ciTechCare - Artigos
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
- Informal Palliative Care at Home: A Focus Group Study Among Professionals Working in Palliative Care in PortugalPublication . Vanessa Marrazes; Laura Gonçalves; Ana Querido; Carlos Laranjeira; Laranjeira, Carlos; Querido, AnaInformal caregivers (ICs) are the backbone of homebased palliative care (PC) because they play a vital role in offering more seamless and timely support, preventing suffering and fostering comfort and dignity. Specialized home-based PCteams must recognize ICs’ unmet needs in fulfilling daily responsibilities and enhance their preparedness for caring. In this vein, this study aimed to carry out the following: (a) explore how PC professionals perceive the preparedness of ICs to provide PC at home and (b) determine what barriers and enablers they consider essential for the delivery of high-quality PC at home. Methods: Using purposeful sampling, thirty-four professionals from four disciplines who worked in specialized PC teams were recruited for a descriptive qualitative research study. Four focus group discussions were conducted from September 2024 to January 2025. This was followed by a thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke’s framework. The findings are reported following the COREQ checklist. Results: Most of the participants were female nurses (n = 22) with a mean age of 41.8 ± 8.62 years. AcademicEditor: JosepVidal-Alaball Received: 30March2025 Revised: 19April2025 Accepted: 22April2025 Published: 23 April2025 Citation: Marrazes,V.; Gonçalves, L.; Querido, A.; Laranjeira, C. Informal Palliative Care at Home: AFocus GroupStudyAmongProfessionals WorkinginPalliative CareinPortugal. Healthcare 2025, 13, 978. https:// doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13090978 Copyright: ©2025bytheauthors. Licensee MDPI,Basel,Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the termsand conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)license (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/). Three overarching themes were identified: (1) IC needs and motivations for providing care; (2) perceived barriers to good-quality palliative home care; and (3) perceived enablers of good-quality palliative home care. The IC’s preparedness depends on personal characteristics, health status, the scope of tasks, and the ramifications stemming from the complexity of the illness trajectory. Conclusions: Professionals deemed it essential for PC staff to be experienced, accessible, person-centered, and proactive. Furthermore, effective communication and a well-defined network for requesting certain community resources or services were deemed crucial for delivering high-quality PC at home.
- Psychometric evaluation of the Arabic version of the Eight-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-8): Specific cultural considerations for the assessment of depressionPublication . Ali, Amira M.; Al-Dossary, Saeed A.; Fekih-Romdhane, Feten; Alameri, Rana Ali; Laranjeira, Carlos; Khatatbeh, Haitham; Zoromba, Mohamed Ali; Alkhamees, Abdulmajeed A.; Aljaberi, Musheer A.; Pakai, Annamaria; El-Gazar, Heba EmadBackground Despite extensive evaluations of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD), its shortest version, the Eight-Item version (CESD-8), is less investigated, with absolute lack of information on its psychometric properties in the Arab world. Methods To fill the gap, data collected via an anonymous online survey from Saudi samples of students (N = 979, 422) and employees (N = 314), were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and multigroup analysis to examine the structure and measurement invariance of the CESD-8. Convergent validity and internal consistency tests involved correlating the CESD-8 with its subscales, item analysis measures, and intra class correlations. Criterion validity tests involved correlating the CESD-8 and its subscales with a single-item measure of happiness. Results Exploratory factor analysis produced two factors (negative affect and positive affect) with eigen values >1, which explained 86.4 % of the variance. In confirmatory factor analysis, the crude exploratory factor analysis model had good fit while the fit of the unidimensional CESD-8 and another two-factor structure (depressed affect and somatic complaints) was improved by correlating the residuals of the items of positive affect (CESD4 and CESD6). A three-factor model (depressed affect, somatic complaints, and positive affect) expressed the best fit in the absence of error correlations. This model was invariant across groups of students and employees, gender, and age. The scale and its three dimensions demonstrated adequate internal consistency (alpha coefficient range = 0.65–0.89), convergent validity (item total correlation range = 0.43–0.80 and range of correlations with the CESD-8 = -0.68–0.92), and criterion validity (range of correlations with happiness scores = -0.40–0.60). Conclusions The CESD-8 is a valid short scale for quick identification of people with depressive psychopathologies. Using the CESD-8 to detect heterogenous depressive symptoms, rather than assessing depression as a whole condition, may influence our understanding of the dynamics and treatments of depression in specific groups/cultures, with emphasis on absence of positive affect in the definition of depression among Arabs. Replications of the three-factor structure in different cultures are needed.
