Objective: to analyze the quality of life (QoL) of men with AIDS from the perspective of the model of social determinants of health (MSDH). Method: cross-sectional study conducted in an outpatient infectious diseases clinic from a Brazilian university hospital over the course of one year with a sample of 138 patients. A form based on the MSDH was used to collect sociodemographic data addressing individual, proximal, intermediate determinants and the influence of social networks together with an instrument used to assess the QoL of people with HIV/AIDS. The project was approved by the Institutional Review Board (Protocol No. 040.06.12). Results: according to MSDH, most men with AIDS were between 30 and 49 years old (68.1%), mixed race (59.4%), heterosexual (46.4%), single (64.5%), Catholic (68.8%), had a bachelor’s degree (39.2%), had no children (61.6%), and had a formal job (71.0%). The perception of QoL in the physical, level of independence, environment, and spirituality domains was intermediate, while QoL was perceived to be superior in the domains of psychological and social relationship. A perception of lower QoL was presented by homosexual (p=0.037) and married men (p=0.077), and those with income below one times the minimum wage (p=0.042). A perception of greater QoL was presented by those without a religion (p=0.005), living with a partner (p=0.049), and those who had a formal job (p=0.045). Conclusion: social determinants influence the QoL of men with AIDS.

Objectives: to analyze the quality of life of  “patients” with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and relate it to their socioeconomic profile, knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality. Method: cross-sectional and analytical study with 201 individuals who are 50 years old or older. The Targeted Quality of Life and Aging Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scales were applied during interviews. Multiple Linear Regression was used in data analysis. Results: dimensions of quality of life more strongly compromised were disclosure worries (39.0), sexual function (45.9), and financial worries (55.6). Scores concerning knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality were 31.7 and 14.8, respectively. There was significant correlation between attitudes and the domains of overall function, health worries, medication worries, and HIV mastery. Conclusion: guidance concerning how the disease is transmitted, treated and how it progresses, in addition to providing social and psychological support, could minimize the negative effects of the disease on the quality of life of patients living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Objective: to compare the effectiveness of two educational interventions used by a healthcare provider in the monitoring of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), regarding knowledge of the disease, impact on quality of life and adoption of self-care actions. Methods: comparative, longitudinal, prospective study performed with 150 subjects with type 2 diabetes, analyzed according to the type of participation in the program (individual and/or group). Participants of the individual intervention (II) received nursing consultations every six months and those of the group intervention (GI) took part in weekly meetings for three months. Data were collected through four questionnaires: Identification questionnaire, Problem Areas in Diabetes Questionnaire (PAID), Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Questionnaire (SDSCA) and the Diabetes Knowledge Scale (DKN-A). Data were analyzed using the Friedman and Mann Whitney tests, considering a statistical significance of p ≤ 0.05. Results: there was an increase in knowledge about the disease in the II (p<0.003) and GI (p<0.007), with reduction of the impact on the quality of life in the II (p<0.007) and improvement in self-care actions in the GI (p<0.001). Conclusion: in both intervention models improvements were observed in the indicators, over the six month monitoring period.

Objective: this study investigated the association of somatic and cognitive-affective symptoms with sex and age, among patients hospitalized with heart disease. Method: this study was a secondary analysis of two previous observational studies totaling 531 patients with heart disease, hospitalized from 2005 to 2011 in two public hospitals in Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Somatic and cognitive-affective symptoms were assessed using the subscales of the Beck Depression Inventory – I (BDI-I). Results: of 531 participants, 62.7% were male, with a mean age 57.3 years (SD= 13.0) for males and 56.2 years (SD= 12.1) for females. Analyses of variance showed an effect of sex (p<0.001 for somatic and p=0.005 for cognitive-affective symptoms), but no effect of age. Women presented with higher mean values than men in both BDI-I subscales: 7.1 (4.5) vs. 5.4 (4.3) for somatic, and 8.3 (7.9) vs. 6.7 (7.2) for cognitive-affective symptoms. There were no differences by age for somatic (p=0.84) or cognitive-affective symptoms (p=0.84). Conclusion: women hospitalized with heart disease had more somatic and cognitive-affective symptoms than men. We found no association of somatic and cognitive-affective symptoms with age. Future research for these patients could reveal whether these differences according to sex continue throughout the rehabilitation process.

Objective: to investigate the association of risk factors with the Risk for aspiration nursing diagnosis and respiratory aspiration. Method: cross-sectional study assessing 105 patients with stroke. The instrument used to collect data addressing sociodemographic information, clinical variables and risk factors for Risk for aspiration. The clinical judgments of three expert RNs were used to establish the diagnosis. The relationship between variables and strength of association using Odds Ratio (OR) was verified both in regard to Risk for aspiration and respiratory aspiration. Results: risk for aspiration was present in 34.3% of the patients and aspiration in 30.5%. The following stood out among the risk factors: Dysphagia, Impaired or absent gag reflex, Neurological disorders, and Impaired physical mobility, all of which were statistically associated with Risk for aspiration. Note that patients who develop such a diagnosis were seven times more likely to develop respiratory aspiration. Conclusion: dysphagia, Impaired or absent gag reflex were the best predictors both for Risk for aspiration and respiratory aspiration.

