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

The non-maternity in Mexico is emerging as a complex phenomenon different from the highly urbanized and industrialized societies in which primarily has been studied. The unequal conditions in which it takes place refer to a variety of experiences that need to be documented. This study seeks to contribute to the knowledge of non-maternity in Mexico, exploring, from secondary sources and descriptive analysis, its most important social and economic aspects. The results confirm that non-maternity occurs under different socioeconomic contexts, that become even antagonistic. Non-marital union was presented as an important aspect of non-maternity that, not having been associated with migration rates, shows that in Mexico women who are not mothers neither are wives, thereby suggesting a double transgression of the hegemonic model of womanhood, while it is revealing a reality hitherto little visible of women who are neither mothers nor wives: the women with physical limitations to work.

 objective: Inquire about the meaning of breastfeeding and breast milk per a group of mothers with small children. Method: A qualitative study was done with a participant group of mothers from two communities, one rural and one urban, in Costa Rica. Results: The mothers’ associate breastfeeding with the natural act of feeding their children, and identify breast milk as the food that provides the necessary nutrients for the growth and development of their children. Breastfeeding continues to be a successful practice which contributes to the health of childhood. Furthermore, it was identified that the family environment is constituted in the space where they receive the most support to successfully carry out the process of breastfeeding. Conclusion: Understand the meaning that women give to the experience of breastfeeding. Moreover, this allows guiding the interventions executed by different instances to promote the practice of breastfeeding from the point of view of mothers, with the purpose of guaranteeing the optimal nutrition for the children in the first years of their life. This study shows the necessity to continue strengthening the health education programs directed at health professionals and the general public with the purpose of promoting the practice of breastfeeding, as it’s the most economical and safest way to protect the health of children in their first years of life.

Objective: To design and validate a Graphic Representation (RG) of mexican food guide, as an alternative to "Healthy eating plate" (PBC). Methods: The new RG was designed considering: the revision of international RG; the analysis, at the international level and in Mexico, of the epidemiological status and nutritional recommendations; the identification of the aspects to improve the PBC. Validation in two phases: 1) Content analysis on the evaluation of the messages transmitted by the Full Health Guide (GSI) among 19 university students and 41 outpatients. 2) Comparison of the perception of messages transmitted between GSI and  in 28 parents of elementary school students. Results: An RG denominated , was generated; included four groups within the circle: fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy proteins. In addition, it incorporated healthy fats, natural water, physical activity and share time with family. Validation shows that 59.3% (phase 1), and 60% (phase 2), identifies GSI as healthy food; 25.4% (phase 1) and 40% (phase 2) perceived that the GSI included healthy lifestyles, data independent of population type. The GSI obtained data similar to the PBC, and even more favorable, in the inclusion of fruits, fats and natural water when elaborating an example menu. Conclusion: GSI can be used as an alternative RG to facilitate the educational process, adoption of healthy eating habits, and lifestyle. It can be used, by health professionals, to positively influence the population.

The magnitude of the population 65 years and over in dependency status (ie, people with long-term care need) in Argentina would be more than one million people. Given the great heterogeneity in the type and intensity of the aid required by individuals with long-term care need, it is essential to establish some criteria to classify those in homogeneous groups in terms of severity. Objective: This work aims to establish a methodology and objective criteria that allow the identification of homogeneous groups of people in dependency status on the basis of secondary (and limited) information. Methods: The method used is based on the Valuation Scale of Dependency Situation from Spain and on the application of the Classification Trees method under the rpart function of the R program. The main sources of information are the Survey on Disability, Personal Autonomy and Dependency Situations from Spain (EDAD, 2008) and the National Survey on Quality of Life of the Elderly from Argentina (ENCaViAM, 2012). Results: the model selected shows a high degree of adjustment suggesting that it is possible to estimate the distribution of the elderly population in dependency status according to their severity level in a reasonable way from a reduced group of variables. Conclusions: although the prevalence of dependency among the elderly would be higher in Argentina than in Spain, the relative importance of groups with greater severity would be lower in the first country (in Argentina).

Introduction: Excess body weight, is a prevalent and  growing health problem among U.S. women and has multiple consequences on their health. Women with excess weight experience discrimination in multiple domains. Multiple studies have concluded that household food insecurity (HFI) is often associated with excess body weight in women, but not men.  The more prevalent assumption has been that HFI leads to obesity. But, there has been an increase in the studies that propose the opposite. Purpose: Applying a life course perspective will provide a better understanding about how weight-based discrimination, across multiple domains, and poorer health due to obesity may lead to food insecurity in women. Results: Reduced opportunities in the domains of employment, education and marital relationships have a considerable impact on the economic situation of the excess weight women and finally could lead obese women to food insecurity. Conclusion: Using this approach has the potential to ask research questions that have been previously unexplored and plan interventions and policies to address this health inequality.

