Differential characteristics of young and midlife adult users of psychotherapy, psychotropic medications, or both: information from a population representative sample in São Paulo, Brazil

Mutu pelayanan di rumah sakit tak lepas dari kinerja sumber daya manusia keperawatan. Setiap organisasi memiliki budaya yang merupakan faktor penting yang menentukan keberhasilan organisasi  dalam mencapai tujuannya. Penelitian yang bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi hubungan antara persepsi perawat pelaksana tentang budaya organisasi dengan kinerjanya di ruang rawat inap sebuah RS di Bogor ini, merupakan penelitian cross sectional yang melibatkan 113 perawat. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah instrumen budaya organisasi dan kinerja yang telah dimodifikasi. Sebanyak 79.6% perawat pelaksana mempersepsikan kinerjanya baik dan 85% mempersepsikan budaya organisasinya baik. Perawat pelaksana yang berpersepsi baik terhadap organisasinya, mereka juga berkinerja lebih baik. Karakteristik perawat pelaksana dan persepsi perawat pelaksana terhadap budaya organisasi tidak berhubungan dengan kinerja. Budaya organisasi yang sudah baik dankinerja yang optimalperlu dipertahankan dengan selalu mengevaluasi tiap komponennya,baik oleh manajemen maupun individu keperawatan. Abstract The Nurse Practitioners’ Perception on OrganizationalCulture and Work Performance. The quality of hospital services is supported by several aspects, including the work performance of human resources in nursing. Every organization has a culture which is an important factor that determines the success of the organization in achieving its goals. The research aimed to identify the relationship between the perceptions of nurses about the organizational culture with theirwork performance in inpatient ward at a hospital in Bogor, a cross-sectional study involving 113 nurses. The instrument used was the modified instrument of organizational culture and work performance. A total of 79.6% of nurses perceiving good performance and 85% perceive the organizational culture good. Nurses who have good perception for the organizational cultura, they also perform better. Characteristics of nurses and nurses’ perceptions of the organizational culture is not related to the work performance.Good organizational and optimum work performance need to maintain with evaluating each its component. Keyword: nurse practitioners, organizational culture, work performanceMutu pelayanan di rumah sakit tak lepas dari kinerja sumber daya manusia keperawatan. Setiap organisasi memiliki budaya yang merupakan faktor penting yang menentukan keberhasilan organisasi dalam mencapai tujuannya. Penelitian yang bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi hubungan antara persepsi perawat pelaksana tentang budaya organisasi dengan kinerjanya di ruang rawat inap sebuah Rumah Sakit di Bogor ini, merupakan penelitian cross sectional yang melibatkan 113 perawat. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah instrumen budaya organisasi dan kinerja yang telah dimodifikasi. Sebanyak 79.6% perawat pelaksana mempersepsikan kinerjanya baik dan 85% mempersepsikan budaya organisasinya baik. Perawat pelaksana yang berpersepsi baik terhadap organisasinya, mereka juga berkinerja lebih baik. Karakteristik perawat pelaksana dan persepsi perawat pelaksana terhadap budaya organisasi tidak berhubungan dengan kinerja. Budaya organisasi yang sudah baik dankinerja yang optimal perlu dipertahankan dengan selalu mengevaluasi tiap komponennya,baik oleh manajemen maupun individu keperawatan. Abstract The Nurse Practitioners’ Perception on Organizational Culture and Work Performance. The quality of hospital services is supported by several aspects, including the work performance of human resources in nursing. Every organization has a culture which is an important factor that determines the success of the organization in achieving its goals. The research aimed to identify the relationship between the perceptions of nurses about the organizational culture with theirwork performance in inpatient ward at a hospital in Bogor, a cross-sectional study involving 113 nurses. The instrument used was the modified instrument of organizational culture and work performance. A total of 79,6% of nurses perceiving good performance and 85% perceive the organizational culture good. Nurses who have good perception for the organizational cultura, they also perform better. Characteristics of nurses and nurses’ perceptions of the organizational culture is not related to the work performance. Good organizational and optimum work performance need to maintain with evaluating each its component. Keyword: nurse practitioners, organizational culture, work performanc

Prevalence and Correlates of Physical Inactivity among Older Adults in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

