[Microbiological conditions of hospital beds before and after terminal cleaning]. / Condição microbiológica dos leitos hospitalares antes e depois de sua limpeza.

INTRODUCTION: The hospital's environment keeps a close relationship with hospital infection, which may promote focus of contact and transmission. The terminal cleaning of patient unit represents one way to control microbiological environmental contamination. The study has as its main objective to evaluate the microbiological conditions of hospital mattresses before and after cleaning. METHODS: Rodac plates were utilized for specimen collection with culture medium - blood agar plate. The patients beds were chosen by criteria established before hand and the places for specimen collection in the mattress were chosen by aleatory drawing. To the study of numerical alteration related to the positivity of plates before and after cleaning, Goodman' statistics tests were used. RESULTS: From 52 mattress investigated, 520 culture plates were done from which 514 (98,8%) had a positive culture, 259 before cleaning and 255 after cleaning showing a reduction of positive cultures in only 4 plates after cleaning. CONCLUSIONS: The number of plates with countable and countless colonies suggests that the cleaning, as it is done, instead of reducing the microorganism is dislocating it to other areas of the mattress keeping the microbiological condition as it was before the cleaning process.

Continuing education in Brazil.

In the present study, we discuss some specific aspects of the National Health System of Brazil in terms of nursing practice, education, and investigation, which require further professional training through continuing education. With this objective, we shall report a historic view of how this process occurred and is being transformed in this country in an attempt to meet the social realities of our time.

[The development of research in Brazil]. / O desenvolvimento da pesquisa no Brasil.

The author presents the development of nursing research in Brazil, verifying priorities, methodology and logistics of the studies. The presented five stages follow the model proposed by Bergman. The analysis reveals that, in Brazil, the tendency related to the type of studies and methodology, is similar to other countries.

[The need for nursing research]. / O mister da investigação do enfermeiro.

The author locates the trajectory of the knowledge in nursing, based on light of professionalism and presents a synthesis of the community effort of nursing in conquering the conditions for the administration of knowledge. The analyze of the beginning of the seventy decade, point out the knowledge explosion in nursing literature, and an advance in the interchange, getting together, so for, the challenge of the over flow from the descriptive phase and the difficulty of research in transforming the practice.

[40 years old. Maturity conquered]. / 40 anos. A maturidade conquistada.

In this narrative, I do not plan to be a cold spectator who captures and relates facts for future use, but one who "lived" each moment. This is also a contribution to history, once one tries to illuminate the present remembering the happenings of 4 decades (1953 to 1993) of the College of Nursing at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, focusing on the beginning, the changes, the adjustments and perspectives.

[Self-esteem in adolescents with and without cleft-lip and/or palate]. / A auto-estima em adolescentes com e sem fissuras de lábio e/ou de palato.

Self-image is an important determinant of self-esteem among men and women, which makes us reflect about the process of rehabilitation of people with facial malformations. In order to measure self-esteem, the Janis and Field Scale was used. The sample consisted of 608 adolescents aged 17 to 20 years including males and females. Two hundred and thirty-five had a cleft lip and/or palate and 373 did not. The analysis of the self-esteem levels obtained enabled to conclude that the adolescents with a cleft lip and/or palate behave differently from those without it, that is, they present lower self-esteem scores.

[Lifestyle and work of nursing personnel and back pain]. / Estilo de vida e trabalho do pessoal de enfermagem e a ocorrência de cervicodorsolombalgias.

This paper is part of a broader study. In order to describe life style and occupational history possibly related to back pain, 75 female workers of the nursing staff from a University Hospital were interviewed during clinical evaluation.

[Analysis of the education of nurses for home care]. / Análise da formação do enfermeiro para a assistência de enfermagem no domicílio.

The authors observed that there is a tendency towards looking after the sick at home. Therefore they have carried-out this analisys of how nurses are prepared for home care. There are four historical periods with important bearings that have directly or indirectly influenced Brazilian nursing profession and education since 1923, the authors searched within the basic curriculum. To find references about home care in the courses oriented to public health. The analisys confirms a tendency in this area, both in public and private health services. However Nursing Schools are not considering yet these area, that will be really important in the near future.

[Employment "survival" among nursing workers at a public hospital]. / "Sobrevivência" no emprego dos trabalhadores de enfermagem em uma instituição hospitalar pública.

This study aimed at estimating the employment "survival" time of nursing workers after their admission to a public hospital as a turnover index. The Life Table method was used in order to calculate the employment survival probability by X years for each one of the categories of workers. The results showed an accentuated turnover of the work force in the studied period. The categories nursing auxiliary and nurse presented low stability in employment while the category nursing technician was more stable.

[Permanence of nurses in their profession]. / Estudo da permanência dos enfermeiros no trabalho.

The main cause for nursing shortage in the world is that nurses are withdrawing the profession. However few research has been carried out to prove this. This study investigates nurses' permanence in job and their motives for withdrawing it. Researchers tried to contact 1112 nurses who enrolled the profession after finishing the undergraduate nursing course at the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, Brazil, in the period from 1957 to 1990. They were not able to contact 95 nurses (8.54%) from the total. Therefore, 1017 (91.46%) were contacted by mail, telephone or interview to answer a questionnaire, 808 (72.66%) answered, 194 (17.45%) did not reply, 4 (0.36%) refused to answer and 11 (0.99%) died, generating the following data: 19 (2.35%) never worked, 661 (81.81%) are working in the profession, 102 (12.62%) worked and withdrew nursing, 26 (3.22%) retired. Considering this group, the analysis showed that the percentage who left the profession is small, nevertheless other studies are suggested in order to enable the comparison of these results. The motives for their permanence are their attachment to the profession, even though they say that their work is not recognized and they are badly paid. The reasons for withdrawing the profession are family and personal problems as well as constant changes in the schedule and general frustration. In sum, nurses love their profession and would like to continue working. Some of them are returning and asking for better conditions.

