A solidão é um sentimento penoso e angustiante que conduz a um mal-estar em que a pessoa se sente só, ainda que rodeada de pessoas, por pensar que lhe falta suporte, sobretudo de natureza afetiva. Pode surgir em qualquer idade, porém é mais frequente em adolescentes e idosos e entre estes naqueles que estão institucionalizados. Este estudo pretendeu estudar a frequência da solidão em idosos institucionalizados. Foram inquiridos 62 idosos, que residiam em lares do concelho de Viseu, que apresentavam capacidade física e mental para colaborar e o desejaram fazer, após terem sido devidamente informados. Para além de perguntas sobre dados sociodemográficos, foi elaborada uma escala tipo Likert, com 5 gradientes que iam de nunca a sempre, e que avaliava a frequência com que cada idoso sentia solidão. Predominou o sexo feminino (71,0%). A maioria (66,1%) tinha 80 ou mais anos. Em média a escolaridade era baixa. A maior parte (80,7%) vivia no lar há pelo menos 1 ano. 80,7% tinha filhos, porém muitos estavam emigrados. Dos inquiridos 39,7% nunca sentiram solidão; 24,1 % raramente; 33,9% algumas vezes, 11,3% muitas vezes e 0,0% sempre. É o grupo etário entre os 80-89 anos que mais frequentemente sente solidão (41,7%), já o grupo etário menor que 80 anos e o maior que 90 anos são os que menos sofreram de solidão havendo mesmo 38,1% com menos de 80 anos e 41,2% com 90 ou mais anos que dizem nunca ter sofrido de solidão.

Well-being is the result of the balance between the various dimensions of the functional capacity of the elderly, without necessarily meaning no problems in all dimensions. The results, through the application of the SPF-IL scale and the Mann-Whitney U test, showed the existence of statistically significant differences in comfort, selfe steem and in the global dimension alongside with differences on lifestyle and habits.

Introduction: Successful aging is accompanied by quality of life and well-being. Quality of life covers four domains: physical, psychological, social relations and the environment. Lifetime is only of value if the quality of life is durable, and the goal of increasing lifespan is only achievable if the quality of life can be maintained. Objectives: To identify and describe, through sociodemographic data, the group of elderly people from the District of Castelo Branco (Portugal) and the Province of Burgos (Spain) and Understand whether the quality of life is similar between the two groups of elderly people. Methodology: quantitative study, non-probabilistic sampling type, accidental convenience method. The sample consisted of 200 elderly people, 100 residents in each municipality. For operationalization of the variables we used a questionnaire of sociodemographic characterization, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), WHOQOL-bref (World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrumente bref). Results / Conclusions: Both Boroughs have a predominance of females with a prevalence of married elderly people. The elderly in the Castelo Branco District (Portugal) showed a worse quality of life in the physical and social relations domains than the elderly in the Province of Burgos (Spain) despite the differences being not statistically significant. Elderly people with a higher level of education show higher quality of life in the physical domain and worse in social relationships. Married elderly men, pensioners, who are accompanied, who take less medication, who sleep for more hours tend to have a higher quality of life.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with a sample with 530 students from secondary schools of a northern region of Portugal. The assessment protocol includes sociodemographic questionnaire (Correia 2004) and it was applied from October to December of 2011. Data analysis was performed using SPSS. The informed consent was obtain from schools. Results: The proportion of students who know the current law on sex education in schools is 37.4%, the proportion of female students who know this law is greater than that of males (41.3% vs 32.2%). Exist a statistical signiÞ cant association between this knowledge and sex (p = 0.037), continuing the girls the most informed group. About 30% of students in this sample doesn’t identify basic concepts of sexual and reproductive health and family planning neither sexually transmitted infections. In relation to knowledge about contraception also found a statistical signiÞ cant association with sex (p <0.000), with a higher proportion of knowledge for the female group who also knows more than a contraceptive method (78.7% vs 55.7%). Conclusions: The weak information of adolescents knowledge about sex education and gender differences still seem to persist in spite of the existence of sex education in schools from Portugal. Maybe sex education should be a subject in a curriculum from a school, being responsible for this subject a teacher that must be specialized in the area of sexuality.

Con este estudio se pretende conocer las necesidades de las personas mayores en el contexto de su experiencia, en la opinión de los ciudadanos. Se tenía la intención de identificar los recursos inexistências en la sociedad por su bienestar. El análisis de contenido, podemos ver que las necesidades de los ancianos son múltiples: la accesibilidad a la atención y servicios de salud, la falta de apoyo social, la falta de equipo en la comunidad, la vivienda inadecuada, los escasos recursos económicos, significan que este grupo se discrimina / aislado de la sociedad culmina en sí mismo, con la sensación de soledad.Todas estas necesidades requieren una atención especial y requieren medidas de política no sólo para la compra de equipos y servicios en la comunidad, sino también la educación sanitaria y la ciudadanía, desde una edad temprana, con la participación activa de las personas mayores en la sociedad.

