Clients' satisfaction with HIV care and treatment centres in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: HIV is a major global public health challenge, claiming the lives of over 32 million people so far. The satisfaction of HIV-affected clients with the quality of their HIV services at treatment centres is crucial for quality improvement. This article assesses clients' satisfaction with different aspects of the overall care experience and seeks to determine if the type of health facility ownership is a predictor of satisfaction. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 430 respondents was conducted between September and October 2019. Purposeful and convenient sampling techniques were used to select health facilities and potential respondents, respectively. A pre-tested, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between type of health facility and clients' satisfaction based on the six assessed aspects of care, and p˂0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The general clients' satisfaction with HIV/AIDS services at care and treatment centres was 92.3%. Respondents from public health facilities were most satisfied with privacy and confidentiality (100%), physical environment (100%), counseling (99.5%) and drug availability (99.5%); respondents from private health facilities were most satisfied with the time spent in the facility (95.9%); while respondents from faith-based health facilities were most satisfied with staff-patient communication (99.2%). However, after adjusting for confounders, only one aspect of care, that of "time spent in the facility," showed significant association with the type of health facility. CONCLUSION: Generally, clients' satisfaction with HIV/AIDS services at care and treatment centres in the Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam was high. This finding should encourage health care providers to maintain high-quality services to sustain clients' satisfaction.

Avaliação da qualidade de vida de pessoas vivendo com HIV/AIDS: revisão integrativa / Evaluating the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS: integrative review / Evaluación de la calidad de vida de personas que viven con VIH/SIDA: revisión integradora

Objetivo: analisar estudos referentes à avaliação da qualidade de vida de pessoas vivendo com HIV no Brasil, por meio de uma revisão integrativa da literatura. Método: trata-se de revisão integrativa que incluiu 22 artigos científicos publicados no período de 2011 a 2019. Resultados: os principais instrumentos utilizados na avaliação da qualidade de vida foram o WHOQOL-HIV bref e o HAT-QOL. Os domínios com maiores escores na avaliação foram confiança no médico, psicológico e espiritualidade; as piores avaliações relacionavam-se com os domínios meio ambiente e preocupação com o sigilo. A exposição do diagnóstico impacta negativamente para a qualidade de vida bem como as condições de vida e saúde. Considerações finais: a qualidade de vida é um construto multidimensional e subjetivo com implicação direta na saúde e tratamento das pessoas vivendo com HIV, portanto, compreender os fatores que impactam sua avaliação é primordial na elaboração de políticas públicas e melhores condições de vida.

Objective: to analyze studies on evaluating the quality of life of people living with HIV in Brazil, by integrative literature review. Method: this integrative review included 22 scientific articles published from 2011 to 2019. Results: the instruments most used to assess quality of life were the WHOQOL-HIV bref and the HAT-QOL. The highest-scoring domains were trust in the doctor, psychology and spirituality, while the lowest scores related to the environment and confidentiality concerns. Exposing the diagnosis has adverse impacts on both quality of life and conditions of life and health. Final considerations: quality of life is a multidimensional, subjective construct with direct implications for the health and treatment of people living with HIV. Accordingly, in order to develop public policies and improve conditions of life, it is essential to understand the factors that impact on its assessment.

Objetivo: analizar estudios sobre la evaluación de la calidad de vida de las personas que viven con el VIH en Brasil, mediante revisión integradora de la literatura. Método: esta revisión integradora incluyó 22 artículos científicos publicados entre 2011 y 2019. Resultados: los instrumentos más utilizados para evaluar la calidad de vida fueron el WHOQOL-HIV bref y el HAT-QOL. Los dominios de mayor puntuación fueron la confianza en el médico, la psicología y la espiritualidad, mientras que las puntuaciones más bajas se relacionaron con el medio ambiente y las preocupaciones de confidencialidad. Exponer el diagnóstico tiene impactos adversos tanto en la calidad de vida como en las condiciones de vida y salud. Consideraciones finales: la calidad de vida es un constructo subjetivo multidimensional con implicaciones directas para la salud y el tratamiento de las personas que viven con el VIH. En consecuencia, para desarrollar políticas públicas y mejorar las condiciones de vida, es fundamental conocer los factores que inciden en su evaluación.

