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Compassionate engagement of communities in support of palliative and end-of-life care: challenges in post-pandemic era

Publication . Vitorino, Joel Vieira; Duarte, Beatriz Veiga; Ali, Amira Mohammed; Laranjeira, Carlos

Over the years, humanity has faced various global crises of different kinds that have caused great suffering in the community, such as wars, slavery, torture or the Holocaust, but also climate change, economic crises, or sanitary disasters. The recent pandemic posed a barrier to palliative and End-of-Life (EoL) care, as the need for physical distance made it difficult to retain essential human interactions while minimizing the risk of viral transmission. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the robustness of supportive networks (i.e., family, friends, neighbors, and community members) determined whether someone experienced a calm death at home or an unnecessary hospital admission, labeled as an ‘emergency’. In this vein, active establishment and strengthening of such networks are the foundation of compassionate community efforts. Firstly, providing both physical and emotional support to the entire network of caregivers enhances their ability to care for others and improves the overall experience of death, including the process of dying and the ensuing bereavement period. Furthermore, individuals can enhance their own physical and mental health by practicing compassion. The ability of networks to withstand and recover from physical and emotional challenges, while maintaining strong and supportive relationships among its members, depends on the health and overall well-being of those members. Therefore, we argue that active community participation and death education can strengthen a community’s capacity to assist people facing death, dying, and bereavement.

2024-10-18Journal article

Open access

A Review of Wearable Sensor Patches for Patient Monitoring

Publication . Santos, Sónia; Guarino, Maria Pedro; Neves, Sandra; Lopes, Nuno Vieira

Wearable sensor patches are potent tools for patient monitoring in hospital care, with a particular focus on the Emergency Department waiting areas. They can enhance patient safety by alerting healthcare professionals to abnormal changes in vital physiological signals. Wearable sensors have been shown to be useful in monitoring patients’ vital signs continuously and in real-time in emergency rooms. However, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed before they can be widely adopted in emergency rooms. Some of these challenges include sensor stability with minimized signal drift, on-body sensor reusability, and long-term continuous health monitoring. This paper reviews wearable sensor patches that have the potential for use in hospital patient monitoring, considering the key variables monitored in emergency rooms. Eligible patches must be wearable, present at least one approval (CE or FDA), and measure more than one physiological parameter.

2024-01Book part

Restricted access

“This Is Me” an Awareness-Raising and Anti-Stigma Program for Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Pre-Post Intervention Study

Publication . Valentim, Olga; Correia, Tânia; Moutinho, Lídia; Seabra, Paulo; Querido, Ana; Laranjeira, Carlos

Background: Stigma education for nursing students has focused solely on stigma reduction, with studies showing temporary improvements in attitudes. However, nursing education research should also emphasize the importance of critical reflection and self-reflection to enhance attitudes, beliefs, topic comprehension, and learning satisfaction. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the “This is me” intervention regarding knowledge, attitudes, and communication skills of senior undergraduate nursing students in responding to mental illness-related stigma. Methods: This study employed a psychoeducational intervention for reducing mental illness stigma, using a questionnaire survey to assess pre- and post-intervention effects, with 37 eligible nursing students undergoing clinical training in psychiatric services between 16 May and 15 July 2022. Instruments included sociodemographic and health questions, the MICA-4 scale to evaluate students’ attitudes toward mental illness, the MAKS to measure mental health knowledge, the Empathy Scale (JSPE-S), the Intergroup Anxiety Scale (SS-12), and the Attribution Questionnaire (AQ-27). Results: Most students were female (73.0%) and single (70.3%), with a mean age of around 29 years. After implementing the psychoeducational program, there was a statistically significant increase in overall stigma-related knowledge (MAKS: Z = −1.99, p < 0.05), a decrease in intergroup anxiety (IAS: Z = −3.42, p < 0.05), and reductions in the perceptions of patients as dangerous (AQ27—Dangerousness: Z = −2.399, p < 0.05) and fear (AQ27—Fear: Z = −2.415, p < 0.05). Additionally, there was an improvement in empathy, specifically in Perspective Taking (JSPE: Z = −2.555, p < 0.05). Conclusions: This program may contribute to mental health literacy related to stigma, positively impacting therapeutic relationships and communication with people with mental illness and resulting in more effective care practices.

2024-10-12Journal article

Open access

Promoting ecological hope as an antidote for eco-emotions and earth-related mental syndromes

Publication . Laranjeira, Carlos; Marujo, Helena Águeda; Charepe, Zaida; Querido, Ana

In 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.

2024-10-23Journal article

Open access