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- Effectiveness of a combined intervention on psychological and physical capacities of frail older adults: a cluster randomized controlled trialPublication . Apóstolo, João Luís Alves; Dixe, Maria dos Anjos; Bobrowicz-Campos, Elzbieta Malgorzata; Areosa, Timóteo; Santos-Rocha, Rita; Braúna, Mónica; Ribeiro, Jaime; Marques, Isabel; Freitas, Joana; Almeida, Maria de Lurdes; Couto, FilipaBackground: Older adults experience physical and psychological declines affecting independency. Adapted and structured combined interventions composed of cognitive stimulation and physical exercise contribute to comorbidities’ reduction. Methods: Multicenter single-blinded two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial conducted to assess effectiveness of a combined intervention (CI), composed of a cognitive stimulation program (CSP) and a physical exercise program (PEP), on psychological and physical capacities of frail older adults as to on their activities of daily living. Were recruited 50 subjects from two elderly end-user organizations. Of these, 44 (65.9% females, mean age of 80.5 8.47 years) were considered eligible, being randomly allocated in experimental (EG) or control group (CG). Data collected at baseline and post-intervention. EG received CI three times a week during 12 weeks. CG received standard care. Non-parametric measures were considered. Results: At baseline, groups were equivalent for study outcomes. The comparison of pre- and post-intervention data revealed that subjects receiving CI reduced depressive symptomatology and risk of fall based on gait and balance, and improved gait speed. Simultaneously, in the CG a significant decline on activities of daily living was observed. Significant results were found among biomechanical parameters of gait (BPG). EG’ effect size revealed to be small (0.2 r < 0.5). CG’ effect size was also small; but for activities of daily living there was an evident decrease. Conclusion: The CI is effective on managing older adults’ psychological and physical capacities.
- Cognitive Training Effectiveness on Memory, Executive Functioning, and Processing Speed in Individuals With Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic ReviewPublication . Caetano, Tânia; Pinho, Maria Salomé; Ramadas, E.; Clara, Cátia; Areosa, Timóteo João Teixeira Camacho Coelho; Dixe, Maria dos AnjosBackground: Cerebral neuroplasticity is compromised due to substance abuse. There is damage to neuronal areas that are involved in memory and executive functioning. Treatments with worse outcomes are often associated with cognitive deficits that have resulted from substance dependence. However, there is evidence that cognitive training can lead to improvements in cognitive functions and can be useful when treating addictions. This systematic review aims to synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of cognitive training in memory, executive functioning, and processing speed in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). Methods: The Joanna Briggs Institute’s PICO strategy was used to develop this systematic literature review. Four databases were searched (PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsycINFO) to identify controlled randomized clinical studies and quasi-experimental studies, in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, from 1985 to 2019. The literature found was examined by two independent reviewers, who assessed the quality of studies that met the inclusion criteria. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for the randomized controlled trials and the ROBINS-I tool for non-randomized studies were used to assess the risk of bias. In data extraction, the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews was considered. Results: From a total of 470 studies, 319 were selected for analysis after the elimination of duplicates. According to the inclusion criteria defined, 26 studies were eligible and evaluated. An evaluation was performed considering the participant characteristics, countries, substance type, study and intervention details, and key findings. Of the 26 selected studies, 14 considered only alcoholics, six included participants with various SUD (alcohol and other substances), three exclusively looked into methamphetamine-consuming users and another three into opioid/methadone users. Moreover, 18 studies found some kind of cognitive improvement, with two of these reporting only marginally Caetano et al. Cognitive Training in Substance Use Disorders significant effects. One study found improvements only in measures similar to the training tasks, and two others had ambiguous results. Conclusions: The included studies revealed the benefits of cognitive training with regard to improving cognitive functions in individuals with SUD. Memory was the most scrutinized cognitive function in this type of intervention, and it is also one of the areas most affected by substance use.
- Needs and skills of informal caregivers to care for a dependent person: a crosssectional studyPublication . Dixe, Maria dos Anjos; Teixeira, Liliana Fernanda da Conceição; Areosa, Timóteo João Teixeira Camacho Coelho; Frontini, Roberta; Peralta, Teresa de Jesus de Almeida; Querido, Ana Isabel FernandesThe world is facing many socio-demographic changes, such as an increased average life expectancy and the presence of chronic and non-communicable diseases, which in turn, leads to an enhanced dependency on others. Consequently, the demand for informal caregivers has significantly increased during the past few years. Caring for a dependent person is linked to a series of burdens that often leads to physical, psychological and emotional difficulties. Taking into consideration the difficulties faced by informal caregivers, knowing in which areas of functioning they need more guidance may help to relieve their burden. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to better understand the needs and competencies of the informal caregiver when caring for a dependent person in the different self-care domains.