Clinical profile and quality of life in climacteric women.

BACKGROUND: The Quality of Life in climacteric women is intrinsically related to signs and symptoms influenced by the decrease of estrogen and psychosocial factors linked to the natural aging process. Thus, this study aimed to trace the sociodemographic and clinical profiles of climacteric women working at the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN) and evaluate their Quality of Life. METHODS: It is a descriptive, exploratory, and quantitative study. The population consisted of female workers from UERN, aging between 40 and 65 years. The total sample consisted of 63 women who answered the forms. Data collection was completely online, which allowed the women to have free choice to choose the most appropriate time to answer the questions. RESULTS: The majority of the participants were older than 50 years (53.97%, n = 34), were married or in a stable union (55.56%, n = 35), and lived in Mossoró-RN (82.53%, n = 52). Regarding skin color, white and brown women had the same percentage of 44.44% (n = 28). The pain, general health status, and vitality domains evidence the predominance of poor quality of life in the SF-36 questionnaire. Regarding the level of satisfaction with their current health status, 4.76% (n = 3) stated that they fit the level considered excellent, 44.44% (n = 28) very good, 46, 03% (n = 29) were good, and 4.77% (n = 3) stated unsatisfied with their current health status. The intensity of symptoms related to estrogen deficiency established by the Kupperman menopause index is as Mild 55.56% (n = 35), moderate 41.27% (n = 26), and severe 3.17% (n = 2). CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of symptoms and perception of these symptoms differs from woman to woman, to a greater or lesser extent. These findings emphasize the need for qualified and individualized care for the needs of these women in health services and the development of applicable solutions for solving problems based on each woman profile.

Representações de puérperas sobre o cuidado recebido no trabalho de parto e parto / The representations puerperal women have about the care they received during labor

Resumo Objetivo: descrever as representações sociais de puérperas sobre o cuidado recebido durante o trabalho de parto e parto. Metodologia: trata-se de um estudo descritivo baseado na Teoria do Núcleo Central, desenvolvido com 119 puérperas em uma maternidade pública localizada no Brasil, na cidade de Fortaleza, Ceará. Os dados foram coletados por meio do Teste de Associação Livre de Palavras, que continha como estímulos indutores: trabalho de parto, parto, cuidado no trabalho de parto e parto, sendo transcritos e analisados pelo software Evoc. Resultados: a partir da análise estrutural, os vocábulos dor, felicidade e orientação apresentaram maior frequência como elemento central dos respectivos termos indutores. Conclusão: por meio dos resultados obtidos, é possível afirmar que o momento do trabalho de parto e do parto é crucial para que o enfermeiro planeje e execute uma adequada assistência durante o processo de parturição a fim de reduzir o impacto das representações negativas em relação a esse processo.

Resumen Objetivo: describir las representaciones sociales de puérperas sobre el cuidado recibido durante el trabajo de parto y parto. Metodología: se trata de un estudio descriptivo basado en la Teoría del Núcleo Central, desarrollado con 119 madres, en un hospital público de Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil. Los datos fueron recolectados por medio del Test de Asociación de Palabras, que contenía como estímulos inductores: cuidado, trabajo de parto, parto, cuidado en el trabajo de parto y en el parto, siendo transcritos y analizados por el software Evoc. Resultados: a partir del análisis estructural, los vocablos dolor, felicidad y orientación presentaron mayor frecuencia como elemento central de los respectivos términos inductores. Conclusión: por medio de los resultados obtenidos, es posible afirmar que el momento del trabajo de parto y el parto es crucial para que el enfermero planee y ejecute una adecuada asistencia durante el proceso de parto con el fin de reducir el impacto de las representaciones negativas en relación con ese proceso.

Abstract Objective: to describe the social representations puerperal women have about the care they received during labor and delivery. Methodology: this is a descriptive study, based on the Theory of the Central Nucleus, which was undertaken with 119 women in the postpar-tum period in a public maternity hospital, located in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. The data were collected through the Free Word Association Test, which included as inductive stimuli: care, labor, delivery and care in labor and delivery. The data were transcribed and analyzed with Evoc software. Results: the structural analysis showed that the words "pain", "happiness" and "guidance" ocurred more frequency as a central feature of the respective inducing terms. Conclusion: the results confirm that the moment of labor and delivery is crucial for nurses in the planning and implementation of adequate care during parturition insofar, as such measures lessen the impact of negative representations of childbirth.

Analysis of nursing dissertations and theses on mental health, Brazil, 1979-2007.

This bibliographic study analyzes scientific texts published in the CEPEn database in the mental health field (1979-2007). A total of 280 abstracts were investigated, of which 208 were Master's theses. The individuals investigated in these studies were professionals (57), patients (50), and professors and/or students (18). Among the themes addressed between 2000 and 2007 were the following: Nursing Care in Mental Health (40), Perception in Mental Health (37); and Transversality in Mental Health Care (27). This study provided an overview of the scientific research produced in the mental health field in Brazilian nursing graduate programs. We expect this study to elicit reflections concerning mental health care practice and enable new approaches for nursing promoting health and the prevention of diseases in order to enable patients to recover their citizenship, autonomy and quality of life.