Background: It is known that the knowledge that guides our practices is socially elaborated and that the variability in food choices is related to the variability in living conditions. Objetive: To inquire about practices (actions) and representations (underlying ideas) about the feeding of families with at least one child from 3 to 6 years old living in different socio-economic environments of the Villaguay district, Entre Ríos, Argentina. Methodology: In public educational establishments of the urban (Ur), periurban (Pe) and rural (Ru) areas of the department of Villaguay, parents were invited to voluntarily develop assisted surveys, obtaining a total of 303 surveys (109 Ur, 133 Pe and 61 Ru). Results and Conclusions: The analysis of the data showed differences between zones for some practices and representations, also exhibiting their close relationship with the variability of the living conditions. For example, while urban families of higher socioeconomic status chose their food primarily for brands, in the most deprived families of the periurban, price was the determining factor. Finally, the rural area had intermediate socio-economic characteristics and a greater participation of the whole family in activities related to food was observed. However, certain uniformities, independent of the socio-economic differences, were also detected, such as the practice of eating between meals or the concern to achieve "a good food", noting that some aspects transcend the boundaries of socio-cultural subsystems.

Objective. To inquire about the connotation of body that has women with rheumatoid arthritis and the link with the own symptomatology of the disease. Methodology. Qualitative of the phenomenological-hermeneutic type, in which techniques of in-depth interviews with field recordings and diaries were applied. Field work was performed between the first and second periods of 2015 with 17 women with a mean age of 48.07 years ± 6.29 years with Rheumatoid Arthritis, who attended three physical therapy clinics in the city of Popayán-Colombia. Results. Five categories of analysis were obtained that consisted of: a) Pain and inflammation a limitation for daily activities; B) Rheumatoid Arthritis a permanent company; C) forced changes in my lifestyle for my health; D) I accept my body as it is and with what it has; E) My deformities a social limitation. Conclusions. It was evidenced that the woman with rheumatoid arthritis of the City of Popayán-Colombia, accepts its pathological condition despite the pain and the associated inflammation, but at the same time it generates in her a struggle to stay within the normal range for the accomplishment of its daily activities , Promoting changes in their style and way of life to stabilize their illness and adequately develop their daily activities both home and work; At the same time, does not show discomfort for his body which he accepts, but he intuits disabling situations when he confronts society, which in certain circumstances undervalues and judges, with an inquisitive look.

Objective: To quantify the change in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in Mexico between 1994 and 2014, to identify its trend over time and to segment the group of households by level of consumption, according to the age of the head of household, with the intention of understanding the evolution of the consumption of fruits and vegetables of the Mexican population. Material and methods: Data on fruit and vegetable expenditure from the National Household Income and Expenditure Survey were used from 1994 to 2014; An F-test on per capita consumption was performed to identify if the increase was significant and the age-cohort-period modeling of this variable was carried out to anticipate long-term changes. Results: Fruit and vegetable purchase habits between 1994 and 2014 reflect an increase of 60 grams (30.3%) in the consumption of these foods in the period of observation. We found age-cohort-period effects, and a positive relation between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and age. Conclusions: Consumption of fruits and vegetables increased significantly during the studied period; this rising is expected to continue as a result of population aging. It is necessary to increase the consumption of these foods in young people in order to prevent the development of chronic diseases.

Objective: Analyze factors involved in preventive medical appointments attendance in Bogota year 2014. Methods: two models were adjusted under GEE using a Bernoulli link function with independent and exchangeable correlation structures for preventive medical appointments attendance. Results: Income and socioeconomic stratum increase probability of preventive appointments attendance: Odds ratio of attendance and not attendance is at least 1,5 times higher in stratum 2 or higher households. Also, for every $100.000 additional pesos in monthly household income the reason increases by 1%. Household members which head reached an educational level higher than primary have an odds ratio of attendance and not attendance up to 2,3 times higher. Conclusions: Results are similar to Grossman (1972) and Kenkel (1990) nevertheless, individual educational level, presence in household of elder people or children and even presence of spouse are not related with preventive medical appointments attendance.

The objective of this project is to identify the social determinants of infant mortality according to the criteria of reducibility and to investigate the association between the infant mortality and its determinants on multiple levels. Methods: A cross-sectional study analyzed the characteristics of infant mortality in parties and departments of Argentina and the social determinants of infant mortality in three levels of analysis. Results: The variables that showed a statistically significant association with infant mortality due to avoidable causes were: age of the deceased at the time of death, gestational age, place of occurrence of death, having attention or not, the level of instruction of the mother, employment status, overcrowding, and incomplete primary care. Conclusions: The factors that influence infant mortality exists as much at an individual level as they do at the family and population levels, and a large proportion of deaths are from preventable causes.