RLAE | Number V32

Efficacy of auriculotherapy for decreasing anxiety and stress among perioperative nursing workers: a mixed study

Eficácia da auriculoterapia para ansiedade e estresse em profissionais de enfermagem perioperatória: estudo misto

Oclaris Lopes Munhoz, Bruna Xavier Morais, Emanuelli Mancio Ferreira da Luz, Patrícia Bitencourt To...

Objective: to analyze the effectiveness of auriculotherapy for decreasing anxiety and stress of perioperative nursing professionals. Method: mixed methods research, embedded experimental model. In the quantitative stage, a randomized, triple-blind clinical trial was conducted with perioperative nursing professionals, who answered a characterization questionnaire, the List of Signs and Symptoms of Stress, and the General Anxiety Disorder-GAD 7. The participants attended eight auriculotherapy sessions with semi-permanent needles. The qualitative stage was exploratory and descriptive, in which data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data were mixed with the incorporation of qualitative findings to examine the intervention in the experimental study. Results: 13 professionals participated in the intervention group and 14 in the control group. Anxiety and stress levels decreased significantly within groups, though no statistical difference was found between groups (p>0.05). The central category, “Auriculotherapy as an intervention to treat anxiety and stress,” emerged from the qualitative data, which was subdivided into a base unit and three categories concerning the therapy’s benefits. Conclusion: applying real and sham auriculotherapy had the same effect on the participants’ anxiety and stress levels; the reports reinforced such evidence. Non-pharmacological interventions, such as auriculotherapy, are essential for recovering and promoting the health of perioperative nursing professionals. Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry: RBR-3jvmdn.

Nurses’ perception about their role in reducing health inequalities in community contexts

Percepção dos enfermeiros sobre o seu papel na redução das desigualdades em saúde em contextos comunitários

Jorge Sotelo-Daza, Yaneth Esperanza Jaramillo, Martha Vivas Chacón.

Objective: to understand nurses’ perception about their role in reducing health inequalities in community contexts. Method: a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach addressed from Heidegger’s Interpretive Theory and the health inequality settings. A total of 18 in-depth interviews were conducted with nurses working in health institutions devoted to community interventions. The following five-phase process was adopted for the qualitative data analysis: Accumulation; Disassembling; Reassembling; Interpretation; and Conclusion. Results: four main topics that nurses mobilize to mitigate health inequalities in community settings were identified, namely: Competences to create, operationalize, monitor and assess health policies; Leadership and management for health and care processes at the individual and collective levels; Professionals that devise care strategies; and Care approach based on characteristics of the territory. Conclusion: nurses perceive that their role contributes significantly to reducing health inequalities in community settings based on the creation, operationalization, monitoring and assessment of health policies. From the sociocultural, economic and political characteristics of the territory, they prioritize actions in disadvantaged human groups in order to improve access, opportunities, continuity and quality in health.

Digital health literacy, behavior and knowledge of adolescents for hand hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic

Letramento digital em saúde, comportamento e conhecimento de adolescentes para higienização das mãos na pandemia de COVID-19

Rafaela Aparecida Prata, Juliana Bastoni da Silva, Sidiany Mendes Pimentel, Hélio Rubens de Carvalh...

Objective: to investigate factors associated with digital health literacy, hand hygiene knowledge and behavior among Brazilian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: cross-sectional study with 473 adolescents aged 15 to 19. Data were collected virtually between June and August 2021 through a questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, digital health literacy, knowledge and behavior regarding hand hygiene. Variables were adjusted using multiple linear regression models with normal response. Results: the average digital health literacy score was 29.89 ±5.30; for hand hygiene knowledge and behavior was 13.1 ±1.5 and 11.1±2.7, respectively. Higher knowledge and behavior scores for hand hygiene were associated with having completed high school, compared to those attending college, among those who attend health courses, seek information about the pandemic and in scientific articles. Higher digital health literacy scores in adolescents who did not wear masks when playing sports (p= 0.017). There was an association between digital health literacy and knowledge (p = 0.000) and behavior (p = 0.000) regarding hand hygiene. Conclusion: there is an association between higher digital health literacy scores and hand hygiene knowledge and behavior.

Validation of a mobile application for adults with neurological lower urinary tract dysfunction

Validação de aplicativo móvel para adultos com disfunção neurológica do trato urinário inferior

Danielle Soraya Lourenço Fernandes Gomes, Priscilla Alfradique de Souza, Gisela Maria Assis, Daniel...

Objective: to validate with experts the content of a mobile application to guide patients with neurological dysfunction of the lower urinary tract. Method: methodological study. For content validation, 81 specialist nurses took part. The data collection instrument was designed in the form of an electronic form, and included assessments of the application’s objectives, content, language, relevance, functionality and usability. The data was submitted to descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, based on the measurement of the Content Validity Index. Results: the overall content validity index of the prototype application was 0.98. The lowest item (0.93) was related to the adequacy of the font size, and the highest module (1) was associated with usability, showing ease in handling the application. The experts recommended correcting spelling and grammar, as well as adding and minimizing information, standardizing language, among others. Conclusion: the content of the MeduLar sem Medo ® mobile app was validated with excellence by specialists, and presented important resources for teaching urinary dysfunction control and adherence to rehabilitation. With these results, it is possible to envision the next stages of validation, with application in the populations for which it is intended and incorporation of this care technology into the Unified Health System.

