Vulnerabilidade e empoderamento apresentam-se como elementos presentes na vida profissional e pessoal dos enfermeiros. Delimitou-se como objeto de estudo as representações sociais elaboradas por enfermeiros que cuidam de pacientes com HIV/Aids acerca de sua vulnerabilidade no contexto do cuidar em enfermagem. O objetivo geral foi analisar as representações sociais construídas por enfermeiros acerca de sua vulnerabilidade no contexto do cuidado que exercem. Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória, orientada pelo referencial teórico-metodológico das Representações Sociais em sua abordagem processual. Participaram do estudo trinta enfermeiros de um hospital público municipal do Rio de Janeiro. Como técnicas de coleta de dados foram utilizados o questionário sociodemográfico e a entrevista semiestruturada em profundidade. Como técnica de análise de dados adotou-se a análise de conteúdo temático-categorial proposta por Bardin, sistematizada por Oliveira e operacionalizada pelo software QSR NVivo 9.0. Entre os sujeitos, há predomínio do gênero feminino, da faixa etária de 41 a 45 anos, da realização de pós-graduação lato sensu e de tempo de atuação mínimo de 16 anos em HIV/Aids. Sete categorias emergiram na segmentação do material discursivo: 1) O acesso a informações, a formação profissional e o desenvolvimento da naturalização da aids através da experiência: elementos de vulnerabilidade e de empoderamento; 2) A instituição hospitalar e sua infraestrutura como polo de vulnerabilidade e de empoderamento nas construções simbólicas de enfermeiros que cuidam de pacientes com HIV/Aids; 3) Entre o risco e a prevenção: a vulnerabilidade e o empoderamento no contexto dos acidentes ocupacionais biológicos e as práticas preventivas adotadas por enfermeiros frente ao HIV/Aids no cotidiano hospitalar; 4) Relações interpessoais entre enfermeiro e paciente soropositivo para o HIV enquanto mediadoras da vulnerabilidade e do empoderamento de ambos; 5) As limitações psíquicas enfrentadas por enfermeiros no vivenciar do trabalho junto a portadores do HIV/Aids; 6) A busca pela espiritualidade e pela religiosidade como bases de apoio para a vida profissional contextualizada na aids; e 7) O HIV e a aids no contexto de diferentes modalidades de relacionamento: a presença do risco como elemento organizador da discursividade. Na vida profissional, as representações sociais da vulnerabilidade são compostas pela fragilidade, pelo risco e pela dificuldade. O empoderamento, por sua vez, emerge sustentado por um tripéformado pela proteção, suporte e satisfação como elementosdo bem-estar. Na vida pessoal, o risco possui centralidade nas representações. Já o empoderamento se mostra oriundo do bem-estar e da proteção. Conclui-se que a reconstrução sociocognitiva da vulnerabilidade e do empoderamento permitiu o acesso ao arsenal simbólico do qual o grupo dispõe para a superação do que o ameaça. Vulnerabilidade e empoderamento são, portanto, diversificados e mutáveis em suas bases e produtos e, em movimentos de balanço e contrabalanço, corporificam a díade vulnerabilidade-empoderamento. / Vulnerability and empowerment present themselves as elements of the professional life of nurses. It was established as study object the social representations developed by nurses who care for patients with HIV/Aids on their vulnerability in the nursing context concerned. This is a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory research based on the theoretical and methodological reference from the Social Representations in its processual approach. Participated in the study thirty nurses from a municipal public hospital of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The data collection techniques were the sociodemographic questionnaire and the detailed semi-structured interview. With regard to the data analysis, the thematic and categorical content analysis proposed by Bardin, systematized by Oliveira, and performed through the software QSR NVivo 9.0, was adopted. Among the subjects, it is highlighted the predominance of the female gender, the age group from 41 to 45 years, the catholic individuals, the stable relations, the lato sensu graduate course, and the minimum experience of 16 years in HIV/aids scenario. As qualitative results, seven categories emerged in the segmentation of the discursive material: 1) The access to information, professional training, and development of aids naturalization through experience: elements of vulnerability and empowerment; 2) The hospital institution and its infrastructure as a pole of vulnerability and empowerment in the symbolic constructions of nurses who care for patients with HIV/Aids; 3) Between risk and prevention: the vulnerability and empowerment in the context of biological labor accidents and the preventive practices adopted by nurses facing HIV/Aids in the hospital daily activities; 4) Interpersonal relations between nurse and HIV-seropositive patient as mediators of their vulnerability and empowerment; 5) The psychic limitations faced by nurses experiencing the work with patients with HIV/Aids; 6) The search for spirituality and religiosity as supporting bases for the professional life contextualized within aids; and 7) The HIV and aids in the context of different modalities of relationship: the presence of risk as an organizing element of discursivity. In professional life, the social representations of vulnerability are formed through frailty, risk, and difficulty. Empowerment, in its turn, emerges on a tripod formed by protection, support, and satisfaction as elements of well-being. In personal life, risk plays a central role in the representations of vulnerability. And empowerment shows to come from the intersections between well-being and protection. It was concluded that the social and cognitive reconstruction of vulnerability and empowerment allowed access to the symbolic arsenal which the group has to overcome its threatening danger. Vulnerability and empowerment are, thus, diversified and changeable with regard to their bases and products, in balance and counterbalance movements which embody the dyad vulnerability-empowerment.

