Objective: To explore the type of private practice supplementary income-generating activities of public sector doctors in the Portuguese-speaking African countries, and also to discover the motivations and the reasons why doctors have not made a complete move out of public service. Design: cross-sectional qualitative survey. Subjects: In 1996, 28 Angolan doctors, 26 from Guinea-Bissau, 11 from Mozambique and three from S Tomé and Principe answered a self-administered questionnaire. Results: All doctors, except one unemployed, were government employees. Forty-three of the 68 doctors that answered the questionnaire reported an income-generating activity other than the one reported as principal. Of all the activities mentioned, the ones of major economic importance were: public sector medical care, private medical care, commercial activities, agricultural activities and university teaching. The two outstanding reasons why they engage in their various side-activities are ‘to meet the cost of living’ and ‘to support the extended family’. Public sector salaries are supplemented by private practice. Interviewees estimated the time a family could survive on their public sector salary at seven days (median value). The public sector salary still provides most of the interviewees income (median 55%) for the rural doctors, but has become marginal for those in the urban areas (median 10%). For the latter, private practice has become of paramount importance (median 65%). For 26 respondents, the median equivalent of one month's public sector salary could be generated by seven hours of private practice. Nevertheless, being a civil servant was important in terms of job security, and credibility as a doctor. The social contacts and public service gave access to power centres and resources, through which other coping strategies could be developed. The expectations regarding the professional future and regarding the health systems future were related mostly to health personnel issues. Conclusion: The variable response rate per question reflects some resistance to discuss some of the issues, particularly those related to income. Nevertheless, these studies may provide an indication of what is happening in professional medical circles in response to the inability of the public sector to sustain a credible system of health care delivery. There can be no doubt that for these doctors the notion of a doctor as a full-time civil-servant is a thing of the past. Switching between public and private is now a fact of life.

Since higher education qualifications and digital transition are considered key factors for economic development and individual opportunities, distance learning has been presented as a solution to improve the labor force’s skills and employability. However, such links were seldom studied systematically in specific contexts, and doubts exist regarding online programs. Based on the results of three successive follow-up surveys to the graduates of the Portuguese distance learning public university (Universidade Aberta), from 2011 to 2018 (n = 1358), our article examines the graduates’ perception of acquired transversal competences, in relation to employability and social mobility gains. The statistical analysis points out a positive perception of transversal competences development, especially analytical capacity, autonomy, and communication, although some concerns were raised regarding digital skills, teamwork, job search skills, and social capital. The impacts on employability and socioeconomic mobility are positive for most students, but variable according to analyzed competences, and tend to occur mostly through internal mobility rather than through job search skills or entrepreneurship. Although exploratory, such findings allow some final considerations regarding the effective ability of higher education distance learning to enhance economic growth and employability, through transversal competences, as well as to sketch some suggestions to improve such ability.

The aim of this research is to atain knowledge on immigrant´s health related problems and to identify their dificulties when acesing health care services. The article describes immigrant´s dificulties when acesing health care services that are visiting the health ofice at a National Immigrant Support Centre.Design: : A qualitative study was conducted, analysing available documentation and observing the health isues dealt with at the National Immigrant Support Centre’s (CNAI) Health Ofice. The 148 cases are mainly immigrants coming from Portuguese speaking African countries for health purposes. Immigrants from Brazil have more restricted aces, and feel discrimination on the part of the services. Immigrants from Eastern Europe come in search of information and have communication dificulties. Obstacles are related to the lack of knowledge of the law, but also to the failure of puting the law into practice. The ofice has had a great demand of users seeking information and in acesingthe health care system.Results: The cases analysed are mainly nationals from Portuguese Speaking African Countries (PSAC), Brazil and countries in Eastern Europe. The majority of the immigrants coming from PSAC are patients receiving treatment under international Cooperation Agreements requesting financial and social support. Immigrants from Brazil have more restricted aces and feel greater discrimination on the part of the services. New Labour Migrants from Eastern Europe, on the other hand, come in search of information and are known to have communication dificulties.Conclusions: Legislation in Portugal provides aces to health care to al citizens, regardles of their legal condition and origin. However, some immigrants have had significant dificulties with aces to Portugal’s National Health Service. The obstacles are not only related to the lack of legal knowledge, but also to the failure of puting the law into practice, which requires atention by the institutionresponsible for efective and comprehensive coordination. The ofice has had a great demand of users seeking information, who, above al, wish to solve their problems and dificulties in acesing the health care system.

Este artigo dá conta de uma reflexão teórica sobre a convivência entre culturas diferentes em Portugal. A partir de uma breve caracterização da imigração em Portugal, num primeiro momento procurou-se definir e distinguir os diferentes modelos teóricos de integração para, num segundo momento, analisar concretamente as políticas públicas relativas à integração dos imigrantes na sociedade portuguesa. Por último, partindo da constatação de que os estudos dão conta de comparações entre culturas e não tanto da convivência entre elas, procurou-se refletir sobre as razões subjacentes à quase total ausência de investigações cujo enfoque seja a convivência entre culturas.

O objetivo foi compreender como os indivíduos se comportam em termos de saúde e o que fazem em caso de doença. Análise comparativa realçou semelhanças e divergências de práticas de saúde ou em caso de doença. O estudo foi efetuado numa amostra de 40 cabo-verdianos da primeira geração residentes na região de Lisboa, dividida em subgrupos: grupo social, geração e genero. Baseou-se em metodologia qualitativa com entrevistas semi-estruturadas. As práticas analisadas foram agrupadas em preventivas e de saúde, práticas utilizadas em episódios de doença, recursos para prevenção e tratamento, utilização de remédios caseiros e outros recursos ou terapeutas. Indivíduos experimentaram, ao nível das práticas, três sistemas de saúde que coexistiam em Cabo Verde, oficial, popular e tradicional e o recurso à religião. O discurso acerca das práticas de saúde e de doença demonstrou existirem diferenças, em alguns aspectos, entre grupos sociais e entre generos e gerações. Práticas de saúde destes imigrantes são idênticas às dos portugueses em contextos socioeconomicos semelhantes. Resultados sugerem existência de diferenças entre grupos sociais relativamente às práticas, na esfera da saúde e da doença. Mais que cultura e etnicidade, que se moldam às condições materiais de existência, neste estudo, o nível socioeconomico determinou as maiores diferenças a interferir nas práticas de saúde e doença, de grupo com cultura de base comum. Em geral, os indivíduos sobrevalorizaram sua identidade étnica e cultura de origem. Pertencimento a grupos sociais diferentes dá origem a partilha do sentimento de pertença cultural, mas não a comportamentos e práticas idênticos.

This study focuses on understanding the mourning process in the elderly and how this is linked to gender, ethnicity and social class, among Cape Verdean migrants in Portugal. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 older people living in the Lisbon Metropolitan area. We inquired about the existence of beliefs, superstitions, rituals and Cape Verdean traditions associated with death. The way individuals deal with death depends largely on individual trajectories of living in a group and in certain contexts. We found a cosmopolitan and an existential vision, corresponding to the elite group and popular group beliefs, attitudes and representations.