Univers 2.0. Plataforma de comunicació i participació de l’Univers

Projecte presentat al Premi a la Qualitat de la Gestió Universitària, convocat pel Consell Social de la UPC, edició 2011.El projecte Univers 2.0 que presentem es va iniciar ara fa 10 anys i avui encara prossegueix el seu camí ja que estem obligats a innovar i millorar la forma de relacionar-nos amb la comunitat. Això no obstant, els resultats obtinguts fruït de l’anàlisi i la millora contínua ens han engrescat a presentar la Plataforma de comunicació i participació de l’Univers per optar al Premi de Qualitat 2011.Postprint (author's final draft

El Plan de comunicación UPC Sostenible 2015

Desde hace ya años, la UPC ha desarrollado dos Planes de Medio Ambiente. Actualmente, está vigente el Plan UPC Sostenible 2015, que supone un cambio en varios aspectos: la transición del enfoque ambiental hacia a el enfoque del desarrollo humano sostenible, el refuerzo del rol social de la universidad y la apertura al entorno, la orientación al futuro, y las prioridades temáticas.Peer Reviewe

Elaboració d’una pàgina web de recerca socioeducativa: INVESTIGA!

Podeu consultar el document complet a: http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/handle/2445/65797El projecte que es presenta preten millorar l’assoliment de les competències seleccionades dels estudiants que cursen les dues assignatures metodològiques de formació bàsica del grau d'educació social: 'Investigació Socieducativa' i 'Recerca i Avaluació en el Camp Socioeducatiu', recaient la seva formació en una millor preparació per a la realització de la modalitat de recerca en el Treball Final de Grau. Per tal de poder assolir aquest objectiu, hem identificat i analitzat les necessitats dels estudiants; elaborat les activitats i sistematització de recursos de recerca socioeducativa i aplicat i avaluat les activitats proposades. Aquest pla de treball ha derivat en la creació d’una página web (Investiga!), on l’alumnat pot accedir a continguts, eines, recursos, activitats, treballs i més sobre recerca socioeducativa. Aquesta web, no només suposa una eina de formació complementària molt útil i significativa per a l’alumnat que respon a una necessitat detectada, sinó que suposa, d’acord amb el procés de convergència europea, el profesor com a “facilitador” de l’aprenentatge de l’alumnat

Validation of a new tool to assess health-related quality of life in psoriasis: the PSO-LIFE questionnaire

BACKGROUND: Several questionnaires have been used to measure health related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with psoriasis, few have been adapted for use in Spain; none of them was developed specifically for the Spanish population. The purpose of the study was to validate and assess the sensitivity to change of a new questionnaire to measure HRQOL in patients with psoriasis (PSO-LIFE). METHODS: Observational, prospective, multicenter study performed in centers around Spain. Patients with active or inactive psoriasis completed the PSO-LIFE together with other Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DLQI) and Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI). A control group of patients with urticaria or atopic dermatitis was also included. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the PSO-LIFE were assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Validity was assessed by examining factorial structure, the capacity to discriminate between groups, and correlations with other measures. Sensitivity to change was measured using effect sizes. RESULTS: The final sample included for analysis consisted of 304 patients and 56 controls. Mean (SD) age of psoriasis patients was 45.3 (14.5) years compared to 38.8 (14) years for controls (p < 0.01). Cronbach’s alpha for the PSO-LIFE was 0.95 and test-retest reliability using the ICC was 0.98. Factor analysis showed the questionnaire to be unidimensional. Mean (SD) PSO-LIFE scores differed between patients with psoriasis and controls (64.9 [22.5] vs 69.4 [17.3]; p < 0.05), between those with active and inactive disease (57.4 [20.4] vs 76.4 [20.6]; p < 0.01), and between those with visible and non-visible lesions (63.0 [21.9] vs. 74.8 [23.9]; p < 0.01). The correlation between PSO-LIFE and PASI scores was moderate (r = −0.43) while correlations with DLQI and PDI dimensions ranged from moderate to high (between 0.4 and 0.8). Effect size on the PSO-LIFE in patients reporting ‘much improved’ health status at study completion was 1.01 (large effect size). CONCLUSIONS: The present results provide substantial support for the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the PSO-LIFE questionnaire in the population for which it was designed

Integrated pollution-based real-time control of sanitation systems

© 2020. ElsevierAn integrated pollution-based real-time control (RTC) approach is proposed for a sewer network (SN) integrated with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in a sanitation system (SS) to mitigate the impacts of pollution from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) on ecosystems. To obtain the optimal solution for the SS while considering both quantity and quality dynamics for multiple objectives, model predictive control (MPC) is selected as the optimal control method. To integrate SN and WWTP management, a feedback coordination algorithm is developed. A closed-loop virtual-reality simulator is used to assess the results of the optimal management approach achieved by applying MPC. The Badalona SS (Spain) provides a pilot case study to assess the efficacy and applicability of the proposed approach. A comparison with local rule-based and volume-based control strategies currently in use indicates that the proposed integrated pollution-based RTC approach can reduce the pollutant loads released to the receiving environment.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Passive exposure and perceptions of smoke-free policies in hospital and university campuses among nursing students: A cross-sectional multicenter study

INTRODUCTION Outdoor smoke-free regulations reduce exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) and help to denormalize tobacco use. As future key agents in health promotion, nursing students’ attitudes should agree with tobacco-control policies.The bjectives of this study were: 1) assess nursing students’ exposure to SHS in nursing schools, 2) explore their perceptions of compliance with the existing smoke-free regulations in acute-care hospitals; and 3) describe their support for indoor and outdoor smoking bans on hospital and university campuses. METHODS This was a cross-sectional multicenter study conducted in 2015–2016 in all 15 university nursing schools in Catalonia, Spain. A questionnaire gathered information on SHS exposure, awareness of the smoke-free regulation in acutecare hospitals, and support for smoke-free policies in indoor and outdoor areas of hospitals and university campuses. Participants were nursing students attending classes on the day of the survey. We performed descriptive analyses and calculated adjusted prevalence ratios (APR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS Of 4381 respondents, 99.1% had seen people smoking in outdoor areas of their university campus, and 75.2% had been exposed to SHS on the campus (6.0% indoors and 69.2% outdoors). Nearly 60% were aware of the smoking regulation in place in acute-care hospitals. There was widespread support for smoke-free indoor hospital regulation (98.7%), but less support (64.8%) for outdoor regulations. Approximately 33% supported the regulation to make outdoor healthcare campuses smoke-free, which was higher among third-year students compared to first-year students (APR=1.41; 95% CI: 1.24–1.62), among never smokers (41.4%; APR=2.84; 95% CI: 2.21–3.64) compared to smokers, and among those who were aware of the regulation (38.4%; 95% CI: 1.37–1.75). CONCLUSIONS Exposure to SHS on university campuses is high. Nursing students express low support for strengthening outdoor smoking bans on hospital and university campuses. Interventions aiming to increase their support should be implemented

Tobacco control policies in hospitals before and after the implementation of a national smoking ban in Catalonia, Spain

Background: Diverse projects and guidelines to assist hospitals towards the attainment of comprehensive smoke-free policies have been developed. In 2006, Spain government passed a new smoking ban that reinforce tobacco control policies and banned completely smoking in hospitals. This study assesses the progression of tobacco control policies in the Catalan Network of Smokefree Hospitals before and after a comprehensive national smoking ban. Methods: We used the Self-Audit Questionnaire of the European Network for Smoke-free Hospitals to score the compliance of 9 policy standards (global score = 102). We used two crosssectional surveys to evaluate tobacco control policies before (2005) and after the implementation of a national smoking ban (2007) in 32 hospitals of Catalonia, Spain. We compared the means of the overall score in 2005 and 2007 according to the type of hospital, the number of beds, the prevalence of tobacco consumption, and the number of years as a smoke-free hospital. Results: The mean of the implementation score of tobacco control policies was 52.4 (95% CI:45.4-59.5) in 2005 and 71.6 (95% CI: 67.0-76.2) in 2007 with an increase of 36.7% (p 300 beds (41.1% increase; p < 0.01), hospitals with employees' tobacco consumption prevalence 35-39% (72.2% increase; p < 0.05) and hospitals that had recently implemented smoke-free policies (74.2% increase; p < 0.01). Conclusion: The national smoking ban appears to increase tobacco control activities in hospitals combined with other non-bylaw initiatives such as the Smoke-free Hospital Network

Differences in results and related factors between hospital-at-home modalities in Catalonia: a cross-sectional study

Average stay; Cross-sectional study; Hospital-at-home; MortalityEstancia media; Estudio transversal; Hospital en casa; MortalidadEstada mitjana; Estudi transversal; Hospital a casa; MortalitatHospital-at-home (HaH) is a healthcare modality that provides active treatment by healthcare staff in the patient's home for a condition that would otherwise require hospitalization. The aims were to describe the characteristics of different types of hospital-at-home (HaH), assess their results, and examine which factors could be related to these results. A cross-sectional study based on data from all 2014 HaH contacts from Catalonia was designed. The following HaH modalities were considered-admission avoidance (n = 7,214; 75.1%) and early assisted discharge (n = 2,387; 24.9%). The main outcome indicators were readmission, mortality, and length of stay (days). Multivariable models were fitted to assess the association between explanatory factors and outcomes. Hospital admission avoidance is a scheme in which, instead of being admitted to acute care hospitals, patients are directly treated in their own homes. Early assisted discharge is a scheme in which hospital in-care patients continue their treatment at home. In the hospital avoidance modality, there were 8.3% readmissions, 0.9% mortality, and a mean length of stay (SD) of 9.6 (10.6) days. In the early assisted discharge modality, these figures were 7.9%, 0.5%, and 9.8 (11.1), respectively. In both modalities, readmission and mean length of stay were related to comorbidity and type of hospital, and mortality with age. The results of HaH in Catalonia are similar to those observed in other contexts. The factors related to these results identified might help to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the different HaH modalities

Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial of home-based computerized executive function training for children with cerebral palsy

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is frequently associated with specific cognitive impairments, such as executive dysfunction which are related to participation and quality of life (QOL). The proposed study will examine whether a computerized executive function (EF) training programme could provide superior benefits for executive functioning, participation, QOL and brain plasticity, as compared to usual care. Methods: A single-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) design will be performed. Thirty children with CP aged 8 to 12 years will participate in a home-based computerized multi-modal executive training programme (12 weeks, 5 days a week, 30 min a day training, total dose = 30 h). Thirty children with CP matched by age, sex, motor and intelligence quotient (IQ) will compose the waitlist group. Cognitive, behavioural, emotional, participation and QOL measures will be obtained at three time points: before, immediately after and 9 months after completing the training. Additionally, structural and functional (resting state) magnetic resonance images (MRI) will be obtained in a subsample of 15 children from each group. Outcomes between groups will be compared following standard principles for RCTs. Discussion: The study will test whether the cognitive training programme exerts a positive effect not only on neuropsychological and daily functioning of children with CP but also on other measures such as participation and QOL. We will also use brain MRI to test brain functional and structural changes after the intervention. If this on-line and home-based training programme proves effective, it could be a cost-effective intervention with short- and long-term effects on EF, participation or QOL in CP