How to keep medical preceptors effectively motivated in a web-learning environment? An overview

Distance learning has strengthened medical education, especially in geographically extensive regions. Despite the many characteristics of these web-based resources, the motivation of students to perform effectively in virtual educational programs remains a challenge. Resumen: La educación a distancia ha permitido potenciar la educación médica, especialmente en regiones geográficas más extensas. A pesar de la gran cantidad de propiedades de los recursos Web, los aspectos motivacionales de los alumnos para un desempeño efectivo en los programas de educación virtual siguen siendo un desafío. Keywords: Distance education, Medical education, Preceptorship, Palabras clave: Educación a distancia, Educación médica, Preceptorí

Ocorrência de tuberculose doença entre contatos de tuberculose sensível e multirresistente Occurrence of active tuberculosis in households inhabited by patients with susceptible and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis

INTRODUÇÃO: Desde os primeiros anos da quimioterapia anti-tuberculose, existe polêmica a respeito da transmissibilidade, infectividade, virulência e patogenicidade de bacilos sensíveis e resistentes à quimioterapia. OBJETIVO: Determinar a ocorrência de casos de tuberculose doença entre contatos intra-domiciliares de tuberculose multirresistente e tuberculose sensível. MÉTODO: Foi realizado um estudo caso-controle, sendo considerado tuberculose multirresistente o caso de portador de bacilo resistente a pelo menos rifampicina e isoniazida, e tuberculose sensível o caso que tivesse feito o primeiro tratamento num período semelhante ao primeiro tratamento do caso de tuberculose multirresistente, estando o paciente curado no momento da entrevista. Contato foi definido como o residente no domicílio do caso índice. Os casos foram selecionados a partir dos resultados dos testes de sensibilidade obtidos pelo método das proporções no Laboratório Central do Estado do Ceará, e os controles constituídos por pacientes bacilíferos registrados no Programa de Controle da Tuberculose, entre 1.990 e 1.999. RESULTADOS: Foram avaliados 126 portadores de tuberculose multirresistente e 176 de tuberculose sensível. O número de contatos foi de 557 no grupo dos casos, 752 no grupo controle e a média de contatos por caso índice foi de 4,42 e 4,27 respectivamente. Entre os casos, 4,49% dos contatos (25/557) fizeram tratamento para tuberculose após os casos índices. Esse percentual foi de 5,45% (41/752) entre os controles (p = 0,4468). Ocorreu micro-epidemia de tuberculose multirresistente confirmada por teste de sensibilidade em oito famílias. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados deste estudo sugerem que a ocorrência de tratamentos de tuberculose gerados entre contatos intra-domiciliares de tuberculose sensível e tuberculose multirresistente é semelhante.<br>BACKGROUND: Since the first years of antituberculosis chemotherapy, there has been controversy regarding the transmissibility, infectiousness, virulence and pathogenicity of susceptible and drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of active tuberculosis (TB) among individuals cohabiting with patients infected with susceptible and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). METHODS: A case-control study was conducted. Cases of MDR-TB were defined as those infected with M. tuberculosis strains resistant to at least rifampin and isoniazid. Susceptible TB cases (controls) were defined as those first treated at approximately the same time as the first treatment of the MDR-TB cases - and cured by the time of the interview. Study cases were selected on the basis of the results of susceptibility tests, using the proportion method, carried out at the Central Laboratory of Public Health of the State of Ceará. The control group consisted of patients enrolled in the Tuberculosis Control Program between 1990 and 1999. RESULTS: We evaluated 126 patients and 176 controls. The number of individuals sharing the household with patients was 557 in the MDR-TB group and 752 in the controls. The average number of exposed individuals per index case was 4.42 and 4.27 among patients and controls, respectively. Of the 557 MDR-TB-exposed individuals, 4.49% (25) received antituberculosis treatment after the respective index case had begun treatment, compared to 5.45% (41/752) among the controls (p = 0.4468). Microepidemics of MDR-TB were confirmed in eight families. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the incidence of active TB is comparable between households inhabited by MDR-TB patients and those inhabited by susceptible-TB patients