Subacute thyroiditis and thyroid inflammatory nodule secondary to COVID-19: a primary care case report.

Objective: To describe a case of subacute thyroiditis (SAT) secondary to COVID-19 in the primary health care (PHC).

Case Description: A 51-year-old woman was treated in a PHC facility for flu-like symptoms for 5 days and pain in the lower neck. Symptomatic drugs were prescribed, and the patient was tested for COVID-19.

Implementation of Brazil's National Policy on Complementary and Integrative Practices: strengths and weaknesses.

This narrative review examines the literature on complementary and integrative practices (CIPs) and their incorporation into Brazil's national health system (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS) in an attempt to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation of the National Policy on Complementary and Integrative Practices in the SUS (PNPIC, acronym in Portuguese). A search was conducted of the MEDLINE, LILACS, and SciELO databases, resulting in final sample of 25 articles. Our analysis identified five key themes in the literature related to the strengths and weaknesses of policy implementation: 1) Professional training in CIPs in the SUS; 2) structuring the provision of CIPs, access, and health promotion; 3) knowledge, access, and acceptance of service users in relation to CIPs; 4) knowledge of SUS professional staff and managers in relation to the PNPIC; and 5) scope and monitoring and evaluation of the PNPIC.

Evaluation of Breathworks' Mindfulness for Stress 8-week course: Effects on depressive symptoms, psychiatric symptoms, affects, self-compassion, and mindfulness facets in Brazilian health professionals.

Objectives: This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of the Breathworks' Mindfulness for Stress 8-week course on depressive and psychiatric symptoms, and on positive and negative affects, compared with active control and wait list.

Method: A total of 84 primary care health professionals enrolled in the study, in quasi-experimental research design. The scales Beck Depression Inventory, Self-Reporting Questionnaire, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Self-Compassion Scale, and Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire were applied before and after the interventions.

Homeopathy for Perennial Asthma in Adolescents: Pilot Feasibility Study Testing a Randomised Withdrawal Design.

Introduction: Previous findings from a pragmatic trial suggest that usual care compared with usual care plus individualised homeopathy is not a feasible design to address homeopathic interventions for asthma.

Objective: The main purpose of this article was to investigate the feasibility of the randomised withdrawal design as a strategy to assess the effectiveness of a standardised clinical-pharmaceutical homeopathic protocol () on perennial asthma in adolescents.

Methods: Randomised withdrawal, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled, 12-week study.

Perceived stress among Primary Health Care Professionals in Brazil.

Objective:: To evaluate the perceived stress (PS) of professionals in Primary Health Care and its association with the characteristics of the teams in the Family Health Program (FHP). The association between PS and self-referred morbidity was also investigated.

Methods:: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 450 employees from 60 teams in 12 Basic Health Units (BHUs) in a region of São Paulo.

A systematic review of the process of regionalization of Brazil's Unified Health System, SUS.

This review focuses only on specific studies into the SUS regionalization process, which were based on empirical results and published since 2006, when the SUS was already under the aegis of the Pact for Health framework. It was found that the regionalization process is now underway in all spheres of government, subject to a set of challenges common to the different realities of the country. These include, primarily, that committee-structured entities are valued as spaces for innovation, yet also strive to overcome the bureaucratic and clientelist political culture.

Meditation awareness training for the treatment of workaholism: A controlled trial.

Background and aims Workaholism is a form of behavioral addiction that can lead to reduced life and job satisfaction, anxiety, depression, burnout, work-family conflict, and impaired productivity. Given the number of people affected, there is a need for more targeted workaholism treatments. Findings from previous case studies successfully utilizing second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs) for treating behavioral addiction suggest that SG-MBIs may be suitable for treating workaholism.

Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on biomarkers in healthy and cancer populations: a systematic review.

Background: Only a small number of articles have investigated the relationship between mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and biomarkers. The aim of this systematic review was to study the effect of MBIs on specific biomarkers (cytokines, neuropeptides and C-reactive protein (CRP)) in both healthy subjects and cancer patients.

Methods: A search was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and the Cochrane library between 1980 and September 2016.

Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Salivary Cortisol in Healthy Adults: A Meta-Analytical Review.

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effects of Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on salivary cortisol levels in healthy adult populations. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published between January 1980 and June 2015 in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and the Cochrane library. The PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines were followed.

The Pemberton Happiness Index: Validation of the Universal Portuguese version in a large Brazilian sample.

The Pemberton Happiness Index (PHI) is a recently developed integrative measure of well-being that includes components of hedonic, eudaimonic, social, and experienced well-being. The PHI has been validated in several languages, but not in Portuguese. Our aim was to cross-culturally adapt the Universal Portuguese version of the PHI and to assess its psychometric properties in a sample of the Brazilian population using online surveys.

Implementation of integration strategies between primary care units and a regional general hospital in Brazil to update and connect health care professionals: a quasi-experimental study protocol.

