[Burnout syndrome among general hospital nurses in Recife]. / Síndrome de Burnout entre enfermeiros de um hospital geral da cidade do Recife.

This descriptive, cross sectional, census study identified the occurrence of Burnout and some associated factors among nurses working in obstetrics & gynecology and pediatric care at a general tertiary hospital in Recife. Sixty-three nurses (98.4%) answered a self-administered questionnaire (sociodemographic aspects, working conditions, and Maslach Burnout Inventory). Chi-square was used in the analysis with a 95% confidence level. Most participants were female (92.1%), with up to five years in the career (68.2%), 52.5% in pediatric area. High levels of emotional stress (49.2%) and depersonalization (27.0%) were identified, as well as low professional fulfillment (4.8%), and 4.7% presented Burnout. The following factors wee associated: high levels of emotional stress and often/always perform tasks very quickly (p=0.039) and receiving a salary incompatible to the effort employed (p=0.016); high levels of depersonalization and with up to five years in this career (p=0.010) and often/always perform tasks very quickly (p=0.009). For 19.0%, at least two of the three dimensions pointed to high propensity to the syndrome.

[Women hospitalized due to abortion in a maternity teaching hospital in Recife, Brazil]. / Mulheres hospitalizadas por abortamento em uma Maternidade Escola na Cidade do Recife, Brasil.

This cross-sectional study was performed with 160 women between 2005-2006. The objective was to describe the social-demographic and reproductive characteristics of women hospitalized due to abortions, and their knowledge about contraceptive methods and abortion induction. In order to determine the association between the abortion classification and social-demographic variables, Pearson's chi-square test was used, with a significance level of 5%. A frequency of 56.3% was found for probably induced abortions. Most cases of abortion occurred before 12 weeks (55.7%). As for the women's profiles: 48.9% were between 20-29 years old, 72.0% had eight years or more of schooling, 90.1% had a partner, 52.0% had 1-3 children, 100% knew about oral contraceptives and condoms and 80.0% had heard about misoprostol. The social-demographic and reproductive profile of women hospitalized at the referred service due to abortion did not change over the last years. Misoprostol remains the most known method for abortion induction.

Effectiveness of contraceptive counselling of women following an abortion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review of the effectiveness of contraceptive counselling in women undergoing an abortion and its impact on the acceptance and use of contraceptive methods. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing women who had undergone an abortion and received contraceptive counselling at that time met the inclusion criteria. Articles published between 1997 and 2007 were selected from searches of the LILACS, SCIELO, MEDLINE, PubMed and Cochrane Library databases. Two reviewers independently assessed eligibility and the quality of the trial. The internal validity of the RCTs was evaluated by means of the Jadad scale. A meta-analysis of the three retained studies involving 694 women was performed. The Stata 9.2 SE statistical software was used, and a level of significance of 0.05 adopted. RESULTS: There were no differences between intervention and control groups, despite clinical heterogeneity. The results of the meta-analysis were not significant (OR = 1.32; CI: 0.90-1.94). CONCLUSION: There was no evidence indicating that contraceptive counselling is effective in increasing acceptance and use of contraceptive methods after an abortion. This may not apply to developing countries, where the matter still needs to be investigated.

Do perineal exercises during pregnancy prevent the development of urinary incontinence? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current article was to conduct a systematic review of the performance of perineal exercises during pregnancy and their utility in the prevention of urinary incontinence. METHODS: Randomized controlled studies (RCT) of a low-risk obstetric population (primiparas or nulliparas) who had done perineal exercises only during pregnancy met the inclusion criteria. Articles published between 1966 and 2007 from periodicals indexed in the LILACS, SCIELO, PubMed/MEDLINE, SCIRUS and Cochrane Library databases were selected, using the following keywords: 'urinary incontinence', 'pregnancy', 'pelvic floor' and 'exercise'. The Jadad scale was applied to assess the internal validity of the RCT and two meta-analysis: one of fixed effects and the other of random effects were carried out with data extracted from the RCT, using the Stata 9.2 statistical software and adopting a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: Four RCTs with high methodological quality, involving a total of 675 women were included. They indicated that perineal muscle exercise significantly reduced the development of urinary incontinence from 6 weeks to 3 months after delivery (odds ratio = 0.45; confidence interval: 0.3 to 0.66). However, when evaluating this effect during the 34th and 35th gestational week, a meta-analysis showed that the results were not significant (odds ratio = 0.13; confidence interval: 0.00 to 3.77). CONCLUSION: Pelvic floor muscle exercises may be effective at reducing the development of postpartum urinary incontinence, despite clinical heterogeneity among the RCT.

[Factors associated with excessive gestational weight gain among patients in prenatal care at a public hospital in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil]. / Fatores associados ao ganho ponderal excessivo em gestantes atendidas em um serviço público de pré-natal na cidade de Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil.

This study assessed excessive weight gain in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and the influence of biological, socio-demographic, behavioral, and reproductive factors and co-morbidity. The cross-sectional sample included 240 pregnant women at low risk of obstetric complications, followed from May 2000 to July 2001. There were 347 patient records in the original database, but 107 were excluded because of age (42 patients were younger than 18 years) or lack of data on weight (65 women). Excessive weight gain was common in all categories of baseline nutritional status, but was more frequent in the second trimester among women who were already overweight or obese upon entering pregnancy. In the third trimester, variables associated with excessive weekly weight gain were schooling and marital status.

