Associativism and quality of life among undergraduate students in dentistry

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the relationship between student participation in associations and the way they perceive their quality of life. Methods: a study of one hundred and sixty students of Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) Dentistry course belonging to the first, fifth, eighth and tenth semesters in Florianopolis, SC, Brazil. The theoretical basis is the Public Health approach, that, under the wider concept of health, considers associations as health promoters. A sociodemographic questionnaire, a questionnaire on associativism and the WHOQOL-Bref were used for data collection. Results: the results indicate that the participation of Dentistry students in associations improves self-evaluation of quality of life, satisfaction in personal relationships and reduces the frequency of negative feelings. Conclusion: students who participate in voluntary associations are associated with a better quality of life, promoting a more adequate professional formation. In this way, the participation of students in associations should be stimulated by the University. This perspective of analysis values social aspects in the perspective of health and can be a pioneering study in a field where there is still much to be studied, and can bring substantial contributions to the field of collective health and health as a whole.

Interface between psychoanalysis and speech language and hearing sciences: a literature review

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to verify the Brazilian and international scientific productions by correlating Speech Language and Hearing Sciences and Psychoanalysis. A literature review was performed using the databases BVS, Scielo, Scopus and PubMed. The used descriptors were “Fonoaudiologia”, “Psicanálise”, “Comunicação”, “Speech Therapy”, “Psychoanalysis” and “Communication”, identifying 65 full articles between the years 1980 and 2015. The analysis was performed using a “Protocol for article classification”. It was verified that Original Articles are the most published type, SCOPUS and BVS being the most common databases. There is a predominance of articles in the Portuguese language, followed by English, French and German. Several specialties of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences presented interface with Psychoanalysis, especially Language and Neuropsychology. The studies were published mainly in Psychology journals, also found in the area of audiology and interdisciplinary area. This review showed the psychoanalytic interference in speech language and hearing clinic, highlighting the need for further studies correlating both areas that may contribute to the work of these professionals and, consequently, enable an improvement in the quality of life of psychic subjects.

Readiness for oral feeding and oral motor function in preterm infants

ABSTRACT Objective: this study aimed at investigating the Schedule Oral Motor Assessment (SOMA) tool to be used with preterm infants and to compare its results with the Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale (POFRAS) to start oral feeding. Methods: a cross-sectional and quantitative study, consisting in a sample of 45 healthy and clinically stable preterm infants, assessed at their first oral feeding with two tools: the Schedule Oral Motor Assessment and Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale. Stata 10.0 software was used for data analysis. Results: 10 preterm infants with readiness for oral feeding showed normal oral motor function, and 16, presented with oral motor dysfunction, did not show readiness for feeding (p <0.05). The time of transition for full oral feeding was 13.5 (± 8.1) days for preterm infants with better results in both assessment tools, and 17.7 (± 10.9) days for those who did not show readiness for oral feeding and had oral motor dysfunction to initiate oral feeding, resulting in a given clinical relevance, even showing no significance (p> 0.05). Conclusion: these results suggest that the Schedule Oral Motor Assessment can be an adjunctive method for evaluation of the oral motor function at the first oral feeding in preterm infants.

Oral communication and auditory skills of hearing impaired children and adolescents and the speech therapy rehabilitation process

ABSTRACT Purpose: to analyze auditory and oral communication behaviors in a group of children and adolescents, users of cochlear implants and to establish a relationship with factors that interfere with aural rehabilitation. Methods: participants were 13 children or adolescents with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Standardized procedures were applied to check: the auditory and oral communication behaviors of participants and their relationships with the child's age at diagnosis period; the interval between diagnosis and intervention, adaptation onset of the cochlear implant; the hearing age and aural rehabilitation period. Results: statistically significant data were found to correlate the interval between diagnosis and intervention with the scores in the evaluation procedures of oral communication. Conclusion: there was a significant impact on the development of oral communication when the period elapsed between the diagnosis and intervention was analyzed, in such way that the faster the intervention time, the better the results. It was also evident that the earlier the beginning of the use of cochlear implants, the greater the hearing age, and the longer the rehabilitation period, the better the scores in the procedures that evaluated auditory and verbal development.

