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Introduction: Numerous instruments have been developed around the world to assess stress. This study aimed to identify instruments with validation studies that mapping stress in Brazil., Method: an integrative review was carried out on databases and the Testing System of the Federal Council of Psychology (SATEPSI) in June 2017 and updated this year. Two independent judges participated in analyzing the results., Results: Of the 6,377 articles, 47 articles were selected from the Index Psi, SciELO, LILACS and PubMed databases, and 35 instruments made up the sample, two of which were from SATEPSI. Nine of these tools map stress in a more general way, nine are aimed at specific clinical contexts, 12 are aimed at occupational stress, three at the sports context and another two at other contexts., Discussion: Numerous health problems are associated with early and chronic stressors, however it was identified that most instruments access stress in a more recent period of time (last year, month or week). A more accurate analysis of the relationships between longitudinal stress and health outcomes appears limited in this sense. The Stress and Adversity Inventory (STRAIN) appears as an alternative for studying stress throughout life in the Brazilian reality.

Background: The use of combined oral contraceptive (COC) has been related to changes in glycemic, lipid metabolism, increased oxidative stress, and systemic blood pressure, which could suggest a higher oxidation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) in women on use of COC., Objective: To test the hypothesis that there is a difference in the plasma values of oxidized LDL among women who use and do not use COC, as well as to evaluate the correlation between it and the lipid profile and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)., Methods: Forty-two women with ages between 18 and 35 years old, who were eutrophic, irregularly active, with triglycerides < 150 mg/dL, blood glucose < 100 mg/dL, and who used or did not use COC were selected. These women were allocated in the COC group, formed by 21 women on COC use for at least 1 year; and a control group (CG), consisting of 21 women who had not used any type of hormonal contraceptive for at least 1 year. A significance level of 5% was adopted for statistical analyses., Results: It was observed that GCOC showed higher values of oxidized LDL than the CG, respectively 384 mU/mL versus 283 mU/mL (p < 0.01). A positive correlation between oxidized LDL and LDL-cholesterol (r = 0.3, p < 0.05), with total cholesterol (r = 0.47, p < 0.01) and with triglycerides (r = 0.32, p < 0.03) was observed, and there was no correlation with the hs-CRP. In the categorized analysis of oxidized LDL, 71.4% of GCOC women, and 28.6% of the CG remained above the established cutoff point., Conclusion: Women who use COC have higher plasma levels of oxidized LDL, and there is a positive correlation between oxidized LDL and other lipid variables.

The cold storage unit and meat production industry has made Brazil one of the leading suppliers and exporters of products of animal origin. The rapid expansion of the market has led to a rise in competitiveness from a capitalist standpoint, and in this respect corporate profit often leads to the need to adapt human actions to new functions in order to reduce costs and maximize production. These routine activities involve repetitive work, multi-tasking, long hours and operating machines with the use of sharp cutting tools, which is why the work is conducted wearing protective gear. Among the main hazards present, biological risks are the most important due to direct exposure to internal organs, blood, fecal matter, urine and placental or fetal fluids from slaughtered animals that may be infected with pathogens of zoonotic origin. This paper discusses the risks to which slaughterhouse-cold storage unit professionals are exposed, conducting a thorough bibliographical review of the literature that takes into consideration the conceptual framework of Biosafety, which contributes to improve the safety and health conditions of these workers.

Purpose: To determine the pattern of alcohol use before and during pregnancy and associated risk factors in puerperal women hospitalized in a public university hospital in Southeastern Brazil., Methods: Between June and September 2009, 493 puerperae were consecutively evaluated. Those with cognitive impairment were excluded from the study. The AUDIT and CAGE questionnaires were used to diagnose alcohol use/abuse before pregnancy, in addition to the T-ACE during pregnancy. Another questionnaire was applied to collect sociodemographic data, such as age, educational level, marital status, and household income. The χ² test was used in the statistical analysis and the Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated. A p-value <0.05 was considered to be significant., Results: Before pregnancy, the CAGE was positive in 50/405 (12.3%) women and the AUDIT identified alcohol use in 331 (67.1%), which was of low risk in 233 (47.3%), risky in 73 (14.8%), and harmful or indicating possible alcohol dependence in 25 (5%). During pregnancy, the CAGE was positive in 53/405 (13.1%) women and the T-ACE in 84 (17%); the AUDIT identified alcohol use in 114 women, which was of low risk in 73 (14.8%), risky in 27 (5.5%), and harmful or indicating possible alcohol dependence in 14 (2.8%). During pregnancy, alcohol use was more frequent (OR=2.8; 95%CI 1.2 - 6.2) among women with a lower educational level (8.8 versus 3.3%) and more frequent (OR=3.8; 95%CI 1.3 - 11.1) among those who did not cohabit with a partner (6 versus 1.7%). Among pregnant women who drank alcohol, 49/114 (43%) were advised to stop drinking., Conclusions: Alarming alcohol use was observed during pregnancy, especially among pregnant women with a lower educational level and those who did not cohabit with a partner. There was a low frequency of counseling aimed at abstinence and the AUDIT was the instrument that most frequently diagnosed alcohol consumption.

The promotion of the rational use of antibiotics can be conducted to ensure that health professionals and users become aware of its importance through educational activities. The scope of this paper was to report on the experiment of developing a tool for health education for primary school children on the rational use of antibiotics. The activities began by defining objectives, selecting the best strategy and planning activities with the guidance of teaching assistants in schools. After defining that the strategy to be adopted would be a comic strip, we worked together with the children on the steps of contextualization, sequence construction and its illustration. All the goals established for the story were achieved, since it represented aspects envisaged in the concept of rational use of medicines recommended by the World Health Organization. At the end, the story that best matched the intended purposes was selected to be turned into a comic book. The experience showed a way to develop health education activities in interaction with the community, using recreational workshops. Beside this, it made it possible to identify the limitations and potential for using education action strategies on other topics with children of the same age group.