La intervención humor en la interacción enfermero-paciente

Objective: To describe the factors influencing the use of humor in nursing care, its applicability and benefits. Method: A scoping review was performed using the Arksey and O’Mally methodology. A search for articles published between 2008 and 2018 was performed using the platforms EBSCO Host, Virtual Health Library and Google Scholar. Results: From the initial 465 articles found, 17 were included for final revision. Data allowed to retrieve information on humor definition; its applicability as a nursing intervention; humor as a tool to improve nurse-patient communication and relationship; influence factors; type of humor interventions; humor benefits in health care context and; limitations and precautions of humor intervention. Conclusion: The use of humor promotes both communication and human interaction; it promotes well-being; helps deal/cope with difficult and unpleasant situations, reduces tension, discomfort and stress; and strengthens the immune system. This intervention should be used with caution

Subjective wellbeing, sense of humor and psychological health in hemodialysis patients

Objective: To investigate the relationship between satisfaction with life in general, sense of humor, and anxiety, depression and stress with subjective happiness in chronic kidney disease patients undergoing hemodialysis. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional and correlational study was developed in two units of the Diaverum dialysis clinic and one hospital unit, with 183 chronic kidney disease patients undergoing hemodialysis. An instrument was used to characterize the sociodemographic and clinical profile of the sample (age, gender, nationality, education, occupation, marital status, dialysis sessions length, presence of hypertension and diabetes): the subjective happiness scale; the satisfaction with life in general; depression, anxiety and stress scale 21; and multidimensional sense of humor scale. Inferential procedures included Spearman correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression adjusting to age, marital status, professional activity and diabetes.Results: Subjective Happiness was positively correlated with satisfaction with life in general, and the three dimensions of Sense of Humor. Nevertheless, subjective happiness was negatively correlated with stress / anxiety and depression. Satisfaction with life in general, humor production and social use of humor, and attitude towards humor had a positive relationship with subjective happiness. However, depression had a negative relationship with subjective happiness. Conclusions: Higher levels of subjective happiness were associated with higher levels of satisfaction with life in general, and sense of humor, however they were also associated with lower levels of depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis

Psychological vulnerability, anxiety and personal well-being in athletes

Introduction and objectives: Our preparation for dealing with challenges, either tasks of our daily lives or competing in sports events, may be related to some specific changes in a physiological or cognitive point of view or to broader changes in our well-being. In the context of mental health, the perception of our vulnerability, as well as the indicators of how we function psychologically (dependence, automatic negative thoughts, etc.) can have an impact on our anxiety, both somatic and cognitive, and on our general well-being. Thus, the aim of our study is to verify, in endurance athletes, whether the perception of vulnerability (in mental and psychological health) is related to anxiety and well-being. Methodology: It is a transversal and correlational study in a non-probabilistic sample of 47 endurance athletes (Triathlon/Mountain Bike), 41 men and six women. On average, they are 25 years old, most of them have primary/secondary education, single, non-smokers and without chronic diseases. The instruments used were: Anxiety Scale in Sport, Personal Welfare Index, Psychological Vulnerability Scale and a question on Perception of Vulnerability regarding mental health. The data were collected with the informed consent of the participants who filled out the instruments provided at the beginning of the competition season. Results and Discussion: The results show that psychological vulnerability is positively correlated with somatic anxiety, cognitive (worries) and total anxiety as a trait. It is also negatively correlated with the personal welfare index. Mental health vulnerability perception is positively correlated with psychological vulnerability and with cognitive anxiety (focus disorder). Conclusions: This study is a relevant contribution for mental health technicians, especially for nurses, since it adds information on the biopsychosocial variables associated with athletes’ mental health, providing guidelines to create specific programs to promote Mental Health and to prevent morbidity

Anxiety and depression in the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in a Portuguese sample: exploratory study

In previous studies, it was found that the confinement to which the population was subjected during the quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic increased the risk of anxiety and depression. Objective: to analyze the levels of anxiety and depression symptoms in Portugal residents during the quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a descriptive, transversal, and exploratory study of non-probabilistic sampling. Data collection was carried out between 6th and 31st of May 2020. Sociodemographic and health questionnaires PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were used. Results: The sample consisted of 920 individuals. The prevalence for depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 5) was 68.2% and (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) was 34.8%, and for anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 ≥ 5) was 60.4% and (GAD-7 ≥ 10) was 20%. Depressive symptoms were moderately severe for 8.9% of the individuals, and 4.8% presented severe depression. Regarding the generalized anxiety disorder, we found that 11.6% of individuals present moderate symptoms, and 8.4% severe anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms were substantially higher than those previously found for the Portuguese population and when compared with other countries during the pandemic. Younger individuals, female, with chronic illness and medicated, were more vulnerable to depressive and anxious symptoms. In contrast, participants who maintained frequent levels of physical activity during confinement had their mental health protected.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Escala de Satisfação com o Suporte Social em pessoas com Esquizofrenia: análise das propriedades psicométricas

Objective: to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Social Support Satisfaction Scale in people with schizophrenia. Methods: psychometric study, with a convenience sample, consisting of 282 people diagnosed with schizophrenia. The psychometric properties: validity (construct, criterion) and reliability (Cronbach's α) of the Social Support Satisfaction Scale in people with schizophrenia were evaluated. WHOQOL-Bref was used for criterion validity. Results: the Social Support Satisfaction Scale presented four distinct dimensions of satisfaction with friends (α=0.88), satisfaction with family (α=0.89), intimacy (α=0.72) and social activities (α=0.77), being associated with health-related quality of life. Conclusions: the scale of satisfaction with social support has similar psychometric properties to the original, being valid and reliable when applied in people with schizophrenia. Thus, it is valid for use in this population both in the clinical context and research

