Qualidade de vida de familiares de pessoas surdas atendidas em um centro de reabilitação Quality of life of deaf people's relatives assisted in a rehabilitation center

O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a qualidade de vida de pais de pessoas surdas de um serviço de reabilitação. Trata-se de estudo descritivo, realizado no período de março a junho de 2005, que contou com uma amostra de quinze familiares de surdos atendidos no CEPRE/FCM/UNICAMP. Foi utilizado o instrumento genérico de avaliação de qualidade de vida World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), versão em português, além de um questionário de identificação e dados sociodemográficos. Na análise estatística descritiva, utilizou-se o SPSS, com escores transformados de zero a 100. O estudo foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Unicamp. Os entrevistados foram na maioria do sexo feminino (93,3%), todos ouvintes, donas de casa, idade média de 44 anos. Na avaliação dos diferentes domínios do WHOQOL-BREF, de um modo geral, os familiares entrevistados consideraram ter uma qualidade de vida “boa” e “muito boa”. O estudo revelou melhor qualidade de vida nos aspectos físicos (73,8) e das relações sociais (72,2) e uma menor percepção de qualidade de vida no domínio de meio ambiente (51,8), provavelmente pelas próprias características socioculturais dos entrevistados, e no domínio psicológico (63,3), que pode estar relacionado à vivência da surdez de um filho.<br>The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life of deaf people's relatives in a rehabilitation service. This descriptive study was conducted from March to June 2005 and a sample of fifteen parents of deaf people assisted in CEPRE/FCM/UNICAMP was interviewed. It was used a Portuguese version of the generic instrument of quality of life assessment WHOQOL- BREF (World Health Organization Quality of Life), along with an identification questionnaire and socio-demographic data. The SPSS program was used in the statistics analysis, with the scores transformed from zero to 100. The Research Ethics Committee of the School of Medical Sciences of Unicamp approved this investigation. The sample interviewed consisted in a majority of women (93.3%), all homemakers with an average of 44 years old. The evaluation of the different items at WHOQOL - BREF indicated that the relatives interviewed admitted to have a “good” or a “very good” quality of life. The study showed a better quality of life in the physical (73.8%) and social relationship aspects (72.2%). A lower perception could be seen in the environment domain (51.8%) probably because of their socio-cultural conditions, as well as in the psychological domain (63.3%), which may be related to the fact of living together with a deaf child

Disturbances, elevation, topography and spatial proximity drive vegetation patterns along an altitudinal gradient of a top biodiversity hotspot

The correlation between vegetation patterns (species distribution and richness) and altitudinal variation has been widely reported for tropical forests, thereby providing theoretical basis for biodiversity conservation. However, this relationship may have been oversimplified, as many other factors may influence vegetation patterns, such as disturbances, topography and geographic distance. Considering these other factors, our primary question was: is there a vegetation pattern associated with substantial altitudinal variation (10-1,093 m a.s.l.) in the Atlantic Rainforest-a top hotspot for biodiversity conservation-and, if so, what are the main factors driving this pattern? We addressed this question by sampling 11 1-ha plots, applying multivariate methods, correlations and variance partitioning. The Restinga (forest on sandbanks along the coastal plains of Brazil) and a lowland area that was selectively logged 40 years ago were floristically isolated from the other plots. The maximum species richness (>200 spp. per hectare) occurred at approximately 350 m a.s.l. (submontane forest). Gaps, multiple stemmed trees, average elevation and the standard deviation of the slope significantly affected the vegetation pattern. Spatial proximity also influenced the vegetation pattern as a structuring environmental variable or via dispersal constraints. Our results clarify, for the first time, the key variables that drive species distribution and richness across a large altitudinal range within the Atlantic Rainforest. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht