Tackling ageism in the healthcare system: a community perspective

The UNAIDS political declaration of June 2021 [1] calls for transformative action to end inequalities and end HIV transmission by 2030, and explicitly recognizes that ageing people with HIV face stigma and discrimination across multiple aspects of their lives. UNAIDS is unambiguous in its call to reinforce responses to HIV across the age spectrum, to ensure that the needs of ageing people with HIV are met and that their lives are free from stigma and discrimination. Research into ageing people with HIV that examines the intersectionality of stigmas will play a part in advancing the United Nations 2030 Agenda. This contribution frames ageism as one of the last remaining pillars of stigma and one of the main barriers hindering the ability of ageing people living with HIV to achieve and sustain a good health-related quality of life (HRQOL). For people living with HIV, sexual health and intimate partner relationships are important components of HRQOL and emotional well-being across the life span [2, 3]. Although their importance has been increasingly recognized in the literature [4, 5], the sexuality of ageing people living with HIV is often considered of little importance when assessing HRQOL, despite evidence that older adults continue to desire romantic relationships, intimacy and sexual activity [6, 7]. This would suggest that sexuality, sexual health and sexual desires need to be considered in the assessment of HRQOL

Determinantes do nível de Liquidez das empresas exportadoras portuguesas

Os temas relacionados com a tesouraria e liquidez das empresas têm sido estudados por diversos autores ao longo dos tempos, devido à sua maior relevância na gestão das organizações, derivada das maiores dificuldades de financiamento consequentes das recentes crises económicas e financeiras que condicionaram bastante o setor bancário e entidades associadas. Assim, o objetivo desta dissertação, é estudar as variáveis que influenciam positivamente ou negativamente, a gestão de tesouraria e os níveis de liquidez necessários para o normal funcionamento das empresas analisadas. Começou-se por realizar um enquadramento teórico sobre os temas base do estudo, desenvolvendo-se uma reflexão sobre os principais conceitos associados à tesouraria das empresas e uma interligação entre autofinanciamento, liquidez e meios financeiros líquidos. Concluiu-se o enquadramento teórico com uma caracterização sobre as principais teorias desenvolvidas ao longo do tempo para explicar os determinantes do nível de liquidez das empresas. No primeiro ponto incluído no estudo empírico foi efetuada uma caracterização da evolução recente das exportações portuguesas, tendo-se observado que nos últimos anos o valor das vendas para o exterior tem aumentado progressivamente, destacando-se o mercado comunitário como o principal destino dos produtos nacionais, representando em 2018, cerca de 74% do total das exportações portuguesas. De seguida, foi realizado o estudo dos determinantes do nível de liquidez das 250 maiores empresas exportadoras portuguesas para o mercado comunitário. As variáveis analisadas, que apresentaram relações relevantes com o nível de liquidez foram: Peso dos meios libertos líquidos retidos no ativo total líquido; Z score da Análise Discriminante de Altman, representativo do nível de restrições de financiamento das empresas; Dimensão do ativo líquido total;Peso dos ativos correntes corrigidos dos meios financeiros líquidos no ativo total líquido; Rendibilidade operacional.Issues related to corporate treasury and liquidity have been studied by various authors over the years, due to their greater relevance in the management of organizations, related to the greater financing difficulties resulting from the recent economic and financial crises that severely conditioned the banking sector. and associated entities. Thus, the objective of this dissertation is to study the variables that positively or negatively influence the cash management and the liquidity levels necessary for the normal operation of the analyzed companies. It began by providing a theoretical framework on the basic themes of the study, developing a reflection on the main concepts associated with corporate treasury and an interconnection between self-financing, liquidity and liquid financial means. The theoretical framework was concluded with a characterization of the main theories developed over time to explain the determinants of companies' liquidity level. In the first point included in the empirical study, was made a characterization of the recent evolution of Portuguese exports, and it has been observed that in recent years the value of foreign sales has increased steadily, with the Community market being the main destination of domestic products, representing in 2018, about 74% of total Portuguese exports. Next, the liquidity determinants of the 250 largest Portuguese exporting companies to the Community market were studied. The variables analyzed, which presented relevant relations with the liquidity level were: Weight of net assets retained in total net assets; Z score from Altman's Discriminant Analysis, representative of the level of corporate funding constraints; Dimension of total net assets; Weight of current assets adjusted for net financial assets in total net assets; Operating profitability

Hepatitis C antibody prevalence and behavioral correlates in people who inject drugs attending harm reduction services in Lisbon, Portugal

