expressed Emotion. There is currently no instrument to evaluate this concept in Brazil that is easily applicable and comparable with studies from other countries.

Evaluation of prevention and control measures for ventilator-associated pneumonia.

This study aimed to evaluate the quality of health care delivered in an Intensive Care Unit, concerning the use of pneumonia prevention and control measures in high-risk patients on mechanical ventilation. In this descriptive and exploratory research, 839 observations of patients under invasive ventilation care were carried out, between November 2009 and January 2010, using the Indicator of Evaluation of Adherence to Prevention and Control Measures in High-risk Patients (IRPR). Some isolated measures that compose the mentioned indicator reached rates close to 100%, but the general compliance rate with all prevention and control measures of ventilator-associated pneumonia was 26.

Evaluation of the sensitivity and specificity of criteria for isolation of patients admitted to a specialized cancer hospital.

Early isolation of patients possibly colonized by multi-resistant microorganisms can minimize their spread, reducing cases of hospital infection and the related costs. This study aimed to identify the sensitivity and specificity of the criteria for isolation of patients admitted to a specialized cancer hospital. Cross-sectional study with a population of 61 patients coming from other hospitals who were admitted to the hospital between March 1st and August 31th, 2009.

Colonization of nursing professionals by Staphylococcus aureus.

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the presence of Staphylococcus aureus in the saliva of the nursing team of a teaching hospital in the interior of São Paulo State. Three saliva samples were collected from 351 individuals with an interval of two months between each collection. All ethical aspects were considered.

Staphylococcus aureus detection in the mouth of housekeepers.

This study assessed the prevalence of colonization by Staphylococcus aureus in hospital housekeepers, and their knowledge and beliefs regarding this problem. Three saliva samples were collected and a questionnaire regarding knowledge and beliefs was applied. Of the 92 workers, 63 (68.

Analysis of the organizational aspects of a clinical emergency department: a study in a General Hospital in Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil.

Demand for the Emergency Department (ED) has increased, making the organization of work difficult. This quantitative, descriptive and documental study identifies and analyzes the characteristics of clinical care in the ED of a General Hospital in Ribeirão Preto, SP, in 2007, according to organizational variables. The study population included all clinical care consultations registered in the Hospital Management Information System.

[The search for attitudinal commitment: tendency in the manager nurse's ethical behavior].

Historically, nurses' management functions have evidenced that their conduct is compatible with programmatic commitments. This fact was observed in the analysis of 18 studies carried out in healthcare services located in different Brazilian regions. Since the 1990's, management experts have alerted that traits such as commitment, interdisciplinarity, risk, uncertainty, spirituality, and ethical involvement will frame the characteristics of the human capital of 21st century organizations.

Prevalence of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible s. aureus in the saliva of health professionals.

Introduction: S. aureus is one of the main agents of nosocomial infection and is sometimes difficult to treat with currently available active antimicrobials.

Purpose: To analyze the prevalence of methicillin-susceptible S.

[Nurses in leading positions and measures to prevent occupational exposure: facilities and barriers].

This descriptive study aimed to assess the facilities and barriers that nurses in leading positions endure with respect to the nursing team's compliance to measures for preventing occupational exposure involving biological materials, based on Rosenstock's Health Belief Model. The study was carried out with 87 nurses of a university hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the year of 2006. Data were collected through a semistructured form with open and closed questions and analyzed through Content Analysis.

Hypertension among undergraduate students from Lubango, Angola.

This descriptive study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors among undergraduate students in Lubango-Angola. The results obtained according to the health field model were: a) human biology: 61.3% were between 18 and 29 years old; prevalence of hypertension from 20.

Accidents with biological material and immunization against hepatitis B among students from the health area.

Undergraduate students from the health area often handle piercing-cutting instruments in their academic activities, which exposes them to the risk of contracting infections. This study aimed to analyze accidents with biological material among these students. Out of 170 accidents registered, 83 (48.

[Notes of post-operative pain in children: a retrospective analyses of hospitals from Londrina, PR, Brazil].

All surgical procedures involve tissue lesions, manipulation of structures and organs, causing pain which can be minimized during the process. The objective of this study is to characterize, retrospectively, the process of managing post-operative pain based on 300 medical records of 280 children, who underwent surgery in 2004, in 3 hospitals located in Londrina, PR, Brazil. The study revealed that only a few nurses document post-operative pain, and that the majority of the records were made by nursing aides or technicians.

Prevalence of white coat hypertension in primary health care.

Objective: Assess the prevalence of white coat hypertension in the municipality of Dumont, in São Paulo State, and map study participants' demographics, and physiologic and metabolic changes.

Methods: One hundred and nine (109) users of the Municipal Health Service were selected and then divided into three groups: normotension, essential hypertension, and white coat hypertension after blood pressure was measured through oscilometry and blood pressure monitoring exam at outpatient unit. Variables found between the groups were compared based on interview, data measurements, and laboratory exams.

[Interdisciplinary home hospitalization program of Marília-SP: material resource costs].

This study estimated the mean total direct cost of some production factors (material resources), including consumption materials, diets, medication and solutions used by two patient groups during hospitalization in the Interdisciplinary Home Hospitalization Program (PROIID) of Marília-SP, Brazil. The sample consisted of 27 patients with a diagnosis of cerebral vascular accident (CVA) and 18 with Neoplasm. Data were collected from the moment of hospitalization until the patients left the program.

[Sexuality in the climateric period: situations experienced by women].

Descriptive study aimed at identifying the aspects that women, cared for at a Service of Gynecology and Obstetrics, consider positive and negative in exercising their sexuality in the climacteric phase. Data was collected through individual interviews, using the technique of critical incidents. The 45 women that were interviewed mentioned 86 situations, of which 41 (47.

[Nursing workers' experiences in care for pulmonary tuberculosis patients].

This descriptive study aimed to identify the positive and negative aspects related to nursing care for pulmonary tuberculosis patients, based on the reports of nursing workers at an isolation unit. We categorized the reports of 26 nursing workers (nurses, auxiliaries, technicians and nursing attendants) in terms of positive and negative references. We obtained 24 reports, resulting in 94 (100%) situations, 38 (40.

[Greater survival among patients with immunogenetic markers of rapid progression to AIDS: subsidies for nursing care].

This study sought subsidies for improving nursing care programs for AIDS patients and aimed to verify the influence of changes in sexual behavior, including the adoption of safe sex practices, associated with the survival of AIDS patients with immunogenetic markers of rapid disease progression. 27 AIDS patients were interviewed, with genetic predisposition to rapid progression to AIDS. Genes were typified through the polymerase chain reaction.

In-service nursing education delivered by videoconference.

Thirty nursing auxiliaries at a Brazilian hospital were trained in intramuscular injection at the ventrogluteal site in a lecture delivered by videoconference (over an IP connection at up to 512 kbit/s). Participants were able thereafter to practise on the same manikins used for demonstration during the lecture, until they felt confident in carrying out the procedure. They then completed an evaluation questionnaire on the use of videoconferencing as a teaching method.

[Analysis of risk factors related to the incidence of surgical site infections in gastrosurgeries].

Nosocomial infection is regarded as a serious problem whose incidence and complexity has been increasing, thus generating various types of social and economic implications. This investigation aimed at assessing the incidence of surgical site infection and risk factors in patients submitted to elective surgeries in the specialty of gastroenterology performed in a public hospital in the interior of São Paulo State. Data were collected by means of a retrospective study of medical records from January to December 1999.