[Vulnerability to burnout among physicians at a public hospital in Recife]. / Vulnerabilidade ao burnout entre médicos de hospital público do Recife.

This study identified factors associated with burnout among physicians at a public hospital in Recife, Brazil. A self-administered questionnaire (socio-demographic characteristics, working conditions and Maslach Burnout Inventory) was completed by 158 physicians (92.4%). Burnout was defined by a superposition of high scores in emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP) and low scores on personal accomplishment at work (PA). Chi-square and Fisher's exact test were used in the analysis and 5.1% had burnout. Female physicians were predominant in the sample (83.5%) especially those for longer than ten years in the profession (81.6%). High levels were found in EE (61.4%) and DP (36.7%) and low levels in PA (13.3%). There was an association between: high EE and "often/always" working very fast and "never/rarely" having enough time for tasks; high level of DP and working ten years in the profession and "often/always" doing tasks very fast; low level of PA and being female and "never/rarely" having enough time for tasks. Burnout and "often/always" working very quickly, "never/sometimes" having enough time for tasks, being male and having no expectation of professional growth. For 37.3%, two of the three dimensions indicate a high propensity to burnout, making transformation in working conditions a priority.

Respiratory muscle strength in pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Muscle respiratory strength studies during pregnancy are very scarce. The aim of this paper is to describe maximum inspiratory (PImax) and expiratory (PEmax) mean pressure values in women during their first pregnancy and to determine the relationship between the anthropometric, morphologic and physiologic variables of these pressures. METHODS: One hundred and twenty women (120) primigravidas were studied from the 5th to 40th gestational week, ages ranging from 20 to 29 years old, euthrophic and with low risk pregnancies. RESULTS: PImax and PEmax mean values were 88.5 ± 16.52 cmH(2)O and 99.76 ± 18.19 cmH(2)O respectively. There was no association between gestational age and PImax (r = -0.06; p = 0.49) or PEmax (r = -0.11; p = 0.22). There was also no difference between PImax and PEmax during pregnancy trimesters and no correlation between pregnancy age and the pressures in each trimester. Height was the only anthropometric variable indicating a significant PImax (r = 0.20; p = 0.02) association. Fundal uterus height and inter-recti abdominis distance were not associated to respiratory pressure values. PEmax is not associated with the group of predictor variables (p = 0.127) and PImax demonstrated an independent association with height and dyspnea during physical exertion reflected by the following equation: PImax = 0.6 + 57.9 height - 1.68 dyspnea under effort. The present study suggests that inspiratory and expiratory maximum pressure values are not altered during different stages of pregnancy, however longitudinal studies are needed to assess changes over time.

[Anemia as a public health problem: the current situation]. / Anemia como problema de saúde pública: uma realidade atual.

In 1990, the United Nations held a World Summit in New York, in which goals for the upcoming decade were established. One of these goals was a one-third reduction in the prevalence of anemia among women at childbearing age. Despite this modest percentage, epidemiological indicators point to the opposite direction, indicating an increasing occurrence of anemia in different regions of the world, including in Brazil. These data show that anemia has continued since the antiquity to be one of the most prevalent and widespread diseases in human populations. Thus, a number of questions without answers arise regarding the actual prevalence and etiopathogenesis of the problem as well as with respect to the degree of implantation and the effectiveness of control measures.

[The effectiveness of three regimens using ferrous sulfate to treat anemia in pregnant women]. / Efetividade de três esquemas com sulfato ferroso para tratamento de anemia em gestantes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of three regimens employing ferrous sulfate to treat pregnant women with anemia. METHODS: The study was carried out at the Women's Health Center of the Pernambuco Institute of Maternal and Child Health in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, from May 2000 to December 2001. A randomized clinical trial with blinded laboratory analysis was conducted. Iron (60 mg) was administered as 300-mg ferrous sulfate tablets. The women were allocated to three treatment groups, according to the frequency of ingesting the tablets: once a week (48 women), twice a week (53 women), and once a day (49 women). The groups were compared for the values for hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, mean corpuscular volume, and ferritin before and after the treatment. RESULTS: Before the intervention, the groups were homogeneous. They had the following mean (+/- standard deviation) concentrations of hemoglobin: 10.2 +/- 0.5 g/dL for the group receiving iron once a week, 10.2 +/- 0.6 g/dL for the group receiving iron twice a week, and 10.1 +/- 0.6 g/dL for the group receiving iron once a day. The means of corpuscular volume were, respectively: 88.5 +/- 5.0 fL, 87.6 +/- 5.9 fL, and 88.7 +/- 5.1 fL. The respective medians for ferritin were 30.2 ng/mL, 37.1 ng/mL, and 52.9 ng/mL. The cure rate (Hb > 11 g/dL) was 27% in the patients treated once a week, 34% in those treated twice a week, and 47% in the women treated daily. Treatment failure (hemoglobin < 10 g/dL) was seen in 41.6%, 13.2%, and 2.0% of the patients in the respective groups. Interruption of treatment due to diarrhea or epigastric pain occurred only among the patients treated daily. CONCLUSION: The regimen with iron administered daily is still the best option for treating anemia. However, treatment with ferrous sulfate administered twice a week is an alternative for patients who are unable to adhere to daily treatment.