- How Health Literacy impacts Polytechnic of Leiria Students?Publication . Teixeira Ascenso, Rita Margarida; Luis, Luis; Dias, Sara; Gonçalves, DulceIn 2021, aHealth Literacy(HL) evaluation among university students revealed notable limitations in HL. To assess the general HL of populations comprehensively, the European HLSurvey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q) was developed, encompassing 12 subdomains to provide a broad perspective on public health. In 2014, the questionnaire was adapted for use in Portugal, resulting in the HLS-EU-PT version, validated through a 16-question survey (HLS-EU-PT-Q16).Global HL andthreedomains’ indexes and levelswere determined, namely Healthcare (HC), Disease prevention (DP), and Health Promotion (HP). The HLSEU-Q16-PT assessment demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, with 0.8834Cronbach's alpha coefficient.In this study, an online survey distributedbetween 2020-2021among Polytechnic of Leiria academia allowed data collection from various stakeholders, including 251 students, 109 professors, 15 researchers, and 55 other staff. From the430 responses,75 questions were analysed. The saved data wasthefocus of this work, regarding a thesis of the first edition of the master’s in data science to analysethe 251 surveyed studentsand their HL. The results revealed that thesestudents have lower HL index, and, in this case study,health areadegreeor school impactsHL.
- Visual Fixations in Basketball Shooting: Differences between Shooting ConditionsPublication . Amaro, Catarina M.; Castro, Maria António; Mendes, Rui; Gomes, Beatriz B.Basketball is a sport where shooting is one of the most important factors that determines the success or failure of the teams. Therefore, basketball players need to shoot the ball accurately. The present study aimed to evaluate whether different shooting conditions influence the visual behavior of athletes. For this, the Tobbi Pro Glasses 3 equipment was used to evaluate the time of the first fixation, the number of fixations, and the total time of fixations in the basket, during the shooting movement. Different distances to the basket, simulated gym audience noise, and shooting with opposition were considered. A group of 18 athletes with an average age of 22 ± 3.72 years and an average basketball practice experience of 12.5 ± 4.52 years performed 10 valid shots from different distances and different shooting angles, with different restrictions, namely, shooting with simulated opposition and gym audience noise. Statistically significant differences between shooting with opposition and baseline, in terms of the number of fixations and the total time of fixation, were found. Regarding shooting with gym audience noise, differences only occur for the total time of fixations in one position. Despite this, in all variables and positions, the values were lower in shooting with constraints compared to the baseline.
- O efeito do jogo na promoção do equilíbrio e na prevenção do risco de quedas em pessoas idosasPublication . Neves Rosa, Marlene Cristina; Brites, Cátia; Tarrafa, Inês; Viamonte, Miguel; Oliveira, Patrícia; Silva, CândidaIntrodução: O jogo analógico dirigido a pessoas idosas com alterações de equilíbrio e risco de queda demonstrou alguns potenciais resultados, contudo os estudos são escassos. Objetivo: O presente estudo pretendeu testar o potencial de um jogo analógico na melhoria do equilíbrio e diminuição do risco de quedas, bem como caracterizar o desempenho dos participantes no jogo e a sua relação com as variáveis de equilíbrio e risco de queda. Metodologia: Foram analisados dados recolhidos em três momentos: inicial (T0); após 6 semanas de intervenção com jogo (T1) e final (T2), após 6 semanas sem intervenção com jogo. Foram calculadas correlações entre o desempenho no jogo nas diferentes grelhas (S, M e L) e os indicadores de equilíbrio (Teste de Levantar e Ir (TUG) e teste Tinetti); estes testes foram comparados entre os períodos com e sem o jogo. Resultados: Dez pessoas idosas (87,60±7,25 anos; 8 mulheres) participaram no estudo, melhorando significativamente os valores de TUG apenas entre T0-T1 (p=0,002). Os valores do teste de Tinetti melhoraram significativamente nos dois períodos de intervenção (p=0,001; p=0,006). O desempenho na grelha L demonstrou correlação com o teste Tinetti (T0 - ρ = -0,664; p = 0,036) e com o TUG apenas na 2ª tentativa (T0; r = 0,680; p = 0,030*). Conclusão: Existe potencial benefício do jogo analógico na melhoria do risco de queda (TUG) na pessoa idosa institucionalizada. O jogo implementado, no seu nível mais exigente (grelha L), parece adequar-se ao contexto de reabilitação, promovendo aprendizagem ao longo do tempo.
- Efficacy and safety of pharmacological treatments in inclusion body myositis: a systematic reviewPublication . Santos, Eduardo José Ferreira; Farisogullari, Bayram; Yapp, Nicholas; Townsley, Hermaleigh; Sousa, Pedro; Machado, Pedro; Combe, BernardObjective: To identify the best evidence on the efficacy of treatment interventions for inclusion body myositis (IBM) and to describe their safety. Methods: Systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of pharmacological treatments of adults with IBM, conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook, updating a previous Cochrane review. The search strategy was run on Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE and EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. Assessment of risk of bias, data extraction and synthesis were performed independently by two reviewers. Data pooled in statistical meta-analyses, if possible. Results: From a total of 487 records, 48 were selected for full-text review, 14 fulfilled the inclusion criteria, but only 2 RCTs were included in meta-analyses due to clinical heterogeneity (different drug interventions or dosages). Treatments included various immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory agents, alongside interventions modulating muscle growth and protein homoeostasis. Efficacy was assessed across multiple outcomes, namely muscle strength, physical function, mobility and muscle trophicity. Trials of methotrexate (MTX), intravenous immunoglobulin, interferon beta-1a and MTX, MTX and anti-T-lymphocyte immunoglobulin, oxandrolone, MTX and azathioprine, bimagrumab, arimoclomol, and sirolimus provided low-quality to high-quality evidence of having no effect on the progression of IBM. Conclusions: Drug interventions for IBM were not effective for most of the outcomes of interest. We observed inconsistency of outcome measures across trials. More RCTs are needed, of adequate size and duration, and using a standardised set of outcome measures.
