Población y Salud en Mesoamérica

Validity and reliability of a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) assessing food groups consumption and nutrients intake in Costa Rican adolescents

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Introduction: Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ) have been widely used in several age groups, including adolescents, due to their greater advantages over other dietary measurement methods. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the validity and reliability of a FFQ designed for use on Costa Rican adolescents. Methodology: The validation and reproducibility studies were carried out in a sample of 107 adolescents of San José province selected through convenience sampling. For validation, a comparison of the nutrient intake and food consumption data obtained with the FFQ was made with those derived from the 3-day food record (3FR). Reliability was assessed by comparing nutrient intake and food consumption derived from the first FFQ with another FFQ performed four weeks after the first. Results: FFQ overestimates 3FR, with an average overestimation of 40.2% for foods and 38.8% for nutrients. The cross-classification was good for 24 of 26 nutrients and for 12 of the 21 food groups, and the weighted kappa showed an acceptable discriminant ability of the FFQ to categorize individuals into broad nutrient intake (except for protein and cholesterol) and food groups categories (dairy products, white rice, beans, vegetables, fruits and fruit juice, sugary drinks, breakfast cereal, candies and sweets, snacks, fast foods, fat, and ice cream). Conclusions: The FFQ designed for Costa Rican adolescents was unable to assess absolute dietary intakes; however, it is a reasonable tool to categorize adolescents into broad ranges of dietary intakes and could be used to evaluate dietary patterns in epidemiological studies of diet-disease associations.

Acute stress and fear scales during the COVID-19 pandemic: development and evaluation in a Costa Rican sample

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Objective: In the context of the pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2, concerns were raised about how to adequately assess its impact on the wellbeing of the population. The main reason of this paper is to present the preliminary results of psychometric properties of measures created to evaluate such impact. Method: We created and adapted several assessment instruments, and validated them with a volunteer sample of 699 adults (+18), inhabitants of Costa Rica, who filled out an online questionnaire on mental health consequences of the pandemic during September 2020. Results: The results provided evidence of validity and reliability for the new scales developed. Also, they show a negative correlation between resilient coping and acute stress, which could be considered evidence of discriminant validity. Conclusion: In this order, the measures showed acceptable psychometric properties with the evaluated sample. Future research is needed to gather more evidence of reliability and validity in probabilistic samples.

Technoestress and the lack of support from organizations for the adaptation of professionals to home working and its effects

Andréa Justino Ribeiro Mello, Mayara Rodrigues de Carvalho Fernandes Linhares — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Introduction: The pandemic has increased the psychological risks associated with home working, due to the significant intensification of its use. Therefore, we sought to verify the significance of pandemic variables – proposed from the literature review – in analysis models related to technostress and home working, taking into account its effects on satisfaction and happiness with work, on the desire to stay at work and on career stress. Methods: Based on Ragu-Natha et al. (2008) model, the questionnaire used to collect data addressed three technostressors: technoinvasion, technooverload and technouncertainty. In addition to these, pandemic variables were included in the analysis models developed and the relationship between these and technostressors with job satisfaction, happiness with work, the desire to stay in the job and career stress was verified. The questionnaire followed the Likert scale standard, and was sent to respondents by email and WhatsApp, resulting in 188 valid responses from Brazilian professionals who had adopted remote work due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The data obtained were analyzed using the R software and using the Ordinal Logistic Regression technique. Results: Factors related to technooverload and technoinvasion were confirmed as stressors and pandemic factors were significant for the analysis of technostress. Conclusion: Job satisfaction, happiness with work, the desire to stay in the job and career stress were influenced by the variables that compose technostress and also by the variables related to the context of the pandemic, especially the lack of support from organizations for the adaptation to home working.

Analysis of lipid, glycemic and feeding profile of community health workers after the intervention to promote self-care

João Guilherme Bentes Araújo Rodrigues, Maria Rosilene Cândido Moreira — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Introduction: Healthy eating is the result of a process that can be influenced by several factors and can be a challenge even for health professionals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the eating behavior of community health agents (ACS) after their participation in a self-care course. Methodology: Quantitative study, of the research-intervention type, with 55 ACS of the municipality of Assaré, Ceará, Brazil. The intervention was carried out in April and July 2022, making a total of 16 hours. The participants appropriated the contents and exercised the simulation of dishes with meals that they could produce according to their conditions and access. Data collection was performed before and after the intervention, such as the Food Consumption Markers Form, 24-hour Food Recall (RA-24H) and blood collection to assess the lipid and glycemic profile. The stage of behavior change by the light of the Transtheoretical Model was also verified. Results: There was an improvement in eating habits and a reduction in biochemical markers (total cholesterol and fractions, triglycerides and fasting glucose), with a significant difference in glycosylated hemoglobin (p<0.0001). There was an increase in the consumption of beans, fruits and vegetables, with a reduction in the consumption of processed (p = 0.01) and ultra-processed (p = 0.001). Most ACS (60%) were in the action stage for healthy eating. Conclusions: The intervention sensitized ACS for self-care, contributing to healthier behaviors.

