Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Unified, prevention- and community-oriented, Cuba’s National Health System is well positioned to address social problems such as gender violence against women. It is sometimes taken for granted that family doctors, family nurses and psychologists in the health system should be able to deal with such cases. However, some studies among these professionals have revealed misconceptions about intimate partner violence, an insufficient understanding of its causes, and greater tolerance of psychological violence than of physical and sexual violence. Cuba needs to train family doctors and clinical psychologists who are knowledgeable about the subject so that they can take part in the development and implementation of intersectoral education and prevention policies and programs, provide assistance to women who have been victims of violence, and work together with community members to create support networks that serve as monitoring mechanisms. Primary care is the ideal setting for raising awareness of the need for greater intersectoral action to systematically address violence against women.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT The study of consciousness disorders is a scientific challenge, and clinical differentiation among the various sorts of alterations in consciousness is difficult. Persistent vegetative state was defined in 1972, but years later cases appeared in which diagnosed patients showed signs of cognitive activity, and therefore could not be considered vegetative. Minimally conscious state was defined in 2002. This article discusses minimally conscious state based on a literature review and the author’s clinical experience. A brief historical outline is given, starting from 1886 when Horsley analyzed level of consciousness. The article reviews criteria for defining minimally conscious state, as well as the differential diagnosis from persistent vegetative state, brain death, coma, locked-in syndrome and akinetic mutism. Modern discoveries of residual cognitive functioning and new neural correlates have contributed to increased knowledge of this condition. Regardless, minimally conscious state continues to be a challenge for neuroscientists around the world, with issues still to be resolved.