71 research outputs found

    Medical malpractice – an overview of the main traits of the Portuguese legal system

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    This article offers an overview of the Portuguese legal framework applicable to compensation claims arising from medical activity. The grounds for civil liability concerning medical malpractice cases will be examined, and consequently the conditions will be analyzed that must be met in order to consider that a physician should be held liable for the damage caused to a patient. Special attention will be drawn to the contract to provide medical care and to the differences between contractual liability and noncontractual liability regimes. Finally, the scope and the way to define the quantum of the compensation claim will be regarded.Niniejszy artykuł stanowi przegląd portugalskich ram prawnych w odniesieniu do roszczeń odszkodowawczych z tytułu działalności medycznej. Badaniu poddane zostaną podstawy odpowiedzialności cywilnej z tytułu błędów w sztuce lekarskiej, zaś w dalszej kolejności autorzy dokonają analizy warunków, które należy spełnić celem stwierdzenia, czy lekarz powinien ponieść odpowiedzialność za szkodę wyrządzoną pacjentowi. Szczególna uwaga poświęcona będzie kwestii związanej z świadczeniem opieki medycznej w oparciu o umowę oraz różnicom pomiędzy odpowiedzialnością umowną i pozaumowną. Na koniec rozpatrzony zostanie zakres oraz sposób określania kwot roszczeń odszkodowawczych

    Platinum nanoparticles stabilized by N-heterocyclic thiones. Synthesis and catalytic activity in mono- and di-hydroboration of alkynes

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    N-Heterocyclic Thiones (NHT) proved to be efficient ligands for the stabilization of small platinum nanoparticles (1.3-1.7 nm), synthesized by decomposition of [Pt(dba)2], under a H2 atmosphere, in the presence of variable sub-stoichiometric amounts of the NHT. Full characterization by means of TEM, HR-TEM, NMR, ICP, TGA and XPS have been carried out, providing information about the nature of the metal nanoparticles and the interaction of the NHT ligands to the metal surface. Importantly, DFT calculations indicate that some NHT ligands interact with the metal through the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C double bond of the imidazole fragment in addition to the sulfur atom, thus providing additional stabilization to the nanoparticles. According to XPS, TGA and ICP techniques, the surface coverage by the ligand increases by decreasing the size of the substituents on the nitrogen atom. The platinum nanoparticles have been used as catalyst in the hydroboration of alkynes. The most active system is that with a less covered surface area lacking an interaction of the ligand by means of the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C double bond. This catalyst hydroborates alkynes with excellent selectivities towards the monoborylated anti-Markovnikov product (vinyl-boronate) when one equiv. of borane is used. Very interestingly, aliphatic alkynes undergo a second hydroborylation process leading to the corresponding 1,1- and 1,2-diboroylated species with good selectivities towards the former.España MINECO (Projects CTQ2016-76267-P, CTQ2016-80814-R and CTQ2016- 81797-REDC)España Junta de Andalucía Project FQM-212

    Body mass index categories and attained height in Portuguese adults

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    Objective: To analyze the associations between height and BMI categories in a Portuguese representative sample. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a representative sample of 32,644 Portuguese adults (52.4% females). Sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics were obtained along with self-reported height and weight. We performed generalized linear models to assess the differences in attained height across BMI categories; analyses were adjusted for age, gender, education, family income per month, proxy reporting information, dietary patterns, and smoking. Results: BMI categories included underweight and normal weight (46.4%), overweight (37.6%), obese class I and II (15.2%), and obese class III (0.8%). Adults with normal weight had a significantly higher height (females +7 cm and males +5 cm) when compared to obese class III. As BMI categories increased, height decreased. In females and males, after adjusting for confounders, estimates of attained height decreased when compared to the unadjusted model (beta = -0.049, 95% CI = -0.050; -0.049 and beta = -0.030, 95% CI = -0.031; -0.029, respectively), although they remained still significant. Conclusion: Our results suggest a significant difference in attained height between BMI categories. Future intervention programs aiming at preventing overweight and obesity should monitor sociodemographic, health and environmental conditions that affect attained height potential.- (undefined

    “Follow the whistle: physical activity is calling you”: evaluation of implementation and impact of a Portuguese nationwide mass media campaign to promote physical activity