Concomitante com o processo de envelhecimento existe um declínio da saúde física dos indivíduos, por interação de inúmeros fatores, interferindo com as suas atividades de vida diária e qualidade de vida. Desta forma, é essencial promover uma avaliação multidimensional que permita identificar esses fatores e intervir precocemente. Avaliar a capacidade funcional na área de saúde física da população com idade ≥ 75 anos do concelho de Coimbra. Estudo quantitativo, descritivo e correlacional, com amostra probabilística (estratificada por sexo, idade e área de residência), constituída por 1.153 indivíduos. Foi utilizado o Questionário de Avaliação Funcional Multidimensional para Idosos. A avaliação da área de saúde física comporta o número de consultas médicas, a prescrição de medicamentos, as patologias referidas e sua interferência nas atividades, a autoperceção da visão e audição, o consumo de álcool, a prática de atividade física e a autoavaliação da saúde física. Relativamente às consultas médicas, 89,5% dos participantes (90,0% dos homens e 89,2% das mulheres) referiram ter tido pelo menos uma consulta, num período de 6 meses. A hipertensão arterial foi a patologia mais referida (51,6%), seguida da artrite ou reumatismo (49,5%). Quanto à visão e audição, 24,8 e 26,8%, respetivamente, responderam que estava mal. As mulheres e os participantes ≥ 85 anos são os que avaliam a sua saúde física mais negativamente. O conhecimento da capacidade funcional produzido nesta área de estudo, conjugado com a rede de cuidados de saúde primários, pode ser útil no rastreio, no encaminhamento e na resolução de situações de incapacidade. Concurrent with the aging process there is a decline of the individuals’ physical health, by the interaction of numerous factors, which interferes with their activities of daily living and quality of life. Thus, it is essential to promote a multidimensional assessment to identify those factors and intervene early. To assess the functional status in physical health area of individuals aged 75 years old or more from Coimbra. Quantitative, descriptive and correlational study with a random sample (stratified by gender, age and area of residence), composed by 1153 individuals. The questionnaire used was the Questionário de Avaliação Funcional Multidimensional para Idosos. The evaluation of physical health area involves number of physician visits, prescribed drugs, pathologies mentioned and their interference with activities, self‐evaluation vision and hearing, consumption of alcohol, and self‐rated physical health. In a period of six months, 89.5% of participants (90.0% men and 89.2% women) reported having had at least one physician visit. Hypertension was the most referred pathology (51.6%), followed by arthritis or rheumatism (49.5%). As for vision and hearing, 24.8% and 26.8%, respectively, answered that was poor. The women and individuals ≥85 years evaluated more negatively their physical health. The knowledge of the functional capacity produced in this study area, conjugated with primary health care network, may be useful for screening, routing and addressing situations of disability.

IntroductionPopulation aging is an issue increasingly gaining more prominence, as evidenced by the number of inquiries regarding the “problems” that this entails for society. This leads to a need to understand the role of caregiver for the elderly as the central figure of support in old age.AimThe purpose of this study was to describe formal caregivers’ perceptions of working conditions, difficulties and factors associated with quality of care in a Portuguese home-based care for elderly.MethodsThe participants were 8 formal caregivers whose profession falls under the categories of Direct Action Helper and Auxiliary Workers. The data were collected through individual face-to-face interviews and analysed using a content analysis following Bardin's method.ResultsThe results show that the sample is female, aged from 32 to 53 years, with a professional exercise time between 8 and 16 years. Regarding the main conclusions of our research, we can say that our group of participants has a strong sense of team work which contributes to avoid situations of physical and emotional exhaustion; mostly caregivers can separate their personal and professional lives; there are some difficulties in communication between the caregivers and the elderly, however the most difficult situations are usually overcome due to the caregiver's understanding of the characteristics of institutionalized elderly; the matter of death is frequently seen as the most difficult situation to face.ConclusionsThe caregivers should have an awareness of the importance of kindness and respect, supporting positive thoughts and help the older people to retain control over their lives.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

multidimensional.Objetivos: Avaliar a capacidade funcional em cinco áreas (recursos sociais, recursos económicos, saúde mental, saúde física e atividades de vida diária) da população com idade ≥75 anos do concelho de Coimbra.Metodologia: Estudo quantitativo, descritivo e correlacional, com amostra constituída por 1153 indivíduos.Foi utilizado o Questionário de Avaliação Funcional Multidimensional para Idosos classificando os participantes,

The progressive aging of the population in contemporary societies leads to the necessary adjustment to the responses of health care services. The project The Oldest Old: Coimbra aging study (PTDC/CS-SOC/114895/2009) assesses an elderly population enrolled in Health Centres of Coimbra - Portugal. The QAFMI/OARS is recognized as the first elderly multidimensional assessment, being one of the areas the mental health. Assess the use/need of health and social services by the elderly, related with their functional status in five areas (social resources, economic resources, mental health, physical health and activities of daily living). Assess the use/need felt for health and social services by the elderly, related with the functional status in mental health. Quantitative methodology using the QAFMI/OARS. The sample consisted of individuals aged 75, or more, randomly selected and representative of Coimbra's elder residents (N=11279; n=1128). Mental health status was evaluated using the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, the Short Psychiatric Evaluation Schedule and a self-evaluation. Preliminary results showed that in physical health, ADL and economic resources there are significant differences between age groups. In mental health, there is a significant difference classification between genders, with a tendentiously lower score in women. In social resources, there is a significant difference classification between gender and age group. The work developed with OARS/QAFMI lead us to consider this instrument very useful to define functional status of the elders in specific evaluation areas as mental health, becoming right to the planning of older care services.

