Validation of a tool to disclose HIV diagnosis to children and adolescents

Introducción. La revelación del diagnóstico de VIH/Sida a niños y adolescentes ha tenido beneficios y desafíos para las familias afectadas. Objetivo. Validar la herramienta “Mi Dragón Dormido” para el proceso de revelación del diagnóstico de VIH/Sida a menores de 15 años. Materiales y métodos. Se seleccionaron 10 jueces expertos y 40 cuidadores de niños seropositivos y seronegativos para VIH mediante muestreo no probabilístico intencional. Se administraron cuestionarios estructurados para evaluar cinco componentes de eficacia y se realizó análisis descriptivo de los datos y tabulación mediante el programa IBM SPSS Versión 24. Resultados. Jueces expertos y cuidadores determinaron que el formato y los mensajes fueron claros y favorecieron la identificación y aceptación. También indicaron que la herramienta permitió un cambio de comportamiento en el público objetivo. Conclusión. La herramienta es válida para apoyar el proceso de revelación de diagnóstico a niños con VIH y demostró aceptación en población seronegativa, lo que sugiere que puede ser utilizada en hogares y contextos educativos para promover comportamientos que respalden la salud, el bienestar general y la reducción de prácticas discriminatorias hacia las personas con VIH.Introduction: The disclosure of the HIV/AIDS diagnosis to children and adolescents has benefits and challenges for affected families. Objective: To validate the tool Mi Dragón Dormido (My Sleeping Dragon) during the process of disclosing an HIV/AIDS diagnosis to children under the age of 15. Materials and methods: 10 expert judges and 40 caregivers of HIV-positive and HIV-negative children were selected using nonprobability purposive sampling. Structured questionnaires were applied to evaluate five efficacy components. A descriptive analysis of data and tabulation were performed using IBM SPSS Version 24 software. Results: Expert judges and caregivers determined that the format and the messages were clear and favored identification and acceptance. They also stated that the tool enabled behavior change in the target audience. Conclusion: The tool is valid for supporting the process of disclosure of diagnosis to children with HIV and demonstrated acceptance in HIV-negative populations, suggesting that it can be used in homes and educational settings to promote behaviors that support health, general well-being and the reduction of discriminatory practices towards people with HIV

The spanish body image state scale: factor structure, reliability and validity in a colombian population

Objective: Body image is a construct highly dependent on culture and ethnicity. Furthermore, recent studies reveal that body image is not only a trait, but also a momentary state subject to change in diverse situational contexts. However, cultural influences on momentary body image have not been sufficiently investigated. To assess the influence of Latin American culture on momentary body image and to enable its comparison to Western countries, the Spanish translation of an existing state body image scale such as the Body Image States Scale (BISS) is needed. In addition, the factor structure, reliability and general validity of the Spanish BISS (S-BISS) should be evaluated prior to its application in diverse situational contexts. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study evaluating 1137 individuals between the ages of 18 and 28 years from Barranquilla, Colombia, South America. The original BISS, which assesses body satisfaction, was translated from English to Spanish. Factorial structure, scale score reliability and convergent/divergent validity were assessed. Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a one-factor model with correlated items best described the factorial structure present in the BISS questionnaire. The coefficient of scale score reliability was a = 0.92 (McDonalds & = 0.93), with similar results for men and women. Significant differences between males and females were found with lesser body satisfaction in females (W = 163260, p = 0.016). Lower S-BISS scores indicating less body satisfaction were associated with higher BMI (r = −0.287, p < 0.001) and obtained in participants who were currently on a diet (t1135 = −3.98, p < 0.001). The S-BISS was negatively correlated with a trait body image measurement assessing body dissatisfaction (Body Shape Questionnaire, r = −0.577, p < 0.001) and a psychopathology questionnaire (Brief Symptom Inventory 53, r = −0.331, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The S-BISS is a valid and reliable instrument to assess body image in the Colombian population, and exhibits similar psychometric properties to those of the original version. Future studies should examine whether the S-BISS captures change in state body image when applied in diverse situational contexts

Utility of a Short Neuropsychological Protocol for Detecting HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders in Patients with Asymptomatic HIV-1 Infection

Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is a chronic disease that affects ~40 million people worldwide. HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are common in individuals with HIV-1 Infection, and represent a recent public health problem. Here we evaluate the performance of a recently proposed short protocol for detecting HAND by studying 60 individuals with HIV-1-Infection and 60 seronegative controls from a Caribbean community in Barranquilla, Colombia. The short evaluation protocol used significant neuropsychological tests from a previous study of asymptomatic HIV-1 infected patients and a group of seronegative controls. Brief screening instruments, i.e., the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) and the International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS), were also applied. Using machine-learning techniques, we derived predictive models of HAND status, and evaluated their performance with the ROC curves. The proposed short protocol performs exceptionally well yielding sensitivity, specificity, and overall prediction values >90%, and better predictive capacity than that of the MMSE and IHDS. Community-specific cut-off values for HAND diagnosis, based on the MMSE and IHDS, make this protocol suitable for HAND screening in individuals from this Caribbean community. This study shows the effectivity of a recently proposed short protocol to detect HAND in individuals with asymptomatic HIV-1-Infection. The application of community-specific cut-off values for HAND diagnosis in the clinical setting may improve HAND screening accuracy and facilitate patients’ treatment and follow-up. Further studies are needed to assess the performance of this protocol in other Latin American populations

Descriptive study of autopsies in the Atlantic and Magdalena departments/Estudio descriptivo de las autopsias en los departamentos Atlántico y Magdalena

The present study is aimed to determine some epidemiological aspects related to homicides committed by hired killers with firearms. We conducted a data collection survey of historical records from the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. The sample (n = 310) is composed of homicide victims in 2007 in the departments of Atlántico and Magdalena. We found that 93.5 % of the victims were male. Most of the victims (38.7 %) were found in the age range between 21 and 30 years old. A high percentage (32.9 %) of the victims were unmar- ried. The most common racial trait was the “mestizo” (94.2 %). A percentage of 48.4 % of the victims had a height between 161 and 170 cms. The days with higher incidence of killings were Mondays (19 %) and Fridays (18.4 %). The places where most of the murders happened were “in public” places with a percentage of 33.2 %. The most common number of bullet impacts was “2” with a 21.3 %. The most common body region impacted was on the head. Finally the paper presents the findings of the study

Análisis de la responsabilidad criminal en reclusos colombianos acusados de homicidio

[ES] El objetivo general de esta tesis doctoral es valorar la responsabilidad criminal en Homicidas Colombianos. Como objetivo específico se intenta disponer de una técnica que, debidamente adaptada a la población colombiana, pueda detectar y discrimar, adecuadamente, a los responsables criminamente de los delitos cometidos.[EN] The overall objective of this thesis is to assess criminal responsibility Homicidal Colombians. The specific objectives were trying to have a technique that, properly adapted to the Colombian population, can detect and discrimination, appropriately, those responsible for criminal offenses

Evaluación de la responsabilidad criminal en una muestra de reclusos(as) en la ciudad de Barranquilla, Colombia, con el R-CRAS

La responsabilidad criminal es un concepto objeto de estudio para la psicología forense. Se ha definido como la capacidad cognitiva de una persona para apreciar la naturaleza de lo injusto de su acto. En Latinoamérica, y de manera más específica en Colombia, no ha sido ampliamente estudiada, y existe escasa literatura sobre los instrumentos que permiten evaluarla. En este estudio se buscó establecer la responsabilidad criminal de 154 reclusos(as) sindicados y acusados por el delito de homicidio, utilizando el instrumento R-CRAS de Rogers (1986), el cual ha sido adaptado para Colombia por Mebarak y Jiménez (2010), con el fin de ampliar esta línea de investigación. Se pudo encontrar que a pesar de que la mayoría de reclusos reconocen su participación, culpa e implicaciones en los eventos relacionados con el crimen por el cual se encuentran recluidos, existe un porcentaje que aún no logra comprender la ilicitud de su acto (19,8%). Además, mucha información que se requiere para realizar una evaluación completa no era proporcionada por los centros carcelarios, y esto dejó un amplio vacío. Frente a esta situación, se necesitan mayores intervenciones de la psicología forense en las prisiones, y sobre todo el desarrollo de instrumentos de evaluación que permitan una mejor aproximación frente a esta problemática. Se discuten las implicaciones

