[Are there differences between paid women workers and housewives in health-related quality of life?]

Quality of life assessment instruments for adults: a systematic review of population-based studies

BACKGROUND

Against a backdrop of population aging and improving survival rates for chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCD), researchers are placing growing emphasis on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study was to identify the QoL assessment instruments used in population-based studies with adults conducted around the world.

METHODS

A systematic review of original research published in all languages between 2008 and 2018 was conducted. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were excluded.

RESULTS

Sixty-three articles (38.1% conducted in the Americas) fitted the eligibility criteria. Based on the AHRQ checklist for cross-sectional studies and the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for cohort studies, methodological quality was shown to be fair in the majority of studies (55.6%) and good in 44.4%. The country with the highest number of publications was Brazil (20.6%). Twelve types of generic instruments and 11 specific instruments were identified. The generic instrument SF-36 was the most frequently used measure (33.3% of studies). In-home interviewing was exclusively used by 47.6% of the studies, while 39 studies (61.9%) reported the use of self-administered questionnaires. Over two-thirds of the studies (34.9%) used questionnaires to investigate the association between chronic diseases and/or associated factors.

CONCLUSIONS

It was concluded that the wide range of instruments and modes of questionnaire administration used by the studies may hinder comparisons between population groups with the same characteristics or needs. There is a lack of research on QoL and the factors affecting productive capacity. Studies of QoL in older persons should focus not only on the effects of disease and treatment, but also on the determinants of active aging and actions designed to promote it. Further research is recommended to determine which QoL instruments are best suited for population-based studies.

Transição para educação infantil: estudo comparativo do processo de vinculação primária e secundária

O presente artigo buscou: 1) descrever e comparar: a) a qualidade do vínculo entre o bebê-mãe e  bebê-educadora, aos nove e doze meses de vida; b) a percepção do temperamento do bebê pelas mães e educadoras e, 2) correlacionar os indicadores de vinculação com os escores obtidos nas escalas de temperamento. Participaram nove bebês e suas respectivas mães e duas educadoras que responderam a escala de temperamento e foram filmadas individualmente com os respectivos bebês, aos nove e doze meses. Os resultados indicaram a presença de vinculação primária com a mãe e secundária com a educadora, ambas satisfatórias. Não houve correlações entre temperamento e comportamentos interativos na interação mãe-bebê, mas foram observadas entre educadora-bebê. Embora o vínculo mãe-bebê seja mais forte, a qualidade estabelecida com as educadoras sugere que a transição para a educação infantil pode ser positiva.

Are there differences in the quality of the diet of working and stay-at-home women?

OBJECTIVE

To verify whether there is an association between the quality of the diet and the inclusion of women in the labor market and whether the education level would modify this association. We have analyzed the differences according to education level and evaluated whether the insertion or not in the market modifies the association between the quality of the diet and education level.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional population-based study that has used data from the Campinas Health Survey (2008 ISACamp). We have evaluated the diet of 464 women, aged 18 to 64 years, using the Brazilian Healthy Eating Index – Revised. We have estimated the means of the total score and index components using simple and multiple linear regression.

RESULTS

We have observed no difference in the quality of diet of working and stay-at-home women. The analysis stratified by education level showed a lower intake of fruits among stay-at-home women in the segment of lower education level, in relation to working women. Among all women, a lower education level was associated with lower overall quality of the diet, higher intake of sodium, and lower intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, milk, and saturated fat. On the other hand, the inclusion in the labor market changed the effect of the education level on the quality of the diet. In the stay-at-home stratum, a low education level was associated with poorer quality of the diet and lower consumption of fruits, dark green and orange vegetables, and whole grains. Among the working women, a low education level was associated with higher intake of sodium and lower intake of vegetables, whole grains, and milk and dairy products.

CONCLUSIONS

The results show inequities in the profile of food in relation to education level and inclusion in the labor market, which shows the relevance of public policies that increase the access to education and provide guidance on a healthy diet.

Factors Related to Unemployment in Europe. A Cross-Sectional Study from the COURAGE Survey in Finland, Poland and Spain

Background: Research addressing the impact of a large number of factors on unemployment is scarce. We aimed to comprehensively identify factors related to unemployment in a sample of persons aged 18-64 from Finland, Poland and Spain. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, factors from different areas were considered: socio-demographic indicators, health habits, chronic conditions, health state markers, vision and hearing indicators, and social networks and built environment scores. Results: Complete data were available for 5003 participants, mean age 48.1 (SD 11.5), 45.4% males. The most important factors connected to unemployment were health status indicators such as physical disability (OR = 2.944), self-rated health (OR = 2.629), inpatient care (OR = 1.980), and difficulties with getting to the toilet (OR = 2.040), while the most relevant factor related to employment were moderate alcohol consumption (OR = 0.732 for non-heavy drinkers; OR = 0.573 for infrequent heavy drinkers), and being married (OR = 0.734), or having been married (OR = 0.584). Other factors that played a significant role included presence of depression (OR = 1.384) and difficulties with near vision (OR = 1.584) and conversation hearing (OR = 1.597). Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of selected factors related to unemployment, and suggest public health indications that could support concrete actions on modifiable factors, such as those aimed to promote physical activity and healthy behaviors, tackling depression or promoting education, in particular for the younger.