Carlos Enrique Yepes Delgado

A qualitative study of patient’s perceptions of a preventive renal programme in Colombia 2008

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe how users perceive the preventive renal programme in Colombia and cope with their chronic kidney disease (CKD) from its early stages of development.Methods: Some techniques from the grounded theory approach were used. The sampling strategy was selective.Results: For medical knowledge, CKD is an irreversible condition that, during its earlier stages does not represent an obstacle for living an apparently normal life, which may lead patients to get late diagnosis and identify their condition as a ‘dormant disease’. Therefore, patients have learned to ‘live with their disease’ by developing various coping strategies. In the case of predialysis patients, these strategies include ‘fear of dialysis and transplant’, ‘living a normal life’ and ‘considering CKD a deadly disease’. On the other hand, for dialysis patients, strategies include ‘resignation’, ‘seeing dialysis as a lifesaver’ and a ‘feeling of loss’.Conclusion: Patients recognizing their participation in ...

Comités de ética y salud mental

Although research processes are covered by the objectivity of science, they are still influenced by the interests of those who conduct them. This is why high level committees have been tasked with defining the scope of the studies and performing a thorough assessment of them, since these imply great dilemmas. This premise leads to the emergence of Ethics Committees, where liaison psychiatry has an important place due to its communication abilities and knowledge of the human behavior. This paper attempts to provide some observations to take into account when discussing the link between ethics and mental health. In this work, the authors approach the question of ethics committees and the importance that psychiatrist performance has within them. This is done through a review of relevant papers on the subject. A detailed description on research ethics is provided in terms of justification, purpose and duties. Likewise, emphasis is placed on each of the areas in which psychiatrists are involved and bear great responsibilities in the medical decision-making process. Similarly, this description also includes the moment in which participants give their informed consent when taking part in medical research. Finally, we conclude that there are several questions regarding the relevance given to these committees in the methodological and ethical assessment of research projects. This in turn implies greater effort in the search for a culture of quality which highlights the emphasis on research subjects.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Chronic Renal Predialysis Patients Exposed to a Prevention Program - Medellín, 2007-2008

Progressive transformation of disease profiles in the world can be partially explained by the existence of chronic diseases, as they are responsible for a large part of the worldwide morbidity and mortality rates, thus becoming pandemics. One of the diseases recognized as a public health problem is chronic renal failure (CRF) because of the negative impact it has on the health and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of its sufferers (Atkins, 2005a, 2005b).