Telenursing with elderly people in home care service during the COVID-19 pandemic: quasi-experimental study

Telenfermagem com pessoas idosas no serviço de atenção domiciliar na pandemia de COVID-19: estudo quase-experimental

Maria Auxiliadora Rodrigues, Rosimere Ferreira Santana, Ana Beatriz Serra Hercules, Patricia de Fát...

Objective: to evaluate telenursing as a support technology in the transition of care for elderly people and their caregivers in the context of home care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: quasi-experimental before-after, non-randomized study, with 219 elderly people and caregivers from the home care service, divided into 131 in the intervention groups and 88 in the control group. Analytical treatment, descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out. Results: 1691 calls were made, 1515 to the intervention group and 176 to the control group. It was observed that in the first call there is a greater need for interventions to promote health and this quantity decreases throughout the calls with a significant result (p-value < 0.001). The outcomes analyzed were hospitalization, death, discharge or continuation of the home care service and it was observed that the chance of discharge from the service was nine times greater in the intervention group. Continuity of care from the home care service and discharge after the end of the calls were also significant (p-value < 0.001). Conclusion: telenursing was a technology to support care, mainly for health promotion and discharge from home care services.

“Times of war and time of uncertain peace”: Narratives of parents of childhood cancer survivors

“Tempos de guerra e tempos de paz incerta”: narrativas de pais de sobreviventes de câncer infantojuvenil

Rhyquelle Rhibna Neris, Ana Carolina Andrade Biaggi Leite, Elizabeth Papathanassoglou, Cristina Garc...

Objective: to analyze the meaning attributed by parents to the extended and permanent survival of childhood cancer. Method: qualitative narrative inquiry, developed with parents of adolescents and young adults who survived childhood cancer. Recruitment and data collection involved virtual and in-person approaches. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed according to reflective thematic analysis. Results: a total of ten parents were included in the study. Two thematic narrative syntheses were constructed: “Times of war”; and “Time of uncertain peace”, with their respective sub-themes. The cancer diagnosis marks the beginning of times of war in the parents’ lives. They experience cancer treatment as “highs and lows” with potential threats to their children’s lives. After that, “Time of uncertain peace” are reached, and the balance of the family unit is reestablished. However, the fear of recurrence makes the family peace uncertain, and its maintenance requires constant vigilance and attention to the signs and symptoms of a possible new battle. Conclusion: the results highlight the experience of being a parent of a childhood cancer survivor and can be applied to develop models of care centered on the survivors’ family.

Stock, composition and distribution of the nursing workforce in Brazil: a snapshot

Estoque, composição e distribuição da força de trabalho de enfermagem no Brasil: uma fotografia

Ana Paula Cavalcante de Oliveira, Ana Beatriz Zanardo Mion, Mariana Lopes Galante, Gabriela Di Donat...

Objective: to analyze the availability (in terms of stock and composition) and accessibility (in terms of geographical distribution) of the nursing workforce in Brazil. Method: this is a descriptive, cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection, identified by combining databases available on institutional websites and structured according to indicators from the World Health Organization’s “National Health Workforce Accounts”. The study considered nursing professionals at senior level (nurses) and middle level (nursing auxiliaries and technicians). Indicators of stock, composition, distribution (by age group and gender) and the ratio of nurses to doctors were included. Results: there was an increase in the number of personnel between 2005 and 2010, mainly in middle and technical level professionals. There are more personnel aged between 36 and 55, with a predominance of women in all categories, despite the increase in men. There was an uneven distribution of personnel across the country’s regions, with the Southeast having the largest number of professionals. The ratio of nurses to doctors is less than one in the South and Southeast. Conclusion: despite the large number of nurses, their distribution is uneven. The growth of nursing technicians has significantly outstripped that of nurses, indicating more intensive technical training policies than those found in higher education.

Factors associated with medication non-adherence among patients with heart failure

Fatores associados à não adesão ao tratamento farmacológico de pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca

Jannaína Gomes de Lima, Alba Lucia Bottura Leite de Barros, Juliana de Lima Lopes.

Objective: to identify the factors contributing to medication non-adherence among patients with heart failure. Method: cross-sectional and analytical study using the Medida de Adesão ao Tratamento [Treatment Adherence Measure] scale to assess medication non-adherence. Independent variables were collected using the European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior Scale and an instrument developed by the authors based on a previous study. Statistical tests were implemented to analyze data with p≤0.05 statistical significance. Results: the sample comprised 340 patients, with 9.4% considered non-adherent. The multiple analysis results showed that one unit increase in an individual’s self-care score led to an 8% increase in the prevalence of non-adherence; patients with a family income above three times the minimum wage presented a prevalence of non-adherence equal to 3.5% of the prevalence of those with up to one times the minimum wage; individuals consuming alcohol or with depression presented 3.49 and 3.69 times higher prevalence of non-adherence, respectively, than individuals not presenting such history. Conclusion: medication non-adherence was associated with self-care, family income, depression, and alcohol consumption.