The prevalence of Brucella canis in South Africa is unknown and suspected to be under-detected. The majority of dogs in South Africa are not tested for Brucella canis, not only because of the level of awareness of Brucella canis in South Africa, but also because of the lack of clinical suspicion. It is not known how the infection entered South Africa. Brucella canis, a zoonotic organism that causes canine brucellosis in dogs, is a significant cause of reproductive failure in dogs worldwide. Canine brucellosis is a chronic infectious zoonotic disease whose main etiological agent, the Brucella canis bacterium, are rough, intracellular proteobacteria in the Brucellaceae family. Clinical signs in bitches are mainly infertility and abortion, while in males, epididymitis and orchitis occur. However, discospondylitis may develop in both sexes. A serological survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of Brucella canis infection in dogs from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan (NMBM) Port Elizabeth (PE) area. A total of 400 samples were collected, 350 of which were collected in seven different townships and 50 were collected in the three different welfare organisations in the study area. Of the 400 serum samples collected, 39 (9.75%) tested serologically positive by using the Tube Agglutination Test (TAT), the 2-Mercaptoethanol-TAT (2ME-TAT) or the Compliment Fixation Test (CFT). The results of the CFT showed that nine of the 39 positive samples had a maximum antibody titre of 784 IU/ml. The prevalence rate varied tremendously between the samples from the townships and those from the welfare organisations. The prevalence rate of seropositive animals in PE ranged between 5% and 16% in the study area. No positive cases were found in KwaMagxaki and the Animal Welfare Society of PE, but both were surrounded by areas that had positive cases of Brucella canis infection. The female dogs in the study area had a higher sero-prevalence of only 0.0169 (95% CI, 0.0631 to 0.1489) differences in proportion, and were thus not significant (p > 0.05). However, the female spayed dogs had a much higher significant difference of 0.1898 (95% iv CI, 0.1058 to 0.2738) in proportion to the male neutered dogs and were thus statistically significant (p < 0.05). Despite those results, out of all the dogs positive for Brucella canis only two were neutered males and five were spayed females, and the rest were all intact. In conclusion, according to the results, Brucella canis antibodies were detected in sera of dogs mostly from the townships surveyed. Preventive measures against this contagion should be taken into consideration to eliminate Brucella canis infection from the entire dog population. Reservoir dogs and actively infected dogs either should be kept in quarantine or should be euthanized, because not only can they spread the disease and end the reproductive life of any breeding animal, but they are also a risk to human health. Even though this is the first survey conducted in the Eastern Cape, the results are still high dogs in the study area had a higher sero-prevalence of only 0.0169 (95% CI, 0.0631 to 0.1489) differences in proportion, and were thus not significant (p > 0.05). However, the female spayed dogs had a much higher significant difference of 0.1898 (95% iv CI, 0.1058 to 0.2738) in proportion to the male neutered dogs and were thus statistically significant (p < 0.05). Despite those results, out of all the dogs positive for Brucella canis only two were neutered males and five were spayed females, and the rest were all intact. In conclusion, according to the results, Brucella canis antibodies were detected in sera of dogs mostly from the townships surveyed. Preventive measures against this contagion should be taken into consideration to eliminate Brucella canis infection from the entire dog population. Reservoir dogs and actively infected dogs either should be kept in quarantine or should be euthanized, because not only can they spread the disease and end the reproductive life of any breeding animal, but they are also a risk to human health. Even though this is the first survey conducted in the Eastern Cape, the results are still high / College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

Text in English / The purpose this study was to explore food habits and nutritional behaviours of adolescents in a school in Lenasia South, in Gauteng Province. Qualitative, explorative research was conducted in order to recommend effective prevention strategies of non-communicable diseases. Adolescents from the selected secondary school formed the sample of the study. Data collection was done using focus groups’ discussions. Three focus group discussions were conducted in the study. The first group comprised of thirteen male adolescents, followed by ten female adolescents and the final group was a combination of both female and male learners to produce a homogenous group. Specific common eating habits and nutritional behaviours emerged from the focus group discussions which included skipping meals, high consumption of high energy dense foods and sweetened beverages. Consequently, when developing intervention programs and policies to improve health of adolescents, environmental influences that undermine efforts to improve adolescent’s dietary behaviours must be addressed. / Health Studies / M.P.H.

