Mónica Muñoz

Universidades y promoción de la salud: ¿cómo alcanzar el punto de encuentro?

Universities play a leading role in the communities in which they are found. Focused on leadership and developing knowledge, universities are the stage on which community members are formed. Through education, research, and by spreading knowledge, universities guide and support changes at the national and international levels. The university that advances health is one that joins health promotion with its purpose, aiming to foster human development and improve quality of life for its students and employees, thus impacting both the labor and social circles. It aspires to take a leading role in cultural change by raising awareness among the more educated, open, enterprising, and upstanding, and those committed to progress. This articles objective is to share a reflective analysis regarding the relationship between the university and health promotion in order to motivate and recommend action items to other universities advanced in this area. This analysis stems from experience gained over several years at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica of Chile, through its health program, UC Saludable, in addition to a systematic review of the literature covering several years. The analysis develops four concepts that are central to all universities and that frame the health promotion effort: respond to health issues and educate the public; produce and disseminate health promotion knowledge; direct and support awareness of self-care and healthy lifestyles; and be a model change agent.

Competencias médicas requeridas para el buen desempeño en Centros de Salud Familiares en Chile

A group ofexperts that could be physicians or other professionals working in primary health care wereinvited to answer electronically a structured questionnaire containing a list of 71 competences,for a basic and an expert level of physician, using the Delphi method. Competences wereclassified as “desirable” or “indispensable”. If there was lack of consensus in the importancegiven to a specific competence, the researchers defined its importance.

Síndrome de Turner: Crecimiento y descripción clínica en 83 niñas chilenas

Background: Short stature is the main feature of patients with Turners syndrome. There is limited information regarding the spontaneous growth of these patients in Chile. Aim: To develop a specific growth chart for Chilean patients with Turners syndrome. Material and methods: We retrospectively analyzed 668 height measurements from 85 Chilean girls, born after 1968, with 45XO karyotype (minimum 15%), and without an Y chromosome fragment. Patients with hormonal therapy, such as growth hormone or estrogen, except thyroid hormone replacement, were excluded. Results: The karyotypes were 60% 45XO, 25% 45XO, 46XX, and 15% other complex mosaics. The birth length was 46.8 ± 2.1 cm. The final height of our patients was 138,20 ± 7,0 cm. Conclusions: The final height achieved by our patients, is similar to Argentinian and Japanese patients, but is below the mean stature reported for Scandinavian and Northamerican patients who achieve a mean adult height of approximately 147 and 142 cm respectively. The birth length is also lower than that reported in those studies (Rev Med Chile 2002; 130: 977-84).

Cómo implementar la nueva ley chilena antitabaco al interior de la universidad

On the 16th of May 2006, the Diario Oficial de la Republica de Chile (Official News of the Republic of Chile), published Law No. 20.105, which modified Law No. 19.419 regarding advertising and consumption of tobacco. Since it entered into force, different institutions and public spaces have had to enact its regulations. The purpose of this article is to share how the new anti-tobacco law is being implemented, with a health promotion angle, by the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC). As such, we highlight key findings from a review of the literature on the subject and describe the implementation strategies developed and substantiated in theory as well as by how they address the concerns of the university community. The main accomplishments of the anti-tobacco implementation were: reaching a compromise between the university directorate and the student leaders, who in turn motivated the student body to participate during the large-scale roll-out of the new law; the participation of all of the UC stakeholders; utilizing the varied methods of mass communication; and lastly, providing an opportunity for reflection and analysis for those directly affected: the smokers. The challenge is to evaluate the strategies implemented in the incorporation of the new Chilean anti-tobacco law.