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    To raise perceived capability (C), opportunity (O) and motivation (M) for physical activity (PA) behaviour (B) among adults, the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health developed a mass media campaign named “Follow the Whistle”, based on behaviour change theory and social marketing principles. Comprehensive formative and process evaluation suggests this media-led campaign used best-practice principles. The campaign adopted a population-wide approach, had clear behavioural goals, and clear multi-strategy implementation. We assessed campaign awareness and initial impact using pre (n = 878, 57% women) and post-campaign (n = 1319, 58% women) independent adult population samples via an online questionnaire, comprising socio-demographic factors, campaign awareness and recall, and psychosocial and behavioural measures linked to the COM-B model. PA was assessed with IPAQ and the Activity Choice Index. The post-campaign recall was typical of levels following national campaigns (24%). Post-campaign measures were higher for key theory-based targets (all p < 0.05), namely self-efficacy, perceived opportunities to be more active and intrinsic motivation. The impact on social norms and self-efficacy was moderated by campaign awareness. Concerning PA, effects were found for vigorous activity (p < 0.01), but not for incidental activity. Overall the campaign impacted key theory-based intermediate outcomes, but did not influence incidental activity, which highlights the need for sustained and repeated campaign efforts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Integrating sustainable approaches in distance learning universities: the experience of Universidade Aberta

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    CCS 2023. 5ª Conferência Campus Sustentável, realizada em Viana do Castelo, de 26-27 de outubro de 2023One of the key components in practicing sustainability and developing a sustainable Higher Education Institution (HEI) is the role played by the institution community including students and its staff, both administrative and academics according to a whole-campus approach. However, there is still a lack of how to integrate sustainability-related approaches into the HEIs, by involving the whole community of the HEI, in particular in distance-learning institutions. Recognizing this lack, Universidade Aberta (UAb), the Portuguese Distance Learning University, has recently integrated sustainability approaches into the University actions by establishing the “UAb Sustainable Campus Group” in 2021. In line with Agenda 2030, the Group promotes the sustainability approaches at UAb in 5 core elements of sustainability actions at HEIs: i) planning and administration, ii) operation and innovation, iii) academia and research, iv) assessment and reporting, and v) involvement with the community. This paper aims to reveal the recent sustainability initiatives (2021-2023) carried out by the Group and enlighten how a distance-learning University's actions, programs, and approaches have been integrated into the core elements of sustainability actions at HEIs. Several steps were implemented to address sustainability initiatives at UAb based on the proposed framework, considering: 1) “planning and administration”, by the formal commitment to sustainability that arose in the UAb Strategic Plan (2019-2023) to enforce sustainability initiatives centered on people and social commitment; 2) “operation”, by UAb contribution to the resource efficiency programs; 3) “academia and research”, by designing a micro-credential module entitled “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, that were piloted in the academic year 2022-2023 and were evaluated the students’ knowledge improvement on SDGs and sustainability and their perceptions on the effectiveness of the training through pre- and postquestionnaires; 4) “assessment and reporting”, through self-assessment and reporting tools, among them, Time Higher Education Impact Ranking, which ranked the UAb sustainability initiatives towards SDGs 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 17. Also, with the collaboration of the administrative staff, the UAb Ecological Footprint (EF) was self-assessed through the University Ecological Footprint Calculator, which allows HEIs to calculate their consumption of natural resources and ecosystem services within the direct and indirect responsibilities of the administration, by bearing in mind the specific feature of distance learning. The results for “planning and administration” showed the UAb commitment to sustainable campus by the signatory of several associations, e.g., RCS-Portugal, AASHE - Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, and Lisbon Green Commitment to implement a set of measures to reduce the environmental impacts by 2030. In the “operation” element, the results revealed the UAb contribution to the Resource Efficiency Program in Public Administration - ECO.AP 2030 to reduce the consumption of resources and respective Greenhouse Gas emissions facilities, as well as the Energy Saving Plan (2022-2023). The results of the “academia and research” element based on the SDGs course showed the students’ knowledge improvement of both Sustainability and SDGs and a high level of satisfaction with the training, mainly appreciating the “diversified learning resources”. The results of the “assessment and reporting” based on THE displayed the UAb improvement on SDGs 4 and 5. The results of the EF calculator disclosed that “staff labour” was the main driver of the UAb Footprint in direct responsibility, whereas “energy consumption at home” was the main indirect contributor to the UAb Footprint, which showed the effect of distance learning on the results. Future work of the Group includes offering the SDGs micro-credential, targeting also public and private organizations, and later as a formal curricular unit in various degrees, thus enhancing the “involving the community” element. Also, based on the results of the assessment tools, the major drivers of unsustainability at UAb will be identified to assist the necessary improvement to reduce the environmental impact of UAb, thus reinforcing its commitment to building a more sustainable community. The framework for the implementation of sustainability in UAb can be adapted and tested in other HEI to produce robust knowledge and action in this context.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

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

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    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
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