Introdução. As doenças cardiovasculares constituem a principal causa de morbimortalidade na população brasileira. Desta forma, o Ministério da Saúde apresentou o HiperDia, um sistema de cadastramento e acompanhamento de portadores de HAS e DM atendidos na rede ambulatorial do SUS. Objetivo. Descrever o perfil dos hipertensos e diabéticos cadastrados no sistema HiperDia das oito unidades básicas do município de Rio Claro/RJ, no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2012. Métodos. Os dados de óbitos foram obtidos a partir do Sistema de Informações de Mortalidade (SIM), e as populações estimadas pelo IBGE, foram também obtidas na página do MS. As demais informações foram coletadas por meio de uma planilha de dados agregados, elaborada a partir da própria ficha de cadastramento do HiperDia e distribuído às unidades. Resultados. Pôde-se observar que a grande maioria dos pacientes cadastrados no HiperDia era portadora de hipertensão (95%) e que mais de 1/5 (21%) dos pacientes tinham as duas doenças concomitantemente. Além disso, mais de 4/5 (82%) dos pacientes com DM também apresentou HAS. As mulheres cadastradas foram maioria em ambas as doenças, tendo sido 63,2% e 71%, para HAS e DM, respectivamente. No que diz respeito à idade, ambas as doenças tiveram ocorrência mais elevada em grupos etários mais velhos, embora a prevalência de DM pareça ter se mantido constante para aqueles com 60 anos de idade ou mais. O fator de risco mais relevante para as duas doenças foi o sedentarismo, referido por 76% e 69% daqueles com HAS e DM, respectivamente. Conclusão. Conclui-se sobre a necessidade de modificar a ficha de coleta de dados do HiperDia e de monitoramento mais assíduo dos pacientes. Sugestões de Saúde Pública. Sugere-se inclusão de informações na ficha de coleta de dados do HiperDia sobre os níveis de glicemia e amputação de extremidades dos membros inferiores depois de três anos matriculados no programa, no caso de DM, e informação sobre a manutenção de níveis de pressão arterial sob controle, no caso de HAS, além de informações mais detalhadas sobre os fatores de risco referidos. / Introduction. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbimortality in the Brazilian population. Recently, the Ministry of Health introduced Hiperdia, a system of registration and monitoring people living with Systemic Hypertension and Diabetes mellitus treated in the out patient facilities of the Public Health System, SUS hereafter. Main Goal. To describe the profile of hypertensive and diabetic patients enrolled in HiperDia treated in one of the eight basic units of the Rio Claro city, during the period between January and December 2012. Methods. The mortality data were obtained from Mortality Information System (SIM), and the population was estimated from the Brazilian Agency for Geography ans Statistics IBGE, both available at Brazilian Health Ministry (MS). Other data were collected from a consolidated data table distributed to all eight basic units and it was based on the registration form of HiperDia. Results. It was observed that the great majority of patients registered in HiperDia were living with hypertension (95%) and more than 1/5 (21%, precisely) had both diseases simultaneously. In addition, for those with Diabetes melittus, more than four fifths (82%) patients also had systemic hypertension. Women are the majority of the cases for both diseases, namely 63.2% for hypertension and 71 % for Diabetes melittus. Considering the age of the patient, both diseases had occurred more frequently among elders, although the prevalence of Diabetes melittus appears to have remained constant for those with 60 yrs and older. The most important risk factor for both diseases was sedentarism, as mentioned by 76 % and 69 % of those with hypertension and Dabetes melittus, respectively. Conclusions. It is needed to modify the form to collect data from HiperDia and also to increase the frequency of the monitoring of patients. Suggestions to Public Health Policies. It is suggested to include in the Hiperdia registration form, information about blood glucose levels and about the amputation of the lower extremities after three years for those enrolled in the program, in the case of Diabete mellitus. For the case of hypertension, information about the maintenance levels of the blood pressure control, and to add more detailed informations about the risk factors.

