[Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding condom use among women prisoners: the prevention of STD/HIV in the prison setting]

Caregivers' evaluation of an educational material targeted to children with hydrocephalus

PURPOSE

Modern pediatric neurosurgery succeeded in reducing ventricle-peritoneal shunt malfunctions and shunt revisions. However, some children may be submitted to many surgeries, posing burden to their caregivers. And most of caregiver assume responsibility for care without emotional preparation. It is up to health professionals to carry out the educational process. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of informal caregivers of children with hydrocephalus before and after intervention with previously developed educational material.

METHODS

This is a quasi-experimental, before-and-after study conducted with 32 informal caregivers of children with hydrocephalus. Data collection occurred in three stages: pre-test, educational intervention through educational material, and post-test. The knowledge, attitude, and practice survey was used as a pre-test and post-test assessment tool.

RESULTS

The mean score in the three domains (knowledge, attitude, and practice) was lower in the pre-test compared to the post-test. After caregivers read the educational material, the correct answer rate increased by 17% in the knowledge domain and 21.4% in the practice domain, with p values of < 0.01. In the attitude domain, there was a non-significant increase of 0.06 (2.0%, p = 0.161) points in the mean score between the pre-test and the post-test.

CONCLUSION

The educational material enables the acquisition of knowledge of informal caregivers of children with hydrocephalus. This can be used by health professionals to strengthen the bond between professional care staff and family, and to facilitate the educational process.

Behind bars: the burden of being a woman in Brazilian prisons

Background

Brazil has the third largest prison population in the world. In 2016, the female prison population totaled 42,000, an increase of 656% over the population recorded in the early 2000s. The objective of this study was to describe the socialeconomic and reproductive health of women in Brazilian prisons, and the specific assistance received within the prison system.

Methods

This is a first of its kind national survey conducted in 15 female prisons in eight Brazilian states between 2014 and 2015. The sample consisted of 1327 women in closed or semi-open prison regimes. Data collection used Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI). STATA v.15. Was use in analysis. The study was submitted to the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Ceará, under CEP protocol No. 1,024,053.

Results

The population was overwhelmingly Black or Brown, poor and little educated. When women worked previously, they had worked as domestic servants and were the sole source of income for their families. Most were mothers, with 39% having children less than 10 years old, now in the care of others. Most were in jail for drug-related crimes. Prisons were crowded, with more than 2/3rds of the inmates sharing a cell with 6 or more inmates. Services were provide, but women had not had a cervical cancer screening within the past 3 years and breast cancer screening was not conducted.

Conclusions

Overall, given their backround and prison conditions they are unlikely to change the circumstances that brought them to prison in the first place.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12914-020-00247-7.

Dating Applications, Sexual Behaviors, and Attitudes of College Students in Brazil's Legal Amazon

Although dating applications (apps) have become popular among young adults, there is a dearth of information regarding the sexual health implications among Brazilian college students. This study examined risky sexual behavior and attitudes of dating app users, based on their sex in Brazil’s Legal Amazon. Three hundred and fifty-nine students reported their sociodemographic data, dating app use, and sexual behaviors and attitudes through self-administered questionnaires. Bivariate analyses and analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni post-hoc tests were performed. Dating app use was reported by 238 (66.3%) subjects, most of whom had an encounter and sex with a casual partner. Women frequently requested condom use. Trust in one’s partner or having repeated encounters were the main reasons for engaging in risky sexual behavior. Men had a greater number of sexual partners and less protective attitudes. Sexual health awareness by apps was not reported by 97% of women, and most of them were not tested for sexually transmitted infections. A positive attitude toward sexual health was not a predictor of safe sex. Important similarities and differences regarding risky sexual behaviors and attitudes were observed between the sexes, many of which correlated with increased sexual vulnerability during the sexual encounters arranged through the dating apps. This cross-sectional study supports efforts on sexual health promotion and sexual education implementation in the face of growing usage of apps among young adults for sexual matters.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of grandmothers related to breastfeeding: a meta-synthesis

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of grandmothers that support or discourage the breastfeeding process.

METHOD

This is a meta-synthesis based on the theoretical and methodological framework of meta-ethnography developed by Noblit and Hare. A critical evaluation of the articles was conducted using the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (Coreq). Primary and secondary constructs derived from the results of nine articles were grouped into a new theory, leading to tertiary constructs that were presented in a diagram based on the functionality of Sanicola's Social Network Theory.

RESULTS

Grandmothers know the benefits of breastfeeding, the importance of a special diet and proper hydration for the production of good quality milk, but report inadequacies in the treatment of breast complications and the need for breast milk complementation before the sixth month of life. These aspects were also observed: religious interference, opposition of ideas about breastfeeding, and family decisions based on the grandmother figure.

CONCLUSION

Through knowledge, attitudes and practices, grandmothers, central figures in breastfeeding support, support their daughters and daughters-in-law in breastfeeding or discourage breastfeeding with contrary opinions and inadequate guidance.

Effects of comprehensive sexuality education on the comprehensive knowledge and attitude to condom use among first-year students in Arba Minch University: a quasi-experimental study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effect of comprehensive sexuality education on the comprehensive knowledge and attitude to condom use among first-year students at Arba Minch University.

RESULTS

A total of 832 students participated at a baseline, and 820 students participated at the posttest. This study found that there was a significant effect on changing students' knowledge and attitude towards a condom. In the education group, the students' average change of comprehensive condom knowledge score was 0.229 higher than the average score of students' in the control group (ATE = 0.229, 95% CI 0.132 to 0.328; p < 0.001). The average change of attitude toward condom score of students' in the education group was 1.834 higher than the average change score of students' in the control group (ATE = 1.834, 95% CI 1.195 to 2.772; p < 0.001).This study provides further evidence on the effectiveness of comprehensive sexuality education in terms of knowledge and attitude towards a condom. Therefore, the implementation of this education should be strengthened in order the prevent youths from STI/HIV and unintended pregnancies.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Condom Self-Efficacy Scale: application to Brazilian adolescents and young adults

Objective:

translate and adapt the Condom Self-Efficacy Scale to Portuguese in the Brazilian context. The scale originated in the United States and measures self-efficacy in condom use.

Method:

methodological study in two phases: translation, cross-cultural adaptation and verification of psychometric properties. The translation and adaptation process involved four translators, one mediator of the synthesis and five health professionals. The content validity was verified using the Content Validation Index, based on 22 experts’ judgments. Forty subjects participated in the pretest, who contributed to the understanding of the scale items. The scale was applied to 209 students between 13 and 26 years of age from a school affiliated with the state-owned educational network. The reliability was analyzed by means of Cronbach’s alpha.

Results:

the Portuguese version of the scale obtained a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.85 and the total mean score was 68.1 points. A statistically significant relation was found between the total scale and the variables not having children (p= 0.038), condom use (p= 0.008) and condom use with fixed partner (p=0.036).

Conclusion:

the Brazilian version of the Condom Self-Efficacy Scale is a valid and reliable tool to verify the self-efficacy in condom use among adolescents and young adults.