[Investigation of the school life of students entering an undergraduate nursing course at a Brazilian school from 1984-1988]. / Acompanhamento da vida escolar dos alunos ingressantes no curso de graduação em enfermagem numa escola Brasileira-Período 1984 a 1988.

An investigation of professional nursing training was carried out by examining the time spent in nursing school of the 336 students registered at the Nursing College of Ribeirão Preto at University of São Paulo from 1984 to 1988. The data showed that during this time 197 (58.6%) students graduated, two students were still enrolled, 26 (7.7%) transferred to other schools, 15 (4.4%) officially interrupted their course of study, and 96 (28.5%) abandoned the school.

[Organization of neonatal nursing in the region of Ribeirão Preto-SP. Brazil-1992]. / A organização do trabalho na assistência ao recém-nascido em berçários da regional de Ribeirão Preto-SP. Brasil-1992.

The present study analyses the organization of newborn care in different nurseries in the region of Ribeirão Preto as well as how nursing participates in this work. Through observation and interviews in 4 nurseries, we found that the work organization varies according to the hospital size and complexity. Action is centred on the child and in more complex cases, priority is given to the pathology and clinical care. We also observe enlarged actions, involving the binomial mother-child and the family. The quality of care is a result of a complex combination of human resources, material and installation. Bigger and more complex institutions present a diversity of personnel, more bureaucracy and hierarchy, information and technology system, routine procedures by written norms and more sophisticated equipment. The object of action is centred on the child, but there are practices in which the object is enlarged to the binomial mother-child and the family.

[Average working life of nurses graduating form the University of Sao Paulo at Ribeirao Preto, USP - Brazil]. / Vida média de labor dos enfermeiros egressos da Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, USP-Brasil.

This study aimed at measuring the average working time in health care of nurses graduating from the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, Brazil. This research includes 1,112 nurses who graduated from 1957 to 1990. It is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from March, 1992 to February, 1993. Statistical methods for survival data analysis were used. The average time was 18.12 years.

[Admitting patients: a study in basic health units in the city of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil]. / Acolhimento à clientela: estudo em unidades básicas de saúde no município de Ribeirão Preto.

This study was based on the analysis of the relationship established between nursing auxiliaries and their clientele in two Basic Health Units at the time of clients' reception. The theoretical framework used was that of the "help model", whose elements are: attending, responding, personalizing, giving directions, becoming involved, exploring, understanding and acting. Four typical cases are presented, which show that the relationships are not always personalized, the client and the auxiliary do not become involved in the relationship and that there is more concern about the development of technical abilities than about reception. There are different communication attitudes at the same unit. The reception process must be incorporated to the health unit procedures at the same time it must transcend the routine character of daily activities.

[International health: various current concepts]. / Saúde internacional: alguns aspectos conceituais contemporâneos.

This study is a theoretical approach on international health with the purpose to point out some aspects which can enhance the understanding of the International Health field and its operational and conceptual elements in the socio-economic process of integration of neighboring countries.

[Comparative study of the names of subjects in the official curriculum with those used by nursing schools in the southeast of Brazil]. / Estudo comparativo da nomenclatura das matérias e disciplinas do currículo mínimo com a utilizada pelas escolas de enfermagem da região Sudeste-Brasil.

The authors compared the names of the subjects that form the official curriculum to those offered by the schools of nursing in the South East of Brazil. Forty eight schools replied to the questionnaire, a variance in the names and numbers of the subjects offered was found, indicating a difference in the way each school performs the curriculum.

[Methodological currents in research]. / Correntes metodológicas na investigação.

Believing that research is the academic activity which gives support to assistance and teaching in nursing and this activity represents a process of knowledge construction which follows determined patterns, the authors try to enhance reflection on the importance of methodology matters to nursing. The study proposes three patterns of contact between subject and object: the positivist approach, the comprehensive approach and the dialectical approach, most frequent philosophical streams in health studies.

[Discharge of the surgical patient within the context of the health system]. / A alta do paciente cirúrgico no contexto do sistema de saúde.

Based on the assumption that surgical patients, together with their families, take responsibility for their own care after being discharged from the hospital and that they are not duly prepared for this task, we undertook the present study to investigate the problems of surgical patients related to discharge and to determine the type of care offered to these individuals within the context of the health system. The study included patients submitted to elective, medium surgery at the University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, USP, during the first semester of 1989. Fifty patients (42 women and 8 men) of the various surgical specialties were interviewed during home visits. The instrument for data collection consisted of three parts: the first involved social and environmental aspects such as housing, job, family and others, the second involved the relationship of the individual with the health system, his/her perceptions and difficulties, and the third involved the biological aspects related to the surgical process. The data were analyzed in a descriptive manner on the basis of the theoretical referencial of Lalonde, which sees health as the result of a dynamic process of individual integration with the environment.

[Knowledge, health and research in nursing]. / O saber, a saúde e a investigação em enfermagem.

The authors describe the consolidation of nursing as a profession and the development of this type of knowledge, reporting some health problems in Latin America. They characterize the scientific production in Brazilian nursing through the analysis of evaluation studies on research. They finally determine how far this knowledge has developed in this century.

[Back pain and nursing]. / Dores nas costas e enfermagem.

After a clinic specific evaluation performed by a interdisciplinary group, 68 female workers of the nursing staff from a University Hospital were interviewed to evaluate aspects of the back pain in nursing staff.