Browsing by Author "Charepe, Zaida"
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- Hope in palliative care nursing: concept analysisPublication . Guedes, Ana; Carvalho, Matilde Silva; Laranjeira, Carlos; Querido, Ana; Charepe, ZaidaBackground: Hope has long been considered essential to humans in several disciplines, nursing included. At the end-of-life, hope is a complex and dynamic emotion, and there have been different interpretations and conceptions of hope. Aim: To develop hope in palliative care as an evidenced-based nursing concept: analyse its attributes, antecedents and consequences. Method: This study follows Walker and Avant's concept analysis: (a) select a concept; (b) determine the aims or purposes of analysis; (c) identify as many uses of the concept as possible; (d) determine the defining attributes; (e) identify a model case; (f) identify borderline and contrary cases; (g) identify antecedents and consequences; and finally (h) define the empirical referents. Findings: Antecedents included symptom control, existential suffering, interpersonal relationships and the establishment of realistic goals. The synthetic attributes were a positive outcome expectancy and a process oriented towards the present and future. The concept's consequences were quality of life, survival, acceptance and a peaceful death. Conclusion: This study revealed a strong history of publications on the subject. The analysis of attributes, antecedents and consequences of the concept of hope contributed to understanding its relevance to palliative care nursing and provided suggestions for effective interventions and future research.
- Mental Health and Psychological Impact during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Online Survey of Portuguese Higher Education StudentsPublication . Laranjeira, Carlos; Dixe, Maria dos Anjos; Valentim, Olga; Charepe, Zaida; Querido, AnaThe COVID-19 pandemic has had significant psychological impact on vulnerable groups, particularly students. The present study aims to investigate the mental and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors in a sample of Portuguese higher education students. An online cross-sectional study was conducted among 1522 higher education students selected by convenience sampling. The survey assessed mental health symptoms as well as sociodemographic variables, health-related perceptions, and psychological factors. Results were fitted to binary and multivariable logistic regression models. The overall prevalences of stress, anxiety, and depression were 35.7%, 36.2%, and 28.5%, respectively. Poor mental health outcomes were related with being female, having no children, living with someone with chronic disease, facing hopelessness, and lacking resilient coping. Future studies focusing on better ways to promote mental health and wellbeing among students are warranted. It is necessary to gather more evidence on the postpandemic mental health using robust study designs and standardized assessment tools.
- Promoting ecological hope as an antidote for eco-emotions and earth-related mental syndromesPublication . Laranjeira, Carlos; Marujo, Helena Águeda; Charepe, Zaida; Querido, AnaIn this opinion paper, the authors discuss the impact of the climate crisis in the field of mental health, which has generated widespread clusters of eco-emotions and so-called ‘psychoterratic’ syndromes [i.e., Earth-related mental syndromes] (Ágoston et al., 2022; Cianconi et al., 2023; Stanley et al. 2021). We then consider how ecological hope can be seen as the current manifestation of the responsibility and reconciliation between humans and our common home: earth. Restoring habitats and biological communities is urgent, and we must foster both the well-being of the earth and humanity through ecological restoration. We end by outlining practical steps to promote ecological hope in education for sustainable development.
- Psychological Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Portuguese and Swiss Higher-Education Students: Protocol for a Mixed Methods StudyPublication . Querido, Ana; Aissaoui, Djamel; Dixe, Maria dos Anjos; Schwander-Maire, Françoise; Cara-Nova, Tanya; Charepe, Zaida; Laranjeira, CarlosHigher-education students are particularly vulnerable to both everyday stressors and mental health problems. Public health emergencies may generate a range of unforeseen potential stressors for vulnerable individuals and communities. The current pandemic has apparently led to an increase in psychiatric symptoms among these students. Objective: The goal of this study is to characterize the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among Portuguese and Swiss higher-education students. Methods: This project will use a mixed methods sequential explanatory design in Portugal and Switzerland, with two consecutive phases. During Phase I, a quantitative study will assess the psychological responses of higher-education students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A convenience sampling method will be used for collecting information from students. The association between variables will be determined with univariable and multivariable analyses. During Phase II, qualitative data will be collected in order to understand the determinants of psychological stress and the strategies adopted by students as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to identify their opinions and feelings about the teaching-learning process during quarantine. In this phase, participants will be selected using a maximum-variation sampling method. Data from focus group discussions will be coded and inductively analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Finally, quantitative and qualitative results will be merged during interpretation to provide complementary perspectives. Results: This paper describes and discusses the protocol for this mixed methods study, which will be completed in December 2021. This study was formally approved by the local ethics committee (CE/IPLEIRIA/22/2020) in Portugal and authorized by the Swiss Association of Research Ethics Committees, swissethics (CER-VD-2020-02889). Conclusions: This research can contribute to the development of teaching tools and methods that reinforce positive mental health strategies, hope, and adaptive coping among students, and to the development of a class on mental health interventions in the context of catastrophic and traumatic events. This project will also help government stakeholders as well as health and education professionals safeguard the psychological well-being of students facing an expanding COVID-19 pandemic.