Community resilience of women in rural areas of Lempira in the Republic of Honduras

Junko Miyamoto, Minato Nakazawa — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Introduction: Building community resilience is an important part of disaster preparedness. This study aims to determine the factors that influence the status of community resilience and their relationship with social capital. Methods: Data were collected between August and November 2021 by surveying a group of over 18-year-old females in the Republic of Honduras where hit by two hurricanes and a pandemic in 2020. Cluster sampling was used in this study, and face-to-face interviews were done while visiting their houses. The Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Measure (CCRAM) was used to examine community resilience score, while the association between social capital, basic attributes, disaster preparedness, and whether the damages by the two hurricanes in 2020, etc. For statistical analysis, we applied multiple regression analysis. Results: Bonding social capital was a factor that lowered community resilience, and bridging social capital was a factor that raised community resilience. The community resilience for those with an elementary school education was higher than those without education but not different from those with more than an elementary school education. Conclusions: Bridging social capital and completing primary education increased community resilience.

Tobacco consumption influence on spending patterns within Costa Rican households

Erick Enrique Sequeira Benavides — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Tobacco consumption implies a dilemma in the allocation of the family budget. Hence, the objective of this study is to determine the effect of tobacco consumption on expenditure patterns within Costa Rican households. The 2018 National Household Income and Expenditure Survey is used to estimate Engel curves through a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System, using the Seemingly Unrelated Regression model for a set of 11 expenditure categories. Due to heteroskedasticity and endogeneity, the Generalized Method of Moment Three-Stage-Least-Squares (GMM-3SLS) is used since it provides more efficient parameter estimates. Results show that tobacco consumption is associated with a crowding-out effect on health expenditure and with a crowding-in effect on restaurant and hotel expenditures. Furthermore, tobacco consumption shows a crowding-in effect on alcoholic beverages for every income quintile. This suggests that tobacco consumption could harm the country´s standard of living and not only the realm of health.

Capability approach and determinants of out-of-pocket spending on health in households in Argentina

Martín Alejandro Basso, Isabel del Valle Gulli — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

This paper analyzes the out-of-pocket spending of households in Argentina within the framework of the capabilities approach. For this, we worked with the National Household Expenditure Survey, in the period 2017-2018 using a Tobit model as a statistical methodology. It was found that out-of-pocket spending on health as a proportion of household spending increases by 0.0104 with an increase of one percentage point in income. Out-of-pocket spending on health is also affected by the number of members over 65 years of age and under 14 years of age, as well as the educational climate and whether or not the head of household has medical coverage. Finally, there were differences between the different geographical regions of the country.

Development and validation of a Mental Health Self-Care Scale in Peruvian adults Mental Health Self-Care in Peruvian adults

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Introduction: Mental health care has been identified as an important component within the overall health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to develop and validate the Mental Health Self-Care Scale (ESAMEN), gathering evidence about its factorial and convergent validity and its internal consistency. Method: Peruvian adults of both sexes in 2021 participated in the study. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify the structure of the mental health self-care variable. Results: A structure with three dimensions was identified: mental (α = 0.95), social (α = 0.95), and spiritual (α = 0.96). Corroborating the evidence of convergent validity, the dimensions of the ESAMEN showed expected correlations with measures of self-esteem, self-efficacy, eustress, and distress. Conclusion: The final version of the ESAMEN, consisting of 16 items, presents adequate psychometric evidence to assess mental health self-care, and can be used in studies in the Peruvian context.

[Original in Portuguese] The impact of recurring urinary infections on the quality of life of women in outpatient care in Brazil

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Objective: To evaluate the impact of recurring urinary infections on the quality of life of women in outpatient care. Method: Observational, descriptive, and analytical study with 98 women attended in the outpatient clinic of a public teaching hospital in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 49 of these women had recurring urinary infections, confirmed by urine cultures, with no complications; 49 had no recurring urinary infections, and the two groups were matched for age. Quality of life was evaluated using the Brazilian version of the World Health Organization's abbreviated questionnaire WHOQOL-Bref. Results: The quality of life of women with urinary tract infections was more compromised in the physical (p = 0.007) and psychological (p = 0.038) domains. These women also presented a lower self-assessment of quality of life (p = 0.002) when compared to the control group. Women with recurring urinary infections presented significantly lower mean scores than the control group in the facets Energy and fatigue (p = 0.003), Positive Feelings (p = 0.014), Self-esteem (p = 0.040), Dependence on medicinal substances (p = 0.029), Negative Feelings (p = 0.023), and Recreation/leisure activities (p = 0.041). Conclusion: Recurring urinary tract infections have an impact on the quality of life of women, especially in the Physical and Psychological domains, being a significant problem for women, health workers, and the health system as a whole.

[English translation] The impact of recurring urinary infections on the quality of life of women in outpatient care in Brazil

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Comparative analysis of the Mexican and Colombian health system

Héctor García Hernández, David Esquer Bojorquez — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Introduction: The model, proposed by Federico Tobar, for the comparison between health systems mentions the review of three different dimensions: health policies, epidemiological situation, and health system, to delve into similarities and differences that exist between systems from several countries. Proposal: The health systems of Mexico and Colombia share characteristics and reforms that make them similar, however, an analysis framework is required to make a structured comparison. Argument: The reforms in the health policies of Mexico and Colombia generated a fragmented health system that serves different types of populations, in the case of Mexico it is based on social security, and in Colombia on structured pluralism or regulated market; in both cases, it has not been possible to reverse this situation. The health situation in both countries is similar, dominated by a decrease in infectious diseases and an increase in chronic-degenerative diseases, as well as the appearance of health social problems (like homicides). Finally, there are multiple components in both health systems. This generates a scenario with several subsystems in the case of Mexico and different actors in Colombia. Conclusion: Both health systems are fragmented, with policies that try to increase their coverage. They have comparable epidemiological profiles, which suggests that they face related needs within the health system itself. A pending issue for both is the equity in the services which has been unequal.