IntroduçãoAmostragem por saturação é uma ferramenta conceitual freqüentemente empregada nos relatórios de investigações qualitativas em diferentes áreas no campo da Saúde, entre outras. É usada para estabelecer ou fechar o tamanho final de uma amostra em estudo, interrompendo a captação de novos componentes. Objetivamos, neste artigo, refletir criticamente sobre alguns fundamentos metodológicos e técnicos de seu emprego.O fechamento amostral por saturação teórica é operacionalmente definido como a suspensão de inclusão de novos participantes quando os dados obtidos passam a apresentar, na avaliação do pesquisador, uma certa redundância ou repetição 1 , não sendo considerado relevante persistir na coleta de dados. Noutras palavras, as informações fornecidas pelos novos participantes da pesquisa pouco acrescentariam ao material já obtido, não mais contribuindo significativamente para o aperfeiçoamento da reflexão teó-rica fundamentada nos dados que estão sendo coletados. Esta conotação/definição já vinha presente no texto que parece ter inaugurado o uso da expressão saturação teórica (theoretical saturation) 2 .No entanto, é necessário problematizá-la porque, embora possa parecer um procedimento decorrente de uma constatação facilmente atingível, muitas vezes a averiguação de saturação ARTIGO ARTICLE

A transparência metodológica na pesquisa qualitativa é fator que contribui para sua confiabilidade, devendo ser garantida pelos pesquisadores. A utilização do critério de fechamento amostral por saturação é freqüente, entretanto a maneira como este processo ocorreu é raramente explicitado nos relatórios de pesquisa. Dificuldades técnicas para uma constatação objetiva da saturação também são comuns entre os pesquisadores qualitativos. Neste texto, propõe-se um modo prático de organizar o trabalho de fechamento amostral por saturação, expondo uma seqüência de oito passos procedimentais de tratamento e análise de dados coletados em entrevistas não-dirigidas com questões abertas ou em grupos focais. Almeja-se contribuir para que os pesquisadores explicitem objetivamente o modo como a saturação ocorreu e, aos seus leitores, conhecer como se deu este processo.

The interest and accomplishments in qualitative research have been increasing in health. As a consequence, there is a greater demand for both institutional research programs and scientific journal publications. This article has the following purposes: (a) to present some definitions in qualitative methods used in Humanities and Health; (b) to compare them to the usual quantitative methods of health sciences; and, finally, (c) to illustrate the subject with the most important constructs in these methodological fields. Above all, the author's scope was to provide criteria to evaluate the pertinence of the path taken by qualitative researchers, from research plan elaboration to result interpretation.

The main objective of this work is to describe the formation of the Transition Adolescent Clinic (TAC) and understand the process of transitioning adolescents with HIV/AIDS from pediatric to adult care, from the vantage point of individuals subjected to this process. A qualitative method and an intentional sample selected by criteria were adopted for this investigation, which was conducted in São Paulo, Brazil. An in-depth semi-structured interview was conducted with sixteen HIV-infected adolescents who had been part of a transitioning protocol. Adolescents expressed the need for more time to become adapted in the transition process. Having grown up under the care of a team of health care providers made many participants have reluctance toward transitioning. Concerns in moving away from their pediatricians and feelings of disruption, abandonment, or rejection were mentioned. Participants also expressed confidence in the pediatric team. At the same time they showed interest in the new team and expected to have close relationships with them. They also ask to have previous contacts with the adult health care team before the transition. Their talks suggest that they require slightly more time, not the time measured in days or months, but the time measured by constitutive experiences capable of building an expectation of future. This study examines the way in which the adolescents feel, and help to transform the health care transition model used at a public university. Listening to the adolescents' voices is crucial to a better understanding of their needs. They are those who can help the professionals reaching alternatives for a smooth and successful health care transition.

We observe the necessity of studies that allow the health team to identify those aspects of a patient's psychological makeup which would be expected to improve or worsen their prognosis and to provide the necessary preoperative and postoperative psychosocial interventions.

Campos CJG, Turato ER. Content analysis in studies using the clinical-qualitative method: application and perspectives. Rev Latino-am Enfermagem 2009 março-abril; 17(2):259-64. The use of data analysis techniques shows its importance as, after data collection, it requires accurate readings and interpretative and creative discussions. Content analysis comprises a set of techniques for organizing communication/information -It is known that, in the universe of qualitative research, the choice of a method and its techniques of data collection and analysis should be carried out under a multifaceted perspective on the totality of results, including observations and interviews -the corpus.

To compensate for the lack of practical activities during the pre-clinical stage, students search for extracurricular activities that often overload them. Because teachers function as professional role models, their attitudes towards patients have great importance. Students fear not being able to maintain their empathic capacity in the future because of work-related issues. Knowledge of the psychological aspects of the doctor-patient relationship helps students to comprehend their experiences. Gradual contact between student and medical practice from the beginning of the course is advised. It should be followed by interdisciplinary discussions that deal with the technical aspects of cases and the doctor-patient relationship.

Pregnancy outcome of women who delivered after BS, as compared to obese populations, is better and safer and comparable to the general population. Close supervision before, during and after pregnancy following bariatric surgery and nutrient supplementation adapted to the patient's individual requirements can prevent nutrition-related complications and improve maternal and fetal health.