[Preventive measures against AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases known by students in the health field]. / Medidas preventivas contra a AIDS e outras doenças sexualmente transmissíveis conhecidas por universitários da área de saúde.

This study was carried out in to identify the preventive measures against Aids and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) that undergraduate health students predominantly know and to identify if there is a significant difference among the measures mentioned, considering the sex of subjects studied. A questionnaire was answered by health undergraduate students randomly selected. The results show that most of the items mentioned as preventive for Aids and other STD are important measures for their prevention. However, when data are analysed considering the frequency, that is the number of students that mentioned correct measures, we can observe that it is less than it was expected, what is very worrying. Another point observed in the results is that, there was no statistical difference, according to the sex of subjects studied. Data analysis evidence that knowledge of most undergraduate students is not enough, reinforcing the need to implement continuous specific educational actions.

[Evaluation by HIV/AIDS specialists of risk of HIV infection in university students, based on different sex practices]. / Avaliação dos riscos da infecção pelo HIV segundo diferentes práticas sexuais na perspectiva de estudantes universitários e especialistas em HIV/AIDS.

To detect the beliefs concerning the risk levels related to several sexual practices/habits and the HIV infection among undergraduate students and to compare their opinion with the AIDS experts were the objectives of this study. A 25-item questionnaire (Likert Probability Scale) about sexual practices/habits were answered by undergraduate students enrolled in the courses of nursing, medical school, pharmacy-biochemistry, psychology. Based on Factorial analysis and by using the Varimax Rotation System, 25 patients were distributed in 7 factors, and 5 patients were excluded. From the 20 patients, 5 were reunited in 2 factors and studied in this paper. Factor X reunited the patients 1 (vaginal intercourse with condom) and 2 (anal sex with condom). In factor Y the patients included were: 3 (heterosexual intercourse), 4 (vaginal intercourse without condom) and 5 (anal intercourse without condom). In 80% of the 5 patients, it was observed that the students have knowledge similar to the experts"s evidences But, continuing education is necessary to these people, as human beings and as future health care givers to the HIV infected/AIDS patients.

[Information and education on sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and human sexuality--a case report after 14 years of experience]. / Informação/educação em DST/AIDS/sexualidade humana--um relato de experiência de 14 anos.

The authors present their 14-year experience about Information/education on sexually transmitted diseases/Aids and human sexuality. They describe the actions implemented, emphasizing the positive and negative points. Concerning the positive results they mention the divulgation of information about preventive measures against HIV infection/Aids, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and human sexuality to several people from scientific and non scientific community. Another positive point is the transmission of knowledge gotten in such experiences at undergraduation and graduation teaching, as well as the development of research. Concerning the negative aspects, the difficult to evaluate the information actions, specially lectures was perceived, mainly because it is a communication tool basically unilateral. The authors mention some facts that historically influenced the implementation of the official actions.

[Hospital infections in teaching hospitals: analysis of their control]. / Infecção hospitalar nos hospitais escola: uma análise sobre seu controle.

The purpose of this study is to identify methodologies of vigilance and hospital infection control, to analyse nurse's actuation in the context of hospital infection control and to associate nurse's actuation on the control of hospital infection and the execution of nursing process. It is an analytic-descriptive study developed at 81 Commissions of Hospital Infection Control (CCIH) at School Hospitals from 21 Brazilian states through a questionnaire. The variables studied were: characteristics and functioning of CCIH; criteria to diagnose hospital infection; methods of data collection; types of epidemiological vigilance, prevention and control measures and nurse's participation. The analysis of data was qualitative and quantitative. The results showed that in the collection of data prevailed general vigilance (66.6%) and the association of passive and active methods (48.4%); 67 CCIH mentioned measures of prevention and control, related to urinary tract (54 CCIH) and to respiratory tract (21 CCIH). The antimicrobian control distinguishing the lack of resonance between the CCIH and the units personnel brings to the conclusion that the problems of hospital infection control are, in their essence, of philosophical, educational or administrative character. Authors evidenced the importance of the implementation of methodologies to facilitate the control of hospital infection, indicating that the adoption of nursing process, as an instrument, can result in benefits to CCIH and to patients.

[Communicable diseases and isolation: a nursing student's perceptions]. / Doenças transmissíveis e isolamento: a percepção de aluno de enfermagem.

