Análisis epidemiológico de la violencia de género en la Unión Europea / Epidemiological analysis of gender violence in the European Union

Existe una gran heterogeneidad regional y desconocimiento de la situación actual de la violencia de género (VdG) en los diferentes países de la Unión Europea (UE-28). El objetivo del presente trabajo es determinar la prevalencia actual de la VdG y de feminicidios en la UE-28 y en particular en España. Consiste en un estudio descriptivo observacional (análisis de documentos) seleccionando y analizando datos de las diferentes modalidades de la VdG y de feminicidios en los 28 países de la UE. Letonia, Dinamarca, Reino Unido, Suecia, Bélgica, Finlandia, Eslovaquia y Luxemburgo tienen tasas más altas que la media de la UE en todos los tipos de VdG y Finlandia, Hungría, Irlanda del Norte y Letonia poseen índices de prevalencia más altos en feminicidios. Con respecto a España, el 0,13% de las mujeres fueron víctimas de VdG y se producen 2,3 feminicidios por cada 1.000.000 mujeres, situándose España entre los países con tasas más bajas. Se concluye que el maltrato psicológico es el más prevalente en la UE-28, sin embargo, existe una dificultad para la comparación de datos de los diferentes países debido a la inexistencia de una conceptualización legal común de la VdG

There is a great regional heterogeneity and ignorance of the current gender-based violence (GBV) situation in the different countries of the European Union (EU-28). The aim of this paper is to determine the current prevalence of GBV and femicides in the EU-28 and in Spain in particular. This study consists of an observational descriptive study (document analysis) which selects and analyses data belonging to the different modalities of GBV and femicides in the EU-28 countries. Latvia, Denmark, United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Slovakia and Luxembourg possess higher rates than the EU average in all types of GBV while Finland, Hungary, Northern Ireland and Latvia possess higher prevalence rates in femicide. With respect to Spain, 0.13% of women were victims of GBV and 2.3 femicides occur for every 1.000.000 women, with Spain being among the countries with the lowest rates. It is therefore concluded that psychological abuse is the most prevalent within the EU-28, however, it is difficult to compare said data from different countries due to the lack of a common legal conceptuaisation of GBV

Knowledge and Concern about STIs/HIV and Sociodemographic Variables Associated with Getting Tested for HIV Among the General Population in Spain.

HIV testing is important in terms of prevention and treatment. However, HIV testing rates in the Spanish general population remains low. Therefore, HIV testing promotion constitutes a key issue. A high level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS is associated with having been tested for HIV. The general aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of people who had ever been tested for HIV in Spain. The sample consisted of 1,106 participants from the general population - 60.0% females and 40.0% males - aged between 17 and 55 years old. The assessment instruments were a questionnaire on sociodemographic data and HIV testing, a scale of knowledge about STIs and HIV/AIDS, and a scale of concern about STIs/HIV. Results showed that greater knowledge about STIs and HIV was associated with a greater likelihood of being tested for HIV (OR = .77; 95.0% CI = .73-.82; p < .05). In addition, higher concern about HIV/AIDS decreased the likelihood of not having been tested for HIV (OR = .87; 95.0% CI = .83-.92; p < .05). In fact, the higher participants concern about STIs was, the lower their likelihood of not having been tested for HIV was (OR = .87; 95.0% CI = .83-.91; p < .05). It is necessary to promote HIV testing in the general population as well as to consider their socio-demographic and psychological characteristics.

Analysis of resilience and sexual behavior in persons with HIV infection.

The main objective of this study was to evaluate ex post facto resilience in persons with HIV infection and its relationship to socio-demographic and sexual behavior variables. Participants included 159 persons with HIV infection, of both sexes, aged between 19 and 55 years. Fifty-one percent of patients were infected through homosexual means. Sixty-seven percent were in the asymptomatic phase of infection. Assessment instruments used were the following: a questionnaire on socio-demographic data and sexual behavior and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. The evaluation was individual, voluntary, and anonymous. The results showed that 49.05% of patients had average resilience, 27.68% had high resilience, and 23.37% had low resilience. They found that heterosexual patients infected with HIV, diagnosed between 1985 and 1990 (23 and 28 years of diagnosis) and those who had disclosed their HIV status to more than 30 people, had greater resilience than homosexual patients, diagnosed between 1996 and 2000 (13 and 17 years of diagnosis) and those who had disclosed their HIV status to 1-5 people. Finally, resilience was not a predictor of sexual risk factor. It is suggested that health interventions take into account the resilience and psychological variables that may be beneficial to improve coping with the disease.

