Characterization of the Care Process for Hypertensive People in a Polyclinic in Old Havana

Foundation: arterial hypertension is the most common of all conditions internationally and one of the main risk factors that contributes to premature mortality. Objective: to describe the epidemiological behavior of arterial hypertension and some elements of the care process at the Ángel Arturo Aballi Polyclinic, in the Old Havana municipality, from September 2019 to May 2020. Method: a descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in 159 people aged 18 years and over classified as hypertensive, to whom a questionnaire was applied to explore sociodemographic aspects, personal history and others related to the care process. Three blood pressure measurements were made at different times. The results were expressed in absolute and relative frequency. Results: 62.3 % of hypertensive people were older than 60 years, 61.6 % female. The most frequent comorbidities were: diabetes mellitus with 21.4 % and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma in 9.4 %. 54.7 % of these people did not feel the need for care in the last year and only 45.3 % were seen in a follow-up consultation. 81.8 % had not had their blood pressure measured for more than a year, 89.3 % had indicated drug treatment, 86.2 % were controlled and 74.6 % adhered to the treatment. Conclusions: the attention that these people received was not adequate; there were difficulties with dispensing, compliance with the program, in addition to a low perception of risk in these people

Evaluation of the Medical Assistance to Patients with Arterial Hypertension in Four Urban Áreas

Foundation: improving the quality of assistance is a challenge for all in charge of providing health services. It is no enough to know what happens but also to modify unsatisfactory results. Objective: to evaluate the quality of the medical assistance which patients with hypertension receive by means of the program observance in four health areas during 2013. Methods: a research of the health systems and services was done, using a two stage conglomerate sample. The variables studied were related to the coverage and quality of human resources, the availability of material resources, the compliance of the main activities set for the process of assistance. Various instruments approved by experts were applied to hypertensive population. More than 85 % of clinical records were audited. For collecting and analyzing data statistic packages Access 2000 and SPSS 15, 0 were used. Results: the evaluation of structure, process and results dimensions was not satisfactory in the studies area, because the proposed standards were not achieved. Conclusion: the assistance received by these patients is not appropriate since there were difficulties in the program compliance, which influenced in the quality provided

Evaluation of the Medical Assistance to Patients with Arterial Hypertension in Four Urban Áreas

Foundation: improving the quality of assistance is a challenge for all in charge of providing health services. It is no enough to know what happens but also to modify unsatisfactory results. Objective: to evaluate the quality of the medical assistance which patients with hypertension receive by means of the program observance in four health areas during 2013. Methods: a research of the health systems and services was done, using a two stage conglomerate sample. The variables studied were related to the coverage and quality of human resources, the availability of material resources, the compliance of the main activities set for the process of assistance. Various instruments approved by experts were applied to hypertensive population. More than 85 % of clinical records were audited. For collecting and analyzing data statistic packages Access 2000 and SPSS 15, 0 were used. Results: the evaluation of structure, process and results dimensions was not satisfactory in the studies area, because the proposed standards were not achieved. Conclusion: the assistance received by these patients is not appropriate since there were difficulties in the program compliance, which influenced in the quality provided

Quality Evaluation of the Care Process for Type 2 Diabetics

Background: diabetes mellitus is a serious health problem with an upward trend. Every year a considerable number of people die as a result of their complications that derive from poor control, so improving the quality of care constitutes a challenge for health systems. Objective: to evaluate the quality of care by reviewing the medical records and investigating some of the program indicators, in a health area of the Cárdenas municipality during 2016. Method: an investigation of health systems and services was carried out, using a two-stage conglomerate sampling. The variables studied were related to the fulfillment of the main activities established in the patient care process and others with the knowledge, training and satisfaction of the providers. Instruments tested in previous studies were applied. The statistical packages Access 2000 and SPSS 21.0 were used to collect and analyze the results. Results: the evaluation of the process, level of knowledge, training and satisfaction of the suppliers was not adequate in the studied area, as the proposed standards were not reached for any of the criteria. Conclusions: the care received by these patients is not adequate since there were difficulties in the fulfillment of the program, which affected on its follow-up and control

Therapeutic Adherence in Hypertensive Patients of the Guanabacoa Julio Antonio Mella University Polyclinic

Background: low adherence to pharmacological treatment is considered a Public Health problem. Social, economic and cultural determinants play an essential role in its origin. Objective: to investigate the level of adherence to pharmacological treatment in a subsample of hypertensive people from the Julio Antonio Mella University Polyclinic in the Guanabacoa municipality and to identify the main factors that may be interfering in this process. Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in the previously mentioned area between September and December 2019. Simple random sampling was used. 337 hypertensive people older than 35 years were studied. The variables studied were: sociodemographic (age, sex, skin color, occupation, education, household composition or cohabitation) and variables related to patient care: need for care, follow-up, blood pressure measurement, treatment prescription pharmacological and non-pharmacological and adherence. Categorical variables were presented as frequencies and percentages. Results: adherence was 69.4 %, it was related to feeling the need for care (p≤0.01), being controlled (p≤0.05) and being older than 65 years (p≤0.04). People with a history of cardiac events and stroke followed to treatment. The rest of the sociodemographic variables were not related, nor the follow-up consultation and blood pressure measurement in the last year. Conclusions: achieving adequate therapeutic adherence is a complex process, influencing both individual and organizational aspects. The unavailability of medications in the pharmacy, forgetting to take them and at the established times were the main barriers referred to; these must be taken into account to have a favorable impact on patient control. It is important to implement strategies to improve the level of adherence and knowledge of patients about their disease

Aplicaciones de la toxina botulínica en afecciones palpebrales

La toxina botulínica es un potente inhibidor neuromuscular altamente específico que produce una denervación química al bloquear la liberación de acetilcolina en la placa motora. Es sintetizada por Clostridium botulinum. Es un fármaco de alto valor terapéutico en las alteraciones de los anexos oculares; puede indicarse con muy buenos resultados en afecciones como el blefarospasmo primario, el espasmo hemifacial, el chalazión, el entropion espasmódico, la retracción palpebral, la ptosis de la ceja, la mioquimia palpebral y en el tratamiento de líneas de expresión facial, con muy buenos resultados estéticos. Se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica y en Internet utilizando distintas bases de datos como Medline, Google, Bireme, PubMed.gov, así como artículos relevantes de la Academia americana de Oftalmología y Neurología con el objetivo de describir las aplicaciones de la neurotóxica botulínica en las afecciones de los anexos oculares