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In clinical practice and population health, it is common to use questionnaires to assess conditions or variables that are not directly observable. However, the construction and validation of these instruments or questionnaires are often poorly understood. This narrative review aims to summarize in a general way the process of construction and validation of these questionnaires in order to have a better understanding of this process, the aspects that are evaluated, and the best way to use them. The validation of questionnaires corresponds to a process of analysis of the questionnaire, aiming to measure a latent variable and its dimensions, which cannot be observed directly. A latent variable can be inferred through a set of specific attributes that are part of it, such as the items of a questionnaire, which are observable. Through a narrative review, this article addresses the fundamental concepts of questionnaire or test validation, latent variables or constructs, reliability and validity studies, and the factors that theoretically affect the latter two characteristics. Examples of these concepts are presented in the text.

Introduction: More than 600 thousand people in Chile live with morbid obesity. Effective, safe, cost-effective therapeutic interventions are critical for healthcare systems and insurance schemes. In 2022, two bundled payment codes for bariatric surgery (gastric bypass and gastric sleeve) were incorporated into the National Health Fund's free-choice modality fee scheme. The objective was to characterize the execution of this payment mechanism program associated with bariatric surgery diagnosis in its first year of implementation.More than six hundred thousand people in Chile are estimated to live with morbid obesity. Effective, safe, cost-effective therapeutic interventions are critical for health systems and insurance schemes. In 2022, FONASA incorporated two Bariatric Surgery codes into the Free Choice Modality: Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy. Our objective was to characterize the execution of the Bariatric Surgery Bundled Payment Program in its first year of implementation.

Methods: Descriptive and observational study of the pragmatic approach of the national execution of the payment associated with diagnosis in bariatric surgery. We examined sociodemographic variables (sex, age brackets, and National Health Fund tranches) and characterization of surgeries by code broken down by public or private provider, period of issue, unit cost, co-payment, and medical loans between March and December 2022.

Results: We recorded n = 13 118 surgeries (45.81% bypass versus 54.19% sleeve), of which n = 2424 (18.48%) used medical loans. A total of 85.01% (p = 0.01) of the procedures were in women, in people between 35 and 39 years of age (20.15%), and 45.12% in beneficiaries of tranche B. Private providers performed a total of 99.21% of the surgeries. Ten accounted for 50% of the activity (range n = 1200 to 426 surgeries per year; n = 4.8 to 1.7 surgeries per working day). Total program expenditure was $71 626 948 350 CLP, accounting for 5.04% of the total activity of the national Diagnosis Associated Payment Program.

Conclusions: The implementation of this bariatric surgery voucher benefited more than 13 thousand people living with obesity, mostly women of productive ages and with purchasing capacity. As an equity strategy, regardless of the access route through the voucher, it will be important to safeguard the activity in the public network.

The present case report describes a 19-year-old male patient whose main symptoms were emotional coldness, absence of close relationships, difficulty experiencing pleasure with other people, and lack of motivation to work or to continue his studies. A schizoid personality disorder was diagnosed as a product of early maladaptive patterns such as inhibition, emotional deprivation, social isolation, and inadequacy. Likewise, a rigid and fragmented family context was evidenced, with an affective absence of parents and a focus on strict behavioral rules. The study aimed to intervene, from a cognitive clinical approach, the early maladaptive patterns and symptoms that maintained the features of schizoid personality disorder in the patient. For this purpose, cognitive behavioral therapy was carried out, with techniques such as debates, images to reparentalize, assignment of tasks, use of humor, and social skills training, among others. In conclusion, it can be stated that the early maladaptive patterns maintained the schizoid personality symptomatology. Finally, it was demonstrated through clinical and psychometric criteria that cognitive behavioral therapy decreased schizoid personality behaviors in the patient.

Based on the recommendations of the Vaccine Advisory Committee and the National Immunization Program, Chile implemented an early vaccination process of the population with vaccines from different laboratories. The study of neutralizing antibody levels in different population subgroups contributes to the establishment of correlates of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. In 2022 and 2023 we set up a community cohort of 914 adults with cardiovascular risk factors. In this cohort we are measuring the humoral immune response to exposure to SARS-CoV-2 antigens, either by vaccines or infection, as well as the incidence of COVID-19 and other adverse events. This cohort, which we call The COmmunity Cohort, is providing us with valuable information on the levels of neutralizing antibodies in these individuals and their degree of protection against COVID-19.

Pain is a major public health concern associated with emotional disorders and physical disability and generates increased sick leave and healthcare expenditures. However, despite its social impact and the high pain-related costs, the training of healthcare professionals, such as physical therapists, in pain management is insufficient, leading to an inadequate therapeutic approach. This study aimed to determine the existence of a specific program on pain within the curricula of physical therapy careers in accredited universities in Chile. Out of 40 physical therapy careers, we analyzed 38 curricula. None of them had a specific discipline on pain management in their curricula. Although there is no concrete definition of the best modality for pain education in undergraduate students, it has been shown that following the International Association for The Study of Pain curricula improves students' knowledge and awareness of pain management.