[Influence of sociodemographic variables on coping styles, social stress, and sexual sensation seeking in adolescents]. / Influencia de variables sociodemográficas sobre los estilos de afrontamiento, el estrés social y la búsqueda de sensaciones sexuales en adolescentes.

The aim of this study is to analyze the influence of gender, age, and type of high school (public/private) on coping styles solve the problem coping style, reference to others coping style and non-productive coping, social stress, and sexual sensation seeking in adolescents. A total of 4.456 adolescents participated. The following measures were used: Adolescent Coping Scale, Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale, and the Social Stress subscale of the Behavior Assessment System for Children. This is a cross-sectional study that used a stratified random sampling considering Spanish regions and type of high school (public/private) to select participants. The sample is representative of the national level at a 95.5% confidence interval. Results showed that males had higher scores in sexual sensation seeking and social stress compared to females. Female adolescents scored higher in reference to others coping style and non-productive coping. Compared to adolescents of public high schools, adolescents who attended to private high schools scored higher in solve the problem coping style and reference to others coping style. Associations among sexual sensation seeking, coping styles, social stress, and health risk behaviors in adolescents are discussed.

[Ranking 2008 of research productivity in Spanish public universities]. / Ranking de 2008 en productividad en investigación de las universidades públicas españolas.

The aim of this study is to analyze research scientific productivity of Spanish public universities by means of using criteria related to research assessment in Spain. Firstly, a study to establish the weight of the indicators was developed. A representative sample of 1,341 university teachers participated in this study. Of them, 68% are senior lecturers and 32% are professors. A stratified random sampling procedure within each area of knowledge was used. The sample is representative with a 97% confidence interval. Secondly, the scientific productivity according to the size of university in each indicator was analyzed. Finally, the scientific productivity according to size of university and weight of each indicator was weighted. Results of the survey make possible to get a specific ranking in each criterion: Doctoral dissertations, Research projects+development, Grants for training university teachers, Articles included in JCR, Research periods and Doctorate programs with Quality Mention, as well as a global ranking. Results allow analyzing strengths and weakness of each university according each criterion.

Sida en España e inmigración: análisis epidemiológico / Aids in Spain and immigration: epidemiological analysis

El objetivo de este estudio descriptivo es analizar la situación actual del Virus de Inmunodeficiencia Humana/Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida [VIH/SIDA] en España, por comunidades autónomas. Para ello, se analizan los datos epidemiológicos de VIH y de sida en España, ajustados a las tasas de población y se comparan índices de prevalencia y la distribución por sexo, edad y vía de transmisión del sida en las comunidades autónomas españolas. Además, se presta especial atención a los inmigrantes como personas que pueden estar emitiendo conductas de riesgo para la infección por VIH/sida. Los resultados muestran que las comunidades autónomas con índices de prevalencia más elevados son: Madrid, País Vasco, Baleares y Cataluña. Del total de infectados por el VIH/sida en España desde 1981, el 80,02% corresponde a hombres y, por grupos de edad, el más afectado es el de los que tienen entre 30 y 34 años. Aunque el número de casos de sida haya descendido en España desde la entrada de los tratamientos antirretrovirales, debe prestarse atención a la epidemia y a algunos colectivos en mayor situación de riesgo, como son los inmigrantes.

The aim of this work was to analyze the current HIV/AIDS situation in Spainaccording to Spanish regions. Epidemiological HIV and AIDS Spanish data are analyzed and adjusted by population rates. Prevalence indexes and distribution by gender, age and way of transmission in the Spanish regions are compared. In addition, it is paid special attention to immigrant populationas people who can take HIV/AIDS risk behaviors. Results revealed that the Spanish regions with the highest prevalence rates are Madrid, BasqueCountry, Balearic Islands and Catalonia. According to accumulate data since1981 in Spain, AIDS percentage in males is 80.02% of the total of infectedpeople. Respect to age, the highest percentage of people who live with AIDStakes place in persons who are between 30 and 34 years old. Despite of thedecrease of AIDS cases in Spain since the introduction of highly activeantiretroviral therapies (HAART), AIDS epidemic need more attention,specifically to some groups in higher risk situation, like immigrants.

