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...

The InCARE programme will highlight new ways to understand the feasibility of a large trial, which supports caregivers who take care of older people after a stroke. It will be expected that the level of burden decreases, thus helping informal caregivers enhance their quality of life. Also, it is expected that older people's functionality will be improved and that hospital readmission or institutionalization may be avoided.

Findings suggest that our programme improved practical skills, helped reduce burden levels with better scores and improvement regarding general mental health condition of informal caregivers.

Na atualidade a morte tem vindo a ser remetida para o hospital em detrimento do espaço íntimo do lar. As unidades de cuidados intensivos são altamente tecnológicas, abertas e destituídas de privacidade, onde a morte é um fenómeno frequente, algumas vezes inesperado, mas quase sempre traumático. Neste contexto, o enfermeiro é confrontado com diversos dilemas e emoções que podem comprometer a sua saúde mental e condicionar os cuidados que presta a alguém em final de vida. OBJETIVOS: Explorar e descrever a experiência da morte e do morrer vivida pelos enfermeiros numa unidade de cuidados intensivos e de compreender o significado que lhe atribuem. MÉTODOS: Optámos pela realização de um estudo qualitativo, exploratório e descritivo, de base fenomenológica. Os participantes (N=25) foram selecionados por conveniência tendo a amostra sido atingida por saturação teórica. Os dados foram recolhidos com recurso à entrevista não estruturada e analisados segundo a reflexão fenomenológica das narrativas, segundo a perspetiva de van Manen (2016). RESULTADOS: Da análise das narrativas emergiram cinco temas: condicionantes da perceção dos enfermeiros sobre a morte e o morrer; práticas e contextos de cuidados ao doente em morte iminente; práticas e contextos de cuidados à família; mecanismos de adaptação; e conflitos internos na gestão dos cuidados. CONCLUSÕES: Estes resultados permitem uma compreensão mais abrangente do objeto em estudo e orientam as intervenções dos enfermeiros para um cuidado centrado na pessoa, digno e confortador para a família e doentes que se confrontam com a morte neste e noutros contextos.

The psychometric properties of the measurement tool showed acceptable results allowing its implementation in clinical practice by the nursing community staff for evaluating practical skills in informal caregivers when providing care to older stroke survivors living at home.

CONTEXTO: Em Portugal o acidente vascular cerebral (AVC) representa a principal causa de incapacidade nas pessoas idosas. Apesar dos avanços nos cuidados de saúde permitirem que mais sobreviventes de AVC vivam no domicílio cuidados pelas famílias, a evidência sugere que os cuidadores sofrem elevados níveis de sobrecarga e insatisfação com a quantidade e qualidade da informação e com o suporte recebido. O estado da arte sugere, ainda, a necessidade da implementação de programas de intervenção psicoeducativa baseados na resolução de problemas e na aquisição de competências práticas, visando a redução do impacte dos cuidados nos cuidadores. OBJETIVO(S): Desenvolveu-se um estudo tendo como objetivos: (1) avaliar as competências práticas dos cuidadores de pessoas idosas sobreviventes de um AVC; e (2) avaliar um programa de intervenção na diminuição de sobrecarga destes cuidadores no 1º (M1) e 3º (M2) mês após a intervenção. METODOLOGIA: O estudo quasi-experimental foi realizado com uma amostra de 174 cuidadores informais de pessoas idosas dependentes sobreviventes de AVC, os quais foram distribuídos pelo grupo experimental (n=85) e pelo grupo controlo (n=89). A investigação decorreu nos domicílios de famílias inscritas em Agrupamentos de Centros de Saúde da região norte. RESULTADOS: Os dados sugerem elevados níveis de sobrecarga no 1º e 3º mês no grupo de controlo, comparativamente com o grupo experimental, no qual se verificou uma diminuição após o follow-up (M2). CONCLUSÃO: Pode concluir-se que os resultados da implementação do programa InCARE corroboram a importância de uma intervenção precoce e estruturada na capacitação e redução da sobrecarga dos cuidadores. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Cuidadores informais; Pessoas idosas; AVC; Estudo quasi-experimental ABSTRACT "Efficacy of the program InCARE in the burden of informal caregivers of older people after a stroke"BACKGROUND: Stroke is the leading cause of disability in Portuguese older people. Despite the advances in the health care system, allowing more stroke survivors living at home be cared by their families, the evidence suggests higher levels of burden in caregivers, dissatisfaction with the quantity and quality of information they received and with the support received. The state-of-the art, also suggests, there is a need for implementing a psychoeducational intervention programmes based on problem solving and on practical skills acquisition to reduce burden in caregivers. AIM: The study aimed at: (1) assessing the practical skills of caregivers of older stroke survivors; (2) evaluating an intervention program to reduce burden in caregivers during the 1st (M1) and 3rd (M2) month after the intervention. METHODOS: The quasi-experimental study was developed with 174 informal caregivers of dependent older stroke survivors, allocated in: i) experimental group (n = 85); and ii) control group (n = 89). Data collection occurred in community-dwelling of health care units in northern Portugal. RESULTS: The data suggests higher levels of burden in the 1st and 3rd month of the con...

No abstract

Falls in older people are a result of a combination of multiple risk factors. There are few studies involving predictive models in a community context. The aim of this study was to determine the validation of a new model for predicting fall risk in older adults (65+) living alone in community dwellings (n = 186; n = 117) with a test–retest reliability study. We consider in the predictive model the significant factors emerged from the bivariate analysis: age, zone, social community resources, physical exercise, self-perception of health, difficulty to keep standing, difficulty to sit and get up from a chair, strain to see, use of technical devices, hypertension and number of medications. The final model explained 28.5% of the risk of falling in older adults living alone in community dwellings. The AUC = 0.660 (se = 0.065, IC 95% 0.533–0.787, p = 0.017). The predictive model developed revealed a satisfactory discriminatory performance of the model and can contribute to clinical practice, with respect to the evaluation of risk of falling in this frailty group and preventing falls.