Mental health, quality of life and optimism during the covid-19 pandemic: a comparison between Brazil and Portugal

Purpose Although there have been numerous studies investigating the mental health of individuals during the pandemic, a comparison between countries is still scarce in the literature. To explore this gap, the present study aimed to compare the mental health (i.e., anxiety and depression), quality of life (QoL), and optimism/pessimism among individuals from Brazil and Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated factors. Method A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and Portugal. Data collection was carried out between May and June 2020, using an online form which was sent through social networks. A total of 2069 participants (1156 from Brazil and 913 from Portugal) were included. Depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), Anxiety (GAD-7), optimism/pessimism (Revised Life Orientation Test – LOT), QoL (WHOQOL-Bref), and sociodemographic, health, and social distancing variables were assessed. Data was analyzed using univariate and multivariate models. Results There were remarkable diferences between Brazil and Portugal in all outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including higher levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and optimism for the Brazilian individuals and higher levels of QoL and pessimism for the Portuguese individuals. The following factors were associated with the mental health and QoL in both Brazilian and Portuguese populations: gender, age, being a healthcare professional, and days in social distancing. Conclusion Despite the fact that Brazilians were more optimistic during the COVID-19 pandemic, they had lower levels of mental health and QoL as compared to the Portuguese individuals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Relationship between quality of life and alcohol consumption in adolescents

Background: Adolescence is characterized by the development of identity, the desire for autonomy and the exploration of the extra-family world. It is a period in which some additive substances are taken, namely alcohol, which can have consequences on health and quality of life.Objective: to analyze the association between quality of life domains and alcohol consumption in adolescents. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study conducted with 316 high school adolescents in three state public schools in Jequié, Bahia, Brazil. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and the WHOQOL-bref were used. Results: The sample is mostly female (56.3%) with an average age of 15.9 years. The results show that 14.6% of participants had a low risk alcohol consumption, 66.1% a risky drink, 17.4% a harmful drink and 1.9% a probable dependence. When comparing the low-risk students with the others, there were statistically significant differences in quality of life in the general domains (t=-2,25, p=0,025), psychological domain (t=-2,57, p=0,011) and social relations domain (t=-2,06, p=0,040). There were statistically significant and positive associations between alcohol consumption and the psychological domain (r=0,24, p<0,0001) and with the social relations domain (r=0,12, p<0,043). Conclusions: The higher the alcohol consumption, the lower the perception of quality of life in the general, psychological and social relations domains. Both health and educational policies are recommended to be reviewed in order to reduce alcohol consumption

Dynamics of pastures and fodder crops for Mirandesa cattle breed - II Mineral composition

Mirandesa cattle are a local breed from the Northeast region of Portugal, playing an important role on the maintenance of the rural spaces, contributing to the fixation of the populations and to the environmental preservation. The aim of this study is to characterize the feed resources (mineral composition) available along the year in this farming system. The animals graze natural pastures in Spring and beginning of Summer, being after fed with hays (of natural pasture or oat) and straws (oat, barley or wheat). Samples of feeds were taken from three different farms in two consecutive years and analysed for crude protein (CP), cell wall components, minerals and in vitro organic matter digestibility (OMD). Data were evaluated using ANOVA statistical approach. Results of organic composition of feeds were presented by Galvão et al. (EAAP, 2005). For mineral composition, seasonal variations were observed in natural pastures with decreases of K and P (from Spring to Summer 2 to 0.97 and 0.33 to 0.18% DM, respectively). Farm variations were observed for Ca, K and Mg. Regarding hays composition, differences were observed for Ca and Mg contents which was lower for oat hay, compared with that from natural pasture (0.16 vs 0.32 and 0.08 vs 0.15% DM, respectively). The composition of straws varied between farms and type of straw

Professional satisfaction of nurses in caring for the patient with chronic disease

Contexto: A satisfação profissional dos enfermeiros no cuidar do doente com doença crónica, seja em ambulatório ou em internamento, influencia a qualidade dos cuidados e a satisfação global dos enfermeiros. Objetivos: Identificar fatores de satisfação profissional do enfermeiro no cuidar do doente com doença crónica. Métodos: Realizou-se uma revisão scoping usando a metodologia proposta por Joanna Briggs Institute. A pesquisa incluiu artigos de pesquisa original publicados entre 2015 a 2018, nas línguas inglesa, portuguesa e espanhola. Resultados: Dos 68 artigos obtidos, foram analisados 23 estudos dos quais apenas 4 correspondiam aos critérios de inclusão. Os fatores de satisfação profissional identificados foram: a influência do ambiente de trabalho na prática de cuidados, as relações interpessoais entre profissionais/doente e família e realização profissional dos enfermeiros. Como fatores de insatisfação profissional observaram-se: as condições de trabalho, a sobrecarga de trabalho associado ao sofrimento e à morte do doente que podem levar a uma exaustão psicológica, e a desvalorização profissional e remuneratória. Conclusões: O enfermeiro gestor pode delinear estratégias adequadas para promover a satisfação profissional junto das equipas e da organização