Los cuidados, un concepto central en la teoría feminista: aportaciones, riesgos y diálogos con la antropología

En este artículo voy a hacer una lectura crítica de la centralidad del concepto de cuidados en la teoría feminista actual, centrándome sobre todo en el trabajo que se está llevando a cabo en el Estado español. Tendré en cuenta las aportaciones feministas pero me fijaré sobre todo en los riesgos de dicha centralidad, que son básicamente dos: el sobredimensionamiento del término “cuidados” (y por tanto, su descontextualización histórica y cultural) y la sentimentalización de la mirada feminista; dos tendencias que pueden estar influyendo también en la reflexión antropológica en este campo. Para ello partiré de mi experiencia como feminista en algunas iniciativas desarrolladas en el ámbito vasco, así como de mi trabajo antropológico sobre las redes o comunidades de apoyo mutuo. Mi idea es establecer un diálogo entre feminismo y antropología para proponer algunos conceptos que pueden ser alternativos o, por lo menos, paralelos al de cuidados y compensar dicha sobredimensión. Me refiero a conceptos como: apoyo mutuo, autoatención y/o reciprocidad.Palabras clave: Cuidados; feminismo; apoyo mutuo; reciprocidad; autoatención.AbstractIn this article I offer a critical reading of the centrality of the concept of care in contemporary feminist theory, focusing mainly on the work being carried out in the Spanish state. I take into account feminist contributions, but I focus on the risks of this centrality: 1) the over-extension of the term “care” (and hence its historical and cultural decontextualization) and 2) the sentimentalization of the feminist outlook, two trends that may also be influencing anthropological reflection in this field. I start from my experience as a feminist in some initiatives developed in the Basque area, as well as my anthropological work on networks and communities of mutual support. My hope is to establish a dialogue between feminism and anthropology to propose some concepts that can be alternative or at least parallel to “care” and compensate for this over-extension. I suggest concepts such as “mutual support,” “self-care” and/or “reciprocity.”Keywords: Care; feminism; mutual support; reciprocity; self-care

Identidades de género, feminismo, sexualidad y amor: Los cuerpos como agentes

This article analyzes, on the one hand, the influence of sexuality and love in the construction and change of gender identity as well as the interrelations between the options and preferences of the persons and his/hers concrete sexual and affectionate practices. On the other hand, from our point of view gender, corpority, sexuality and love are ways of “being” in this world and also conceptuals frames and experiences separates but, at the same time, narrowly inter related. The analisys is based on the descriptions given by feminist women interviewed in the frame of an ethnographic study of romantic love.En este artículo se analizan la influencia de la sexualidad y el amor en la conformación y cambio de las identidades de género, así como las interrelaciones entre las opciones y preferencias de las personas y sus prácticas sexuales y amorosas concretas. Asimismo, se defiende la idea de que hay que entender el género, la corporeidad, la sexualidad y el amor como formas de “estar” en el mundo y como ámbitos conceptuales y experienciales separados entre sí pero estrechamente interrelacionados. Todo ello a partir del análisis de los relatos de dos mujeres feministas, entrevistadas en el marco de un estudio etnográfico sobre al amor romántico

Herida de política y cárcel. El relato encarnado de una activista

The main objective of this article is to show that, in order to understand in a broad and complex way the what and the how of certain individual and collective political transformations taking place in the Basque context (in particular with regard to an activist incarcerated for several years), we need to delve into their corporeal and gender dimensions. Such analysis is, I believe, enriched and diversified by considering emotional and sensorial experiences that are often overlooked in anthropological literature, such as, in this case, smell, laughter, voice and shame.El objetivo principal de este artículo es mostrar que, para entender de una manera amplia y compleja el qué y el cómo de algunas transformaciones políticas individuales y colectivas que se están produciendo en el contexto del proceso de paz que está viviendo la sociedad vasca (y en concreto, la de una activista que ha estado varios años en la cárcel), es necesario adentrarnos en la dimensión corporal y de género de las mismas. Asimismo, este análisis se puede enriquecer y diversificar todavía más si reparamos en experiencias emocionales y sensoriales que suelen ser obviadas en la literatura antropológica, como son, en este caso, el olor, la risa, la voz o la vergüenza

El estudio de la salud y el género: las ventajas de un enfoque antropológico y feminista