Insalubrity in speech therapy and audiology: a brief review

ABSTRACT Purpose: to expose in a brief discussion the questions about the insalubrity pertinent to speech therapists and audiologists’ performance. Methods: a review of the Portal of Legislation of the Brazilian Federal Government about labor laws, health and health professionals was carried out. Results: according to NR-15, activities that are above the level of tolerance foreseen in the regulations are considered unhealthy activities, in which the performance of speech-language therapists and audiologists is directly related to the tolerance limits for biological agents. Conclusion: speech therapists and audiologists as well as several other health professionals present occupational risks in their work. The Brazilian legislation is broad, however, it is necessary to analyze these professionals more deeply with regard to their health.

Augmentative and alternative communication: from qualification to speech, language and hearing science clinical practice

ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate the qualification of the speech language and hearing therapists and their clinical performance with Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Methods: a descriptive, transversal, individual and contemporary study. Data were collected through a questionnaire, filled by twenty-four speech therapists, selected by a convenience sample. Content analysis was chosen for data study. Results: regarding access to the information media, all speech therapists in the sample presented the initiative to supply the absence of language training with Augmentative and Alternative Communication by different means. Regarding the dual focus on intervention, all speech therapists were favorable to this practice. However, according to experience, they reported resistance from the family, school and other therapists. The results showed two different types of introduction implementation and use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication, predominantly formed by strategies contemplating the pragmatic use of language through the contextualization of significant activities for the user. The other way used the Picture Exchange Communication System. Conclusion: the speech-language and hearing therapists in the present study inserted different interlocutors in the intervention, guided by implicit or explicit linguistic principles, by theoretical frameworks specific to the area of Augmentative and Alternative Communication knowledge, by global neuromotor elements and, finally, by principles of functionality and general wellness.

Knowledge of parents regarding newborn screening test, after accessing the website “Babies’ Portal” - Heel prick test

ABSTRACT Purpose: to assess the knowledge of mothers about the heel prick test, develop contents on this test to make it available on the "Babies’ Portal" website, evaluate and validate the informative material developed. Methods: this study was conducted in three stages, that is, the first stage which is about a descriptive study involving 105 mothers of newborn children before performing the neonatal screening "Heel Prick Test", the second one consisting in the development of the website "Babies’ Portal", and the third stage, the evaluation and validation of this material carried out by 20 parents of children between zero and 36 months old, who underwent the neonatal screening Heel Prick Test by accessing the website “Babies’ Portal”. Results: although the interviewed mothers knew that their children had the right to be tested, they showed no knowledge of the diseases that can be prevented, time of diagnosis, nor the consequences arising from the lack of early diagnosis and treatment. The website creation and validation gathered basic information about the Heel Prick Test, and the participants regarded the content from satisfactory to excellent. Conclusion: it is necessary that families know not only about the procedures their children will undergo, but also the reason they are performed and the consequences of failing in doing so.

Cerebral palsy dysphagia: a systematic review

ABSTRACT Cerebral palsy (CP) encompasses a group of definitive and non-progressive conditions, with a non-progressive character and its installation in neonatal period. Motor disorders caused by CP may lead to changes in swallowing, resulting in limitations in the activities that are attributed to non-progressive disorders that do not reach the developing child's brain. This article reviews the clinical aspects of dysphagia in CP and the treatments in the area. Only papers published in the period from 2009 to 2017 were considered, using a methodological strategy for electronic search in the databases SciELO-Brazil, Lilacs and Medline/Pubmed. The present research analyzed 24 articles, regarding the year of publication, sample and instruments used, verifying that Speech Therapists and other staff involved in the improvement and rehabilitation of cognitive functions have provided better rehabilitation conditions, despite the need for more therapy and diagnostic studies.

How to avoid bias in systematic reviews of observational studies

ABSTRACT Although systematic reviews have numerous advantages, they are vulnerable to biases that can mask the true results of the study and therefore should be interpreted with caution. This article aims at critically reviewing the literature about systematic reviews of observational studies, emphasizing the errors that can affect this type of study design and possible strategies to overcome these errors. This is an integrative literature review whose search was conducted in the databases States National Library of Medicine, Scientific Electronic Library Online and Google Scholar. The following descriptors were used: review, bias (epidemiology) and observational studies as the subject, including relevant books and documents which were consulted. Data collection was conducted between June and July 2016. The most known errors present in the design of systematic reviews were those related to the selection and publication. Although this type of study is subject to possible errors, preventive measures used during the planning of systematic reviews and even during and after their implementation can help ensure scientific rigor. This literature can serve as an important tool for the development and interpretation of systematic reviews of observational studies.