The purpose of this study was to identify leprosy patients' psychosocial problems experienced after they were informed about their diagnosis. We focused attention upon concerns and behavioral changes related to their families, friends, jobs and to themselves. Data were obtained by a two opened questions interview and they were analysed with the aid of artificial intelligence techniques. These intelligence tools were used to discover the most frequent words, phrases and concepts existing in the interview reports. The results showed that after being informed about their diagnosis, the majority of the patients referred some concerns and behavioral changes related to their families, friends, jobs and to themselves. The main concerns of the population were related to the disease (transmission, the treatment extension, the possibility of hospitalization, the uncertainty about the cure). These facts induced some of the patients to avoid telling people about the disease they have.

It is a preliminary study testing the applicability of a method for knowledge characterization based on graphs theory. 11 (eleven) nurses working in a medical surgical intensive care unit including neurological patients constructed graphs to explain the diagnostic process. The results show that: the knowledge structure is in a developing stage; there is agreement regarding to diagnosis formulation and the data base on which it is founded is diversified and link to a specified form of related causes. The method demonstrated to be feasible and should be reapplied on a larger population.

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Os autores relatam os mecanismos que acarretam os disturbios do equilibrio ácido-básico na broncopneumonia do lactente, descrevem a fisiopatia e a etiología dos problemas de enfermagem, propondo o tratamento de enfermagem considerado adequado ao quadro, dando enfoque às áreas específicas de sinais vitais, pele e mucosa, nutrição e hidratação, eliminação, sono e repouso, condições sensorials e psicossociais. INTRODUÇÃOA assistência de enfermagem a ser oferecida a um lactente acometido de broncopneumonia é de grande importância e deve ser dada ao paciente como um todo, respeitada a sua individualidade como um compacto bio-psicossocial. FISIOPATOLOGIA DA BRONCOPNEUMONIAA broncopneumonia é um processo inflamatorio do pul-* Trabalho apresentado na disciplina Influências dos Fatores Biofísicos na Assistência de Enfermagem -Cursos de Pós-Graduação -nível mestrado*-EEUSP.