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

Introduction: The global repercussion of the COVID-19 pandemic raises the need to understand the impact of the disease among nursing professionals, as they were responsible for direct care of infected people. Objective: To describe the morbimortality profile of nursing professionals due to COVID-19 in Brazil between 2020 and 2022. Methodology: An epidemiological study conducted with data collected at the Nursing Observatory of the Federal Council of Nursing. The data were tabulated using version 21 of the SPSS software and analyzed by descriptive analysis, using frequencies. Results: During the period analyzed, 64 610 cases of COVID-19 were reported among Nursing professionals in Brazil. Of these, 36 425 (56.4 %) were confirmed and 833 died, representing a case fatality rate of 2.29 %. In terms of cases, COVID-19 was prevalent among women (84.24 %) aged between 31 and 40 (41.34 %) years, residing in the southeastern part of the country (29.77%) and infected in 2020 (66.79 %). As for deaths, the prevalence of cases occurred in 2020 (52.10 %) among women aged 41 to 50 years (68.07 %), residing in the northern region of Brazil (28.93 %). Nursing professionals had a 14 % higher mortality rate than the general population of Brazil, with a higher frequency among men. Conclusion: The study raises the need to build public policies aimed at protecting these workers. Such policies must seek to guarantee better working conditions, ongoing education, and to address gender inequalities.

Introduction: Therapeutic toy is a recognized care technology for nursing professionals. However, there is low adoption of this technology in hospitals for several reasons, including the scarce approach to the subject during academic training. Objective: To analyze the experience of undergraduate nursing students regarding the learning and applications of the therapeutic toy care technology. Methods: Descriptive study with qualitative data analysis, following the steps of content analysis. Nineteen individual semi-structured interviews were conducted online with undergraduate nursing students from 5th to the 8th semester in a private institution in the city of São Paulo. The data were analyzed considering Ausubel's meaningful learning theory and represented by thematic categories. Results: The ages of the students ranged from 20 to 41 years. The data analyzed were grouped into two major thematic categories, each accompanied by a subcategory: “Therapeutic toy in pediatric care: students' impressions and feelings” and “Meaningful and integrative learning for differentiated care of children during hospitalization”. Conclusion: The participating students recognized the contributions and skills developed during the academic training process, emphasizing empathy, development of bonds and trust, humanization, and the facilitating potential of the therapeutic toy in communicating and understanding the individualities of children.

Introduction: Respectful communication includes social, verbal, and non-verbal interaction, including mutual understanding and respecting values, beliefs, and cultural preferences to promote equity in health care. Failures  in the communication process are considered one of the main factors behind the occurrence of adverse events and, consequently, a decrease in the quality of care. Objective: To understand how the interprofessional communication process is developed to ensure patient safety in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Method: Convergent care research carried out from July to August 2019 with 17 professionals from the health team of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a University Hospital in southern Brazil. Results: Two categories were elaborated to present the information collected: Verbal and non-verbal communication; Facilitating and hindering factors in communication. From the theoretical-practical convergence, it was possible to develop a Standard Operating Procedure Protocol for Effective Communication for its practical implementation. Conclusion: Verbal communication during the shift change was perceived as the main tool, contributing to patient care and safety, being the connection between professionals an important factor to improve it. This connection, together with ongoing training, favors effective communication.    

Introduction: The experience of living with a chronic disease is not a simple task, since it requires tools that allow increasing the degree of awareness to face the needs and overcome challenges about the state of health and disease. In recent years, support for self-management has been established, with the aim of enhancing the skills of people with this type of condition. It is important to consider how the nursing discipline can contribute to achieve this. The aim of this paper is to reflect on Meléis' theory of transitions as a paradigm to support self-management in people with chronic conditions. Development: Meléis' theory of transitions establishes that people are in constant change, as occurs in the health-illness transition process. Receiving the diagnosis of a chronic disease involves a series of complex processes for the person, due to the multiplicity of variables involved. Meléis' theory provides guidelines to orient the nursing professional on key and interrelated elements, such as the previous conception of the nature of the transition and its conditions, which will serve for the planning of intervention modalities congruent with the person's experiences and their evaluation in the course of the health and disease process. Conclusion: The paradigm offered by Meléis can be considered a key approach to undertake the nursing care process aimed at supporting people with chronic illness in achieving self-management.

Introduction: A "good death" is an individual and variable concept that encompasses practices to promote dying and death in a comfortable, dignified manner with the least possible suffering.  Objective: To understand the meanings and describe the aspects involved in a 'good death' for people with cancer assisted by home care services. Method: Qualitative research conducted between December 2022 and January 2023 through semi-structured interviews with seven cancer patients affiliated to a home care and palliative care unit of a hospital in southern Brazil. The data were analyzed according to Creswell's theoretical proposal. Results: Three subcategories were developed: "Dialogues and silences about end of life and death," "Meanings of a good death," and "Care for a good death." In these, it was identified what the interviewees think about their own death, what a good death means to them, and what care is involved in fostering it. Conclusion: The meanings of a good death are attributed to dying at home peacefully, asleep, without pain, and with the presence of family, while care for a good death is mainly linked to receiving love and attention at the end of life.    

Introduction: In the last decade, the increase in HIV/AIDS cases among adolescents and young people highlights the challenges faced by public health management. The taboo imposed by society on the subject hinders their access to health services and professionals, in addition to hindering communication between parents and children about HIV/ AIDS. Objective: To understand how parents and children approach HIV/AIDS during adolescence and youth. Methodology: Descriptive and exploratory study, with a qualitative approach, with family members linked to the primary care network of a small municipality in southern Brazil. Data collection was conducted between November and December 2021, with audio-recorded interviews and subsequent transcription using the NVivo Release version 1.1.6® software. The content analysis followed the Bardin method, comprising the stages of pre-analysis, material exploration, and data categorization. Results: The participants were eleven family members, mothers of adolescents, aged between 30 and 50 years. The following discussion categories emerged from the interviews: "Current knowledge about HIV/aids", "The approach to HIV/aids within the family", and "Who is responsible for the sexual education of our children?". Conclusion:  Families face difficulties in the approach and dialogue due to the lack of reliable information and the presence of deep-rooted beliefs and fears. It is essential to promote openness and encourage dialogue, highlighting the importance and need for health services in guiding the population.