Going against patients' will? A qualitative study of how palliative health-care professionals handle competing considerations when children are excluded from parental illness and death.

PURPOSE: The Norwegian Health Personnel Act (HPA §10a) obliges health professionals to contribute to meeting minor children's need for information about their parents' illness and prognosis. Previous research has shown that many parents withhold information about illness and anticipated death from their children. This study explored main considerations for palliative health-care professionals in these situations, and how they negotiate conflicting considerations of confidentiality and child involvement. METHOD: This qualitative exploratory study involved semi-structured interviews with 11 palliative health-care professionals. Hermeneutics informed the data analysis. RESULTS: The health professionals' main considerations were sustaining patients' hope and building trust in the professional-patient relationship. Both concerns were grounded in respect for patient autonomy. The health professionals negotiated patient autonomy and child involvement in different ways, defined in the present analysis on a continuum ranging from granting full patient autonomy to going directly against patients' will. CONCLUSIONS: The professional-patient relationship is the primary consideration in the health care context, and decision making on the degree of children's involvement happens in a dialogical process between health professionals and patients. Close professional-patient relationships might increase the emotional impacts on health professionals, who consequently might give greater relative weight to patients' will. We propose that procedures for initiating collaboration with professionals in the child's everyday life context help health professionals involving the child without threatening trust.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment in Primary Care.

Most adolescents are cared for by general pediatricians, family practitioners, and mid-level providers. As a result, primary care practitioners need to be prepared to answer questions from adolescent patients and their parents about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), to practice good preventive medicine through screening and vaccination, and to provide treatment of STIs when needed. Although the topic of STIs is broad, there are common scenarios that arise in adolescent care. This review takes a pragmatic look at some of the most routine topics in adolescent health care regarding STIs, including the provision of confidential care, discussions with adolescent patients and their parents about human papillomavirus vaccination, the diagnosis and treatment of urethritis and cervicitis, and STI screening recommendations. [Pediatr Ann. 2019;48(9):e370-e375.].

Why "Reply All" Can Push All the Wrong Buttons.

Technology has changed the way medicine is practiced. This commentary considers the effect of digital communications and offers advice on e­mail etiquette.

Preferences for HIV testing services among men who have sex with men in the UK: A discrete choice experiment.

BACKGROUND: In the UK, approximately 4,200 men who have sex with men (MSM) are living with HIV but remain undiagnosed. Maximising the number of high-risk people testing for HIV is key to ensuring prompt treatment and preventing onward infection. This study assessed how different HIV test characteristics affect the choice of testing option, including remote testing (HIV self-testing or HIV self-sampling), in the UK, a country with universal access to healthcare. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Between 3 April and 11 May 2017, a cross-sectional online-questionnaire-based discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted in which respondents who expressed an interest in online material used by MSM were asked to imagine that they were at risk of HIV infection and to choose between different hypothetical HIV testing options, including the option not to test. A variety of different testing options with different defining characteristics were described so that the independent preference for each characteristic could be valued. The characteristics included where each test is taken, the sampling method, how the test is obtained, whether infections other than HIV are tested for, test accuracy, the cost of the test, the infection window period, and how long it takes to receive the test result. Participants were recruited and completed the instrument online, in order to include those not currently engaged with healthcare services. The main analysis was conducted using a latent class model (LCM), with results displayed as odds ratios (ORs) and probabilities. The ORs indicate the strength of preference for one characteristic relative to another (base) characteristic. In total, 620 respondents answered the DCE questions. Most respondents reported that they were white (93%) and were either gay or bisexual (99%). The LCM showed that there were 2 classes within the respondent sample that appeared to have different preferences for the testing options. The first group, which was likely to contain 86% of respondents, had a strong preference for face-to-face tests by healthcare professionals (HCPs) compared to remote testing (OR 6.4; 95% CI 5.6, 7.4) and viewed not testing as less preferable than remote testing (OR 0.10; 95% CI 0.09, 0.11). In the second group, which was likely to include 14% of participants, not testing was viewed as less desirable than remote testing (OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.53, 0.59) as were tests by HCPs compared to remote testing (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.15, 0.36). In both classes, free remote tests instead of each test costing £30 was the test characteristic with the largest impact on the choice of testing option. Participants in the second group were more likely to have never previously tested and to be non-white than participants in the first group. The main study limitations were that the sample was recruited solely via social media, the study advert was viewed only by people expressing an interest in online material used by MSM, and the choices in the experiment were hypothetical rather than observed in the real world. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that preferences in the context we examined are broadly dichotomous. One group, containing the majority of MSM, appears comfortable testing for HIV but prefers face-to-face testing by HCPs rather than remote testing. The other group is much smaller, but contains MSM who are more likely to be at high infection risk. For these people, the availability of remote testing has the potential to significantly increase net testing rates, particularly if provided for free.