Background: Better communication among field health care teams and points of care, together with investments focused on improving teamwork, individual management, and clinical skills, are strategies for achieving better outcomes in patient-oriented care. This research aims to implement and evaluate interventions focused on improving communication and knowledge among health teams based on points of care in a regional public health outreach network, assessing the following hypotheses: 1) A better-working communication process between hospitals and primary health care providers can improve the sharing of information on patients as well as patients' outcomes. 2) A skill-upgrading education tool offered to health providers at their work sites can improve patients' care and outcomes.

The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Primary Care: A Meta-Analytic Review.

Purpose: Positive effects have been reported after mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in diverse clinical and nonclinical populations. Primary care is a key health care setting for addressing common chronic conditions, and an effective MBI designed for this setting could benefit countless people worldwide. Meta-analyses of MBIs have become popular, but little is known about their efficacy in primary care.

Effortless Attention as a Biomarker for Experienced Mindfulness Practitioners.

Objective: The present study aimed at comparing frontal beta power between long-term (LTM) and first-time meditators (FTM), before, during and after a meditation session. We hypothesized that LTM would present lower beta power than FTM due to lower effort of attention and awareness.

Methods: Twenty one participants were recruited, eleven of whom were long-term meditators.

Effects of non-pharmacological interventions on inflammatory biomarker expression in patients with fibromyalgia: a systematic review.

Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a prevalent disorder. However, few studies have evaluated the effect of treatment interventions on biomarker expression. The aim of this review was to explore the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions on inflammatory biomarker expression, specifically cytokines, neuropeptides and C-reactive protein (CRP), in FM patients.

Mindfulness, perceived stress, and subjective well-being: a correlational study in primary care health professionals.

Background: Primary health care professionals (PHPs) usually report high levels of distress and burnout symptoms related to job strain. Mindfulness, defined as non-judgmental-present-moment awareness, seems to be a moderator in the causal association between life stressors and well-being. This study aimed to verify correlations among self-reported mindfulness, perceived stress (PS), and subjective well-being (SW) in Brazilian PHPs.

Genetics in primary health care and the National Policy on Comprehensive Care for People with Rare Diseases in Brazil: opportunities and challenges for professional education.

As discoveries regarding the genetic contribution to disease have grown rapidly, health care professionals are expected to incorporate genetic and genomic perspectives into health education and practice. Genetic competencies common to all health professionals have been identified by the US National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics (NCHPEG), which defined the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to achieve these competencies. The aim of this study is to analyze genetic competencies of primary health care professionals in Brazil.

Mindfulness may both moderate and mediate the effect of physical fitness on cardiovascular responses to stress: a speculative hypothesis.

The psychological construct of mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally paying attention to the present experience in a non-judgmental or evaluative way. This particular quality of awareness has been associated to several indicators of physical and psychological health, and can be developed using mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), and therefore MBIs have been successfully applied as preventive and complementary interventions and therapies in medicine and psychology. Together with quiet sitting and lying meditation practices, mindful physical exercises such as "mindful walking" and "mindful movement" are key elements in MBIs and couple muscular activity with an internally directed focus, improving interoceptive attention to bodily sensations.

Relationship between meditative practice and self-reported mindfulness: the MINDSENS composite index.

Mindfulness has been described as an inherent human capability that can be learned and trained, and its improvement has been associated with better health outcomes in both medicine and psychology. Although the role of practice is central to most mindfulness programs, practice-related improvements in mindfulness skills is not consistently reported and little is known about how the characteristics of meditative practice affect different components of mindfulness. The present study explores the role of practice parameters on self-reported mindfulness skills.

Validation of the Spanish versions of the long (26 items) and short (12 items) forms of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS).

Background: Self-compassion is a key psychological construct for assessing clinical outcomes in mindfulness-based interventions. The aim of this study was to validate the Spanish versions of the long (26 item) and short (12 item) forms of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS).

Methods: The translated Spanish versions of both subscales were administered to two independent samples: Sample 1 was comprised of university students (n = 268) who were recruited to validate the long form, and Sample 2 was comprised of Aragon Health Service workers (n = 271) who were recruited to validate the short form.

Can the London 2012 Olympics 'inspire a generation' to do more physical or sporting activities? An overview of systematic reviews.

Objective: To examine if there is an increased participation in physical or sporting activities following an Olympic or Paralympic games.

Design: Overview of systematic reviews.

Methods: We searched the Medline, Embase, Cochrane, DARE, SportDISCUS and Web of Knowledge databases.

Mindfulness-based mobile applications: literature review and analysis of current features.

Background: Interest in mindfulness has increased exponentially, particularly in the fields of psychology and medicine. The trait or state of mindfulness is significantly related to several indicators of psychological health, and mindfulness-based therapies are effective at preventing and treating many chronic diseases. Interest in mobile applications for health promotion and disease self-management is also growing.