María de los Ángeles Aguilera Velasco

Stress-associated factors in Mexican dentists

Dentistry is considered a stressful profession, since dentists are exposed to potential stressors during their practice. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify chronic stress levels and their association with different risk factors among dentists working at public health institutions in Guadalajara, Mexico. The study was observational, cross-sectional and one of association. The universe of this study was composed of 256 dentists that were obtained by means of a census technique. The instrument used for the analysis carried out in the year 2006 was the Stress Syndrome Inventory, performed with concurrent validation. Information was processed for the analysis, and chronic stress levels were identified with a bivariate analysis. Association strength was measured with OR, and confusion factors were controlled with a multivariate logistic analysis. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that female dentists have a greater risk of developing a high chronic stress level with an adjusted OR of 1.84, meaning that the risk for women is 1.84 times greater than that of men.

Representaciones sociales sobre la salud y la enfermedad de la población adulta de Guadajalara, México

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to identify the content and the organization of social representations on health and disease of an adult population of Guadalajara, Mexico, and to describe differences between the points of view of men and women. METHODOLOGY The methodology was structured focus groups of the social representations: associative methods of open listing and paired comparisons were used. The participant population was men and women of Guadalajara city, Mexico. They were selected by purpose sampling. The final analysis generates graphs of words on social representations organization of health and disease concepts. RESULTS The health concept had a holistic vision; including physical, emotional and spiritual aspects. Cleaning and to have a job is fundamental for prevention of disease. Men emphasise not having bad habits and women great interpersonal relationships. The disease concept includes biological and social points of view, such as physical deficiency, altered emotional status, the treatment and care of disease. Men emphasised the economic expense of medical care, and the women, the physical exhaustion of caring for sick people. CONCLUSION The proposals for the health educational practice are the inclusion of the gender point of view, respect for religious beliefs, emotional control and integral care.

Significados culturales del concepto de salud en el trabajo en profesionales en formación

espanolIntroduccion: El concepto de salud en el trabajo implica una serie de significados para los profesionales de la salud ocupacional, quienes los utilizan para orientar, interactuar, discutir, definir, categorizar e interpretar sus practicas. Conocer dichos significados es relevan te porque permite aportar datos utiles para el diseno de programas educativos tendientes a la prevencion de accidentes y enfermedades laborales. Objetivo: Explorar los significados culturales del concepto de salud en el trabajo, antes y despues de un diplomado con duracion de seis meses, en profesionales de la salud ocupacional. Metodologia: Estudio cualitativo con diseno descriptivo exploratorio. Realizado en Guadalajara, Mexico de febrero a julio de 2011. Los datos fueron recolectados con la tecnica de listados libres y analizados a traves del modelo de dominios culturales. Resultados: El concepto de salud en el trabajo, antes del diplomado se definio a traves de los terminos riesgo y seguridad. Despues del diplomado, la salud en el trabajo se definio a traves de los elementos seguridad y prevencion. Conclusiones: La cultura de la prevencion se logra a traves de un proceso de aprendizaje que incluye conocimientos sobre los riesgos laborales y la normatividad vigente. EnglishIntroduction: The concept of health in the workplace involves a number of meanings for occupational health professionals, who are used to guide, interact, discuss, define, categorize, and interpret their practices. Knowing these meanings is relevate because it allows to provide useful data for the design of educational programmes aimed at the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases. Objective: Explore the cultural meanings of the concept of health at work, before and after the training with duration of six months, in occupational health professionals. Methodology: Qualitative study with exploratory descriptive design, in Guadalajara, Mexico from February to July 2011. The data were collected with the technique of free lists and analyzed through the model of cultural domains. Results: The concept of occupational health, before the training was defined through the terms risk and security. After the training, health in the workplace was defined through the elements safety and prevention. Conclusions: The culture of prevention is achieved through a learning process that includes knowledge of occupational hazards and the existing regulations.