Assessment of the Data Sharing and Privacy Practices of Smartphone Apps for Depression and Smoking Cessation.

Importance: Inadequate privacy disclosures have repeatedly been identified by cross-sectional surveys of health applications (apps), including apps for mental health and behavior change. However, few studies have assessed directly the correspondence between privacy disclosures and how apps handle personal data. Understanding the scope of this discrepancy is particularly important in mental health, given enhanced privacy concerns relating to stigma and negative impacts of inadvertent disclosure. Because most health apps fall outside government regulation, up-to-date technical scrutiny is essential for informed decision making by consumers and health care professionals wishing to prescribe health apps. Objective: To provide a contemporary assessment of the privacy practices of popular apps for depression and smoking cessation by critically evaluating privacy policy content and, specifically, comparing disclosures regarding third-party data transmission to actual behavior. Design and Setting: Cross-sectional assessment of 36 top-ranked (by app store search result ordering in January 2018) apps for depression and smoking cessation for Android and iOS in the United States and Australia. Privacy policy content was evaluated with prespecified criteria. Technical assessment of encrypted and unencrypted data transmission was performed. Analysis took place between April and June 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures: Correspondence between policies and transmission behavior observed by intercepting sent data. Results: Twenty-five of 36 apps (69%) incorporated a privacy policy. Twenty-two of 25 apps with a policy (88%) provided information about primary uses of collected data, while only 16 (64%) described secondary uses. While 23 of 25 apps with a privacy policy (92%) stated in a policy that data would be transmitted to a third party, transmission was detected in 33 of all 36 apps (92%). Twenty-nine of 36 apps (81%) transmitted data for advertising and marketing purposes or analytics to just 2 commercial entities, Google and Facebook, but only 12 of 28 (43%) transmitting data to Google and 6 of 12 (50%) transmitting data to Facebook disclosed this. Conclusions and Relevance: Data sharing with third parties that includes linkable identifiers is prevalent and focused on services provided by Google and Facebook. Despite this, most apps offer users no way to anticipate that data will be shared in this way. As a result, users are denied an informed choice about whether such sharing is acceptable to them. Privacy assessments that rely solely on disclosures made in policies, or are not regularly updated, are unlikely to uncover these evolving issues. This may limit their ability to offer effective guidance to consumers and health care professionals.

Secretive eating and binge eating following bariatric surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Some individuals eat furtively and conceal evidence of eating, and this seems to occur beyond binge-eating episodes. This type of secretive eating is common among youth and emerging evidences suggests that it is a relevant marker of eating disorder psychopathology among adults with significant eating and weight concerns. METHOD: We assessed secretive eating, loss-of-control (LOC) eating, and eating disorder psychopathology using investigator-based interviews among treatment-seeking adults experiencing LOC eating following bariatric surgery (N = 168). Participants also completed an established depression measure; height and weight were measured. RESULTS: Overall, 37% of patients reported secretive eating: 54% of patients who met criteria for binge-eating disorder except for the size criterion ("bariatric BED") and 25% of patients with subthreshold bariatric BED reported secretive eating. Many clinical variables were higher among patients with secretive eating compared to those without secretive eating; however, only eating disorder psychopathology severity and body dissatisfaction remained significantly higher among patients with secretive eating compared to those without when bariatric BED status was also included as a variable in the model. DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that among post-bariatric surgery patients with LOC eating, secretive eating signals more severe eating disorder psychopathology overall and specifically related to dissatisfaction with weight and shape. Bariatric BED status, however, has a stronger association than secretive eating with many clinical variables. Secretive eating should be assessed and considered when addressing weight and shape concerns among patients experiencing LOC eating after bariatric surgery.

