Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Introduction: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) or Sudeck's syndrome is a rare disease characterized by chronic pain that develops after a trauma and that generates deterioration in the quality of life of those who suffer from it. In this condition, the locus of control is a relevant variable with interference in adherence to treatment and as a psychological resource for coping with the disease.Objective: To design and assess the psychometric properties of a test that evaluates the internal-external locus of control in patients with CRPS.Material and Methods: A total of 80 persons from Latin America and Spain with CRPS were evaluated. In addition, 92.5% were women with a mean age of 41.8 years. A test of 7 dichotomous items assessing internal and external locus of control in patients with chronic diseases was applied. Exploratory factor analysis was used to calculate validity and Cronbach's alpha test was used to estimate reliability.Results: The results indicate that the test has a unidimensional structure consisting of five items, adequate goodness-of-fit indices, and a low but acceptable reliability index. A value of 3 was also obtained as a cut-off point, so that lower scores suggest an internal locus of control and higher scores an external locus of control.Conclusions: The Locus of Control Test for Patients with Chronic Illness is valid and reliable.

Introduction: Treatment adherence (TA) is a complex behavior that is assumed to benefit health, well-being and quality of life, which usually presents problems in people with chronic diseases. Objective: To analyze the scientific literature published in the last decade to identify the main empirical results and systematizations on TA in adolescents with chronic diseases.Material and Methods: A narrative review was developed through consulting SciELO, the Virtual Health Library and Google Scholar between April and June 2024. Advanced searches of empirical articles, reviews and other types of designs about TA in adolescents with chronic diseases, published in the last decade in Spanish and English were carried out. A total of 23 articles were finally selected.Development: International studies in Spanish, review and empirical studies predominated. Key areas of analysis in the subject such as the manifestation of adherence, its influencing factors, interventions for its promotion and derived researches were identified.Conclusions: Epistemological, methodological and axiological insufficiencies in relation the topic are observed, as well as difficulties in the adherence of these adolescents that vary depending on the interrelation of multiple influencing factors. To promote TA in these cases, multicomponent interventions made up of educational, cognitive-behavioral, motivational and/or other actions that use modern electronic devices are very valuable. Social support, as well as the active participation and progressive autonomy of the adolescent must be promoted from a comprehensive and multidisciplinary perspective that includes qualitative variables.

Outpatient services in hospitals under Ecuador’s Ministry of Public Health (MSP) have been subject of ongoing criticism regarding both their delivery and quality. This study seeks to answer the question: What factors determine user satisfaction levels in MSP hospitals? The investigation examines the determinants of satisfaction based on the ServQual model, with modifications to the survey design originally used by the MSP. A total of 1,326 users were selected through systematic random sampling across four cantonal hospitals in Guayas Province: Dr. José Cevallos R. in Yaguachi (n=280), Dr. Oswaldo Jervis A. in Salitre (n=280), Dr. Vicente Pino M. in Daule (n=345), and Dr. León Becerra C. in Milagro (n=421). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed for data analysis. The study concludes that the key factors influencing user satisfaction across these hospitals are reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles. The quality management model’s outcome is reflected in an MSP satisfaction indicator exceeding 80%.

This work aims to calculate the probability that a resident of the city of Guayaquil, in 2023, will face the condition of informal worker, considering different socioeconomic characteristics, such as level of education, sex, ethnicity, migrant status, occupational group, etc. To meet this objective, a Logit probabilistic model will be used, and data from the ENEMDU survey as of December 2023 will be used. The application of the model shows that, in the city of Guayaquil, in 2023, people with low levels of education, women, migrants, and people of certain ethnicities, such as indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorians, are more likely to fall into the condition of informality at work. It also shows that, when some of these characteristics are combined, the probability of suffering from labor informality increases. The most important conclusion of this study is that, in addition to the fact that there is a high degree of informality in work in the city of Guayaquil in 2023, inhabitants who have historically disadvantaged characteristics continue to have those disadvantages when it comes to exercising the role of workers.

This research aims to assess the relationship between unemployment and economic growth during the COVID-19 crisis in Ecuador from 2010 to 2022. We test the hypotheses of an inverse relationship between the variance of urban unemployment rate and real economic growth (Okun’s Law) using a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) dynamic model. The results show a bidirectional Granger causality between unemployment and real economic growth, and a negative response of urban unemployment from shocks in economic growth during the first and second periods. In summary, the findings of this study confirm the existence of Okun’s Law in Ecuador in the short time, without any cointegration equation, that could be a result of the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present article delves into the vast trajectory work has followed with the passing of time. Its focus addresses the transformation that the guidelines ruling work relationships have undergone, in other words, the link between subordination and remuneration. The advent of technological advancement has had a significant impact on the traditional organization of work; amidst the plethora of phenomena related to such an occurrence one might find worktech, labour in digital platforms, microtasks and algorithmic subordination: testaments to the relentless evolution of work on ancient pillars. Cooperation between individuals has given rise to novel work-transformation paradigms. The technological revolution 4.0 has modified significantly the source of command power in organizations, which is no longer executed by directive individuals alone, but by algorithms as well which have reshaped the link between employer and employee, giving way to the abovementioned algorithmic management. The feasibility to grant protection to the worker in the face of the use of artificial intelligence which might control or lead their work shall be discussed in an in-depth way. 

Laws, hormones and neurons, a text by Dr. Gerardo Laveaga allows us to question ourselves about the future of Law, in an intricate interdisciplinary world that increasingly provides elements and mechanisms to obtain certainties and break paradigms previously established in the study of Law.  Will, obedience, compliance with the law; these are just some of the topics in which Gerardo Laveaga makes instrospection as part of the epistemological foundation of the creation of norms and his new findings in the study of human behavior. Disciplines such as biology, neurosciences, psychiatry and psychology, endocrinology, among many others, allow us to enter into new ways of conceptualizing and categorizing key elements as human beings and our own nature. This poses important challenges to the legal sciences, particularly in their form of normative appropriation.

Addressing intersex people means bringing visibility to one of the vulnerable groups whose condition has yet to be recognized, let alone their legal protection. In the 21st century, alongside the LGBTQI+ community, they have undertaken a struggle to reclaim their rights. As such, they constitute a group deserving of attention from various disciplines, both medical and legal. Through a necessarily transdisciplinary analysis, we must advance toward regulatory frameworks and the development of public policies that increasingly fulfill the highest aims of human rights: their universalization.

The 2024 social security report in Mexico highlights significant progress in this area, particularly in pension reforms. The minimum amounts for old-age pensions were increased, which will provide a more dignified income for some workers upon retirement. Additionally, social security coverage was expanded to previously excluded sectors, such as independent workers, rural workers, and telecommuters. Another key aspect was the strengthening of women’s rights, with the expansion of maternity and widow’s benefits, as well as the implementation of regulations to eliminate the gender pay gap. Despite these advances, challenges remain in the sustainability of pensions and theeffectiveness of social programs, requiring ongoing efforts to ensure universal and inclusive coverage for all people.