- Intervenção alimentar e nutricional na prevenção de deficiências intelectuais e cognitivas em crianças com fenilcetonúriaPublication . Figueiredo, Ana; Jorge, RuiA fenilcetonúria é uma doença que resulta de um erro congénito autossómico recessivo do metabolismo da fenilalanina. Este distúrbio provoca elevações nas concentrações plasmáticas deste aminoácido acarretando graves problemas ao nível do sistema nervoso. De acordo com a evidência encontrada, a introdução do recém-nascido em programas de rastreio neonatais específicos, parece melhorar e proporcionar nestas crianças uma vida relativamente normal. A necessidade de melhores opções de tratamento levou ao desenvolvimento de novas estratégias terapêuticas capazes de promover uma melhor qualidade de vida aos portadores desta doença. Este artigo de revisão demonstra como a implementação nutricional e alimentar precoce é um fator determinante na gestão desta patologia, onde o intuito é avaliar a influência que a alimentação tem no desenvolvimento cognitivo em crianças com fenilcetonúria.
- Cohort Profile: The Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases Cohort (EpiDoC)Publication . Rodrigues, Ana Maria; Gregório, Maria João; Sousa, Rute Dinis de; Branco, Jaime Cunha; Canhão, Helena; Dias, Sara
- Multidrug resistance assessment of indoor air in Portuguese long-term and acute healthcare settingsPublication . Santos-Marques, C.; Teixeira, C.; Pinheiro, R.; Brück, W. M.; Pereira, Sónia Gonçalves; dos Santos Marques, Catarina; Silva Teixeira, Camila; Pinheiro, Rafael; Gonçalves Pereira, SóniaBackground: Knowledge about air as a pool of pathogens and multidrug resistance (MDR) in healthcare units apart from hospitals is scarce. Aim: To investigate these features in a Portuguese long-term healthcare unit (LTHU) and a central hospital (CH). Methods: Air samples were collected and their microbial load (bacteria and fungi) determined. Bacterial isolates were randomly selected for further characterization, particularly identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and polymerase chain reaction screening of extended-spectrum b-lactamases, carbapenemase genes and mecA gene, with RAPD profile assessment of positive results of the latter. Findings: A total of 192 samples were collected (LTHU: 86; CH: 106). LTHU showed a statistically significantly higher bacterial load. CH bacteria and fungi loads in inpatient sites were statistically significantly lower than in outpatients or non-patient sites. A total of 164 bacterial isolates were identified (MALDI-TOF: 78; presumptively: 86), the majority belonging to Staphylococcus genus (LTHU: 42; CH: 57). The highest antimicrobial resistance rate was to erythromycin and vancomycin the least, in both settings. Eighteen isolates (11%) were classified as MDR (LTHU: 9; CH: 9), with 7 MDR Staphylococcus isolates (LTHU: 4; CH: 3) presenting mecA. Nine non-MDR Staphylococcus (LTHU: 5; CH: 4) also presented mecA. Conclusion: The current study highlights that healthcare unit indoor air can be an important pool of MDR pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes. Also, LTHUs appear to have poorer air quality than hospitals, as well as supportive areas compared to curative care areas. This may suggest possible yet unknown routes of infection that need to be explored.
- The more stars, the brighter! Interview with the ECM award winner 2023Publication . Rathnayake, Senani N.H.; Cruz, Joana; Cuevas Ocaña, Sara; Lehmann, Mareike; Demeyer, HeleenCongratulations on receiving the ERS ECM award! Would you like to share what sparked your interest in respiratory research, and specifically ageing, and how it has evolved over the years? You are interested in endophenotyping COPD and IPF patients to identify treatable traits. How do your research findings translate into clinical practice to improve management and quality of life in chronic respiratory diseases? Are there any promising therapies or interventions from your research that you believe will significantly improve patient care? How can international societies, such as the ERS, promote the implementation of these personalised therapies? You hold multiple roles, as a Professor and a research group leader, among others. How do you manage your time effectively and maintain a healthy work–life balance? How important has mentorship or collaboration been in your career? Can you share any experiences where collaboration or mentorship significantly impacted your professional development? You have moved places a lot over the years, were these moves choices or needs? Do you think you would have achieved a similar profile without them? What piece of advice would you give to yourself if you could talk to yourself 5 years ago and what advice would you give to ECMs at the start of their career? You have been nominated for the ECM award by a colleague. What significance does winning this award hold for you and has it influenced your research path in any way? During your Mina Gaga lecture at the ERS Congress you also inspired many ECMs with the quote “the more stars the brighter”. Can you explain what this means for you?