Body Image Care Research Articles

Enfermedades infecciosas y de transmisión sexual en el adolescente

Teenage is a particularly turbulent time of life which, according to the WHO, covers the period between 10 to 20 years of age. It is a time when a multitude of physical (growth, puberty, etc.) and psychological changes (gradual autonomy, identity construction, learning about sexuality) take place abruptly. This leads to major relational difficulties which are increased by a feeling of being in a hostile environment (protective parents, empty friendships and initiation rites). These contingencies entail an increased risk when approaching relatively new behaviours such as contact with drugs (drug addiction), body-image care (anorexia) and inappropriately approaching romantic relationships (unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, even child sexual abuse). In this paper we will examine sexually transmitted infections exclusively, looking at their aetiological, epidemiological and clinical aspects, and diagnosis and treatment, as well as the prevention mechanisms.

Body Image (BI) of acquired spinal cord injury (SCI) persons. Which patient care in an internal unit of physical and neurological rehabilitation. Experience of the patient care in an internal and neurological unit of PMR of the University Hospital of Liège

Define and develop the acquired SCI patient's BI care within the internal unit of physical and neurological rehabilitation center of the University Hospital of Liège: – explore the patients’ and professionals’ representations and needs of BI care; – estimate the concordances and the dissonances of the visions; – identify if a patient's BI care exists within the unit and what form it takes. Qualitative, retrospective, exploratory and inductive study. Twenty-three acquired SCI patients who had been hospitalized in the unit were individually interviewed. Professionals were interviewed in 8 focused-groups and 4 individuals interviews. BI emerges as a vast and personal notion. The representations of 2 populations are multidimensional and relatively corresponding. Several elements support a positive BI: diverse attitudes of professionals, a relation of quality between professionals and patients, individual care, peer support, an integration in the unit's social life, general information, or even education on the sexual repercussion of the SCI. Professionals report ‘lack of time’ as a limiting factor in patient's BI care. Work experience stands out as a support for the representations of the possible repercussions of the medullary lesion on BI. The link between ‘multidisciplinary care’ and ‘BI’ can be direct or indirect. ‘BI’ and ‘self-esteem’ seem difficult to split, just like ‘BI’ and ‘disabilities’. There is actually a BI care in the unit. Nevertheless, it is not structured, not formal and not connected to the caregiver's profession. Multidisciplinarity care and individualized care seem necessary. Several lines of reflections emerge from the interviews: well-being centered care, levers facilitating the BI discussion, a greater reliable link if a professional takes care regularly of the same person, a common philosophy of patient care, the interest to set up a rising awareness of new professionals, as well as more timesharing of the practical knowledge. In view of our results, relevant elements in the literature can be explored: the formalization of peer support, a BI systematic questioning, the support for coping strategies, the satisfaction follow-up of the hospitalized people, or even the model of Bailey and al (2015) which describes SCI patient's positive BI.