The Communicable Diseases have been associated to stigma and segregation for a long time. This investigation was carried out in order to detect the undergraduation students' perception concerning communicable diseases and isolation, as well as their expectation in working at isolation units. A questionnaire was elaborated and then validated by 3 referees. We attested that some of these students have stereotyped and negative conotations concerning the bearer of such diseases and isolation. Just a few of them mentioned that they would choose this specific unit as the workplace. It is important for us, professors, to know their previous knowledgement about the concepts of communicable diseases and isolation, so that we can reinforce the positive features and work with the negative ones during the courses. It can contribute to prepare these students to give an effective nursing care without fears and stigmas.

[The trash collection service: occupational risks versus damages to health]. / O serviço dos coletores de lixo: riscos ocupacionais versus agravos à saúde.

The authors studied the kind of work a sample of 36 garbage collectors have been doing in a city of the State of São Paulo. A high frequency of occupational accidents and sick-due to health problem and some occupational risks was observed among them, and also that these worker haven't worn the individual protection equipment received, that probably contributes to such number of stop working.

[A scale of attitudes towards AIDS: a psychometric analysis]. / Escala de atitude frente à AIDS: uma análise psicométrica.

The objective of the present methodological study was to construct and validate a scale of attitudes of people concerning AIDS, to aid in the diagnosis of favourable and unfavourable attitudes and evaluation of educational programs related to AIDS. The steps followed to develop the Likert-type scale were: elaboration of items related to knowledge, feelings and reactions about AIDS; apparent validation and verification of content; application of the instrument in a sample of people; evaluation of the ability to discriminate the items; study of the internal reliability of the scale; factor analysis of the scale to establish the fundamental dimensions of the instrument. The final scale contained 25 items. This instrument showed a high coefficient of reliability and validity.

PIP: The objective was to construct and validate a scale of attitudes towards AIDS to be used in evaluating AIDS education programs. In Phase 1, a total of 129 statements were collected related to the cause of the disease, knowledge about AIDS, and evaluation of the carrier. The scale resembled the attitudes scale of Likert. Phase 2 entailed the validation of content by 10 professionals with more than 5 years of experience. Consequently, the initial scale of 129 items was reduced to 111 items. Phase 3 comprised the evaluation of discriminative power in Group A (78 military persons aged 18-20) and Group B (75 secondary school students aged 15-18). Only 7 out of 11 items represented significant differences between the two groups (p 0.05). Phase 4 involved the study of the coefficient of reliability of the scale using the coefficient of correlation of Pearson as corrected by the formula of Spearman-Brown. The correlation coefficient calculated between the scores obtained from responses of even items and odd items was 0.81 and that corrected by the Spearman-Brown formula was 0.90 (p 0.001), demonstrating a sufficiently significant correlation which indicated that the scale represented considerable equivalence or adequacy of the sample of items. Phase 5 consisted of factorial analysis. The first moment calculated the correlations of 77 items according to Pearson. The correlations between the subscales and between those and the total scores were significant at the level of p 0.001, mainly because of the large sample of 153 subjects. In the second moment, the 77-item scale was subjected to a factorial analysis which yielded 28 factors whose auto values were more than 1.0 according to the criteria of Kaiser. The third moment selected by the T-test of Student 25 final sub-category items: 6 in disease origin, 11 in knowledge of the disease, and 8 in evaluation of the carrier. The fourth moment again yielded 11 auto values larger than 1.0.

[Epidemiological expression of other sexually transmitted diseases among AIDS patients]. / Expressão epidemiológica de outras doenças sexualmente transmissíveis entre portadores de AIDS.

This study was carried out in order to estimate the frequency of other sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among AIDS patients and to identify their epidemiological association and possible relations to the groups most exposed to the virus. The data were collected from the medical case histories and the STD were identified on the basis of data provided by anamnesis, physical examination and laboratory examinations. Of the total of HIV/AIDS patients assisted at the hospital studied (S. Paulo State, Brazil), between January 1986 and January 1992, 207 were included as sample subjects for this survey. Of the patients studied, 88 (42.5%) had some other STD and 119 (57.5%) had no other STD, equivalent to a proportion of 0.7 STD patients-STD to each non-STD patient. The most prevalent STD identified were hepatitis B (33.3%), syphilis (30.3%) and gonorrhoea (12.9%). Concerning the means of transmission by which the patients had probably been infected with HIV, blood transmission was the most prevalent (44.9%); followed by sexual contact (21.3%); sexual/blood (17.9%); in 25.9% it was undetermined. In a particular comparison of sexual and blood transmission and the presence of other STD a statistical difference in those cases that were exposed to sexual transmission was observed.