Clinical and Sociodemographic Profile, Self-Care, Adherence and Motivation for Treatment, and Satisfaction with Social Support in Portuguese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

This study aimed to characterize the sociodemographic and clinical profiles of Portuguese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to assess their self-care practices, treatment adherence, motivation, and satisfaction with social support. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at an endocrinology unit in northern Portugal from January 2021 to December 2022. The sample included 303 adult patients with T2DM who provided informed consent.

Posttraumatic growth and its associations with perceived stress and core beliefs in women after traumatic childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic added new challenges and stressors to the childbirth period, potentially increasing the risk of traumatic childbirth experiences. There is little known about posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a childbearing population. This study describes PTG in women after traumatic childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with sociodemographic, birth-related characteristics, traumatic childbirth events, perceived stress, and core beliefs, as well as explores what factors predict PTG.

Posttraumatic growth in women after a childbirth experience: The influence of individual characteristics and intrusive and deliberate rumination.

Objective: This study targets women who had a self-defined traumatic childbirth experience to (a) explore the differences between sociodemographic-, obstetric-, and trauma-related variables in relation to the rumination style; (b) determine differences between intrusive and deliberate rumination in relation to posttraumatic growth (PTG) dimensions, and (c) test whether intrusive rumination is associated with deliberate rumination, which in turn is associated with PTG dimensions.

Method: A cross-sectional study design was employed using a web-based survey method for data collection. In total, 202 women who identified their childbirth experience as traumatic participated in this study.

Challenges to Systems of Long-Term Care: Mapping of the Central Concepts from an Umbrella Review.

The ageing of the population poses urgent challenges to the health and social protection sectors, including the need for greater adequacy and integration of health care services provided to older people. It is considered necessary and urgent to understand the state-of-the-art of community-based models of care for older people in institutional care and at home. This study aims to map the concepts that politicians and providers need to address through an umbrella review as a review method.

Positive Mental Health in University Students and Its Relations with Psychological Vulnerability, Mental Health Literacy, and Sociodemographic Characteristics: A Descriptive Correlational Study.

This study aimed to evaluate positive mental health (PMH) and its relation with sociodemographic characteristics, mental health literacy, and the psychological vulnerability scale (PVS) in Portuguese university students aged 17 to 62. A descriptive correlational study was carried out. An online survey was conducted to evaluate demographic variables, and several questionnaires were applied to evaluate positive mental health, psychological vulnerability, and mental health literacy.

Application of Data Mining Algorithms for Dementia in People with HIV/AIDS.

Dementia interferes with the individual's motor, behavioural, and intellectual functions, causing him to be unable to perform instrumental activities of daily living. This study is aimed at identifying the best performing algorithm and the most relevant characteristics to categorise individuals with HIV/AIDS at high risk of dementia from the application of data mining. Principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm was used and tested comparatively between the following machine learning algorithms: logistic regression, decision tree, neural network, KNN, and random forest.

The relationship between frailty, functional dependence, and healthcare needs among community-dwelling people with moderate to severe dementia.

This paper examines the healthcare needs of community-dwelling older people living in Porto, Portugal, diagnosed with moderate or severe dementia, linked to functional dependency, cognitive decline, limitations in the activities of daily life, and frailty levels. A sample of 83 participants was recruited. Data were collected between 2013 and 2017.

The provision of accredited higher education on dementia in six European countries: An exploratory study.

Background: The World Health Organization has identified developing the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals who are involved in dementia care as a priority. Most healthcare professionals lack the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to provide high quality dementia care. While dementia education amongst most UK university health and social care programmes is inconsistent, we know little about the provision of dementia education in European universities.

The experience of psychological distress in family caregivers of people with dementia: A cross-sectional study.

Purpose: To evaluate the degree of psychological distress in family caregivers of people with dementia.

Design And Methods: A nonprobabilistic sample of 54 dyads (people with dementia and family caregivers) was recruited. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Barthel Index were used for data collection.

Psychometric Properties of the Psychological Vulnerability Scale in Higher Education Students.

Background: Psychological vulnerability is related to cognitive beliefs that reflect dependence on one's sense of self-worth and to maladaptive functioning. It is a disadvantage that renders people less protected to face negative life experiences.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to adapt and test the psychometric properties of the Psychological Vulnerability Scale in a sample of 267 Portuguese higher education students.

Achieving Prudent Dementia Care (): An International Policy and Practice Imperative.

This paper examines the provision of integrated advanced dementia care within seven European countries and critically reviews the potential contribution of the Prudent Healthcare perspective as a starting point for reform. Progressive efforts to innovate, promote quality and integrate care are tempered with the reality of resource constraints. Some policy makers in Europe and North America have turned their attention to the principles of Prudent Healthcare as a potential mechanism to maximise benefits for patients within available resources.

The extended palliative phase of dementia - An integrative literature review.

This article presents an integrative literature review of the experience of dementia care associated with the extended palliative phase of dementia. The aim was to highlight how dementia is defined in the literature and describe what is known about the symptomatology and management of advanced dementia regarding the needs and preferences of the person with dementia and their family carer/s. There was no consistent definition of advanced dementia.

Difficulties, coping strategies, satisfaction and burden in informal Portuguese caregivers.

Aims And Objectives: To characterise the main difficulties, coping strategies, sources of satisfaction and levels of burden disclosed by informal caregivers of older people who are dependent due to physical and mental causes, in the Portuguese context and to compare the impact between caregivers for older people with physical dependence and caregivers for older people with mental dependence.

Background: Caring for a dependent older person is a complex process that puts two people in interaction, each with their own traits and their own histories of private life. When performing this role, the care provider needs to know how to deal with difficulties through a range of coping strategies.

Evaluation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model to Portuguese.

Background: Several tools for the assessment of the risk of falling are used commonly by clinical nurses, but none have been validated in Portuguese.

Aims: To adapt and evaluate the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model (HIIFRM) for use with elderly Portuguese inpatients.

Method: We conducted a prospective study of 586 older inpatients in acute care hospitals, from November 2007 to May 2010.