RESUMO
ABSTRACT Background: The progress of any science, such as psychology, is achieved not only by accumulating empirical evidence but also by refining the conceptual structures that give theoretical meaning to such evidence. Objective: To analyze the concept of mental health and the logical-conceptual structure that supports it, describing its limitations and contradictions. Alternatively, based on the postulates of interbehavioral psychology, the concept of affective behavioral changes is proposed, and a classification of these changes is developed, based on the functional quality of the disturbed behavior. Method: This research is a theoretical study. Conclusions: Dualistic traditions in psychology have pathologized affective behavioral alterations as if they were diseases (mental or brain). The interbehavioral postulation outlined here is a conceptual alternative that can support theoretical and methodological developments that improve the position and contribution of psychology to theorizing and solving human problems in the field of health.
RESUMEN Introducción: El progreso de cualquier ciencia, como la Psicología, se logra no solo acumulando evidencia empírica sino también refinando las estructuras conceptuales que dan significado teórico a dicha evidencia. Objetivo: Analizar la noción de salud mental y la estructura lógico-conceptual que la sustenta, describiendo sus limitaciones y contradicciones. Alternativamente, a partir de los postulados de la psicología interconductual, se propone el concepto de alteraciones afectivas de la conducta y se desarrolla una clasificación de las mismas, basada en la cualidad funcional de la conducta que se altera. Método: Esta investigación es un estudio teórico. Conclusiones: Las tradiciones dualistas en psicología han patologizado las alteraciones afectivas del comportamiento como si fueran enfermedades (mentales o cerebrales). La postulación interconductual que aquí se esboza es una alternativa conceptual que puede apoyar desarrollos teóricos y metodológicos que mejoren la posición y contribución de la psicología a la teorización y solución de problemas humanos en el campo de la salud.
RESUMO
In 2016, Venezuela faced a large diphtheria outbreak that extended until 2019. Nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal samples were prospectively collected from 51 suspected cases and retrospective data from 348 clinical records was retrieved from 14 hospitals between November 2017 and November 2018. Confirmed pathogenic Corynebactrium isolates were biotyped. Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) was performed followed by next-generation-based core genome-MLST and minimum spanning trees were generated. Subjects between 10 and 19 years of age were mostly affected (n = 95; 27.3%). Case fatality rates (CFR) were higher in males (19.4%), as compared to females (15.8%). The highest CFR (31.1%) was observed among those under 5, followed by the 40 to 49 age-group (25.0%). Nine samples corresponded to C. diphtheriae and 1 to C. ulcerans. Two Sequencing Types (ST), ST174 and ST697 (the latter not previously described) were identified among the eight C. diphtheriae isolates from Carabobo state. Cg-MLST revealed only one cluster also from Carabobo. The Whole Genome Sequencing analysis revealed that the outbreak seemed to be caused by different strains with C. diphtheriae and C. ulcerans coexisting. The reemergence and length of this outbreak suggest vaccination coverage problems and an inadequate control strategy.