Design and Management of Science Enrichment Programmes: connecting scientists with children

This is a final report on two internships I carried out between September 2020 and November 2021 for the completion of my Master’s degree in Science Communication. The first was completed at Native Scientist, a European-wide non-profit organization registered in the UK, where I was given the responsibility to manage one of their science enrichment and outreach programmes – Native Schools. There, I gained a range of soft skills, from programme management to leadership skills. As an outcome of this internship, I co-founded a new, nationwide science enrichment programme in Portugal – @ Cientista Regressa à Escola, a programme that tackles social and educational inequities by promoting the return of scientists to their elementary schools to deliver interactive science workshops. This report also includes the design, implementation and management of the programme. The second internship was hosted by the Communications and Outreach Office of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology of the University of Illinois, United States. There, I gained first-hand experience of working at an office with a different approach to Science Communication and learned about the management of science education programmes in an academic setting. As part of the internship, I conducted a focus group study on the feasibility of setting up a similar programme to @ Cientista Regressa à Escola in the United States. The report ends with my personal contribution to an application for European funds supporting Science Communication and Education projects.Este é o relatório final sobre dois estágios que desenvolvi entre Setembro de 2020 e Novembro de 2021 para a conclusão do meu Mestrado em Comunicação de Ciência. O primeiro foi realizado na Native Scientist, uma organização sem fins lucrativos premiada a nível europeu e registada no Reino Unido, onde geri um dos seus programas educativos – Native Schools. Aí, adquiri diversas competências, desde gestão de programas a capacidades de liderança. Com efeito, co-fundei um novo programa educativo de enriquecimento curricular em Portugal – @ Cientista Regressa à Escola, um programa que colmata desigualdades sociais e educativas promovendo o regresso de cientistas à sua antiga escola primária para desenvolverem oficinas de ciências interativas. Este relatório também aborda o design, implementação e gestão do programa. O segundo estágio decorreu no Gabinete de Comunicação e Outreach do Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology da Universidade de Illinois, Estados Unidos. Lá ganhei experiência direta ao trabalhar num gabinete com uma abordagem diferente face à Comunicação de Ciência e onde aprendi sobre gestão de programas educativos no meio académico. Como parte do estágio, desenvolvi um estudo de focus group sobre a viabilidade de implementar um programa educativo semelhante ao @ Cientista Regressa à Escola nos Estados Unidos. O relatório termina com as minhas contribuições pessoais para uma candidatura a financiamentos europeus, que apoiam projetos de Comunicação e Educação de Ciência

Patient-physician discordance in assessment of adherence to inhaled controller medication: a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts

We aimed to compare patient's and physician's ratings of inhaled medication adherence and to identify predictors of patient-physician discordance.(SFRH/BPD/115169/2016) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029130 ('mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases—generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies') cofunded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Morphological and Postural changes in the foot during pregnancy and puerperium : a longitudinal study

The aim of this study is to observe the morphological and postural changes to the foot that take place during pregnancy and the puerperium. Method: In this descriptive, observational, longitudinal study, we analysed 23 pregnant women, with particular attention to morphological and postural aspects of the foot, at three time points during and after pregnancy: in weeks 9-13 of gestation, weeks 32-35 of gestation and weeks 4-6 after delivery. The parameters considered were changes in foot length, the Foot Posture Index (FPI) and the Hernández Corvo Index, which were analysed using a pedigraph and taking into account the Body Mass Index (BMI). The same procedure was conducted in each review. Results: The statistical analyses obtained for each foot did not differ significantly between the three measurement times. A pronator-type footprint was most frequently observed during the third trimester of pregnancy; it was predominantly neutral during the postpartum period. Statistically significant differences between the measurement times were obtained in the right foot for cavus vs. neutral foot type (between the first and third trimesters and also between the first trimester and the puerperium) (in both cases, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Foot length increases in the third trimester and returns to normal in the puerperium. According to FPI findings, the third trimester of pregnancy is characterised by pronation, while the posture returns to neutrality during the postpartum period. During pregnancy, the plantar arch flattens, and this persists during the puerperium. The incidence of cavus foot increases significantly in the third trimester and in the puerperium

Identification of clusters of asthma control: A preliminary analysis of the inspirers studies

This work was funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI- -01-0145-FEDER-029130 (“mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases - generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies”) co-funded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).© 2020, Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clinica. All rights reserved. Aims: To identify distinct asthma control clusters based on Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) and to compare patients’ characteristics among these clusters. Methods: Adults and adolescents (≥13 years) with persistent asthma were recruited at 29 Portuguese hospital outpatient clinics, in the context of two observational studies of the INSPIRERS project. Demographic and clinical characteristics, adherence to inhaled medication, beliefs about inhaled medication, anxiety and depression, quality of life, and asthma control (CARAT, >24 good control) were collected. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using CARAT total score (CARAT-T). Results: 410 patients (68% adults), with a median (percentile 25–percentile 75) age of 28 (16-46) years, were analysed. Three clusters were identified [mean CARAT-T (min-max)]: cluster 1 [27(24-30)], cluster 2 [19(14-23)] and cluster 3 [10(2-13)]. Patients in cluster 1 (34%) were characterised by better asthma control, better quality of life, higher inhaler adherence and use of a single inhaler. Patients in clusters 2 (50%) and 3 (16%) had uncontrolled asthma, lower inhaler adherence, more symptoms of anxiety and depression and more than half had at least one exacerbation in the previous year. Further-more, patients in cluster 3 were predominantly female, had more unscheduled medical visits and more anxiety symp-toms, perceived a higher necessity of their prescribed inhalers but also higher levels of concern about taking these inhalers. There were no differences in age, body mass index, lung function, smoking status, hospital admissions or specialist physician follow-up time among the three clusters. Conclusion: An unsupervised method based on CARAT--T, identified 3 clusters of patients with distinct, clinically meaningful characteristics. The cluster with better asthma control had a cut-off similar to the established in the validation study of CARAT and an additional cut-off seems to distinguish more severe disease. Further research is necessary to validate the asthma control clusters identified.publishersversionpublishe

Symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with persistent asthma : a cross-sectional analysis of the INSPIRERS studies

ObjectivesAnxiety and depression are relevant comorbidities in asthma, but, in Portugal and Spain, data on this topic are scarce. We assessed, in patients with asthma, the frequency of anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the European Quality of Life Five Dimension Questionnaire (EQ-5D); the level of agreement between these questionnaires, and the factors associated with these symptoms.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of the INSPIRERS studies. A total of 614 adolescents and adults with persistent asthma (32.6 +/- 16.9 years, 64.7% female) were recruited from 30 primary care centres and 32 allergy, pulmonology and paediatric clinics. Demographic and clinical characteristics, HADS and EQ-5D were collected. A score &gt;= 8 on Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety/Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression or a positive answer to EQ-5D item 5 indicated the presence of these symptoms. Agreement was determined by Cohen's kappa. Two multivariable logistic regressions were built.ResultsAccording to HADS, 36% of the participants had symptoms of anxiety and 12% of depression. According to EQ-5D, 36% of the participants had anxiety/depression. The agreement between questionnaires in identifying anxiety/depression was moderate (k=0.55, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.62). Late asthma diagnosis, comorbidities and female gender were predictors of anxiety/depression, while better asthma control, health-related quality of life and perception of health were associated with lower odds for anxiety/depression.ConclusionAt least 1/3 of the patients with persistent asthma experience symptoms of anxiety/depression, showing the relevance of screening these disorders in patients with asthma. EQ-5D and HADS questionnaires showed a moderate agreement in the identification of anxiety/depression symptoms. The identified associated factors need to be further investigated in long-term studies