Copyright © 2022 Curado, Nogueira, Virgolino, Santa Maria, Mendão, Furtado and Antunes. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important public health problem, affecting millions of people worldwide. People who inject drugs (PWID) are at increased risk of HCV infection due to, among other factors, widespread unsafe injecting practices, such as sharing of infected equipment or unprotected sexual practices. In Portugal, there is a lack of data regarding the proportion of infected persons through injecting drug use. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-HCV prevalence and behavioral correlates of infection in PWID attending harm reduction services in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, Portugal. A cross-sectional study with a purposive sample of PWID was undertaken between March 2018 and March 2020. Participants were recruited through the harm-reduction services of a nongovernmental organization. A rapid diagnostic test for anti-HCV screening was performed. Data on drug consumption history and current practices, past HCV testing, care and treatment history, and knowledge regarding hepatitis C were also collected through a questionnaire applied by trained inquirers. A total of 176 PWID participated in this study. An overall prevalence of 70.5% of anti-HCV positive in this population was found. Those with an anti-HCV positive testing result tended to start consuming at a younger age and have a higher consumption of benzodiazepines in the last 30 days. Sharing needles and other injecting material is a frequent risk behavior among this group. Also, they are more likely to have attended an opioid agonist treatment and to have undertaken previous hepatitis C and HIV tests in the past. This study represents an important effort to better understand the HCV prevalence and behavioral correlates of infection among PWID in Portugal, as well as to better estimate those in need of HCV treatment.This study was funded by Gillead Sciences Portugal (https://www.gilead.com/utility/global-operations/europe/portugal/portugal-translation) and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (https://www.fct.pt/), grant numbers UIDB/04295/2020 and UIDP/04295/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vector-Borne Diseases - constant challenge for practicing veterinarians: recommendations from the CVBD World Forum

The human-animal bond has been a fundamental feature of mankind's history for millennia. The first, and strongest of these, man's relationship with the dog, is believed to pre-date even agriculture, going back as far as 30,000 years. It remains at least as powerful today. Fed by the changing nature of the interactions between people and their dogs worldwide and the increasing tendency towards close domesticity, the health of dogs has never played a more important role in family life. Thanks to developments in scientific understanding and diagnostic techniques, as well as changing priorities of pet owners, veterinarians are now able, and indeed expected, to play a fundamental role in the prevention and treatment of canine disease, including canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs)

Implementation Process and Impacts of a Participatory HIV Research Project with Key Populations

A participatory HIV research project was conducted with sex workers (SW) and men who have sex with men (MSM) to understand epidemiological HIV dynamics and associated sociobehavioural factors among these vulnerable groups. We examine the impact of this project, critically analysing the processes undertaken and focusing on the advantages and the challenges faced. A partnership was built through two Community Advisory Boards (CABs) and a Scientific Commission (SC). Regular meetings, workshops, and focus groups were conducted with CABs, SC, and partners to assess the processes and outcomes of the project implementation. This participatory research produced change processes with impacts at different levels: individuals, community organizations, health professionals, academics, and policy-makers. Advantages of the participatory process were encountered but also challenges, evidencing the dynamic and complex nature of each project’s stage. This project showed that participatory research can work as an intervention. Indeed, it triggered a dynamic and interactive process of knowledge coproduction and translation into effective community-oriented health actions and policies. The participatory research reproduced an innovative alliance for HIV prevention and sexual health promotion responsive to local needs and priorities. Further efforts are needed to systematize and evaluate the processes and impacts of participatory health research

Managing Multimorbidity: How Can the Patient Experience be Improved?

The patient's experience of their own healthcare is an important aspect of care quality that has been shown to improve clinical and other outcomes. Very little is currently known about patient experience in the management of multimorbidity, although preliminary evidence suggests that it may be poor. Individuals with multimorbidity report better experiences of care when they are knowledgeable and involved in the decision-making, when their care is well coordinated, and communication is good. A greater focus on disease prevention, stronger collaboration between health and social care services, and the provision of more integrated care for people with mental and physical health problems would also help to improve the patient experience. Advocacy groups can amplify the patient voice and improve access to care, as well as provide information and support to patients and their families. Patients have an important role in preventing multimorbidity and improving its management, and should be involved in the development of health policies and the delivery of healthcare services. Inequalities in access to quality healthcare must also be addressed

Como potenciar a produção e translação de conhecimento na investigação participativa? A experiência de um projeto na área do VIH/Sida

Um desafio da investigação em saúde pública tem sido promover a utilização do conhecimento científico produzido em estratégias de ação e políticas de saúde mais eficazes, adequadas e que, consequentemente, se traduzam em efetivos ganhos em saúde. A translação do conhecimento tem, assim, assumido uma importância crítica para a investigação em saúde. Neste artigo pretende-se refletir sobre como se procurou potenciar a translação de conhecimento num projeto de investigação participativa na área do VIH/Sida. O projeto PREVIH teve como objetivo contribuir para promover a saúde sexual, reduzir a transmissão da infeção pelo VIH e melhorar o acesso aos cuidados de saúde de homens que têm sexo com homens e trabalhadores do sexo em Portugal, bem como promover a capacitação e o advocacy dos vários intervenientes. Através da abordagem participativa, o projeto constituiu uma intervenção que, enquanto processo de inovação social, contribuiu para a criação de novas sinergias e para a mudança do sistema, alterando atividades existentes, criando novos papéis e redistribuindo e transformando recursos por toda a rede. Esta experiência desencadeou um processo dinâmico e interativo de produção de conhecimento e sua tradução em iniciativas efetivas para a melhoria da saúde das populações.publishersversionpublishe