Vulnerabilidade e empoderamento apresentam-se como elementos presentes na vida profissional e pessoal dos enfermeiros. Delimitou-se como objeto de estudo as representações sociais elaboradas por enfermeiros que cuidam de pacientes com HIV/Aids acerca de sua vulnerabilidade no contexto do cuidar em enfermagem. O objetivo geral foi analisar as representações sociais construídas por enfermeiros acerca de sua vulnerabilidade no contexto do cuidado que exercem. Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória, orientada pelo referencial teórico-metodológico das Representações Sociais em sua abordagem processual. Participaram do estudo trinta enfermeiros de um hospital público municipal do Rio de Janeiro. Como técnicas de coleta de dados foram utilizados o questionário sociodemográfico e a entrevista semiestruturada em profundidade. Como técnica de análise de dados adotou-se a análise de conteúdo temático-categorial proposta por Bardin, sistematizada por Oliveira e operacionalizada pelo software QSR NVivo 9.0. Entre os sujeitos, há predomínio do gênero feminino, da faixa etária de 41 a 45 anos, da realização de pós-graduação lato sensu e de tempo de atuação mínimo de 16 anos em HIV/Aids. Sete categorias emergiram na segmentação do material discursivo: 1) O acesso a informações, a formação profissional e o desenvolvimento da naturalização da aids através da experiência: elementos de vulnerabilidade e de empoderamento; 2) A instituição hospitalar e sua infraestrutura como polo de vulnerabilidade e de empoderamento nas construções simbólicas de enfermeiros que cuidam de pacientes com HIV/Aids; 3) Entre o risco e a prevenção: a vulnerabilidade e o empoderamento no contexto dos acidentes ocupacionais biológicos e as práticas preventivas adotadas por enfermeiros frente ao HIV/Aids no cotidiano hospitalar; 4) Relações interpessoais entre enfermeiro e paciente soropositivo para o HIV enquanto mediadoras da vulnerabilidade e do empoderamento de ambos; 5) As limitações psíquicas enfrentadas por enfermeiros no vivenciar do trabalho junto a portadores do HIV/Aids; 6) A busca pela espiritualidade e pela religiosidade como bases de apoio para a vida profissional contextualizada na aids; e 7) O HIV e a aids no contexto de diferentes modalidades de relacionamento: a presença do risco como elemento organizador da discursividade. Na vida profissional, as representações sociais da vulnerabilidade são compostas pela fragilidade, pelo risco e pela dificuldade. O empoderamento, por sua vez, emerge sustentado por um tripéformado pela proteção, suporte e satisfação como elementosdo bem-estar. Na vida pessoal, o risco possui centralidade nas representações. Já o empoderamento se mostra oriundo do bem-estar e da proteção. Conclui-se que a reconstrução sociocognitiva da vulnerabilidade e do empoderamento permitiu o acesso ao arsenal simbólico do qual o grupo dispõe para a superação do que o ameaça. Vulnerabilidade e empoderamento são, portanto, diversificados e mutáveis em suas bases e produtos e, em movimentos de balanço e contrabalanço, corporificam a díade vulnerabilidade-empoderamento. / Vulnerability and empowerment present themselves as elements of the professional life of nurses. It was established as study object the social representations developed by nurses who care for patients with HIV/Aids on their vulnerability in the nursing context concerned. This is a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory research based on the theoretical and methodological reference from the Social Representations in its processual approach. Participated in the study thirty nurses from a municipal public hospital of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The data collection techniques were the sociodemographic questionnaire and the detailed semi-structured interview. With regard to the data analysis, the thematic and categorical content analysis proposed by Bardin, systematized by Oliveira, and performed through the software QSR NVivo 9.0, was adopted. Among the subjects, it is highlighted the predominance of the female gender, the age group from 41 to 45 years, the catholic individuals, the stable relations, the lato sensu graduate course, and the minimum experience of 16 years in HIV/aids scenario. As qualitative results, seven categories emerged in the segmentation of the discursive material: 1) The access to information, professional training, and development of aids naturalization through experience: elements of vulnerability and empowerment; 2) The hospital institution and its infrastructure as a pole of vulnerability and empowerment in the symbolic constructions of nurses who care for patients with HIV/Aids; 3) Between risk and prevention: the vulnerability and empowerment in the context of biological labor accidents and the preventive practices adopted by nurses facing HIV/Aids in the hospital daily activities; 4) Interpersonal relations between nurse and HIV-seropositive patient as mediators of their vulnerability and empowerment; 5) The psychic limitations faced by nurses experiencing the work with patients with HIV/Aids; 6) The search for spirituality and religiosity as supporting bases for the professional life contextualized within aids; and 7) The HIV and aids in the context of different modalities of relationship: the presence of risk as an organizing element of discursivity. In professional life, the social representations of vulnerability are formed through frailty, risk, and difficulty. Empowerment, in its turn, emerges on a tripod formed by protection, support, and satisfaction as elements of well-being. In personal life, risk plays a central role in the representations of vulnerability. And empowerment shows to come from the intersections between well-being and protection. It was concluded that the social and cognitive reconstruction of vulnerability and empowerment allowed access to the symbolic arsenal which the group has to overcome its threatening danger. Vulnerability and empowerment are, thus, diversified and changeable with regard to their bases and products, in balance and counterbalance movements which embody the dyad vulnerability-empowerment.

