Characterization of eating behavior disorders in school-aged children and adolescents: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: Cross-sectional study to assess the characteristics of the risk behaviors for eating disorders (EDs) in school children between 10 and 14 years of age in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. METHODS: 1405 school-aged children were assessed, using the Eating Behaviours and Body Image Test (EBBIT) to screen for EDs. The normality of the continuing variables was tested using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test with Lilliefors correction. They were described as medians and interquartile intervals (25 and 75th percentiles). RESULTS: The criteria that represented a condition of anorexia and/or bulimia nervosa were considered as strong indicators of risk for EDs in school-aged children who indicated the following behaviors with scores superior to the 75th percentile on the scales: "compulsive eating" 3.0% (CI95% 2.2-4.0); "dissatisfaction with body image/restrictive eating" 1.3% (CI95% 0.8-2.0); children scoring superior to the 30th percentile, "compulsive eating" + "dissatisfaction with body image/restrictive eating", 0.6% (CI95% 0.3-1.2); and superior to the 50th percentile; "compensatory behavior for hyperphagia" 6.7% (CI95% 5.4-8.1). In addition, greater vulnerability of the female gender was perceived, as well as an increase in the preliminary risk factors of EDs, such as advanced age, dissatisfaction with the body image linked to restrictive behaviors and the compulsive establishment of an eating pattern. CONCLUSION: This study shows the dimension of the problem in this ecological context and the urgent need for intervention programs, developed among different sectors, from the perspective of the adolescents' empowerment to prevent and minimize the vulnerability factors of the eating disorders.

Occupational Therapy and Sexual and Reproductive Health Promotion in Adolescence: A Case Study.

Occupational therapy can contribute to sexual and reproductive health through health education. The purpose of this study was to describe an occupational therapy intervention aimed at sexual and reproductive health promotion in adolescents. Fifty-eight adolescents were involved in the study, before, during and after the interventions. Educative activities such as puzzles, storytelling, mime and board games were used, which occupational therapy faculty and students had constructed. The games were employed as mediators for gaining knowledge in sexual and reproductive health. Outcome was measured using a questionnaire, audio recordings and field diaries. The data were analysed by descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. The results showed the adolescents' increased knowledge of sexual and reproductive health information immediately after the intervention. The thematic analysis was grouped into three categories: the adolescents' initial expectations regarding the project, reflections on the process experienced during the interventions and use of educational games by occupational therapists. The importance of rapport and dialogue was highlighted in the construction of interventions based on participatory methods. The absence of a longitudinal follow-up is a limitation in this study. Further research is important to systematically assess sexual health promotion strategies in adolescence.

Violence in the eye of adolescents: education intervention with Culture Circles.

OBJECTIVE: to apply the methodology of Culture Circles on adolescents as a strategy for health education of nurses in the construction of the collective knowledge of the thematic violence. METHOD: action research type and qualitative study. Participants were 11 adolescents from a public school in Recife, PE, Brazil. Data production in Culture Circles included the participant observation with field diary, photographic recording and filming, as well as the photovoice technique. The analysis was performed by triangulating data in dialogue with the literature. RESULTS: it was shown that the problematizing action provided by the Culture Circle made possible to create situations in which adolescents felt invited to critically refl ect on the phenomenon of violence in all its complexity. CONCLUSION: the health education intervention, performed by Culture Circles, added learning and mutual growth subsidizing nursing care actions that excel at leadership and autonomy of adolescents.

Culture Circles in adolescent empowerment for the prevention of violence.

An action research based on Paulo Freire's Culture Circles was developed to implement a health education intervention involving adolescents, in collective knowledge construction about strategies for the prevention of violence. The data collection in the Culture Circles involved 11 adolescents and included observation and field diary, photographic records and recording. The educational action aroused a critical socio-political and cultural position in the adolescents towards the situations of vulnerability to violence, including the guarantee of human rights, justice and the combat of inequities; changes in the social relations, combat against discrimination and intolerance; expansion of access and reorientation of health services through intersectoral public policies. The intervention empowered the group of adolescents for the prevention of violence and permitted the inclusion of health professionals in the school context, from an interdisciplinary perspective, contributing to the establishment of social support and protection networks.

Comparison between the drug treatment used in children up to five years of age treated in an emergency room and the guidelines established in the III Brazilian Consensus on Asthma Management.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the management of asthma attacks in children up to five years of age treated in the pediatric emergency room of a hospital in the metropolitan area of the city of Recife, Brazil, as well as to determine whether the way in which asthma attacks are managed can influence the duration of emergency room visits for such children. METHODS: A descriptive, exploratory study employing a quantitative, cross-sectional approach. The study sample comprised 246 children treated for asthma attacks in an emergency room. The approach used was evaluated in comparison with the approach recommended in the III Brazilian Consensus on Asthma Management, as was the length of time each child spent in the emergency room. RESULTS: In 69 (28.1%) of the cases, the medications were used in accordance with the Consensus guidelines. In 34 (13.8%) of the cases, the doses used were those recommended in the Consensus guidelines, and the guidelines regarding nebulization procedures were followed in 33 cases (13.4%). No correlation was found between the approach taken and the length of the emergency room visit. In the logistic regression analysis, we observed that the adjusted risk of being released from the emergency room sooner than recommended in the Consensus guidelines (a length of time sufficient to allow the response to the treatment to be analyzed) was four times and fifteen times greater, respectively, for children with mild persistent asthma and for those with intermittent asthma. CONCLUSION: Although there are obstacles to using the asthma management approach recommended in the Consensus guidelines (such obstacles including the lack of familiarity with the guidelines on the part of the multidisciplinary team, as well as the lack of recommended material and therapeutic resources), the duration of emergency room visits was found to be related to the degree of asthma severity.

[Self-care and the asthmatic adult: systematization of nursing care]. / Autocuidado e o adulto portador de asma: sistematização da assistência de enfermagem.

This research aims at the systematization of nursing assistance under Orem's nursing theory of self-care deficit. In order to conduct this study, the convergent approach was used through the performance of the nursing processes in an adult with asthma. Interviews, physical examinations, observations, data record, observation of nursing assistance in policlinics along with home visits were the techniques used to gather data. After the observation of the nursing assistance, self-care deficits were identified and a new assistance plan and objectives were established, as well as a system and methods of support. The assistance plan was performed through the implementation of nursing assistance, prioritizing educational support. Based on the results, it was concluded that the application of the nursing processes through Orem's self-care referential is feasible and necessary for the engagement of clients and their family in self-care.