Our study showed that self-efficacy, chance locus of control, and intrinsic religiosity were associated with non-adherence to immunosuppressives. A broader perception of the kidney transplant patient´s integrality can help health professionals to design strategies to promote adherence in this population.

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The majority of the elderly population displayed little knowledge on falls and were exposed to a variety of daily risk factors. Individuals who were more advanced in years and who had more knowledge on falls, were exposed to less household risk factors. This may well have been due to the adoption of preventative measures through changing domestic environment.

Background: Low health literacy (LHL) is common among patients with chronic diseases. Studies on the association between LHL and uncontrolled blood pressure are limited to primary and tertiary levels of healthcare. Objective: We evaluated the prevalence and association between LHL and uncontrolled blood pressure in hypertensive patients in a secondary healthcare in Brazil. Material and methods: Our study had a cross-sectional design and included 485 patients, between August/2014 to March/2016. We evaluated health literacy, by Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Portuguese-Speaking Adults (SAHLPA-18), and the blood pressure control. Individuals with a score ≤14 in SAHLPA-18 were considered as LHL, and individuals with blood pressure ≥140/90 (or ≥130/80 in diabetic patients) were considered as having uncontrolled blood pressure. Results: A total of 56.0% female, with mean age 62.0±12.6 years. Illiterate participants were 61.6%, and 65.4% earned up to one reference wage. Both uncontrolled blood pressure and LHL were highly prevalent (75.1% and 70.9%, respectively), but there was no association between these two parameters. In multivariate analysis, uncontrolled blood pressure was associated with age (OR:0.96, CI:0.94-0.98, p<0.001), diabetes mellitus (OR:4.36, CI:2.54-7.51; p<0.001) and number of pills (OR:1.16, CI:1.08-1.25, p<0.001). Conclusion: Even we found a high prevalence of LHL, the lack of association between LHL and uncontrolled blood pressure may be due to demographic characteristics of the sample, i.e., elderly people with low income and low schooling. HL assessment provides important information that supports actions to improve hypertension control and treatment.

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Introduction: Disabling hearing loss refers to hearing thresholds superior than 40 dB in the better ear in the adults. The main cause of hearing loss in the elderly is the age-related hearing loss, also called presbycusis. This type of hearing impairment occurs as individuals grow older and is usually sensorineural hearing disorder greater for high-pitched sounds and affects both ears equally. It is estimated that 466 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss, one third of which are over 65 years old. Objective: To analyze the prevalence of disabling hearing loss in the elderly of Juiz de Fora. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 122 patients. Pure tone audiometry was performed after meticulous physical examination of the external ear. Results: Out of 122 older adults, 85 (69,6%) presented disabling hearing loss. Conclusion: Hearing loss, specially disabling hearing loss, is a frequent condition in the elderly and has a big impact on their quality of life. For that it should be promptly diagnosed so treatment can be initiated.