BackgroundCurrent information on the epidemiology of physical inactivity among older adults is lacking, making it difficult to target the inactive and to plan for interventions to ameliorate adverse effects.ObjectivesTo present statewide representative findings on the prevalence of physical inactivity among older community residents, its correlates and associated health service use.MethodsA representative non-institutionalized random sample of 6963 individuals in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, aged >= 60 years, was interviewed face-to-face. Information was obtained on demographic characteristics, social resources, health conditions and behaviors, health service use, and physical inactivity. Controlled logistic regression was used to determine the association of physical inactivity with these characteristics.ResultsOverall, 62% reported no regular physical activity. Physical inactivity was significantly more prevalent among women, older persons, those with lower education and income, Afro-Brazilians (73%; White: 61%; other: 64%), those no longer married, and was associated with multiple individual health conditions and impaired activities of daily living (ADL). in adjusted analyses, associations remained for sociodemographic characteristics, social participation, impaired self-rated health, ADL, vision, and depression (odds ratios (OR) 1.2-1.7). Physically inactive respondents were less likely to report outpatient visits (OR 0.81), but more likely to be hospitalized (OR 1.41).ConclusionsPhysical inactivity is highly prevalent, particularly among Afro -Brazilians. It is associated with adverse sociodemographic characteristics; lack of social interaction; and poor self-rated health, ADL, vision, and depression; although not with other health conditions. Self-care may be neglected, resulting in hospitalization.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Bolsista de Produtividade em PesquisaNational Institute on AgingUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Psychiat, São Paulo, BrazilDuke Univ, Med Ctr, Ctr Study Aging & Human Dev, Durham, NC 27710 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Psychiat, São Paulo, BrazilBolsista de Produtividade em Pesquisa: 306156/2011-3National Institute on Aging: 1P30 AG028716Web of Scienc

Prevalence and Concomitants of Arthritis in the Elderly in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Objectives: Information on the prevalence and concomitants of arthritis in developing countries is sparse. It is unclear whether they are comparable to findings in developed countries. To ascertain the prevalence, demographic characteristics, and health-related concomitants of arthritis in older persons in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, a middle income country.Methods: the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, was subdivided into nine regions. Stratified random sampling was used to identify 880 community residents age >= 60 years in each region. One region with suspect data was excluded. of 7040 community residents contacted in eight regions, 6963 participated (1.1% refusal rate). in 1995, trained, monitored interviewers, using structured questionnaires, conducted in-home interviews gathering information on demographic characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, living arrangements, employment status), health behaviors (physical activity, tobacco use, social activity), functional limitations, depression, and 15 self-reported health conditions, including arthritis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.Results: Arthritis, reported by 43% of the sample, was more prevalent in women, among the less educated, those with lower income, and higher age. Severity, but not prevalence, differed by race/ethnicity. Controlled analyses indicated significant association with female gender, lower education, and less social activity. Arthritis was associated with reduced odds of stroke, but increased odds of hypertension, varicosities, bronchitis, renal problems, headache, gastrointestinal disorders, and depression. Arthritis was not significantly associated with age or functional limitations, and associations did not differ by gender.Conclusions: the prevalence, demographic and health characteristics associated with self-reported arthritis in this southern state in Brazil are similar to findings elsewhere in Brazil, and in developed countries.Conselho Estadual do Idoso, Secretaria do Trabalho, Cidadania e Assistencia SocialGoverno do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, the National Council for Scientific and Technological DevelopmentNational Institute on AgingUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychiat, Escola Paulista Med UNIFESP, São Paulo, BrazilDuke Univ, Med Ctr, Ctr Study Aging & Human Dev, Durham, NC 27710 USAVet Adm Med Ctr, Geriatr Res Educ & Clin Ctr, Durham, NC USAProject Sci Comm, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychiat, Escola Paulista Med UNIFESP, São Paulo, BrazilGoverno do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development: 470724/2011-0Governo do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development: 306156/2011-3National Institute on Aging: 1P30 AG028716-02Web of Scienc

Base rate effects on the interpretations of probability and frequency expressions

This research note reports on two studies run to determine whether the interpretations of statements, or forecasts, using vague probability and frequency expressions such as "likely", "improbable","frequently", "rarely" were sensitive to the base rates of the events involved. In the first experiment, professional weather forucasters judged situations drawn from a medical context. In the second, students judged matched forecast scenarios of common semantic content that differed only in prior probability (as determined by an independent group of subjects). Results were as follows: the interpretations of forecasts using neutral terms (e.g. possible) and terms above neutral (e.g. usually) were strong, positive functions of base rate, while the interpretations of forecasts using terms below neutral (e.g. rarely) were much less affected by base rates; in the second experiment, interpretations of forecasts appeared to represent some kind of average of the meaning of the expression and the base rate

