O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a continuidade de cuidados nas Unidades de Saúde no município de Évora (Portugal), na perspetiva dos utentes. Trata-se de um estudo transversal, exploratório e descritivo de abordagem quantitativa, com uma amostra constituída por 342 utentes das unidades de saúde. O instrumento utilizado foi um questionário adaptado de estudos ingleses e espanhóis. Os resultados revelam que foram identificados elementos de continuidade ao nível das diferentes dimensões da continuidade de cuidados - relacional, de gestão, informação e de alguns itens da continuidade flexível. A continuidade longitudinal apresenta os valores mais baixos no atendimento de enfermagem. Como conclusão, destaca-se positivamente, e nas suas diferentes dimensões, a continuidade relacional em que a maioria dos utentes recomendam o seu médico de família e enfermeira a familiares e amigos e a continuidade flexível, que se traduz por reduzidos tempos de espera no atendimento por um médico ou enfermeiro e acessibilidade aos cuidados. Negativamente sobressai o fraco envolvimento do utente nos cuidados, pelos profissionais de saúde, numa das dimensões da continuidade relacional.

Background: Addressing informal caregivers’ needs is essential for ensuring quality healthcare and promoting citizen-centred care. This systematic review assessed current knowledge about programmes aimed at meeting the needs of informal caregivers of adults who are dependent on others for daily life activities. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, the electronic databases EBSCOhost Research Platform, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science and The Virtual Health Library were searched for randomized experimental studies published between 2012 and 2022 that implemented programmes addressing informal caregivers’ needs to improve their experiences, health, and well-being. Quality was assessed using the standardized critical evaluation tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute. Two independent investigators performed the eligibility assessment and data extraction. Quantitative data on the effectiveness of interventions were collected, and the content of each intervention was synthesized and aggregated into categories, through narrative synthesis. Results: The majority of the included studies (n = 16) were conducted in European countries and implemented a structured intervention programme compared to the provision of usual care. The studies were of fair to high methodological quality, with a higher risk of bias related to blinding. The results supported the achievement of favourable health outcomes among informal caregivers, namely improvements in mental health (n = 3) and quality of life (n = 3) and a decrease in psychological symptomatology (n = 5) and burden (n = 3). None of the interventions reported adverse outcomes; however, five studies did not describe significant differences in the outcomes assessed after the implementation of the programmes. Interventions focusing on training and educating caregivers (n = 14) and cognitive–behavioural strategies (n = 7) were the most common, while programmes focusing on emotional and psychological support as a resource to improve caregivers’ psychological outcomes were scarce. Conclusions: This systematic review adds to the growing body of evidence and insight showing that programmes that address informal caregivers’ needs seem to contribute to better physical and psychological health outcomes through the promotion of caregivers’ educational support and the implementation of cognitive–behavioural strategies. Future research should implement methodologically robust cross-country programmes tailored to informal caregivers’ physical, emotional, psychosocial, societal, and educational needs throughout the care trajectory.

RESUMO Objetivo: analisar como se estruturam as representações sociais dos cuidados hospitalares e comunitários em dois grupos de estudantes de enfermagem - 1º e 4º anos. Métodos: pesquisa qualitativa orientada pela Teoria das Representações Sociais. Utilizou-se um questionário com Associação Livre de Palavras. Os dados foram analisados no Software IRaMuTeQ 0.6 alpha 3. Resultados: aplicou-se o método da Classificação Hierárquica Descendente e obtiveram-se 4 classes. A classe 4 tem a maior representação social (30,41%) do corpus. Os dois eixos organizadores são enfermeiro e doença/doente no núcleo central. Na periferia destaca-se o cuidado e ajuda ligados ao enfermeiro e o tratamento e a prevenção associados à doença. Conclusões: as representações sociais centram-se na doença/doente e no papel do enfermeiro no tratamento, prevenção e cuidado. A promoção da saúde e os determinantes sociais da saúde estão ausentes das representações sociais dos estudantes.

(1) Background: considering the growing increase in informal caregivers or family caregivers, it is critical to identify the unmet care needs of informal caregivers to improve their experiences, health, and well-being, contributing to the achievement of care needs of the elderly or people with adult dependency and promotion of successful transitions from health services to the community/home. (2) Objective: to identify the current state of knowledge about programs addressed to family caregivers/informal caregivers needs. (3) Methods: a systematic review will be undertaken with resource to databases from EBSCOhost Research Platform, Scopus, Web of Science, The Virtual Health Library (VHL). Studies published after January 2011 in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese will be considered. This review will consider all studies that report on any intervention program targeting family caregivers/informal caregivers who need to improve their experiences, health, and well-being, contributing to the meeting of their needs or those who have dementia and cognitive impairment, mental disorders, impairments in activities of daily living, frailty and/or who need health care and/or promoting successful transitions of community. (4) Discussion: The results of this review could be used to develop an intervention model to meet the needs of the family caregivers/informal caregivers. Furthermore, these findings will help to guide the construction of health policies regarding family caregivers/informal caregivers, as well their needs.

Background: Violence against health professionals is a global and growing problem, with significant impacts on the quality of care and the mental health of workers. Objectives: To analyze the level of knowledge, reporting practices and consequences of violence against health professionals in the Alentejo region (southern Portugal). Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study involving 440 health professionals (doctors and nurses). Data were collected using an online platform and a structured questionnaire created specifically for this study. In the statistical analysis, the data were described as counts and proportions and the X2 test was used considering a significance level of 0.05. Results: This study reveals that violence against health professionals in the southern region of Portugal is a frequent problem (40%), with a higher incidence among nurses (80%). Despite awareness of the existence and functioning of reporting channels, reporting is low (52%). The main causes are related to the health system, professionals and users. The consequences include mental health problems and a reduction in the quality of care provided. Suggested measures to combat violence include improving security, training and punishing aggressors. Conclusions: This study reveals that violence against health professionals in the southern region of Portugal is a frequent, under-reported problem with serious consequences for professionals and the quality of care.