Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in order to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in university workers. The sample consisted of 347 administrative workers, teachers and workers selected from the population of workers of the Centroccidental University "Lisandro Alvarado" of Barquisimeto (Venezuela). The Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was applied to collect data on musculoskeletal symptoms.

The authors of the work published in the Revista Venezolana de Salud Pública (RVSP) and titled "Enteroparasites in Lettuce. Comparison of two diagnostic techniques. Carabobo State, Venezuela" have read with attention the article entitled "Importance of methodological design in comparison studies of diagnostic tests" of our colleagues from Honduras and Colombia and that reference our research.  

Lots of pathologies of musculoskeletal origin in the industrial area have been caused by disergonomics conditions and companies have tried to solve this problem with large investments in acquiring last generation technologies. But is certainly the health issue that motivates such investments? Are certainly appropriate technologies that have been imported from other communities and not taking into account the local idiosyncrasies and phenotype? Investments in companies must be directed to the benefit of the worker and not only with the goal of profit. If not taken into account the worker in the process of purchasing new equipment or working methods, investments can be reversed in huge losses for companies not able to resolve the problem directly affects the health of the worker.  

Venezuela is going through a crisis that affects all sectors of National life. The health sector does not escape from it. The fragmentation of this system, where there are no clear guidelines for the ineffectiveness of the single health system, deepens the problems of the situation of care for patients and citizens who demand this service. Fiscal indiscipline collapses the financing of the sector and, together with galloping inflation, makes it increasingly difficult to provide adequate supplies and equipment in health institutions, both public and private.

Isosporiasis or isosporosis is a disease that in humans is produced by Isospora belli, its habitat is the small intestine and the infective evolutionary form is the Oocyst, which leaves through the feces of the infected person, maturing in the environment , to then contaminate food, which when consumed, will infect new people. Symptoms in immunocompetent patients are usually self-limiting, with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, anorexia, weight loss and in some cases fever (in the first days). In immunosuppressed, the symptoms are more intense and lasting, such as intense (prolonged) diarrhea and severe abdominal pain.

The purpose of this article is to describe the non-usage the medical-dental services of the professors of the Universidad Centroccidental “Lisandro Alvarado”, throughout a descriptive crossectional study. From a sample of 322 professors estimated by a probabilistic stratified sampling with proportional affixation, an intentional sub-sample of 60 professors that did not use the services was selected. A validated and reliable questionnaire was used to measure the professors’ opinion about those factors that influence the usage of the health services.  The results show: 70.0% of the professors were between 37 and 56 years old; 51.7% and 66.7% are males and marriage, respectively.  Close to a 100% of the professors from the schools of health science, veterinary, business have the academic condition of ordinary and full professors; the profession was related in a high proportion with the school enrolled. On the other hand, 90% had knowledge regarding the medical-dental services; also expressed the primary reasons of the non-usage of the services, among which are: “lack of trust in the health professionals”, “absenteeism of the professionals”, and “inadequate health attention”. Among the conclusions it is important to mention that the majority of professors who did not use the medical-dental services, have knowledge about the functioning of it ; which do not correspond with the demographic and academic profile characteristics. This investigation was sponsored by the CDCHT/UCLA under the code 015-ME-2008.

Because the contaminated food borne diseases pose a serious public health problem, the detection of intestinal parasites using appropriate diagnostic techniques is of paramount importance. The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity of two technique used for detecting intestinal parasites in lettuce distributed in Carabobo state, Venezuela, during the period 2009-2010.  Were collected of way non-probabilistic accidental 120 samples of lettuce: 60 of the American variety (Lactuca sativa variety capitata or Great Lakes) and 60 of the Romana variety (Lactuca sativa variety longuifolia or White Paris) which were analyzed by the Álvarez technique modified by Traviezo (AMT) and Takayanagui technique modified (TM).    We obtained the following results: by the AMT technique, 15.0% of all lettuces tested positive to some type of intestinal parasites, while by the TM technique 21.7% were positive. Depending on the type of lettuce, the American turned out to be more contaminated by the two techniques: 26.7% for AMT technique and 43.3% for TM technique. The Z test for comparison of two proportions, analyzed by chi-square statistic no showed significant difference between them (Z =- 0.71, p = 0.4791) as was concluded that for the analysis of samples enteroparasitarie contamination of lettuce can be used either of the techniques described.

In order to determine the frequency of malnutrition by excess and some associated risk factors, in schoolchildren of fourth and fifth graders from Republican of Costa Rica School and Nuestra Señora de la Paz School of Barquisimeto Lara state, in period September-December 2011, we performed a descriptive, cross-sectional study, we included 180 student whose representatives gave their written informed consent to participate, with non-probability accidental sample. Current nutritional status was determined by Body mass index (BMI) using the table of the World Health Organization (WHO) and a questionnaire was applied. The results indicate that excess weight affects 30% of the students (40.5% of the Republican of Costa Rica School and 10.9% of Nuestra Señora de la Paz School) and females showed higher percentage with 32.1%. In the studied with overweight and obesity found that 66.7% reported consuming fast food and candy more than 5 times per week, 56.3% physical activity less than 1 hour a day and 46.4% television viewing while eating. We conclude that there is a significant frequency of malnutrition by excess in the student of the public institution in relation to the College. Given that the predominant risk factors were the modifiable, the conduct must be directed to education and prevention, to promote healthy lifestyles.

The World Health Organization emphasizes the need to generate knowledge about the health of women, however recognizes that there are still many gaps in the understanding of the particular challenges in that area faced by women and how these might be resolved effectively. In light of this, this study starts from the premise that doing research on the health status of women means assuming a different rationality, in the framework of a non-androcentric vision of knowledge. As such, it attempts to build a theoretical corpus to serve as onto-epistemological support the design of a research method with a gender perspective, able to explore both the subjective world as the target scenario-specific gender relations and their determinants of women's health. It falls within the theoretical research mode of documentary, based on the deductive-dialectical. The argumentative confrontation led us reach a dialectical synthesis accounting theory based corpus, which foreshadows a final reflection on the method with feminist gender perspective which should be conceived as the dialectical unity between theory and practice, a theory that reflect critically on the concrete-symbolic nature of patriarchy as well as know how to define the complex set of procedures and techniques, the application will generate the necessary information, capable of being transformed and organized into a new understanding of the health status women.

The present study, aims to integrate community experiences in Health of the University and Community "Pio Tamayo" to generate social changes in the context of study.