Vegetarian diets in first year university students.

Introduction: There has been an increase in the popularity of vegetarian diets, especially among adolescents and young adults. These diets seem to be healthy and balanced, but the recommendations are contro versial regarding potential nutritional deficits.

Objective: To identify the frequency and types of ve getarian diet used, their motivation, and sources of information.

[Transition from pediatric to adult health care services for adolescents with chronic diseases: Recommendations from the Adolescent Branch from Sociedad Chilena de Pediatría].

The Adolescent Branch from Sociedad Chilena de Pediatría supports the implementation of planned programs for transition from child to adult health centers, oriented to adolescents with chronic diseases, in order to ensure an appropriate follow-up and a high-quality health care. Recommendations for care are set out in the FONIS and VRI PUC project carried out by the Division of Pediatrics of the Universidad Católica de Chile: “Transition process from pediatric to adult services: perspectives of adolescents with chronic diseases, caregivers and health professionals”, whose goal was to describe the experience, barriers, critical points, and facilitators in the transition process. Critical points detected in this study were: existence of a strong bond between adolescents, caregivers and the pediatric team, resistance to transition, difficulty developing autonomy and self-management among adolescents; invisibility of the process of adolescence; and lack of communication between pediatric and adult team during the transfer.

[Qualitative research methodology in health care].

Health care research requires different methodological approaches such as qualitative and quantitative analyzes to understand the phenomena under study. Qualitative research is usually the least considered. Central elements of the qualitative method are that the object of study is constituted by perceptions, emotions and beliefs, non-random sampling by purpose, circular process of knowledge construction, and methodological rigor throughout the research process, from quality design to the consistency of results.