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...

Since coaches play an important role in the development of athletes, the process and mechanisms used by Special Olympics Portugal to develop coaches’ skills are worthy of research. In this context, the study aims to identify the training paths and profiles of the Special Olympics Portugal coach. It also aims to analyze the relationship between formal and non-formal learning in the profile and training of this type of coach. The research is descriptive and transversal regarding Special Olympics Portugal coaches, with the participation of 50 subjects. Two questionnaires were used, the Coaches’ Training Profile Questionnaire to determine the training routes, and the Coaches’ Orientation Questionnaire. The results show that the Special Olympics Portugal coaches have an academic background and a somewhat critical profile. It is imperative to build formal and non-formal learning contexts that focus on the theme of adapted sports, in order to allow the training of more qualified coaches, who are consequently more effective in their interventions with this type of athlete.

The study was initiated because one of the authors had a child in the family with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The author was concerned about what could be done to improve the quality of life of this child. The hypotheses explored whether hydrotherapy could bring any relief or advantage in functional mobility to an individual with DMD and whether a water environment facilitates mobility, pleasure, and joy for a young child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Our sample had three individuals, all of them boys, 9-11 years of age. Two were the control group and didn't practice any kind of physical activity and the other one was our two-year longitudinal case study during which he experienced hydrotherapy practice two times a week for forty-five minutes each. We applied the Egen Klassifikation (EK) scale to quantify the degree of movement limitation present at each of five measurement points over the two years. The variables analyzed were the physical activity issues and the EK scale values. The descriptive results showed that all three individuals increased their EK scale values over time, showing the inevitable progression of the disease. The individual who participated in the water activity sessions had the slower increase that we inferred, meant less deterioration in functional movement. No inferences can be drawn from these limited data, especially because only one individual experienced the water activities. This study does provide the impetus for subsequent, larger controlled studies to see if they could replicate these initial case study results.

Assuming the positive impact of Information and Communication Technologies on learning of students with Intellectual and Developmental Difficulties and considering the articulation of the public system and the particular and cooperative system of schooling of these students in Portugal we will seek to guide a research in a comparative perspective according to an empirical approach, framed in the Comparative paradigm.