RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: to identify the perception of professional empowerment among midwives in selected Latin American countries (LA). Specifically, this study aimed to compare i) the global level of empowerment among midwives in different LA countries, ii) the scores according to the different dimensions of the scale, and iii) scores according to area the of expertise. DESIGN: A quantitative, observational, analytical, cross-sectional and multisite study using an adaptation of the Perceptions Midwifery Empowerment Scale (PEMS). SETTINGS: Clinical, educational and managerial midwifery positions in 5 LA countries belonging to a Latin American Research Network in Midwifery. All the participating countries reported a similar profile regarding type of education, association and regulation procedures. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1127 responses from midwives with different professional backgrounds were included in the study. FINDINGS: A total mean score of 73.28 (74.23-72.03) points was reported. Chile reported the lowest score of empowerment compared to the other countries, while Argentina reported the highest. Midwives' perceptions of empowerment within their area of expertise, primary health care (PHC) was the area of reference, and gynaecology reported a significantly lower score. Midwives working in management were significantly more empowered compared with those in other areas. Midwives who had continuous education and postgraduate studies were the most empowered. Regarding the provision of woman-centred Care, Chile and El Salvador differed significantly from Argentina (reference), while Uruguay reported a significantly higher score in this dimension. Midwives working in hospital wards reported significantly lower scores compared to those working in PHC. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study suggests that midwifery programmes in the LA countries would benefit from prioritising professional empowerment, especially in the areas of hospital practice, where midwives' perceptions of empowerment were most limited.
Assuntos
Empoderamento , Enfermeiros Obstétricos , Humanos , Estudos Transversais , Adulto , Feminino , Enfermeiros Obstétricos/psicologia , Enfermeiros Obstétricos/estatística & dados numéricos , Inquéritos e Questionários , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , América Latina , Tocologia/métodos , Tocologia/normas , GravidezRESUMO
La comuna San Pedro de Atacama (SPA) tiene alta población rural y étnica, grupos vulnerables, según la literatura, a problemas de salud mental. El objetivo de este trabajo es conocer la prevalencia de síntomas ansiosos en escolares e investigar sus diferencias respecto de variables étnicas, de edad y género. Para ello se utilizó la escala de auto reporte de ansiedad para niños y adolescentes (AANA). La muestra quedó constituida por 416 alumnos, de ellos se analizaron 335 escalas, cuya media de edad fue de 10 años. Un 60,3 por ciento obtuvo sobre el punto de corte para sospecha de trastorno de ansiedad. El género femenino tenía mayor sintomatología ansiosa, junto con el grupo etario de 7 a 11 años. No existió diferencias significativas para la variable étnica. Respecto a las subescalas, la distribución etaria de la fobia social fue diferente a lo reportado en la literatura, lo que podría derivar del contexto sociocultural, necesario de investigaren futuros trabajos.
The San Pedro de Atacama (SPA) district has an important number of rural and ethnic population, which according to the literature, is more vulnerable to mental health problems. The aim of this research is to determine the prevalence of anxiety symptoms in school age children and to study its differences in relation to ethnicity, age and gender. The AANA (self report anxiety scale for children and adolescents) was applied in a sample of 416 students, from which 335 questionnaires were analyzed (mean age: 10 years). A 60.3 percent of the students were above the cut point for suspicion of an anxiety disorder. Females had a higher number of symptoms of anxiety, as did the group with ages 7 to 11 years. There were no statistically significant differences for ethnicity. In the subscales, the age distribution for social phobia was found to be different from the one previously reported; this could be explained by the sociocultural context, which remains to be studied in future research.