Introduction: Children who experience chronic illnesses use their spirituality to cope with and adapt to the situation and health condition, therefore care focused on the spiritual dimension and its associated factors promotes a comprehensive approach in this context. Objective: To identify the factors associated with religious/spiritual coping among children with chronic health conditions. Methods: Cross-sectional, analytical, and correlational study involving children with chronic health conditions monitored in the outpatient service of a university hospital. Data was collected from August 2021 to January 2023 through interviews using the Characterization Instrument and Religious Coping Scale for Children. Data analysis used descriptive statistics and association research using non-parametric measures: Spearman correlation coefficient, Kruskal Wallis Test, and Mann Whitney Test. Results: Thirty-four children participated, with a median age of 10 years, the majority were male, white, had siblings, lived with their parents, and believed in God. Positive religious coping strategies predominated, with strategies focused on the belief in God's support. Individual, religious, and clinical characteristics shown to influence children's religious/spiritual coping were skin color, education, siblings, beliefs in God, religion, and the affected system by the health condition. Conclusion: Children with chronic health conditions engage in positive religious coping strategies, which are influenced by their individual, religious, and clinical characteristics, and, therefore, this is an aspect that should receive attention from health professionals.

Introduction: Voluntary abortion can be safe, but attitudes and stigma related to it are associated with unsafe practices. Identifying the pro and con attitudes co-occurring with a legislation may be useful when designing transformative strategies. Objectives: To compare attitudes toward voluntary abortion among three Mexican cities that differ in their laws regarding voluntary abortion and to study the influence that religiosity, age, sex, having offspring, and having known a woman who had voluntarily aborted without her pregnancy being a product of sexual assault may have on attitudes toward voluntary abortion. Methodology: Quantitative cross-sectional design. Using a convenience sampling, 637 adults from Mexico City, Xalapa, or Aguascalientes aged 18-45 were surveyed. Adults belonging to the clergy and activists on issues related to voluntary abortion were excluded. A sociodemographic questionnaire and the Cuestionario de Actitudes hacia el Aborto [Abortion Attitudes Questionnaire] were administered. Data was analyzed using non-parametric tests. The protocol was approved by an ethics committee. Results: Participants from Mexico City expressed a greater pro-choice attitude, whereas those from Aguascalientes showed a greater antiabortion attitude. In the three cities, religiosity and age predicted attitudes toward voluntary abortion. Discussion: Understanding the social context is necessary to design interventions for reducing stigma against women who wish to abort. Identifying and exploring the antiabortion attitude may help to transform it through innovative strategies. Conclusions: Laws regarding voluntary abortion tend to agree with attitudes toward voluntary abortion; however, in Mexico, religiosity influences these attitudes as well, probably due to the importance of Catholicism among Mexicans.

Introduction: Faced with the health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty had to adapt their teaching activities in an untimely and imposing manner. This situation may have promoted mental health problems, especially among those who had an unstable professional tie. Objective: To identify and characterize mental health problems in faculty from private institutions in Mato Grosso (Brazil) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: Descriptive, exploratory, and cross-sectional study in faculty from private institutions in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Data collection was carried out from November 2021 to January 2022 using an online form. The form included a sociodemographic, health, and work questionnaire; the DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure–Adult; the Brunel Mood Scale; and the Escala de Estresse no Trabalho [Work Stress Scale]. Descriptive statistical analyses were used. Results: Fifty-four faculty members participated in the study. Most of them perceived a worsening of their mental health status during the COVID-19 pandemic (59.26%). The most frequent mental health problems were anxiety (77.78%), mania (68.52%), substance use (64.81%), somatic symptoms (61.11%), and depressive symptoms (59.26%). A high level of fatigue and an intermediate level of work stress were identified. Discussion and conclusions: The high prevalence of mental health problems in faculty from private institutions shows a significant concern related to mental health. It is essential to advance public policies and provide financial support for faculty mental care and protection in the workplace during the post-pandemic period.

Introduction: The scientific evidence backs up the fact that Advanced Practice Nursing Professionals (APN) improve the quality of care, encourage the professionalization of the discipline, and foster a greater autonomy within the practice. In Mexico, although there isn’t a legal frame regarding the Advanced Practice Nursing within the health system yet, some Advanced Practice Nursing academic programs have already been initiated in public universities. Objective: To analyze the scope of the current Advanced Practice Nursing in Mexico in order to come up with recommendations which can contribute to the academic formation within the graduate studies professional context. Development: This is a proposal based on diverse arguments, including those presented in the book “Patients at Risk” and the recommendations of the World Health Organization as well as on the comparison between two international education programs. The results emphasize the importance of consolidating a solid and rigorous formation of the Advanced Practice Nursing professionals in Mexico. Moreover, the roles which these professionals have are emphasized in terms of their additional responsibilities and competencies which other traditional clinical professionals do not possess. Conclusions: In order to advance in the formation of Advanced Practice Nursing personnel in Mexico, it is highly important to structure a legal frame which acknowledges the functions of these professionals within the health system. Moreover, it is necessary to implement academic programs which comply with the international standards, assuring a rigorous formation which can enable these professionals to practice with security and competence in their enhanced roles. These measures can contribute to the strengthening of the health system and the care which it provides to the populations.