Genetic Privacy, Disease Prevention, and the Principle of Rescue.

Suppose that you have deeply personal information that you do not want to share. Further suppose that this information could help others, perhaps even saving their lives. Should you reveal the information or keep it secret? With the increasing prevalence of genetic testing, more and more people are finding themselves in this situation. Although a patient's genetic results are potentially relevant to all her biological family members, her first-degree relatives-parents, children, and full siblings-are most likely to be affected. This is especially true for genetic mutations-like those in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes-that are associated with a dramatically increased risk of disease. Fortunately, people are usually willing to share results with their at-risk relatives. Occasionally, however, a patient refuses to disclose her findings to anyone outside her clinical team. Ethicists have written little on patients' moral duties to their at-risk relatives. Moreover, the few accounts that have been advanced are problematic. Some unnecessarily expose patients' genetic information to relatives who are unlikely to benefit from it, and others fail to ensure that patients' most vulnerable relatives are informed of their genetic risks. Patients' duty to warn can be defended in a way that avoids these problems. I argue that the duty to share one's genetic results is grounded in the principle of rescue-the idea that one ought to prevent, reduce, or mitigate the risk of harm to another person when the expected harm is serious and the cost or risk to oneself is sufficiently moderate. When these two criteria are satisfied, a patient will most likely have a duty to warn.

Reproductive Health-Care Utilization of Young Adults Insured as Dependents.

PURPOSE: The common practice of sending an explanation of benefits to policyholders may inadvertently disclose sensitive services to the parents of dependents, making confidentiality a potential barrier to reproductive health care. This study compares the reproductive health-care utilization of young adult dependents and young adult policyholders using nationally representative data collected after full implementation of the Affordable Care Act. METHODS: Data from 2,108 young adults aged 18-25 years in the 2015 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed. Logistic regressions predicted utilization of two preventive services (general doctor visit and flu vaccination) and four reproductive health services (HIV testing, obstetrician/gynecologist visit, hormonal contraceptive use, and Pap testing) from the insurance type of the young adult (dependent, privately insured policyholder, or Medicaid). RESULTS: In unadjusted analyses, young adult dependents had lower utilization of HIV tests than their peers who were privately insured or Medicaid policyholders. Young women dependents had lower utilization of Pap tests than young women on Medicaid. Once controls were included, young adult dependents did not have significantly lower odds of obtaining reproductive health care than privately insured policyholders. Dependent young men still had marginally lower odds of ever having an HIV test (adjusted odds ratio = .65, p = .08) and dependent young women still had marginally lower odds of ever having a Pap test (adjusted odds ratio = .58, p = .06) than comparable Medicaid policyholders. CONCLUSIONS: Despite confidentiality concerns, young adults insured as dependents have utilization of several reproductive health services similar to that of comparable young adult policyholders.

Veterans' Preferences for Remote Management of Chronic Conditions.

BACKGROUND: The Veterans Health Administration (VA) is investing considerable resources into providing remote management care to patients for disease prevention and management. Remote management includes online patient portals, e-mails between patients and providers, follow-up phone calls, and home health devices to monitor health status. However, little is known about patients' attitudes and preferences for this type of care. This qualitative study was conducted to better understand patient preferences for receiving remote care. METHODS: Ten focus groups were held comprising 77 patients with hypertension or tobacco use history at two VA medical centers. Discussion questions focused on experience with current VA remote management efforts and preferences for receiving additional care between outpatient visits. RESULTS: Most participants were receptive to remote management for referrals, appointment reminders, resource information, and motivational and emotional support between visits, but described challenges with some technological tools. Participants reported that remote management should be personalized and tailored to individual needs. They expressed preferences for frequency, scope, continuity of provider, and mode of communication between visits. Most participants were open to nonclinicians contacting them as long as they had direct connection to their medical team. Some participants expressed a preference for a licensed medical professional. All groups raised concerns around confidentiality and privacy of healthcare information. Female Veterans expressed a desire for gender-sensitive care and an interest in complementary and alternative medicine. CONCLUSIONS: The findings and specific recommendations from this study can improve existing remote management programs and inform the design of future efforts.

