Health literacy, a more complex concept than knowledge, is a required capacity to obtain, understand, integrate and act on health information [1], in order to enhance individual and community health, which is defined by different levels, according to the autonomy and personal capacitation in decision making [2]. Medium levels of Health literacy in an adolescent population were found in a study conducted in 2013/2014, being higher in sexual and reproductive health and lower in substance use. It was also noticed that the higher levels of health literacy were in the area adolescents refer to have receipt more health information. The health literacy competence with higher scores was communication skills, and the lower scores were in the capacity to analyze factors that influence health. Higher levels were also found in younger teenagers, but in a higher school level, confirming the importance of health education in these age and development stage. Adolescents seek more information in health professionals and parents, being friends more valued as a source information in older adolescents, which enhance the importance of peer education mainly in older adolescents [3]. As a set of competences based on knowledge, health literacy should be developed through education interventions, encompassing the cultural and social context of individuals, since the society, culture and education system where the individual is inserted can define the way the development and enforcement of the health literacy competences [4]. The valued sources of information should be taken into account, as well as needs of information in some topics referred by adolescents in an efficient health education. Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic mental illness which has a profound effect on the health and well-being related with the well-known nature of psychotic symptoms. The exercise has the potential to improve the life of people with schizophrenia improving physical health and alleviating psychiatric symptoms. However, most people with schizophrenia remains sedentary and lack of access to exercise programs are barriers to achieve health benefits. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of exercise on I) the type of intervention in mental health, II) in salivary levels of alpha-amylase and cortisol and serum levels of S100B and BDNF, and on III) the quality of life and selfperception of the physical domain of people with schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 31 females in long-term institutions in the Casa de Saúde Rainha Santa Isabel, with age between 25 and 63, and with diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). Physical fitness was assessed by the six-minute walk distance test (6MWD). Biological variables were determined by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay). Psychological variables were assessed using SF-36, PSPP-SCV, RSES and SWLS tests. Walking exercise has a positive impact on physical fitness (6MWD -p = 0.001) and physical components of the psychological test...

This Southern European study confirms the importance of demoralization in cancer patients as a different condition with respect to depression and its relationship with poor QoL and suicidal ideation.

SUMMARYPhysician-patient communication is a critical factor for comprehensive care in oncology. Although a number of studies have been carried out in Northern Europe and the US on this subject, no data are available in Southern European countries. As a part of a multicenter Southern European Psycho-Oncology study (SEPOS), the present investigation was conducted to examine communication skills and related variables (i.e. psychosocial orientation, and burnout) among 125 physicians from Italy, Portugal, and Spain. The Self-Confidence in Communication Skills (SCCS) scale was given to assess physicians' perception of their communication skills and the Expected Outcome of Communication (EOC) scale was administered to examine the physicians' expectations about the effects of communicating with their patients. Doctors' psychosocial orientation was measured by using the Physician Belief Scale (PBS) and burnout was measured by using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Although the physicians reported receiving minimal training in communication during their education, they tended to perceive themselves as skilled in patient communication, apart from some areas (e.g. dealing with denial, managing uncertainty, assessing anxiety and depression, and promoting patient-family openness). Low psychosocial orientation and burnout symptoms (i.e. emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and poor personal accomplishment in their job) were associated with lower confidence in communication skills and higher expectations of a negative outcome, following physician-patient communication. The results suggest that there is a need for training cancer physicians in communication and for increasing a more definite psychosocially oriented approach in cancer care in Mediterranean countries.

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