The development of personal and social skills is a facilitator or even essential for nurses to demonstrate relational skills and helping skills in their dail...

This article is a report of a study exploring the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Interpersonal Communication Assessment Scale (ICAS) related to nursing education. Interpersonal communication in health care in general and in nursing care in particular is used to transmit messages between the members involved so as to convey a meaning in their interaction. The essence of nursing care is focused on the nurse-patient interpersonal communication. The validation of ICAS developed in 4 steps: translation, back translation, comparison of both versions, and evidence of the validity of Portuguese version. The psychometric study was carried out using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The nonprobabilistic convenience sample was composed of 156 second-year students of the undergraduate nursing course (2008-2009). The psychometric analysis showed high values in Cronbach's alpha (ICAS: .939; advocacy: .857; therapeutic use of self: .890; and validation: .795), Pearson correlation (r=.740, P=.000), Bartlett's test of sphericity (2190.278, P=.000), and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy (.910). In general, the psychometric properties of the ICAS-Portuguese version are comparable to the original version. ICAS showed high internal consistency in reliability analysis and excellent temporal stability, thus an appropriate tool for assessing interpersonal communication skills.

Grandparenthood and intergenerational relationships: a review of the literature

A fragilidade relacionada com o idoso consiste num síndrome em que este esgotou as capacidades de responder de forma positiva a agentes stressantes, sejam eles internos ou externos ao indivíduo. Embora não dependente da idade é mais prevalente nos grupos etários mais idosos e no sexo feminino. Assim o idoso fragilizado é uma pessoa, cronologicamente com 65 ou mais anos, que conjuga uma série de situações bio-psico-sociais, que está em risco, perante agentes stressantes ainda que mínimos, de desencadear uma cascata de patologias e /ou incapacidades que obrigam a um maior número de institucionalizações e cada vez mais prolongados. Pode ainda levar à sua morte. O idoso fragilizado ou pré-fragilizado é um idoso que necessita de maior vigilância e melhor acessibilidade aos serviços de saúde e sociais. Com o envelhecimento da população e o aumento de grandes idosos a prevenção deste síndrome torna-se essencial, devendo começar em anos precoces do ciclo vital, de forma a atrasar um envelhecimento siológico e a evitar doenças precocemente incapacitantes.

Postpartum period is a time of transition, of adjustments to the parental role. This transition calls for changes in role relationships, especially in the first- time parents. Identify difficulties and needs of the first time parents related to the interaction with the newborn and to the adjustment to the parental role. Qualitative study using the descriptive phenomenological approach. Inform consent was obtained during the hospitalization after childbirth. Saturation of data was obtained with a group of 25 first-time fathers, using unstructured interviews in the parent's home place. Two essentials structures emerged from the meaning units of the experiences of the first-time parents adjustment to the postpartum, the first described a positive experience and the second one a negative experience. From the positive key constituents we highlighted: getting to know the baby; the sense of responsibility to the parental role; the sense of family; the greater cooperation and union of the couple. As negative key constituents: insecurity in baby care; experiencing parenthood with emotional vulnerability that is labelled as a period of lack of time to take care of oneself; less time for the couple and less social activity. This phenomenological study provides a deep understanding of the needs of first-time parents with the essentials structures of the process of paternal adjustment in the period of the post-partum, and generates implications to improve it, specially the postpartum home visit, support groups in the Health Centres, and a maternity postpartum phone line as suggested by the participants.

The responses of health care and social services to an increasingly aging population emerge as a social imperative in a scenario of demographic transition. The geriatric assessment includes the physical, mental, cognitive, emotional and social functions, allowing for, a concrete understanding of the realities and a better health planning. To assess: the use and need for health services and social support by the elderly, related with their functional status in five areas (social resources, economic resources, mental health, physical health and activities of daily living); assessment of the use of and need for the services. a) to provide information on the functional status and the use/need for services; b) improve the quality of care, adapting the training of nurses to this new social and health reality. Cross-sectional study. Randomly sample composed of individuals aged ≥75 (N ≈ 11279; n ≈ 1128) representative according to age and gender. Data collection using the QAFMI/OARS. Innovative results should emerge in two areas: among the technicians and health policy makers. This study may represent, at a central level, a basis for the improvement of the planning of health and social policies; and, at a local level, a more inclusive planning by the health and social support entities. Interventions at two levels will emerge from the work suggesting: health care data provision; resources allocation definition. This allows for the social and health intervention policies, providing data which enables the coordination of the services aimed.