Influência do segredo na dinâmica familiar: contribuições da teoria sistêmica / Secrecy and its influence on family dynamics: contributions of the systems theory

Este estudo de caso teve como objetivo ilustrar e compreender a dinâmica de uma família em situação de vulnerabilidade social, considerando os segredos familiares que a permeavam. Relatou-se e discutiu-se um processo de terapia familiar do qual participaram uma senhora, seus dois netos e três bisnetos, atendidos no serviço-escola de uma universidade brasileira. Destacou-se a presença de segredos mantidos com o objetivo de proteção mútua, bem como a aprendizagem de padrões de omissão de informação pelas crianças. Entre as repercussões do segredo, identificaram-se comportamentos sintomáticos que podem ser compreendidos como uma forma de lidar com a ansiedade gerada por esses segredos e uma sensação de insegurança nos relacionamentos. Os segredos mantidos por essa família, que vivia uma situação de vulnerabilidade social, mostraram-se como fatores de risco adicionais a todas as dificuldades já enfrentadas. Os segredos minavam e obscureciam seus recursos familiares, impedindo que contassem com o apoio uns dos outros.(AU)

This case study aimed to illustrate and to comprehend the dynamics of a social vulnerable family, considering their family secrets. Their family therapy process was related and discussed. A woman, her two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren participated in family therapy sessions conducted in a Brazilian university clinic. Secrets aimed to protect other family members were prominent, as also the learning, by the children, of communicative process characterized by concealments. Their family secrets brought as repercussions: symptomatic behaviors comprehended as a mechanism to cope with the anxiety caused by the secrets, and relationship insecurity. The secrets kept by this family, which lived in a social vulnerability situation, acted as additional risk factors to the difficulties already faced by them. The secrets damaged and hided their family resources, preventing their mutual support.(AU)

Toward a conditional approach to anonymity? An explorative multicenter longitudinal study among anonymous living kidney donors and recipients.

Anonymity between living donors and recipients is a topic of discussion among transplant professionals. This longitudinal study explored living kidney donors' and patients' perspectives on anonymity. Prior to surgery (T0) and 3 months afterward (T1), participants in unspecified or specified indirect donation programs completed a questionnaire on their experiences with and attitudes toward anonymity as well as demographic and medical characteristics. Nonparametric tests were used to assess group differences and associations. Participants were content with anonymity at T0 and T1. Fourteen and 23% wanted to meet at T0 and T1, respectively. If the other party expressed the wish to meet, 50% (T0) and 55% (T1) would be willing to meet. Most participants agreed that meeting should be allowed if both parties agree. Attitude toward anonymity did not differ between donors/recipients, nor between T0/T1 and unspecified/specified indirect donation programs. This study showed that most donors and recipients who participated in anonymous donation schemes are in favor of a conditional approach to anonymity. Guidelines on how to revoke anonymity if both parties agree are needed and should include education about pros and cons of (non-) anonymity and a logistical plan on how, when, where, and by whom anonymity should be revoked.

The potential of eHealth in otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery: patients' perspectives.

The use of modern information and communication technologies (ICT) in daily life has significantly increased during the last several years. These essential online technologies have also found their way into the healthcare system. The use of modern ICT for health reasons can be summarized by the term 'eHealth'. Despite the potential importance of eHealth in the field of otorhinolaryngology (ORL), there is little understanding of patients' attitudes towards the deeper integration of these technologies into intersectoral care. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of patients' attitudes towards the use of modern ICT for intersectoral communication and information transfer in the field of ORL. Therefore, a structured interview was developed by an interdisciplinary team of otorhinolaryngologists, public health researchers, and information technology (IT) specialists. Overall, 211 ORL patients were interviewed at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tuebingen University Hospital, Germany, and 203 of these patients completed the interview. This study revealed ORL patients' perspectives on the potential of eHealth, especially for appointment scheduling, appointment reminders, and intersectoral communication of personal medical information. Furthermore, this study provides evidence that data security and the impacts of eHealth on the physician-patient relationship and on treatment quality warrant special attention in future research.