What the CERAD Battery Can Tell Us about Executive Function as a Higher-Order Cognitive Faculty

Executive function (EF) is believed to control or influence the integration and application of cognitive functions such as attention and memory and is an important area of research in cognitive aging. Recent studies and reviews have concluded that there is no single test for EF. Results from first-order latent variable modeling have suggested that little, if any, variability in cognitive performance can be directly (and uniquely) attributed to EF; so instead, we modeled EF, as it is conceptualized, as a higher-order function, using elements of the CERAD neuropsychological battery. Responses to subtests from two large, independent cohorts of nondemented elderly persons were modeled with three theoretically plausible structural models using confirmatory factor analysis. Robust fit statistics, generated for the two cohorts separately, were consistent and support the conceptualization of EF as a higher-order cognitive faculty. Although not specifically designed to assess EF, subtests of the CERAD battery provide theoretically and empirically robust evidence about the nature of EF in elderly adults

Neuropsychological Test Performance in African-American and White Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Little information exists on the performance of black versus white patients with Alzheimer's disease on neuropsychological tests for dementia.In this study, we compared performance on the CERAD (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease) neuropsychological battery between white (n equals 830) and black (n equals 158) patients with Alzheimer's disease enrolled in the CERAD study at 23 university medical centers in the United States. The black patients were older, had fewer years of formal education, and were more impaired in their activities of daily living than were the white patients. After controlling for these characteristics and for duration of the disease and severity of dementia, there were differences in the performance of black and white patients on several of the cognitive measures. Black patients scored lower than whites on tests of visual naming and constructional praxis and on the Mini-Mental State Examination. There were no statistical differences in performance on tests of fluency and word list memory. These findings suggest that cultural or experiential differences may modify performance on specific neuropsychological tests. These factors, in addition to age and educational background, should be considered when interpreting performance on neuropsychological tests in elderly black patients with dementia

Internal and external threat in relationship with right-wing attitudes

Objective Previous studies on the relationship between threat and right-wing attitudes have tended to focus on either internal threat, emanating from one's private life, or external threat, originating from society. However, these studies failed to examine whether these types of threats constitute two distinctive dimensions and which of these threats is most closely related to right-wing attitudes. Method In order to explore the dimensions underlying threat, a factor analysis on a variety of threat scales was conducted (Study 1; N?=?300). Furthermore, in a meta-analysis (Study 2; total N?=?22,086) and a questionnaire study in a large representative sample (Study 3, N?=?800) the strength of the relationships of internal and external threat with right-wing attitudes were investigated. Results The present studies revealed that internal and external threat can be considered as two distinct dimensions underlying threat. Moreover, whereas external threat yielded strong relationships with right-wing attitudes, internal threat only explained a minor part of the variance in these attitudes. Conclusions External rather than internal threat underlies the relationship between threat and right-wing attitudes

Thinking positively about chronic illness: An exploration of optimism, illness perceptions and well-being in patients with Parkinson's disease

Objectives: Holding positive beliefs about illness and having an optimistic outlook has been associated with increased well-being across a range of health conditions. However research has indicated that being very optimistic may not actually be beneficial and holding a realistic attitude is more adaptive in some forms of chronic illness, e.g. Parkinson's disease (PD). The present study aimed to explore the nature of relationships between illness perceptions, optimism and well-being; specifically whether a linear or non-linear relationship best described the data. Additionally the proposed moderating effect of optimism on the relationship between illness perceptions and well-being was tested. Design: 109 participants with idiopathic PD completed questionnaire measures of illness perception, optimism, mood and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods: Multiple regression analyses were used to explore relationships between illness perceptions, optimism, mood and HRQoL. The potential curvilinear effects of illness perceptions and optimism were modelled using squared variables and linear and quadratic curve estimation. Results: Holding positive illness perceptions predicted better well-being. Some evidence for a non-linear relationship between optimism and mood was found. Optimism had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between specific illness perceptions and outcome. Conclusions: Optimism appears to provide protection against some negative perceptions of illness and was associated with better mood and HRQoL. The findings indicate which specific illness perceptions may be beneficial targets for therapy. Therapeutic interventions should focus on enhancing positive perceptions of PD but potentially more importantly general optimistic attitude to maximise wellbeing