Análisis transnacional del sistema de evaluación y selección del profesorado universitario / Transnational analysis of the evaluation and selection of university professors

Se analizó el sistema de evaluación y selección del profesorado universitario de los países que ocupan los diez primeros puestos del ranking académico mundial elaborado por el Institute of Higher Education, y si el tipo de sistema (centralizado vs no centralizado) de cada país determina el número de universidades que posee en ese ranking. Los resultados indicaron que, aunque no existe una asociación entre el tipo de sistema y el número de universidades/100000 habitantes que cada país tiene dentro del ranking, este número es mayor en los países con sistema no centralizado, lo que sugiere la importancia del sistema de selección en la determinación de la productividad de las universidades.

Evaluación de la depresión, ansiedad e ira en pacientes con VIH/SIDA

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Summary Introduction. HIV infection is a chronic-character illness which implies a high level of uncertainty for patients. Indeed, HIV infection involves confronting an illness surrounded by social stigma and refusal. There following are some of the situations that suppose big emotional repercussions: When an individual does not know whether he/she is infected, when he/she receives HIV diagnosis, or when he/she must say to other people that he/ she is HIV positive. The emotional effects are depression, anxiety, and anger, which are frecuent emotional reactions among HIV infected patients. These reactions disappear when the patient adapts to his/her condition of HIV infected. Likewise, the uncertainty that produces HIV infection is related both to high levels of anxiety and depression because patients do not know how their infection will evolve. Anger and depression constitute other emotional factors related to a faster evolution of HIV infection. In addition to that, depression has effects over the fullfillment of the HIV infection treatment guidelines. Considering the importance of emotional aspects in HIV infection, this research's aims were to verify the differences in the sample of patients with HIV that has been evaluated regarding characteristics of depression, state of anxiety, state of anger, trait of anger, and expression of anger according to gender, stage of HIV infection, CD4 cells, viral load, transmission way, and the presence of lipodystrophy. Another aim was to verify if there were any differences between the sample of persons with HIV/AIDS that has been evaluated and the normative group in symptoms of depression, state of anxiety, state of anger, trait of anger, and expression of anger. Method. In the present research paticipated 100 HIV/AIDS-infected patients; 37 of them were women and 63 were men. The patients attended medical visits in different hospitals of Andalusia (Spain). The age rank of these patients was between 18 and 70 years. The average age was 39.55 years and the standard deviation was 7.49. The instruments used for the assessment were the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the subscale of state of anxiety of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2). The data were collected in three hospitals of the Andalusian region by the same investigator and the confidentiality of the data was guaranteed. Another information collected were clinical data of the patients from the case histories. The statistic program SPSS 11.0 was used for the analysis of the data. This study has an ex post facto retrospective design. Results. The results showed statistically significant differences in state of anxiety according to the viral load and lipodystrophy, with higher levels of state of anxiety in the group that had a halfway point in viral load and in the group that did not show lypodistrophy. On the other hand, there were statistically significant differences in the state of anger according to the stage of HIV infection, with higher levels of anger in the group that was in the symptomatic stage of HIV infection. In this study it has been found that most men with HIV/AIDS showed symptoms of depression that were between slight, moderate, and severe depression. In contrast, a big part of the group of women did not show characteristics of depression. With regard to anxiety, an important proportion of men showed a state of anxiety, while women did not show it in most cases. Most men and women presented a low level of state of anger. In the variable trait of anger, it has been found that approximately half of the men was in the normal rank. In the group of women, the majority was in the normal rank of trait of anger too. Finally, with regard to expression of anger, more of a third of the men and women with HIV/AIDS did not express anger. Discussion. The stage of the HIV infection could be a factor that explains the high presence of characteristics of depression in men. Women could have better ways to confront the illness than men. The high levels of depression symptoms and anxiety in the group of men could be explained by the ignorance about how the infection will evolve. Other results indicated that patients infected by heterosexual relationships showed higher anxiety than patients infected by the intravenous use of drugs. This fact could be explained by a higher presence of cognitions related to the evolution of the HIV infection or risk behaviors in people who were infected by heterosexual intercourse. Patients with a halfway point in viral load showed higher levels of state of anxiety and state of anger than patients with low viral load, because people with halfway point in viral load were more aware of the deterioration produced by the HIV infection and they did not assume it. The stage of HIV infection could be a factor that explains the higher levels of state of anger in patients in the symptomatic stage. The presence of lipodystrophy implies a deterioration of corporal image in patients that suffer this syndrome. It has been found that patients who did not have lipodystrophy showed higher levels of state of anxiety than the patients with lipodystrophy. This result is incongruent with other studies that have been made. It is suggested that this is an effect of a small sample. However, two explanations can be advanced about this result. On the one hand, lipodystrophy has nowadays a subjective diagnosis, and it could be the case that many patients' lipodystrophy has not being diagnosed, when they actually have the syndrome. On the other, it has been observed that there are delays when the data related to lipodystrophy must be gathered in case histories and thus it is not known if a patient endures lipodystrophy exactly. It could be the case that a patient suffers lipodystrophy and this fact does not appear in the case history. Considering that depression and anxiety are frequent disorders in patients with HIV/AIDS and that these factors influence the immune system, the results obtained could be used for the design of intervention programs whose aims would be the assessment and the intervention of depression and anxiety. Some aspects which would be important to assess in future researches with HIV/AIDS patients are social support, levels of perceived stigma, and the perception of health control.