Introdução. As doenças cardiovasculares constituem a principal causa de morbimortalidade na população brasileira. Desta forma, o Ministério da Saúde apresentou o HiperDia, um sistema de cadastramento e acompanhamento de portadores de HAS e DM atendidos na rede ambulatorial do SUS. Objetivo. Descrever o perfil dos hipertensos e diabéticos cadastrados no sistema HiperDia das oito unidades básicas do município de Rio Claro/RJ, no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2012. Métodos. Os dados de óbitos foram obtidos a partir do Sistema de Informações de Mortalidade (SIM), e as populações estimadas pelo IBGE, foram também obtidas na página do MS. As demais informações foram coletadas por meio de uma planilha de dados agregados, elaborada a partir da própria ficha de cadastramento do HiperDia e distribuído às unidades. Resultados. Pôde-se observar que a grande maioria dos pacientes cadastrados no HiperDia era portadora de hipertensão (95%) e que mais de 1/5 (21%) dos pacientes tinham as duas doenças concomitantemente. Além disso, mais de 4/5 (82%) dos pacientes com DM também apresentou HAS. As mulheres cadastradas foram maioria em ambas as doenças, tendo sido 63,2% e 71%, para HAS e DM, respectivamente. No que diz respeito à idade, ambas as doenças tiveram ocorrência mais elevada em grupos etários mais velhos, embora a prevalência de DM pareça ter se mantido constante para aqueles com 60 anos de idade ou mais. O fator de risco mais relevante para as duas doenças foi o sedentarismo, referido por 76% e 69% daqueles com HAS e DM, respectivamente. Conclusão. Conclui-se sobre a necessidade de modificar a ficha de coleta de dados do HiperDia e de monitoramento mais assíduo dos pacientes. Sugestões de Saúde Pública. Sugere-se inclusão de informações na ficha de coleta de dados do HiperDia sobre os níveis de glicemia e amputação de extremidades dos membros inferiores depois de três anos matriculados no programa, no caso de DM, e informação sobre a manutenção de níveis de pressão arterial sob controle, no caso de HAS, além de informações mais detalhadas sobre os fatores de risco referidos. / Introduction. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbimortality in the Brazilian population. Recently, the Ministry of Health introduced Hiperdia, a system of registration and monitoring people living with Systemic Hypertension and Diabetes mellitus treated in the out patient facilities of the Public Health System, SUS hereafter. Main Goal. To describe the profile of hypertensive and diabetic patients enrolled in HiperDia treated in one of the eight basic units of the Rio Claro city, during the period between January and December 2012. Methods. The mortality data were obtained from Mortality Information System (SIM), and the population was estimated from the Brazilian Agency for Geography ans Statistics IBGE, both available at Brazilian Health Ministry (MS). Other data were collected from a consolidated data table distributed to all eight basic units and it was based on the registration form of HiperDia. Results. It was observed that the great majority of patients registered in HiperDia were living with hypertension (95%) and more than 1/5 (21%, precisely) had both diseases simultaneously. In addition, for those with Diabetes melittus, more than four fifths (82%) patients also had systemic hypertension. Women are the majority of the cases for both diseases, namely 63.2% for hypertension and 71 % for Diabetes melittus. Considering the age of the patient, both diseases had occurred more frequently among elders, although the prevalence of Diabetes melittus appears to have remained constant for those with 60 yrs and older. The most important risk factor for both diseases was sedentarism, as mentioned by 76 % and 69 % of those with hypertension and Dabetes melittus, respectively. Conclusions. It is needed to modify the form to collect data from HiperDia and also to increase the frequency of the monitoring of patients. Suggestions to Public Health Policies. It is suggested to include in the Hiperdia registration form, information about blood glucose levels and about the amputation of the lower extremities after three years for those enrolled in the program, in the case of Diabete mellitus. For the case of hypertension, information about the maintenance levels of the blood pressure control, and to add more detailed informations about the risk factors.

