Quality of life in elderly with dizziness

Dizziness is frequent in elderly people. AIMS: To evaluate the Quality of Life (QoL) in elderly subjects with dizziness, relate it with gender and age. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A prospective study comprising 120 elderly patients with dizziness evaluated with Brazilian versions of the Whoqol-bref and the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI). The factor analysis (FA), the Mann Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests, and the Spearman correlation were applied to study the results. RESULTS: The most compromised domains were the DHI physical domain and the Whoqol-bref physical and environment domains. FA resulted in 3 factors in the DHI and 5 factors in the Whoqol-bref. There was a moderate correlation (-0.596) in the total scores of both instruments. Males had a better QoL in the environment perception and introspectivity and health perception factors of the Whoqol-bref test. Females had a better QoL in the functionality perception factor of the Whoqol-bref test. There were no significant age differences. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly patients with dizziness have a worse QoL. Elderly females with dizziness have worse QoL scores in environment perception and introspectivity and health perception and better QoL in the functionality perception factor compared to elderly males.Tontura é muito frequente em idosos. OBJETIVOS: Avaliar a qualidade de vida (QV) em idosos vestibulopatas e relacioná-la com o gênero e a faixa etária. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Estudo prospectivo que incluiu série de 120 casos de idosos com tontura que foram avaliados por meio das versões brasileiras dos questionários Whoqol-bref e Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI). Os resultados obtidos foram submetidos à Análise Fatorial (AF) e aos testes de Mann Whitney, Kruskal Wallis e correlação de Spearman. RESULTADOS: O domínio físico avaliado pelo DHI, e o físico e o ambiental do Whoqol-bref foram os mais comprometidos. A AF resultou em 3 fatores no DHI e 5 no Whoqol-bref: Houve moderada correlação (-0,596) entre o escore total de ambos os instrumentos. Os homens apresentaram melhor QV nos fatores percepção ambiental e introspectividade e percepção da saúde do Whoqol-bref. As idosas obtiveram melhor QV no fator percepção da funcionalidade do Whoqol-bref. Não houve diferenças significantes entre os fatores dos dois instrumentos por faixa etária. CONCLUSÕES: Idosos vestibulopatas apresentam QV prejudicada. As idosas vestibulopatas apresentam pior QV em relação aos fatores percepção ambiental e introspectividade e percepção da saúde e melhor QV em relação ao fator percepção da funcionalidade que os homens.UNIFESP-EPMUNIBAN Programa de Mestrado em Reabilitação do Equilíbrio Corporal e Inclusão SocialUNIFESP-EPM Departamento de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia de Cabeça e PescoçoUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia de Cabeça e PescoçoSciEL

Policies, Political-Economy, and Swidden in Southeast Asia

For centuries swidden was an important farming practice found across the girth of Southeast Asia. Today, however, these systems are changing and sometimes disappearing at a pace never before experienced. In order to explain the demise or transitioning of swidden we need to understand the rapid and massive changes that have and are occurring in the political and economic environment in which these farmers operate. Swidden farming has always been characterized by change, but since the onset of modern independent nation states, governments and markets in Southeast Asia have transformed the terms of swiddeners’ everyday lives to a degree that is significantly different from that ever experienced before. In this paper we identified six factors that have contributed to the demise or transformation of swidden systems, and support these arguments with examples from China (Xishuangbanna), Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. These trends include classifying swiddeners as ethnic minorities within nation-states, dividing the landscape into forest and permanent agriculture, expansion of forest departments and the rise of conservation, resettlement, privatization and commoditization of land and land-based production, and expansion of market infrastructure and the promotion of industrial agriculture. In addition we note a growing trend toward a transition from rural to urban livelihoods and expanding urban-labor markets

Human Rights in the Context of Environmental Conservation on the US-Mexico Border

At Cabeza Priesta National Wildlife Refuge, a wilderness area on the US-Mexico border in Arizona, conflicting policies permit the provision of supplementary water for wildlife but not for undocumented immigrants passing through the area. Federal refuge environmental policy prioritizes active management of endangered and threatened species. Vast systems of water resources have been developed to support wildlife conservation in this extremely hot and dry environment. At the same time, humanitarian groups are not allowed to supply water to undocumented border crossers in the park. Human border-crossers must utilize non-potable wildlife water guzzlers for survival and face risk of illness or death by dehydration. This article analyzes human rights via an ethnographic lens. From this perspective, water policy at the wildlife refuge brings into question the value of human life in a border conservation context, especially for those entering the site illegally

Networking in the Commons: A Tragedy for Rattan?

Page range: 95-10

Review of The Real and Imagined Role of Culture in Development: Case Studies From Indonesia

Page range: 125-12