Objective: To examine, from the nursing perspective, the needs and challenges of coordinated hospital-home care for renal patients on hemodialysis. Methods: A qualitative analysis was conducted with an ethnographic approach in a hemodialysis unit in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Semistructured interviews were conducted with nine nurses, selected by purposeful sampling. Structured content analysis was used. Results: Nurses recounted the needs and challenges involved in caring for renal patients. They also identified barriers that limit coordinated patient care in the hospital and the home, mainly the work overload at the hemodialysis unit and the lack of a systematic strategy for education and lifelong guidance to patients, their families and caregivers. Conclusions: This study shows the importance and necessity of establishing a strategy that goes beyond conventional guidance provided to caregivers of renal patients, integrating them into the multidisciplinary group of health professionals that provide care for these patients in the hospital to establish coordinated hospital-home care that increases therapeutic adherence, treatment substitution effectiveness and patient quality of life.

Objective: to analyze the efficacy of the Nursing Process in an Intensive Care Unit using indicators generated by software. Method: cross-sectional study using data collected for four months. RNs and students daily registered patients, took history (at admission), performed physical assessments, and established nursing diagnoses, nursing plans/prescriptions, and assessed care delivered to 17 patients using software. Indicators concerning the incidence and prevalence of nursing diagnoses, rate of effectiveness, risk diagnoses, and rate of effective prevention of complications were computed. Results: the Risk for imbalanced body temperature was the most frequent diagnosis (23.53%), while the least frequent was Risk for constipation (0%). The Risk for Impaired skin integrity was prevalent in 100% of the patients, while Risk for acute confusion was the least prevalent (11.76%). Risk for constipation and Risk for impaired skin integrity obtained a rate of risk diagnostic effectiveness of 100%. The rate of effective prevention of acute confusion and falls was 100%. Conclusion: the efficacy of the Nursing Process using indicators was analyzed because these indicators reveal how nurses have identified patients’ risks and conditions, and planned care in a systematized manner.

Objective: To evaluate the functional performance and the technical quality of the Electronic Documentation System of the Nursing Process of the Teaching Hospital of the University of São Paulo. Method: exploratory-descriptive study. The Quality Model of regulatory standard 25010 and the Evaluation Process defined under regulatory standard 25040, both of the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission. The quality characteristics evaluated were: functional suitability, reliability, usability, performance efficiency, compatibility, security, maintainability and portability. The sample was made up of 37 evaluators. Results: in the evaluation of the specialists in information technology, only the characteristic of usability obtained a rate of positive responses of less than 70%. For the nurse lecturers, all the quality characteristics obtained a rate of positive responses of over 70%. The staff nurses of the medical and surgical clinics with experience in using the system) and staff nurses from other units of the hospital and from other health institutions (without experience in using the system) obtained rates of positive responses of more than 70% referent to the functional suitability, usability, and security. However, performance efficiency, reliability and compatibility all obtained rates below the parameter established. Conclusion: the software achieved rates of positive responses of over 70% for the majority of the quality characteristics evaluated.

Objective: to verify associations between overweight and the characteristics of young adult students to support nursing care. Method: case-control study conducted with young adults from public schools. The sample was composed of 441 participants (147 cases and 294 controls, with and without excess weight, respectively). Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were collected together with exposure factors and anthropometrics. Multiple logistic regression was used. The study received Institutional Review Board approval. Results: statistically significant association with overweight: non-Caucasian, having a partner; weight gain during adolescence, mother’s excess weight, the use of obesogenic medication, augmented diastolic blood pressure, of abdominal circumference and waist/hip ratio. In addition to these, schooling and weight gain during childhood were also included in the multivariate analysis. After adjustment, the final model included: having a partner, weight gain during adolescence, augmented diastolic blood pressure and abdominal circumference. Conclusion: the analysis of predictor variables for excess weight among young adult students supports nurses in planning and developing educational practices aimed to prevent this clinical condition, which is a risk factor for other chronic comorbidities, such as cardiovascular diseases.

Objective: to assess the clinical effect of topical treatment using Ulmo honey associated with oral ascorbic acid in patients with venous ulcers. Method: longitudinal and descriptive quantitative study. During one year, 18 patients were assessed who were clinically diagnosed with venous ulcer in different stages, male and female, adult, with a mean injury time of 13 months. Ulmo honey was topically applied daily. The dressing was applied in accordance with the technical standard for advanced dressings, combined with the daily oral consumptions of 500 mg of ascorbic acid. The monitoring instrument is the assessment table of venous ulcers. Results: full healing was achieved in 100% of the venous ulcers. No signs of complications were observed, such as allergies or infection. Conclusion: the proposed treatment showed excellent clinical results for the healing of venous ulcers. The honey demonstrated debriding and non-adherent properties, was easy to apply and remove and was well accepted by the users. The described results generated a research line on chronic wound treatment.

Objective: to analyze nursing care provided to cancer patients with oral mucositis based on the Nursing Process (NP). Method: this exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative study was conducted with 213 patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy in two cancer facilities: one philanthropic and one private service. Results: the participants were mainly female, aged 45.8 years old on average, with up to 11 years of schooling and income of up to one times the minimum wage. Severe mucositis was related to chemotherapy associated with radiotherapy. Only 25.3% of the patients reported having received guidance from nurses during their treatment concerning self-care. The perceptions of patients regarding quality of care did not significantly differ between the private and public facilities. The basic human needs mainly affected were comfort, eating, and hygiene. Based on this finding, one NP was established listing the diagnoses, interventions and expected results to establish an ideal, though individualized, standard of nursing care to be provided to these patients. Conclusion: to understand oral mucositis is crucial to establish nursing care that includes prevention based on the implementation of an oral care plan.