As creches estão relacionadas ao aumento do risco de doenças transmissíveis e programas de controle de infecção são necessários. Foi realizado estudo descritivo para identificar normas de controle de doenças em creches hospitalares do município de São Paulo. Rotina escrita para a lavagem de mãos foi encontrada em 36% e para a troca de fraldas em 24%. Havia luvas descartáveis em 68%, porém rotina escrita para o descarte de luvas usadas em 12% e instruções sobre precauções padrão em 28%. Normas para o afastamento por doença transmissível existiam em 16%. Treinamento padronizado em controle de infecção era oferecido em 12%. As creches hospitalares não possuem normas suficientes para reduzir a transmissão de doenças. Padronização dos procedimentos e regulamentação são necessárias para promover o controle de infeccção / Child day-care centers (DCC) are known for the spread of infectious diseases. Standards for infection control in child care have been established worldwide. A study was conducted to obtain policies used to reduce disease in hospital day-care centers in São Paulo, Brazil. Written handwashing procedures were available at 36% and written instructions on diapering at 24%. Gloves were used in 68% but written disposal procedures were available in 12% and at 28% were instructions offered on standard precautions. A policy for exclusion due to communicable illness was obtained in 16%. Standard staff training on infection control was offered in only 12%. Hospital DCC's lack policies and routine procedures for reducing the spread of disease. Child care standards and regulation are needed in order to promote disease control

Traditional Public Health decision-support can benefit from the Web and social media revolution. This dissertation presents approaches to mining social media benefiting public health epidemiology. Through discovery and analysis of trends in Influenza related blogs, a correlation to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) influenza-like-illness patient reporting at sentinel health-care providers is verified. A second approach considers personal beliefs of vaccination in social media. A vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May 2006. The virus is present in nearly all cervical cancers and implicated in many throat and oral cancers. Results from automatic sentiment classification of HPV vaccination beliefs are presented which will enable more accurate prediction of the vaccine's population-level impact. Two epidemic models are introduced that embody the intimate social networks related to HPV transmission. Ultimately, aggregating these methodologies with epidemic and social network modeling facilitate effective development of strategies for targeted interventions.

Background Bikesharing is a versatile intervention, that enables cheap and convenient cycling for urban populations, and according to recent literature, has a positive impact on health, safety and the economy. Many of these impacts are based on the assumption of a modal shift induced by bikesharing, i.e. implementing a Bicycle Sharing System (BSS) will increase population cycling. However, the evidence is inconclusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the intervention of implementing a BSS increases cycling. The study was conducted using bicycle count data from Helsinki between 2014 to 2018. Methods A controlled interrupted time series design was used in combination with segmented regression as the method. An intervention series and a control series were analysed separately. The slopes (trend) and intercepts (level) of pre-intervention (2014&amp;2015) segments were compared with post-intervention segments (2016-2018). The same analysis was performed in both intervention series and control series.  ResultsThe results from the intervention series showed an increase of 105% in the level of the outcome after the implementation of the intervention. Simultaneously, the control series showed that the underlying trend of cycling remained largely unchanged during the whole study period (level increased by 3%). Stratified analysis supported these results in both intervention and control series.   Conclusion The analysis of the intervention series revealed, that the level of the outcome increased sharply after the intervention, implying that the intervention had an immediate effect. However, the lack of statistical significance in the analysis of the slopes made it impossible to determine if the effect was sustained.

Dietary intake is a strong determinate of the health of an individual. Healthy eating is an important prevention to non-communicable diseases. If behaviour is to be changed insight into what the attitudes and barriers are to eating healthily amongst adolescents is imperative. This can provide knowledge for future prevention campaigns for healthy eating to prevent overweight and obesity. The purpose of the study was to quantitatively describe what attitudes adolescent females have towards healthy eating and what potential barriers omits them from adopting healthy eating behaviours. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires. Girls (N=73) from 3 public all girls’ high schools within Durban, KZN, participated in this study. The findings revealed that overall adolescent girls have a positive attitude to healthy eating. A lack of time, the foods sold in the school shop and the conveniences of less healthy food have been identified as barriers to healthy eating. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)