Background: Physical activity (PA) patterns during pregnancy have not been explored in depth and most previous studies lack assessment of variables such as type, frequency, duration and intensity of activity. Objectives: This study had two goals: 1) to analyze PA patterns during pregnancy according to weekly time spent on different types of activity; and 2) to determine women’s perception about health care providers regarding PA advisement during pregnancy. Patients and Methods: A longitudinal prospective study was carried out with a 118-pregnant women cohort. Participants were evaluated during all trimesters. Self-reported questionnaires were used to collect personal and obstetric data. Type, duration and frequency of PA were evaluated using the pregnancy physical activity questionnaire (PPAQ) and intensity levels were calculated. Repeated measure analysis of variance was performed to determine differences between trimesters, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed when appropriate. Results: A decrease in values of self-reported PA (MET.h.wk^-1) was found from the first to the second and the first to the third trimester of pregnancy, respectively; total (270.91 vs 220.54 vs 210.35; P < 0.01), light (109.45 vs 95.11vs 92.40; P < 0.01) and moderate intensity (81.99 vs 50.69 vs 62.94; P = 0.002). Time spent on most activities remained fairly stable throughout pregnancy. Women spent most of their weekly time during the entire pregnancy on household and caregiving activities, occupational activities and leisure, except sport activities. Swimming was the most reported organized PA, reaching its highest proportion (12.7%) in the second trimester. Prenatal exercise classes were reported by 39.8% of women during the 3rd trimester. Pregnant women reported that PA was recommended by health professionals: 53.9% in the 1st trimester, 70.4% in the 2nd trimester and 56.8% in the 3rd trimester. Conclusions: Self-reported PA decreased, especially from the first to the second trimester, in total, light and moderate intensity. Women spent most of their weekly time on domestic, occupational and leisure activities, except sport activities. There are some health care providers that do not recommend physical activity during pregnancy. Keywords: Physical Activity; Pregnant Women; Longitudinal Study

Non-Helicobacter pylori Helicobacters (NHPH) are also able to cause disease in humans. Dogs are a natural reservoir for many of these species. Close and intense human contact with animals has been identified as a risk factor and therefore, an important zoonotic significance has been attributed to NHPH. To determine the prevalence of Helicobacter species and the gastric histopathological changes associated, gastric mucosa samples of 69 dogs were evaluated. Only one dog presented a normal histopathological mucosa with absence of spiral-shaped organisms. A normal gastric mucosa and the presence of spiral-shaped bacteria was observed in two dogs. All remaining animals presented histopathological changes representative of gastritis. Helicobacter species were detected in 60 dogs (87.0%) by at least one detection method. Histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical evaluations revealed that Helicobacter spp. were present in 45 (65.2%), 52 (75.4%) and 57 (82.6%) dogs, respectively. Spiral-shaped bacteria were detected by qPCR analysis in 33 (47.8%) dogs. H. heilmannii-like organisms were identified in 22 animals (66.7%) and predominantly in the antral gastric region. H. salomonis was the second most prevalent species (51.5%) although it was mainly found in association with other Helicobacter spp. and in the body gastric region. H. bizzozeronii and H. felis were less frequently detected. It was concluded that, despite the high incidence and worldwide distribution of gastric NHPH in dogs, the presence of specific Helicobacter species may vary between geographic regions. NHPH infections were significantly accompanied by mild to moderate intraepithelial lymphocyte infiltration and mild to moderate gastric epithelial injury, but a clear relationship between gastritis and Helicobacter infection could not be established.

Community empowerment has been studied as a process and result phenomenon throughout the last 40 years. Community partnership, which has been studied during the last 20 years, has been identified as a key process to promote intervention and research within communities. In this paper, we introduce the relation between these two concepts, from the research that is being developed at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Health Research (CIIS) in Universidade Católica Portuguesa. We comment on the available evidence regarding community partnership and community empowerment within the Nursing Decision-Making process. There is a particular focus on Community Health Nursing Specialists (CHNS) and the aim to promote the identification of CHNS as potential community partnership developers within society. It is also important to analyze how community partnership processes are intentionally integrated as a nursing intervention within the nursing process. This analysis should occur from the nursing diagnosis to the evaluation of health gains in communities sensitive to CHNS care in a Nursing Theoretical Model developed from a Nursing PhD process—the Community Assessment, Intervention, and Empowerment Model.

Objectives: The aim of this review was to identify healthcare management barriers, challenges and obstacles in the development of health partnerships in community intervention projects. Methods: We conducted an integrative review using the following data sources: PubMed, B-on, Medline and EBSCOhost. The keywords in the search were: Health Partnerships AND Community Health AND Primary Health Care. We grouped results based on six categories: Environment; Membership; Process and structure; Purpose; Communication; Resources. Findings: The search conducted identified 844 articles. After being submitted to the first filter, and applying the exclusion and inclusion criteria, a total of 56 were reviewed. Of these, 44 dealt with aspects relating to Environment. In 53 articles it was referred that the relationship partners were key to the development of partnerships. Factors relating to the process of collaboration were found in 45, while factors related to structural elements were mentioned in 40 articles. 31 identified factors relating to purpose. Communication was highly discussed, appearing in 34 articles. Factors relating to resources were given great importance in the literature, appearing in 48. In 23, the subject of leadership. Conclusions: The literature reviewed highlighted that dimensions such as relationships, commitment, communication, funding, and structure are key in the long-term sustainability of the partnership. However, more studies are needed.

Background: Limited health literacy makes decision-making difficult and has implications for individual health, costs, and the organization of health systems in general, and therefore must be studied in different communities, allowing an adequate response to the specificities, particularities, and potentialities of each local situation. Methods: To evaluate the level of health literacy and relate it to sociodemographic variables (sex, age group, education, and employment situation), this study was carried out in a population of 3,927 individuals from a parish of Alto Minho with a random probabilistic sample of 351 individuals, stratified by age and sex, with a sampling error of 5%. This is a quantitative, observational, and cross-sectional study. Results: The majority of respondents were female (54.1%), with a mean age (±SD) of 44.94 ± 19.048 years, had higher education qualifications (74.0%), and were professionally active (61.0%). The health literacy of this community is limited (66.1%) in its different domains. In all of them, individuals assume easy and very easy activities that do not involve critical analysis and interpretation, and reveal greater difficulty in those that require this ability. Statistically significant relationships were found between the level of health literacy and schooling (χ² = 33.552 and p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: This study allowed us to recognize that the health literacy level of this Alto Minho community is limited. Also, the fact that it is related to certain sociodemographic variables sheds light on the health literacy level of the people of this community and on the challenges of promoting it.