In this study, we present findings of the Portuguese national prevalence study, “Aging and Violence,” the purpose of which was to estimate the prevalence of abuse and neglect of older people in family settings over a 12-month period and examine the relationship between abuse and sociodemographic and health characteristics. Through a telephone survey of a representative probability sample (N = 1,123), we evaluated 12 abusive behaviors and demographic data. Overall, 12.3% of older adults experienced elder abuse in family settings. The prevalence rates of specific types were as follows: psychological, 6.3%; financial, 6.3%; physical, 2.3%; neglect, 0.4%; and sexual, 0.2%. Logistic regression was employed to determine the relationship between abuse and covariates. The study suggests that education level, age, and functional status are significantly associated with abuse. Accurate estimates of the prevalence of elder abuse and understanding of victim and perpetrator characteristics are fundamental to designing effective strategies for prevention and intervention.

This paper presents a methodological approach for the assessment of the indicator 11.3.1: “Ratio of Land Consumption Rate to Population Growth Rate” proposed by the United Nations (UN), discussing the definitions and assumptions that support the indicator quantification, and analysing the results provided by different formulations applied to mainland Portugal, at the municipality level. Due to specific limitations related to the actual formula proposed by the UN (LCRPGR) for the computation of the indicator, an alternative formulation derived from Land Use Efficiency (LUE) was explored. Considering that the land to which the indicator refers may be described by specific classes represented in Land Cover Land Use (LCLU) maps, in the estimation of the land consumption rate we tested two LCLU datasets: Corine Land Cover and COS—the Portuguese LCLU reference map. For the estimation of the population growth rate, prior allocation of inhabitants to the areas where people are most likely to reside was deemed necessary, using a dasymetric mapping technique based on LCLU information. The results obtained for 2007–2011 and 2011–2015 showed, in most municipalities, an increase in the urban area and a decrease in urban population, leading to negative values both in LCRPGR and LUE in most of the territory. Clearly, LUE performed better than LCRPGR in what urban development monitoring and urban area dynamics trends are concerned. Furthermore, LUE was much easier to interpret.

This study aims to contribute to the epidemiological portrayal of tobacco consumption in Portugal 2005-2006, using data from the National Health Survey.In this analysis the Portuguese population is characterised according to smoking patterns, exposure to smoke and attitudes to smoking in general. Data is presented by gender, age groups, regions of residence and other social characteristics. Frequencies results are estimated values for the Portuguese population in 2005. Logistic binary regression models are used to study regular smoking-related characteristics.Results show that 20.9% of the Portuguese population (including Madeira and the Azores) aged 15 or more were smokers (male: 30.9%; female: 11.8%), and that 18.7% smoked regularly. More than one half of men were smokers or ex-smokers (56.9%) whereas the great majority of women had never smoked (81.3%).After removing the effect of the different age structures among regions, the highest rate of males who smoked regularly was observed in the Azores region (31.0%), followed by the Alentejo region (29.9%). The highest rate of women who smoked regularly occurred in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region (15.4%), followed by the Algarve region (12.8%).Daily average cigarette consumption was higher among male (20 cigarettes) than female smokers (13 cigarettes). The Azores population presented the highest daily average consumption (male: 23 cigarettes; female: 16 cigarettes).Rev Port Pneumol 2009; XV (6): 1005-102

This study discusses the situation of mainland Portugal concerning the achievement of the European “no net land take” target by 2050. This target aims to curb land take by increasing the recycling of developed land and offsetting the consumption of undeveloped land by re-naturalizing an equivalent area of artificial land. Setting targets and interventions in each country to reach this goal requires monitoring land take, developed land recycling, and re-naturalization. This study assesses these processes in mainland Portugal, by NUTS III regions, for the first time, analyzing the land cover/land use changes that occurred between 2007 and 2018. In this period, the land take rate in mainland Portugal amounted to 7.2 ha/day. Re-naturalization and recycling of developed land were 1.0 and 0.2 ha/day, respectively, showing the shortage of their practices on the mainland. During said period, mainland Portugal and most of its regions experienced a reduction in population and an increase in artificial land, revealing low efficiency in urban land use. Since Portuguese legislation does not mention the European target, we believe that most decision-makers are unaware of it or have little knowledge of the practices that can contribute to its fulfillment. In this regard, the study aims to raise awareness among policymakers and public authorities about the need to limit, mitigate, and compensate for land take and to set land take targets for different levels of action. In addition, it describes how some European countries and regions are evaluating the same processes and approaching the goal under consideration.

At European level, the different methodologies used for the classification of urban areas rely on the spatial allocation of population to 1 km² grid cells, failing therefore to identify small-sized settlements that play an important role in urban systems mostly composed by small towns, such as the Portuguese. This paper reports the development of alternative methodologies which overcome the problem stated, successfully enabling the automated recognition and delimitation of small-sized urban settlements – the prime goal of this work. Two alternative methodologies (A and B) were developed and later compared. The settlements identified by A are clusters of census tracts, previously classified using an urban–rural typology proposed by the authors. In B an adaptation of the Urban Morphological Zones methodology published by the European Environment Agency was used, whereby settlements are clusters of specific Land Use/Land Cover classes combined with the urbanised areas defined by Municipal Master Plans.

The studies on the prevalence of violence towards the elderly in a family context that have been conducted in the last thirty years, especially in Europe and Anglo-Saxon countries, are not sufficiently elucidative. This is due to shortcomings in both the definition of their theoretical models and their operative concepts. The authors of this article have systematically reviewed the literature and identified a diversity of definitions and research designs, which has an inevitable impact in terms of varying estimates. The European public perception of this problem is also at odds with the low figures contained in this type of estimate. The authors offer somethoughts about the underlying reasons for these representations, and critique the estimates made in population-based prevalence studies.