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Early recognition of warning signs and treatment of severe dengue cases is the main strategy for reducing case-fatality, especially in children, who usually present few symptoms and can progress rapidly to dengue shock syndrome. The objective of this study was to elaborate the Brazilian version of the World Health Organization (WHO) staff questionnaire on the use and value of dengue warning signs, through translation and back-translation of the WHO questionnaire, followed by an expert panel consensus, pretest (n = 13), and pilot study (n = 20) of the preliminary version. Comparison of the original questionnaire in English and the back-translation showed that 8 of the 49 items had been extensively or completely altered, and three were rephrased. The expert panel added the warning signs listed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. In the final version of the questionnaire, the item "ranking of warning signs" was rephrased and the answer option "do not know" was excluded. The Brazilian version of the WHO staff questionnaire allows assessing health professionals' experience and perceptions regarding the use of warning signs included in the recent dengue guidelines.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cross-cultural validity of the Demand-Control Questionnaire, comparing the original Swedish questionnaire with the Brazilian version. METHODS We compared data from 362 Swedish and 399 Brazilian health workers. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were performed to test structural validity, using the robust weighted least squares mean and variance-adjusted (WLSMV) estimator. Construct validity, using hypotheses testing, was evaluated through the inspection of the mean score distribution of the scale dimensions according to sociodemographic and social support at work variables. RESULTS The confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses supported the instrument in three dimensions (for Swedish and Brazilians): psychological demands, skill discretion and decision authority. The best-fit model was achieved by including an error correlation between work fast and work intensely (psychological demands) and removing the item repetitive work (skill discretion). Hypotheses testing showed that workers with university degree had higher scores on skill discretion and decision authority and those with high levels of Social Support at Work had lower scores on psychological demands and higher scores on decision authority. CONCLUSIONS The results supported the equivalent dimensional structures across the two culturally different work contexts. Skill discretion and decision authority formed two distinct dimensions and the item repetitive work should be removed.

Objective: To evaluate psychiatric comorbidities in outpatients receiving care for HIV and Chagas disease at Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas (IPEC), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil., Methods: Cross-sectional study with a consecutive sample of 125 patients referred to an outpatient psychiatric clinic from February to December 2010. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used. Factors associated with more frequent mental disorders were estimated by odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) by multiple logistic regression., Results: Seventy-six (60.8%) patients with HIV, 40 (32%) patients with Chagas disease, and nine (7.2%) patients with human T-lymphotropic virus were interviewed. The majority were women (64%), with up to 8 years of formal education (56%), and unemployed (81.6%). The median age was 49 years. Suicide risk (n=71) (56%), agoraphobia (n=65) (52%), major depressive episode (n=56) (44.8%), and alcohol/drug abuse (n=43) (34.4%) predominated, the latter being directly associated with lower family income (OR = 2.64; 95%CI 1.03-6.75) and HIV infection (OR = 5.24; 95%CI 1.56-17.61). Suicide risk was associated with non-white skin color (OR = 2.21; 95%CI 1.03-4.75), unemployment (OR = 2.72; 95%CI 1.01-7.34), and diagnosis of major depression (OR = 3.34; 95%CI 1.54-7.44)., Conclusion: Measures targeting adverse socioeconomic conditions and psychiatric and psychological monitoring and care should be encouraged in this population, considering the association with abuse of alcohol/other psychoactive drugs and suicide risk.

This study's objective was to revisit the internal consistency and convergent and discriminant factorial validity of the Brazilian version of WHOQOL-BREF, in a cross-sectional study of 386 health workers. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test WHOQOL-BREF's structure (24 and 26 items) and the model suggested by exploratory factor analysis. Internal consistency was measured through composite reliability; convergent and discriminant validity by average variance extracted and factor correlations. The best-fit model, suggested by exploratory factor analysis (26 items), had 6 factors: 4 theoretically proposed (general, psychological, social relationships, and environment) and 2 obtained by subdividing the physical domain. Items "energy" and "security" (from physical and environment domains) were relocated to the psychological domain. Composite reliability was good (> 0.70), except for the general factor. Convergent and discriminant validity were adequate for social relationships and physical 2. Controversies on WHOQOL-BREF's dimensionality persist, particularly in the physical domain.

The scope of this study is to investigate the association between occupational stress and self-perception of oral health. Data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire filled out in a Pró-Saúde Study by 3253 administrative technical staff from Rio de Janeiro's State University. Occupational stress was measured by means of a questionnaire elaborated in 1970 by Karasek, duly shortened by Thorell in 1988. Ordinal logistic regression was used for data analysis, subsequently adjusted for three blocks of variables. Workers exposed to high occupational demands and little occupational control and to passive work had higher chances of self-perception of worse oral health, when compared with those exposed to low occupational demands, there being no association observed in those exposed to active work. However, in the multiple regression model the following estimates were reduced in magnitude and lost statistical significance, namely high occupational demands and passive work. Workers exposed to high occupational demands revealed worse self-reported oral health, which seems to be partly explained by health behavior patterns, the presence of oral health problems and seeking dental services at longer intervals than once per year.

Unlabelled: According to Karasek, job strain results from an interaction between high demands and low decision latitude., Purpose: To reassess the dimensional structure and evaluate the internal consistency of demand control support questionnaire (DCSQ), a shortened version of job content questionnaire that was not sufficiently evaluated in validation studies., Methods: The study investigated 825 workers who completed the DCSQ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; to 399 workers, the questionnaire was self-administered at a hospital (2004-2005), and 426 workers were interviewed at nine restaurants (2006-2007). Confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation models was used to test theoretical structure of dimensionality. Internal consistency was evaluated by composite reliability and convergent validity by average variance extracted., Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the instrument in three dimensions: demands, skill discretion and decision authority. The best fit model was achieved by removing social support at work and the item repetitive work (skill discretion). A cross-loading from learning new things on demands and an error measurement correlation between work fast and work intense were confirmed. Composite reliability was acceptable for all dimensions, except for demands (0.58), which also showed inadequate average variance extracted (0.32). This final model was confirmed in separate analyses according to work setting, but the loadings of demands were lower for restaurant workers., Conclusion: Our results indicated that skill discretion and decision authority formed two distinct dimensions. Additionally, the item repetitive work should be removed, as well as one of the items work fast or work intense (demands). Future research is still required to confirm these findings.

Background: One of the main challenges for clinical research in dengue is the low validity of clinical diagnosis., Objective: To analyze clinical and laboratory data as predicitve factors of dengue diagnosis at Evandro Chagas Clinical Research Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, during the 2001-2002 dengue outbreak in Rio de Janeiro., Methods: Cross sectional study comparing clinical laboratory data collected from the National Information System for Compulsory Notification Diseases (SINAN) in two serologically confirmed groups: dengue D (N = 453) and non-dengue ND (N = 80)., Results: Fever, exanthema, itching, mean platelet count < 150,000, WBC count < 4,000 and absence of vomiting and of abdominal pain help to distinguish D from ND groups. When considered individually, these signs and symptoms enhance diagnostic sensitivity and, when used in combination, improve specificity., Conclusion: A combination of symptoms not necessarily considered indicative of dengue diagnosis could improve surveillance and medical decision-making in simple clinical settings.

This study assesses the health care provided to Kaingáng Indians in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Deaths preventable by primary health care among the Indians and occurring from 1985 to 1995 were compared to the same rates for the State of Rio Grande do Sul as a whole. Secondary data on health care services were supplemented by field interviews with indigenous leaders and with employees from participating institutions. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to correlate distribution of deaths and access to health services. The Kaingáng settlements are connected by paved roads to counties with at least a public health clinic or even a small hospital in some cases. Secondary referrals are treated in Palmeiras das Missões and Frederico Westphallen and tertiary care is provided in Passo Fundo. What distinguishes the Indian settlements from the rest of the State are the high rates of deaths preventable by primary health care and those related to ill-defined conditions, malnutrition, tuberculosis, and cancer of the uterine cervix.