Software evaluation on infant development to support teaching and professional training

Avaliação de software sobre o desenvolvimento do lactente para apoio ao ensino e capacitações profissionais

Wesley Soares de Melo, Hévila Ferreira Gomes Medeiros Braga, Maria Vera Lúcia Moreira Leitão Card...

Objective: evaluate the functional performance and technical quality of the Wise Infant Development® educational software with experts. Method: methodological research that followed the software evaluation process according to the ISO/IEC 25010 and NBR ISO-IEC 14598-6 standards. The software’s functional performance was assessed by a group of nurse experts and its technical quality by information technology experts. The Content Validity Index and the Binomial test were used for statistical analysis. Results: in both expert groups, agreement was greater than 70%, indicating that the software is suitable and pertinent to what was proposed in all its evaluated characteristics: functional suitability, reliability, usability, performance efficiency, compatibility, security, maintainability, and portability. The technology received suggestions for improvement, which were accepted. Conclusion: the Wise Infant Development® software was well evaluated by the experts and could contribute to teaching about infant development, both in undergraduate nursing courses and in professional training.

Feelings expressed by professionals caring for children and teenagers victims of sexual violence

Sentimentos expressos por profissionais no atendimento a vítimas de violência sexual infantojuvenil

Marimeire Morais da Conceição, Climene Laura de Camargo, Maria Carolina Ortiz Whitaker, Camila Tah...

Objective: to describe the feelings expressed by health professionals when caring for child and adolescent victims of sexual violence from the theoretical perspective of Symbolic Interactionism. Method: qualitative research carried out with 30 female health professionals. An instrument was used consisting of closed questions for sociodemographic data and a script with open questions for interviews. The data was organized and analyzed using Nvivo software version 12, according to Bardin’s proposal, from the perspective of Symbolic Interactionism in the work of Charles Morris. The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Results: five thematic categories emerged, revealing feelings of empathy, fear, indignation, suffering, and consternation. These feelings remained in the interviewees’ memories, making caring for child and adolescent victims of sexual violence a moving and difficult experience that deeply marks the life of the health professional. Conclusion: there is a need to adopt strategies to support the mental health of professionals who work in services that provide general care to children and adolescents, considering that there is a possibility that they will provide care to child and adolescent victims of sexual violence in compliance with pre-existing public policies.

Nurses’ perceptions of leadership in Brazilian hospitals during COVID-19 through Kotter’s conception

Percepções de enfermeiros sobre liderança em hospitais brasileiros na COVID-19 pela concepção de Kotter

Patrícia Alves Galhardo Varanda, Gilberto Tadeu Reis da Silva, Simone Coelho Amestoy, Vânia Marli ...

Objective: to understand nurses’ leadership perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazilian university hospitals, through the lens of John Kotter’s concepts and his eight-step change model. Method: a multicenter qualitative research with an analytical design. The sample comprised 139 nurses working in COVID-19 settings, interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Data were categorized through Bardin’s content analysis based on John Kotter’s concepts and his eight-step change model. Results: the findings yielded significant insights into nurses’ perceptions of leadership during the COVID-19 response, which exhibited characteristics consistent with Kotter’s principles. There is evidence of leadership based on the pursuit of knowledge, grounded in polished communication, facilitating teamwork through a relationship of trust and respect. The recognition of the complexity and difficulty of exercising nursing leadership, particularly in crisis contexts, is apparent. Conclusion: nurses’ perceptions reinforce essential elements for leadership practice, such as the importance of seeking diverse knowledge, polished communication, relationships based on trust and respect, and recognition of the complexity of leadership, thus presenting characteristics in line with Kotter’s principles.

Thromboembolic events in people with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: case-control study

Eventos tromboembólicos em pessoas com câncer na pandemia da COVID-19: estudo caso-controle

Vivian Cristina Gama Souza Lima, Paulo Jorge Pereira Alves, Patrícia dos Santos Claro Fuly.

Objective: to analyze the association between coronavirus disease infection and thromboembolic events in people with cancer in the first year of the pandemic. Method: case-control study carried out by collecting medical records. The selected cases were adults with cancer, diagnosed with a thromboembolic event, treated in the selected service units during the first year of the pandemic. The control group included adults with cancer without a diagnosis of a thromboembolic event. Pearson’s chi-square test was applied to verify the association between risk factors and the outcome and logistic regression techniques were applied to identify the odds ratio for the occurrence of a thromboembolic event. Results: there were 388 cases and 440 control cases included in the study (ratio 1/1). Females predominated, who were white, with mean age of 58.2 (±14.8) years. Antineoplastic chemotherapy was the most used treatment and coronavirus disease was identified in 11.59% of participants. In the case group, deep vein thrombosis was more prevalent. Conclusion: the study confirmed the hypothesis that coronavirus disease infection did not increase the chance of thromboembolic events in people with cancer. For the population studied, the factors that were associated with these events were those related to cancer and its treatment.

Number V32

Original Articles