Estudio exploratorio para la evaluación de la memoria semántica multimodal en niños colombianos

Semantic memory (SM) is a type of long-term memory associated with the storage of general information about the world. Here we assessed the characteristics of the SM battery, developed by Catricalà et al. (2013), in a sample of Colombian children. This battery was originally conceived to evaluate adults, and features six subtests that assess SM in different modalities, using a common set of 48 stimuli in both living and nonliving categories. The design of the current study is of a cross-sectional and exploratory type. The sample was composed of 111 children, 57 boys (51%) and 54 girls (49%), who were 6 (n = 68) and 7 (n = 43) years old and had no intellectual disability. Robust linear regression models and correlation networks were used. We found an effect of age on general intelligence after correcting for gender, and no differences on the six subtest scores after corrections for gender and age were performed. Furthermore, age was found to be positively associated with the naming of colored photographs (β = .75, p = .039), naming in response to an oral description (β = 1.81, p = .039), picture sorting at four levels (β = 7.22, p = .029), and sentence verification (β = 26.66, p = .01). In addition, there were differences between the results obtained in adults in the original study and in the children of our study. This exploratory study supports the feasibility of the Spanish translation of the Catricalà et al. (2013) battery to assess SM in children with a nonclinical condition. Future studies are needed to evaluate the psychometric properties of this SM battery, and to corroborate and expand our findings in a larger sample of control children, and in children with some degree of intellectual disability or suffering of some neurodegenerative or psychiatric conditions.La memoria semántica (SM) es un tipo de memoria a largo plazo asociada con el almacenamiento de información general sobre el mundo. Aquí evaluamos las características de la batería SM, desarrollada por Catricalà et al. (2013), en una muestra de niños colombianos. Esta batería fue concebida originalmente para evaluar adultos, y presenta seis subpruebas que evalúan SM en diferentes modalidades, utilizando un conjunto común de 48 estímulos en las categorías de vida y no vida. El diseño del presente estudio es de tipo transversal y exploratorio. La muestra estaba compuesta por 111 niños, 57 niños (51%) y 54 niñas (49%), que tenían 6 (n = 68) y 7 (n = 43) años y no tenían discapacidad intelectual. Se utilizaron modelos de regresión lineal robustos y redes de correlación. Encontramos un efecto de la edad en la inteligencia general después de corregir por género, y no hubo diferencias en las seis puntuaciones de la subprueba después de realizar correcciones por género y edad. Además, se encontró que la edad se asociaba positivamente con el nombramiento de fotografías en color (β = .75, p = .039), nombrando en respuesta a una descripción oral (β = 1.81, p = .039), clasificación de imágenes en cuatro niveles (β = 7.22, p = .029) y verificación de oraciones (β = 26.66, p = .01). Además, hubo diferencias entre los resultados obtenidos en adultos en el estudio original y en los niños de nuestro estudio. Este estudio exploratorio respalda la viabilidad de la traducción al español de Catricalà et al. (2013) batería para evaluar SM en niños con una condición no clínica. Se necesitan estudios futuros para evaluar las propiedades psicométricas de esta batería SM, y para corroborar y expandir nuestros hallazgos en una muestra más grande de niños control, y en niños con algún grado de discapacidad intelectual o que padecen algunas condiciones neurodegenerativas o psiquiátricas

Aulas develadas.2 : la práctica, con investigación, se cambia

El lector tiene en sus manos el segundo libro de la colección "Aulas develadas: la práctica, con investigación, se cambia", producto de las investigaciones de aula adelantadas por docentes de la Universidad del Norte, con el apoyo del Centro para la Excelencia Docente (CEDU), en el programa Laboratorios Pedagógicos. Ese libro recopila los resultados de las investigaciones en el programa laboratorios pedagógicos del CEDU; estudiantes de educación, docentes de instituciones públicas y privadas y lectores interesados en el tema encontrarán aquí propuestas pedagógicas innovadoras en las áreas de ingeniería, salud pública, derecho, matemáticas y diseño industrial, entre otras