[Communication preferences of patients with prostate cancer : Preferences regarding the communication of bad news of patients with prostate cancer in Germany-results of an anonymous patient survey]. / Kommunikationspräferenzen von Patienten mit Prostatakrebs : Ergebnisse einer anonymen Patientenbefragung unter Patienten mit Prostatakrebs zu ihren Kommunikationspräferenzen.

BACKGROUND: The communication of bad medical news represents a burdening situation for both patients and physicians which may lead to hurdles in their communication. The questionnaire Measure of Patients' Preferences (MPP-D, validated German translation) was developed to investigate patients' preferences regarding the communication of bad news. OBJECTIVES: The preferences regarding the communication of bad news among patients with prostate cancer was assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Anonymous survey, where approximately 70 office-based urologists were asked to distribute the MPP-D questionnaire to about 20 of their patients with prostate cancer. In addition, information on social demographics was retrieved in order to investigate the influence on communication preferences. RESULTS: In total, 709 questionnaires were evaluated (>50 % return). The majority of patients had clear preferences concerning privacy of the setting, completeness, and unambiguity of information provided and assessment of their subjective information needs. Larger individual differences were observed regarding preferences for emotional support offered by the physician and involvement of family which was also influenced by age and education of the patients. CONCLUSION: This is the first large, multicenter survey of prostate cancer patients in Germany regarding their preferences for communication of bad news. The results confirm previous reports on the importance of cultural affiliation, age, and education as influencing factors.

Understanding client satisfaction with HIV testing and counseling services: a mixed-methods study in four African countries.

This paper uses mixed methods to provide comparative evidence across four African countries and identify those aspects of the testing experience that are the most important components of clients' satisfaction with services. We analyze data from three sources: a survey of clients at health facilities that included closed-ended questions about specific services and interactions around testing; responses to open-ended questions about testing experiences that were part of the same survey; and semi-structured interviews with a subsample of respondents who described their experience of testing and being diagnosed with HIV. High levels of reported satisfaction are found in both the survey and interview. The critical factors contributing to client satisfaction included: the three C's of testing-counseling, consent, and confidentiality, client-provider interactions, convenience of location, "good services", and reliable test results.

Overcoming barriers to health-care access: A qualitative study among African migrants in Guangzhou, China.

Guangzhou is China's third most populous city, and the region's burgeoning manufacturing economy has attracted many young African businessmen and entrepreneurs to the city. The aims of this study were to examine strategies that African migrants in Guangzhou have adopted in response to health-care barriers, and explore their perceptions of how to address their needs. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews and two focus groups were conducted among African migrants residing in Guangzhou, China. Facing multiple barriers to care, African migrants have adopted a number of suboptimal and unsustainable approaches to access health care. These included: using their Chinese friends or partners as interpreters, self-medicating, using personal connections to medical doctors, and travelling to home countries or countries that offer English-speaking doctors for health care. Health-care providers and health organisations in Guangzhou have not yet acquired sufficient cultural competence to address the needs of African migrants residing in the city. Introducing linguistically and culturally competent health-care services in communities concentrated with African migrants may better serve the population. With the growing international migration to China, it is essential to develop sustainable approaches to improving health-care access for international migrants, particularly those who are marginalised.

A (in)sinceridade em Dora / The (in)sincerity in Dora

Transcorridos mais de cem anos de sua publicação, o caso Dora faz jus a sua notoriedade devido a peculiaridades e idiossincrasias. O autor elege discutir o que lhe parece basilar para sua singular perenidade: a misteriosa e intrincada mescla de fatores adversos ao tratamento, os quais determinaram sua precoce interrupção. São destacados alguns pontos do conhecido caso, inclusive dos sonhos, como forma de o autor especular sobre razões implícitas nas questões do sigilo, ponderar sobre problemas técnicos de Freud e conjecturar a respeito da origem sexual da hostilidade e sintomas em Dora. Autores como Fonagy e Laplanche são utilizados como apoios às teses do artigo, o qual finaliza questionando a posição de Lacan sobre o erro admitido por Freud que o levou à descoberta da transferência.

