This study is a randomized single-blind trial, which aimed to evaluate the efficacy of true auriculotherapy and placebo auriculotherapy in reducing the stress levels of mid-level Nursing students of the School of Nursing of the Beneficência Portuguesa Hospital. Seventy-one students with average, high and very high scores, according to Vasconcellos' List of Stress Symptoms, were divided into three groups: Control (25), Auriculotherapy (24), and Placebo/Sham (22). They were evaluated at the baseline, 8th and 12th sessions and at the follow-up (15 days) and received Shen Men and Brainstem points (Auriculotherapy Group) and Wrist and Outer Ear points (Placebo/Sham Group). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed statistically significant differences between the Control/Auriculotherapy groups from the 8th session, which was maintained in the third and fourth evaluations (p=0.000) and between the Control/Placebo groups (p<0.05) at the three evaluations. It was concluded that the true auriculotherapy obtained better responses (45.39%) than the placebo (34.18%) in the reduction of the stress, but further studies are recommended for the re-evaluation of the sham points for stress. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01420848.

This exploratory-descriptive quantitative study aimed to evaluate the protocol for identifying newborns admitted to the Neonatal Intensive and Semi-intensive Therapy Unit of a private hospital. The case series was made up of 540 observation opportunities, selected by simple random probability sampling. The data was collected between May and August 2010 according to a form and analyzed by descriptive statistic. The protocol's general performance had a conformity index of 82.2%. There were three stages to the protocol: identification components, the identification wristbands' condition and the number of identification wristbands. The highest percentage of conformity (93%) was attributed to the second stage and the lowest (89.3%) to the third, presenting a statistically significant difference of p= 0.046. In the group of 'special' neonates, 88.5% conformity was achieved. These results will make it possible to restructure the protocol for identifying newborns and to establish care and managerial goals so as to improve the quality of care and the patients' safety.

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to assess levels of compliance with the intervention bundles contained in a clinical pathway used in the treatment of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, and to analyze the pathway's impact on survival and duration of hospital stays. We used data on 125 patients in an Intensive Care Unit, divided into a control group (N=84) and an intervention group (N=41). Levels of compliance increased from 13.1% to 29.3% in 5 resuscitation bundle interventions and from 14.3% to 22% in 3 monitoring bundle interventions. In-hospital mortality at 28 days decreased by 11.2% and the duration of hospital stay was reduced by 5 days. Although compliance was low, the intervention enhanced adherence to the instructions given in the clinical pathway and we observed a decline in mortality at 28 days and shorter hospital stays.

This descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative study presents an analysis of knowledge acquired by mastectomized women concerning breast cancer after reading an educational handbook. The sample was composed of 125 women. Data were collected in a specialized cancer facility in three phases: preparatory, operational I and operational II. As to the knowledge acquired, the posttest showed an 11% increase in the number of correct answers compared to the pretest. The most frequent correct answer regarded a question asking the name of the surgery (97.60%) while the question concerning breast reconstruction obtained the lowest number of correct answers (58.40%). Answers to all the questions significantly improved in the posttest, with the exception of a question addressing breast reconstruction (p=0.754). The assessment of knowledge showed positive results after reading, suggesting that cognition is essential to understanding and adhering to guidance, thus the handbook is a favorable resource to be used in the rehabilitation of mastectomized women.

The study aimed to describe the reports of heart failure patients on the factors that cause difficulties to sleep and the association of these factors with the quality of sleep. This cross-sectional study involved a non-probabilistic sample of 400 patients (mean age 57.8 years, 64.8% were men, average education of 6.1 years, 82.5% in functional class II or III) with heart failure. The main factors associated with sleeping difficulty were: nocturia, interrupted sleep at night and breathing difficulty. Sleeping difficulties in heart failure patients are diverse and there is an association between these difficulties and quality of sleep. Most of these disorders warrant professional nursing interventions.

The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between social support and the functional capacity of elderly persons with cognitive alterations. It is a descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative study. The subjects were 101 elderly persons registered in Family Health Centers whose performance in the Mini-Exam for Mental Status was below a certain specified level in a previous study. The Medical Outcomes Study questionnaire, Katz Index and Pfeffer Questionnaire were applied. The dimensions of material, affective, emotional, informational and positive social interaction support resulted in an average final score of 74.32 points, indicating a better level of material and affective support in relation to the other dimensions of support. There was a statistically significant correlation between emotional support and the Katz Index. Knowledge about this relationship favors the development of a nursing care pathway for the elderly which is capable of maintaining their functional capacity and ensuring satisfactory social relations.

The objective of this quantitative, correlational and descriptive study was to analyze the time the nursing staff spends to assist patients in Adult Intensive Care Units, as well as to verify its correlation with quality care indicators. The average length of time spent on care and the quality care indicators were identified by consulting management instruments the nursing head of the Unit employs. The average hours of nursing care delivered to patients remained stable, but lower than official Brazilian agencies' indications. The correlation between time of nursing care and the incidence of accidental extubation indicator indicated that it decreases with increasing nursing care delivered by nurses. The results of this investigation showed the influence of nursing care time, provided by nurses, in the outcome of care delivery.

This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study aimed at investigating the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of nursing students and its relationship with year of training, sociodemographic variables and the intensity of depressive symptoms. A convenience sample of 256 students, out of 353 eligible (72%), responded to the Medical Outcomes Study - The 36 Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (self-administered). Final-year students, females and students with a higher intensity of depressive symptoms presented lower SF-36 scores in the physical functioning, vitality and social functioning domains. Institutional psychopedagogic support programs may minimize this negative impact on the HRQoL and encourage better professional performance of students in higher vulnerability situations.

This is a descriptive-exploratory study with a quantitative approach, with the objective of identifying how nurses perceive psychological harassment at work, the behaviors experienced and the variables involved. In collecting data, two questionnaires were used: one socio-professional and another for identifying the behaviors involving psychological harassment experienced by the subjects in the previous twelve months, along with the duration and frequency of the behaviors. At the end of the questionnaire, a dichotomous question was added, which addressed nurses' perceptions in relation to feeling victimized by psychological harassment at work. Both the questionnaires were applied in electronic and print format between May and September 2010. The data was analyzed through descriptive statistics. The results showed that some of the subjects felt that they were victims of psychological harassment. Only the variables related to characterization of the psychological harassment presented significant association. The following were highlighted among the most-referred-to behaviors: "They question your decisions" and "You receive verbal attacks criticizing work you have done". It's important to open spaces for discussing violence at work, so that managers may establish strategic measures for preventing and containing this type of violence, so as to ensure health, dignity and well-being at work. It is also important to discuss this issue in the academic space, so as to give the theme greater visibility, such that future nurses will be able to identify and appropriately confront this type of violence.

This study aimed to describe the development and validation of three multidimensional scales in which the same 30 items, distributed among five dimensions, measure parents' self-perceived confidence, difficulties and knowledge needs in the exercise of positive parenting during the first three years of the child's life. The content of the scales resulted from the literature and exploratory studies and was validated by experts. The analysis of its reliability and validity, using Pearson's correlations and Cronbach's alpha, was based on data from a questionnaire administered to a non-probabilistic sample of 1011 parents. In the dimensions and items, a-values ranged between 0.769 and 0.890 and r-coefficients were >0.37;p <0.01. It was concluded that the scales measure three variables that correspond to the practice of positive parenting and their use permits guiding nursing support.