- Psychological Responses and Strategies Towards the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Higher Education Students in Portugal and Switzerland: A Mixed-Methods StudyPublication . Françoise Schwander, Marie; Querido, Ana; Cara-Nova, Tanya; Dixe, Maria dos Anjos; Aïssaoui, Djamel; Charepe, Zaida; Christie, Derek; LARANJEIRA, C.The COVID-19 pandemic has caused overwhelming changes in individual and community daily-life, resulting from the public health measures implemented to contain it, and also from its psychological and socio-economic consequences. These shifts and consequences impacted the entire population, but some groups are more likely to be affected by these changes, including higher education students. Objectives: a) to investigate mental health status and its determinants among higher-education students in Portugal and Switzerland; and b) to explore adjustment patterns used by these students to overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was conducted in two phases. First, an online survey was conducted among higher education students in Portugal and Switzerland, in Portuguese and French respectively. A convenience sampling method was used. Second, some participants from the first phase were invited to participate in four online focus group discussions (two in each country) using a maximum variation sampling method. Results: The survey was answered by 1,880 students. Portuguese students revealed higher levels of stress and anxiety, but lower depression symptoms and less resilient coping compared to Swiss respondents. Hope was identified as an explanatory variable for mental health symptoms in students from both countries. In the focus groups (n = 27), 13 adjustment strategies were found, which were subdivided into three spheres: personal, social, and contextual. Conclusions: The results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic had a mild to moderate impact on most of the evaluated mental health variables. Nevertheless, the students reacted and mobilized positive short-term strategies, which need to be reinforced in order to prevent long-term psychological harm. In addition, our results can inform psychosocial interventions to minimize psychological impact, anxiety, depression, and stress due to sanitary crises or other population-wide problems or disasters.
- Therapeutic letters: A qualitative study exploring their influence on the hope of parents of children receiving pediatric palliative care in PortugalPublication . Fonseca, Ricardo; Carvalho, Matilde; Querido, Ana; Figueiredo, Maria H.; Bally, Jill; Charepe, ZaidaPurpose: The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the hope experiences of parents of children diagnosed with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) who received therapeutic letters. Design and Methods: A purposive sample of 10 parents of inpatient children with CCCs was recruited from a pediatric palliative care unit in a Portuguese public hospital. A demographic form and audio‐recorded semi‐structured, face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with each participant to explore the experiences, processes, and meanings of hope, and to describe how parents of children receiving pediatric palliative care perceived the usefulness of receiving therapeutic letters. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, and using a thematic analysis, a systematic approach to data analysis was completed. Findings: Data analysis resulted in three main themes including Trust in the Future; Strengthening Hope; and Moments of Hope. Findings highlight the positive influence of therapeutic letters including supporting parental hope, facilitating personal inner‐strengthening, recognition of parental skills, and promotion of self‐efficacy during hospitalization. The themes and related subthemes add value to the existing literature and highlight the need for supportive palliative nursing care aimed at promoting parental hope. Practice Implications: To optimize the value of supporting parental hope, therapeutic letters can be delivered at the time of diagnosis, during times of celebration, and when learning the difficult tasks of daily childcare. Additional research can inform the development of a formal hope‐based intervention to provide an evidence base from which to enhance the well‐being of parental caregivers of children who have CCCs.