After over one hundred years of its publication, Dora’s case study lives up to its reputation due to its singularities and idiosyncrasies. The author discusses what seems fundamental to its unique continuity: the mysterious and intricate mix of adverse factors to the treatment, which determined its early termination. Some points of the well-known case are highlighted, including the dreams, as ways for the author to speculate on the implicit reasons on confidentiality issues, to ponder over Freud’s technical problems, and to conjecture about the origin of the sexual hostility and symptoms in Dora. Authors such as Fonagy and Laplanche are used to support the thesis of this article, which ends questioning Lacan’s position about the mistake admitted by Freud, which led him to the discovery of transference.

Después de más de cien años de su publicación, el caso Dora hace honor a su reputación debido a peculiaridades e idiosincrasias. El autor habla de lo que parece fundamental para su singular continuidad: la mezcla misteriosa y compleja de factores adversos al tratamiento, lo que determinó su terminación anticipada. Algunos puntos se destacan del conocido caso, incluso los sueños, como una manera para que el autor especule sobre las razones implícitas en cuestiones de confidencialidad, pondere los problemas técnicos de Freud, y que conjeture sobre el origen de la hostilidad sexual y de los síntomas de Dora. Autores como Fonagy y Laplanche se utilizan como apoyo a las tesis del artículo, que termina cuestionando la posición de Lacan sobre el error admitido por Freud que llevó al descubrimiento de la transferencia.

Graduating general surgery resident operative confidence: perspective from a national survey.

BACKGROUND: General surgical training has changed significantly over the last decade with work hour restrictions, increasing subspecialization, the expanding use of minimally invasive techniques, and nonoperative management for solid organ trauma. Given these changes, this study was undertaken to assess the confidence of graduating general surgery residents in performing open surgical operations and to determine factors associated with increased confidence. METHODS: A survey was developed and sent to general surgery residents nationally. We queried them regarding demographics and program characteristics, asked them to rate their confidence (rated 1-5 on a Likert scale) in performing open surgical procedures and compared those who indicated confidence with those who did not. RESULTS: We received 653 responses from the fifth year (postgraduate year 5) surgical residents: 69% male, 68% from university programs, and 51% from programs affiliated with a Veterans Affairs hospital; 22% from small programs, 34% from medium programs, and 44% from large programs. Anticipated postresidency operative confidence was 72%. More than 25% of residents reported a lack of confidence in performing eight of the 13 operations they were queried about. Training at a university program, a large program, dedicated research years, future fellowship plans, and training at a program that performed a large percentage of operations laparoscopically was associated with decreased confidence in performing a number of open surgical procedures. Increased surgical volume was associated with increased operative confidence. Confidence in performing open surgery also varied regionally. CONCLUSIONS: Graduating surgical residents indicated a significant lack of confidence in performing a variety of open surgical procedures. This decreased confidence was associated with age, operative volume as well as type, and location of training program. Analyzing and addressing this confidence deficit merits further study.

Stigma and its determinants among male drug dependents receiving methadone maintenance treatment.

BACKGROUND: The stigma attached to substance use is considered as a barrier to treatment, resulting in continued dependence and harmful consequences for the health of drug abusers and society. METHODS: In the current study, stigma and its relation with patient characteristics and secrecy was examined in people who were in treatment of drug dependency. Participants were 144 patients from two referral methadone treatment centers who completed a survey containing questionnaires about stigma, secrecy and other measures of drug use. RESULTS: Patients reported high levels of self-stigma and moderate levels of stigma-related rejection and perceived stigma as well as commonly using secrecy, as a way of coping. More experiencing of self -stigma was associated with unemployment, positive history of IV drug use, incarceration and heroin consumption, compared to opium use. IV drug users and unemployed persons also reported more contacts with stigma- related rejection. No association was found between stigma and previous history of treatment for substance abuse. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate stigma in individuals who are in the treatment for substance dependence and highlight the need for more studies to clarify all aspects of drug use stigma.