Effects of nCPAP treatment over reaction time and sleepiness levels during vigilance.

Several studies have shown that sleep fragmentation not only increases daytime sleepiness, but also deteriorates reaction time. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by interruptions in normal sleep patterns. Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (nCPAP) is the most frequently used treatment for OSAS. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate changes in daytime sleepiness levels and reaction time in apnea patients after nCPAP treatments of 1 and 3 months. The sample was composed of 51 obstructive sleep apnea patients (47 men and 4 women) with ages ranging between 30 and 65 years of age. Sleep apnea was diagnosed with a cardiorespiratory polygraph of the total hours of sleep. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale was used to assess daytime sleepiness. A BASIC software program was used to measure the simple perceptual reaction times in milliseconds. The results indicated statistically significant decreases in daytime sleepiness levels at 1 month (p < .000) and at 3 months (p < .000) of treatment. The results also showed statistically significant decreases in reaction times at one month (p < .000), as well as at 3 months (p < .000) of treatment. Results indicate an improvement in the vigilance levels of obstructive sleep apnea patients after 1 month and 3 months of nCPAP treatment.

Análisis del efecto de variables psicológicas en el desarrollo y pronóstico de cáncer. un estudio retroespectivo / Analysis of the effect of psychological variables in the development and prognosis of Cancer. A restrospective study

El presente estudio trata de investigar cómo diversos rasgos de personalidad, concretamente el patrón de Conducta tipo C, influye en la evolución y el pronóstico de la enfermedad. Para ello, se administraron pruebas, que evaluaban todos los aspectos que definen el patrón Tipo C, evaluando en el grupo de cáncer, las dimensiones previas a la jubilación. En este estudio participaron 80 sujetos, 20 con neoplasia mamaria, 20 con neoplasia urológica y 40 control. Los resultados obtenidos no muestran diferencias significativas (aunque hay tendencia a la significación) entre ambos grupos (cáncer y no cáncer), pero ciertos aspectos son significativos. El hecho de no encontrar un Patrón tipo C, podría deberse al pequeño tamaño de la muestra. No obstante, aquellos pacientes en los que se encuentra tendencia al patrón Tipo C, son los que tienen un mayor índice de recaídas. Otro factor a tener en cuenta en futuras investigaciones es la tendencia en pacientes a distorsionar sus respuestas, sobre valorando su historia personal previa a la enfermedad.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the different features of personality, in specific the behavioral pattern of the Type C behavior, have influence on the development and prognosis of Cancer, The present study investigated and analyzed how the patterns of conduct have influence in the evolution and prognostics of disease. Method: 80 patients took part in the study, 20 with mammary neoplastic, 20 with urologic neoplastic and 40 as control group. The patients were given a test that evaluated all the aspects that define Type C behavior, evaluating in the cancer group the previous dimensions before prognostics and evaluating in the control group the previous dimensions to retirement. Results: there were no significant differences (although there is a tendency to signification) between both groups (cancer group and control). Conclusions: Not findings a Type C behavior, could be because of the small size of...