As its title indicates, this article demonstrates the advantages of both an anthropological and a feminist approach to the study of processes relating to health, illness and care whether or not in specific reference to gender relations. To this objetive, different issues are analyzed in relation to two main subjects: the social naturalization of women and the distinction between the concepts of sex and gender. The article as a whole argues that an adequate analysis of the differences in the health of men and women requires a vision which is neither determinist nor denaturalizes the body and health, as well as a correct use of the concept of gender. For this purpose it is important to take into account feminist contributions and revisions, which in turn can be reinforced by the arguments of medical anthropology.Como su propio título indica, en este artículo se muestran las ventajas de un enfoque a la vez antropológico y feminista para el estudio de los procesos de salud/enfermedad/atención referidos exclusivamente o no a las relaciones de género. Para ello se analizan distintas cuestiones relacionadas con dos grandes temas: la naturalización social de las mujeres y la distinción de los conceptos de sexo y género. En conjunto, se defiende que un análisis adecuado de las desigualdades en salud de hombres y mujeres requiere una visión no determinista y desnaturalizadora del cuerpo y la salud, así como una utilización correcta del concepto de género, para lo que es preciso tener en cuenta las aportaciones y revisiones feministas, que pueden verse potenciadas por los planteamientos de la antropología de la salud

Equality and gender amongst young Basque people : a crossroads of continuities, conflicts and ruptures

The aim of the research we present in this article is to offer a general overview of the situation in the Basque Country concerning gender equality/inequality among young people. This paper is based on qualitative research conducted with young Basque people (15-30 years old). In the first part, a portrait of the young Basque population is presented with regard to formal equality and changes occurring in Spanish and Basque society over the last three decades, as well as a brief review of youth studies focusing on gender analysis. In the second part, the main results of this research are outlined, following three main lines of enquiry in relation to the maintenance or transformation of asymmetrical gender models: continuities, conflicts and ruptures.En este artículo ofrecemos un diagnóstico general sobre la situación de igualdad/desigualdad de género entre la juventud vasca. El artículo está basado en una investigación cualitativa llevada a cabo con jóvenes vascas/os de entre 15 y 30 años. En la primera parte se abordan dos aspectos. Inicialmente, se hace un retrato de la población vasca joven en relación a la igualdad formal y a los cambios ocurridos tanto en la sociedad española como en la vasca en las tres últimas décadas. A continuación, se realiza una breve revisión de los estudios sobre juventud focalizando en el análisis de las relaciones de género. En la segunda parte del texto, se comentarán los principales resultados obtenidos en el estudio, ordenados de acuerdo a tres grandes apartados relacionados con el mantenimiento o transformación de modelos desiguales de género; esto es, incidiendo en las continuidades, los conflictos y las rupturas

Population-based colorectal cancer screening programmes using a faecal immunochemical test:Should faecal haemoglobin cut-offs differ by age and sex?

Abstract Background The Basque Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme has both high participation rate and high compliance rate of colonoscopy after a positive faecal occult blood test (FIT). Although, colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with biannual (FIT) has shown to reduce CRC mortality, the ultimate effectiveness of the screening programmes depends on the accuracy of FIT and post-FIT colonoscopy, and thus, harms related to false results might not be underestimated. Current CRC screening programmes use a single faecal haemoglobin concentration (f-Hb) cut-off for colonoscopy referral for both sexes and all ages. We aimed to determine optimum f-Hb cut-offs by sex and age without compromising neoplasia detection and interval cancer proportion. Methods Prospective cohort study using a single-sample faecal immunochemical test (FIT) on 444,582 invited average-risk subjects aged 50–69 years. A result was considered positive at ≥20 μg Hb/g faeces. Outcome measures were analysed by sex and age for a wide range of f-Hb cut-offs. Results We analysed 17,387 positive participants in the programme who underwent colonoscopy. Participation rate was 66.5%. Men had a positivity rate for f-Hb of 8.3% and women 4.8% (p < 0.0001). The detection rate for advanced neoplasia (cancer plus advanced adenoma) was 44.0‰ for men and 15.9‰ for women (p < 0.0001). The number of colonoscopies required decreased in both sexes and all age groups through increasing the f-Hb cut-off. However, the loss in CRC detection increased by up to 28.1% in men and 22.9% in women. CRC missed were generally at early stages (Stage I-II: from 70.2% in men to 66.3% in women). Conclusions This study provides detailed outcomes in men and women of different ages at a range of f-Hb cut-offs. We found differences in positivity rates, neoplasia detection rate, number needed to screen, and interval cancers in men and women and in younger and older groups. However, there are factors other than sex and age to consider when consideration is given to setting the f-Hb cut-off

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI &lt;18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For school&#x2;aged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI &lt;2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI &gt;2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake