Abstract Background: Distress has a potentiating effect on complications of heart disease. Early identification of distress and psychosocial management could help patients to deal with the disease and improve their quality of life. However, in Brazil, there is no specific instrument for evaluation of distress in cardiac patients. Objectives: To describe the validation process of the Screening Tool for Psychosocial Distress (STOP-D) for the Brazilian population. Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study with a quantitative approach. A total of 144 patients (including outpatients and inpatients) were interviewed at the waiting room of the outpatient cardiology clinic or in cardiology wards. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected, and distress was assessed using two instruments - the Brazilian version of the STOP-D and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). First, we performed an exploratory factor analysis and analysis of the accuracy of the STOP-D score by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curvet. Results: The factorability analysis of the correlation matrix did not detect any factor that made the factorial solution unfeasible. The instrument showed a single-factor nature, confirmed by the criterion of eigenvalues, with an 85% accuracy in predicting distress. A cut-off point of 15.5 was chosen for distress using the ROC curve. Conclusions: The Brazilian version of the STOP-D is an adequate instrument for the screening of heart disease patient for distress. It can be easily used by any health professional and would contribute to the promotion of a comprehensive support to cardiac patients.

Racional : O candidato à cirurgia bariátrica precisa passar por avaliação e acompanhamento multiprofissional durante todo o processo de tratamento. Perder o seguimento com as equipes de saúde tem relação com reganho de peso e deficiências nutricionais. O uso da internet é considerado como um dos fatores que pode afetar a relação médico-paciente. Objetivo : Identificar e analisar o padrão de uso da internet pelos pacientes no pós-operatório e verificar se influencia no seguimento multiprofissional. Metódo : Utilizou-se um questionário eletrônico, disponibilizado on-line, para verificar o padrão de uso da Internet e seu impacto no acompanhamento multiprofissional após o procedimento cirúrgico. Resultados : Participaram 103 pacientes, em sua maioria mulheres (95%), casados (64%) e com ensino superior (54%). A idade média foi 35,69 anos e o tempo médio desde a operação de 11,74 meses. Prevaleceram o uso da técnica by-pass gástrico em Y-de-Roux (90,3%), e o acompanhamento foi em serviço privado (93,2%). No pré-cirúrgico a maioria teve maior número de consultas com os profissionais de saúde do que no pós-cirúrgico, havendo relatos que indicam substituição do acompanhamento por informações contida na internet e participação em grupos de discussão on-line, principalmente pela perda de peso inicial gerar sensação de segurança e percepção de não haver mais necessidade de auxílio. O padrão de uso da internet que sobressaiu foi o acesso diário (51,5%) para buscar informações sobre saúde e cirurgia bariátrica. O Facebook e as ferramentas de pesquisa foram os locais mais utilizados. Conclusão : Os dados evidenciaram que as informações contidas na Internet influenciam o seguimento multiprofissional, fato este que exige a equipe considerar o uso da rede como variável que interfere e deve ser manejada. Sugere-se a participação ativa dos profissionais em seus sites e redes sociais e a diversificação de intervenções e serviços para estimular o acompanhamento após a operação.

ABSTRACT Background : Bariatric surgery is presented as the last treatment option for obesity. It requires from all candidates a multidisciplinary evaluation and monitoring throughout treatment. The non-adherence to follow-up with health care teams is related to weight regain. It's possible that the use of internet influences the doctor-patient relationship and patients replace medical care or information provided by health professionals for information from the internet. Aim : Identify and analyze the pattern of internet use by patients after bariatric surgery and check the influence of such use in attending medical appointments with the multidisciplinary team. Method : Electronic questionnaire available on the Internet was used to verify patient´s patterns of Internet use and its influence on in attending multidisciplinary care after surgery. Results : Of the 103 participants, 95% were female, 64% married, 59% with children and 54% with higher education. The mean age was 35.69 years and the mean duration of performing surgery, 11.74 months. The surgical technique that prevailed was Roux-en-Y gastric by-pass (90.3%), the local monitoring concentrated in the private care (93.2%). In the preoperative, most participants consulted more than three times with the surgeon (n=81), nutritionists (n=70), psychologist (n=70). After the surgery, p most patients maintained monitoring with the surgeon and nutritionist. Concerning the internet use, 51.5% accessed the internet in search of information about health and bariatric surgery every day. Facebook and search tools were the most used sites. Conclusion - Data showed the influence of the information contained on the Internet and the adherence to multidisciplinary monitoring. This fact requires the team to consider the use of the Internet as a variable that may interfere and must be handled during follow-up. It is suggested that an active participation of professionals on their websites and social networks and the diversification of services and interventions to stimulate follow-up after surgery.

Este estudo avaliou a eficácia de uma intervenção psicoeducacional em grupo destinada a promover habilidades adaptativas de enfrentamento, minimizar o distress e melhorar a qualidade de vida entre pacientes oncológicos em início de quimioterapia. Da intervenção, composta por seis encontros, participaram três mulheres, que foram avaliadas antes, logo após e três meses depois da participação, utilizando-se a Escala de Modos de Enfrentamento, o questionário WHOQOL-bref e a Psychological Screening Tool for Cancer Patients. Uma outra paciente, que não participou do grupo, teve seus resultados comparados aos das demais. Imediatamente após, houve melhora significativa para as integrantes do grupo: aumento de estratégias focalizadas no problema, busca de suporte social e qualidade de vida, bem como redução de ansiedade e depressão. A paciente que não participou da intervenção grupal obteve indicadores menos favoráveis. Nas reavaliações, os resultados se mantiveram, indicando que o grupo psicoeducacional atingiu seus objetivos terapêuticos.

The following study evaluated the effectiveness of a psychoeducational group intervention designed to promote adaptive coping abilities, minimize distress and improve quality of life in oncology patients during the initial phase of chemotherapy. Three women made up the intervention group, organized into six weekly meetings and they were evaluated before, immediately following and three months after the intervention. The Ways of Coping Scale; WHOQOL-BREF and the Psychological Screening Tool for Cancer Patients were used as evaluation instruments. Another patient, who did not attend the group, had her results compared to the others. Immediately after the intervention, a significant improvement was observed in the group members: increase in problem-focused coping strategies, search for social support and quality of life, as well as a reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression. The patient who did not participate in the intervention group obtained less favorable results. In the reevaluations, these results were maintained, indicating that the psychoeducational group intervention achieved its therapeutic goals.