The aging population is increasing worldwide, but the abuse and mistreatment in the elderly (often silenced forms) has also been increasing, with strong implications for their quality of life. To identify forms of abuse and ill-treatment in the elderly, as well as the determinants of these abuses. This is a quantitative study, of the non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional type attended by 135 Portuguese elderly. It uses the Family APGAR Scale and the Question to Elicit Elder Abuse (QEEA), which was applied between January and June 2013, in the elderly residing in the central of Portugal. The data shows that 23.5% of the elderly have suffered some kind of abuse, these being especially of the emotional kind and neglect. We also found that the most abused elders were unmarried and widows, those who had lower academic qualifications, those who reported feeling lonely and less healthy and even those who perceive to integrate families with some degree of dysfunction. We found that the abuse and mistreatment are present in the everyday life of many seniors and are a difficult subject to approach. The evidence, invite us to reflect on the development of intervention strategies, particularly at the levels of emotional abuse, neglect, promotion of health and family functioning in order to contribute to the reduction or extinction of abuse and ill-treatment in the elderly.

Problem Statement: The physical and chemical restraint of patients, despite being often applied with no real scientific basis, has always been part of nursing practice in caring for the ill people.Research Questions: What is the level of knowledge over in nursing about physically and chemically restraining?Purpose of the Study: Evaluate the level of knowledge of nurses on physical and chemical restraint of patients.Research MethodsThe cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted by collecting data using a survey on the knowledge that physically and chemically restraining patients. To this end, a convenience sample was assessed consisting of 156 nurses aged between 24 and 57 (average being 35.11), 79.2% of which were female and 20.8% were male.Findings: The majority (92.3%) consider the physical restraint is a way of ensuring the patient's safety. The level of knowledge reveals that the majority (53.1%) have knowledge on the physical and chemical restraint of patients, noting that 46.9% have a good level of knowledge, 6.2% a reasonable level of knowledge and 46.9% have a weak level of knowledge on the subject.Conclusions: Given the results, there arises the concern to include training on the physical and chemical restraint of patients in the study plan, as well as implementing the training and simulated practice of restraining measures, giving future nurses the transferable skills needed in clinical practice

The impact of the diagnosis in parents causes the cycle of family life will change profoundly, with serious disturbances in the reorganization and adjustments to this new reality. The objectives of the study aim to evaluate the quality of life of children / adolescent siblings of people with autism; to know the perception / opinion of the brothers on the impact that autism has had on family and check what kind of association between sociodemographic variables and of opinion on the impact of autism on the family and the QOL of participants. This is a study of the quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive correlational where 96 parents with autistic children participated kind. Data were collected through a questionnaire and a scale to assess the impact of the diagnosis of autism. The data show that on average the impact of the diagnosis of autism in parents showed moderate. Parents, mostly not yet managed to overcome the initial shock and show a great concern for the future of their children. The adjustments and changes made to the social level are dimensions where parents have lower difficulties. The data show that the impact of the diagnosis of autism in parents participating in the study was quite variable, depending on different variables, reinforcing the importance of continuity of studies on this topic in order to mitigate this impact

Background: oropharyngeal dysphagia is the result of a series of neuromuscular disorders that can impair swallowing. These alterations compromise adequate nutritional support and often endanger the safety of the person with dysphagia. The prevalence of dysphagia is known to increase with age, but it is still an underdiagnosed problem, which should be a concern for nurses. Objective: To identify nurses' knowledge of patients' swallowing ability in a Portuguese hospital. Methodology: Quantitative, descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional study using a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 62 nurses. The online survey includes sociodemographic/ professional indicators, an assessment of nurses' knowledge of swallowing ability, relevant data for dysphagia diagnosis and compensatory swallowing strategies. Results: 62 nurses were included, mostly female (80.6%), with an average age of 38.50 years, with a prevalence of those under 39 (53.2%), with a degree (71.0%) and who had been working in the profession for 14 years or less (54.8%), there was a higher percentage of men who had not had any training in dysphagia compared to women (66.7% vs. 52. 0%). The multiple linear regression showed as predictors of knowledge of swallowing ability: knowledge of relevant data to diagnose dysphagia, knowledge of compensatory strategies and inversely professional exercise (p<0.000). Conclusions: The higher the knowledge about compensatory swallowing strategies and the knowledge about the relevant data for diagnosing dysphagia, and the shorter the time spent in professional practice, the greater the nurses' knowledge about dysphagia. These results suggest the need of continuous education about dysphagia for more experienced professionals. What is the main contribution to evidence-based practice from this research? The article contributes to promote a a better Identification of nurses' knowledge about the signs of dysphagia and compensatory swallowing strategies in case of dysphagia.

BackgroundThe term resilience, long used in physics, has only “recently” been adapted to psychology, but it immediately assumed great importance in human development studies.AimTo verify the most important resilience factors among institutionalised adolescents.MethodA cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational, quantitative study. The subjects were 40 institutionalized adolescents, aged between 12 and 17, selected through non-probability convenience sampling. Data was collected during 2012, with a research protocol consisting of: a form of socio-demographic characteristics, the Wagnild Resilience Scale, the Self Perception Profile for Adolescents Scale (both validated for the Portuguese population) and an adaptation of the Social Competence Scale.ResultsMostly female adolescents with a mean age of 14.33 years. There is a relationship between resilience and self-esteem, self-concept and social competence. Males from CBEI – Our Lady of Sorrows Child Welfare Centre of Mafra manifest higher levels of resilience than females from the Santa Isabel Home. There is no relationship between religious practice, age and education and resilience.ConclusionThe inferences from this study lead us to reflect on the importance of creating intervention programmes for institutionalised children and adolescents in order to optimise their resources enhancing the protective factors of resilience, and ultimately resilience itself