María Cristina Quijano

Many pupils in primary schools in Latin America show strong difficulties with the learning process. Acquisition of reading is one of the most common problems. Not all children with reading difficulties are children with a diagnosis of dyslexia, attention deficit disorder or specific kinds of neurological disabilities. The aim of the present study was to show effects of procedures of correction of the reading process in Colombian primary school pupils. The process of correction was designed according to the strategy of materialization of action of phonological analysis for oral Spanish words. The method was applied as the first materialized stage of Teaching of Reading in groups of schoolchildren, directed by psychologists previously trained for application of the method. The children were tested in two moments: before and after participation in the programme of correction. The results showed a positive effect of the work with the method on improvement of reading performance and reduction of errors.

Introducción. Colombia ha modificado las normas de medicina nuclear que impacta la administración de yodoterapia en el tratamiento de cáncer de tiroides. Objetivos. Identificar las áreas de acuerdo con respecto a la problemática, requerimientos presentes y emergentes asociados con la normativa para el funcionamiento de los servicios de medicina nuclear. Materiales y métodos. Se realizó un estudio Delphi de dos rondas para cada grupo de expertos, clínicos y regulatorios. La primera ronda exploró los puntos de vista sobre las implicaciones de la normativa que aplica a la medicina nuclear. La segunda ronda calificó por relevancia las declaraciones de la primera ronda. Resultados. La problemática de los servicios de medicina nuclear está relacionada con la claridad normativa y la falta de sinergia y coherencia entre los organismos de inspección, vigilancia y control. Las exigencias al sistema de gestión de desechos requieren una alta inversión económica que puede influir en la oferta del servicio y repercutir en el control integral del cáncer de tiroides. Entre las necesidades presentes y futuras se encuentran: unificación de criterios de los auditores, delimitación de funciones de los actuantes, asistencias técnicas a los servicios para cumplir con la normativa y la veeduría sobre los organismos de inspección, vigilancia y control por parte de los entes regulatorios. Conclusión. Los hallazgos de este estudio sugieren que los servicios de medicina nuclear atraviesan un momento de múltiples desafíos institucionales, normativos y económicos que ponen en riesgo el desarrollo y mantenimiento la medicina nuclear en la atención oncológica.

Latin America has high rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet reduced mental and physical health outcomes due to limited rehabilitation services. To understand the psychosocial adjustment process in TBI patients in Latin America, the incorporation of cultural values including family-based variables is imperative. The current study examined relations among healthy family dynamics, coping, and mental and physical health related quality of life (HRQL) among a sample of TBI patients across three sites and two countries over the first 4 months post-injury. A sample of 109 acute TBI patients from Mexico and Colombia were recruited, and a series of longitudinal mediation and cross-lag panel analyses were run. Mental and physical HRQL were positively associated with each other, as well as healthy family dynamics and coping. Coping partially mediated the effects of healthy family dynamics on both mental and physical HRQL. Family dynamics showed the strongest cross-lag relationships with coping going from 2 months to 4 months. Similarly, coping showed the strongest cross-lag relationships with both mental and physical HRQL going from baseline to 2 months. Results provide empirical support for the importance of a rehabilitation workforce that has been trained in and can effectively implement family-based interventions for individuals with TBI in Latin America.

For its proper acquisition, early reading is based on the development of oral language (e.g., naming speed and letter-sound knowledge; ^{Escobar & Meneses, 2014}) and the metalinguistic ability known as phonological awareness (^{Cuetos Vega, 2017}; ^{Goswami, 2002}). This ability is considered an indispensable requirement to relate each of the basic sound units that make up a word with the letters that correspond to each of these sounds. Over time, it is expected that these relationships facilitate automatic word recognition so that reading is accurate and fluid and that cognitive effort can be focused on understanding content (^{Cuetos, Suárez-Coalla, Molina, & Llenderrozas, 2015}; ^{Fajardo Hoyos, Hernández Jaramillo, & González Sierra, 2012}; ^{Goswami, 2002}) by integrating lexical processes developed during early reading with grammatical processes, which requires interacting with mental models and the reader’s ability to memorize (^{Perfetti & Stafura, 2014}).

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore differences by country in the importance of family needs after traumatic brain injury (TBI), as well as differences in met/unmet needs. METHOD: Two hundred and seventy-one family members of an individual with TBI in Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Denmark, and Norway completed the Family Needs Questionnaire. RESULTS: Eight of the ten needs rated as most important globally were from the Health Information subscale. Importance ratings on the Health Information, Professional Support, and Involvement With Care subscales were similar across countries, but Mexican family members rated Instrumental Support needs as less important than Colombian, Spanish, and Danish family members, and also rated their Community Support needs as less important than Danish and Spanish family members. Mexican family member’s rated emotional support needs as less important than Colombian, Spanish, and Danish family members. Globally, the needs rated as most often met were from the Health Information subscale, and the most unmet needs were from the Emotional Support subscale. CONCLUSION: Despite some similarities across countries several differences were identified, and these can help professionals to provide more culturally appropriate rehabilitation services for family members in order to improve informal care for TBI.

El juego como vehículo para mejorar las habilidades de lectura en niños con dificultad lectora

La comprensión verbal y la lectura en niños con y sin retraso lector

Objective: To determine which factors are highly associated with burden and depression in a group of caregivers of persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in Colombia, South America. Design: Prospective. Participants: Fifty-one pairs of individuals

More individuals are living with traumatic brain injury due to medical and technological advancements. Consequently, family researchers and clinicians will likely work with families facing this type of injury. It is important to examine how family members’ perceptions of challenges associated with brain injury influence their outcomes and whether families experience difficulties when members have differing perceptions. Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that survivors’ and caregivers’ satisfaction with life was negatively influenced by their own, but not the other’s, perceptions of survivor functioning. Survivors and caregivers with similar perceptions of survivor neurobehavioral functioning also reported greater satisfaction with life. Research and clinical implications are discussed.

Advances in medical and assistive technology have increased the likelihood of survival following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Consequently, families frequently must provide care to individuals with TBI. Because they are rarely prepared for the ass