Effectiveness of smartphone interventions as continuing care for substance use disorders: A systematic review

As a chronic disease with consistent relapse rates, substance use disorders (SUD) require a continuity-of-care approach. Unfortunately, many patients do not have access to continuing care. This systematic review analysed the current scientific knowledge to better understand if app-based smartphone interventions can be an effective alternative. The databases Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO were used to find experimental and quasi-experimental studies investigating the effectiveness of a smartphone intervention in individuals who had completed treatment for SUD. After removing duplicates, a total of 1488 studies were screened, with 48 being selected for a full-text review. Four studies met all the criteria, with one other being added by identification through other resources, making a total of 5 studies included in the present review. Out of the four studies using a control group, only one found no significant differences in favour of the experimental group. That study used an active control group and compared the smartphone intervention to its therapeutic group equivalent. There were no significant differences between the two experimental groups. Overall, the results indicate that app-based smartphone interventions can be an effective alternative to traditional forms of continuing care. However, literature is still scarce, and more research needs to be made on this subject. This systematic review is registered at PROSPERO with the identifier [CRD42021272070].

Psychometric Properties of the European Portuguese Version of the Memorial Emergency Department Fall Risk Assessment Tool

Falls are a public health problem that cause serious damage to people’s health and health systems. This study aims to estimate the validity and reliability of the Memorial Emergency Department Fall Risk Assessment Tool for the European Portuguese population. The sample included 186 adults from an emergency department of a District Hospital in Portugal. Reliability and precision (inter-rater reliability) are assessed by two independent raters. The relationship between MEDFRAT and the Morse Fall Risk Scale is evaluated. All items presented a high Kappa index. The MEDFRAT showed a high and significant correlation with the Morse Fall Risk Scale. The influence of sociodemographic and clinical data was also checked. The MEDFRAT is adequate, valid and reliable for the European Portuguese population to assess the risk of falling of emergency department patients.

EVALUATION OF FALL RISK FACTORS PRESENT DURING INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF ELDERLY PEOPLE

ABSTRACT Objectives: to describe the development and validation of the Scale of Practices of Evaluation of Fall Risk Factors during Institutionalization of Elderly People and to describe the practices of evaluation of communication of fall risks to institutionalized elderly people. Methods: methodological study, which allowed construction and determination of the psychometric properties of the Scale of Practices of Evaluation of Fall Risk Factors during Institutionalization of Elderly People, which was carried out in six long-term care institutions for elderly people, in 2018. Results: the scale showed satisfactory internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.949. It was designed to have three dimensions: practices of evaluation of biophysiological risk factors; practices of communication and training; and practices of evaluation of risks related to elderly people’s putting on clothing and footwear. Conclusions: the risk factors that had their value recognized were related to mobility. There is not proper recognition of the importance of information about fall risk factors and communication between elderly people and health teams during institutionalization.

Hope-based interventions in chronic disease: an integrative review in the light of Nightingale

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the available evidence in the scientific literature about the strategies or interventions used to promote hope in people with chronic diseases. Method: An integrative literature review of literature published between 2009-2019, which was conducted in online browsers/databases: b-On, EBSCO, PubMed, Medline, ISI, SciELO, PsycINFO, Google Scholar. Forty-one studies were found, of which eight met the inclusion criteria. Results: Most studies used a quantitative approach. There was a predominance of studies from Asia and America, addressing patients with multiple sclerosis, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and cancer. Hope-based interventions were categorized by the hope attributes: experiential process, spiritual/transcendence process, rational thought process, and relational process. Conclusion: Hope-based interventions, in its essence, are good clinical practices in the physical, psychological, social and spiritual domains. This is congruent with the vision of nursing, first proposed by Florence Nightingale. There seem to be gaps in the literature regarding specific hope promoting interventions.

Falls in long-term care institutions for elderly people: protocol validation

ABSTRACT Objectives: To validate the content of a fall management risk protocol in long-term institutions for elderly people. Methods: Methodological, quanti-qualitative study using the Delphi technique. The tool, based on the literature, was sent electronically to obtain consensus among the 14 experts that meet the defined inclusion criteria. Results: The 27 indicators of the protocol are organized in three dimensions: prepare for the institutionalization (IRA=.88); manage the risk of falls throughout the institutionalization (IRA=.9); and lead the communication and formation (IRA=1), with a CVI=.91. Two rounds were performed to get a consensus superior to 80% in every item. Conclusion: The values obtained in the reliability test (>0.8) show that the protocol can be used to meet the intended goal. The next step is the clinic validation of the protocol with residents of long-term care institutions for elderly people.

Quedas em Instituições para idosos: caracterização dos episódios de quedas e fatores de risco associados

As quedas são o principal acidente nos idosos e têm repercussões na funcionalidade. Os idosos por medo de nova queda impõem ou vêm ser-lhes impostas restrições à sua atividade. Estudo longitudinal prospectivo, realizado em 104 idosos institucionalizados, ao longo de seis meses, com os objetivos: determinar a prevalência de quedas, caracterizar a queda quanto ao local, horário, lesões resultantes, vigilância do idoso, atividade que estava a ser executada no momento da queda e relacionar a ocorrência de queda com o risco de queda, diagnósticos médicos, número de medicamentos que o idoso faz uso, tipo de medicamento, grau de dependência, idade e sexo. A prevalência de quedas foi de 37,5%, estas ocorrem predominantemente no quarto, durante a marcha ao levantar da cama. Tem maior prevalência de quedas quem tem risco na escala de Morse (p=0,034) e consome sedativos (p=0,007). Este estudo permite fazer sugestões para a prática, formação e investigação.

Knowledge of the Portuguese population on Basic Life Support and availability to attend training

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the level of knowledge and the availability of the Portuguese population to attend training in Basic Life Support (BLS) and identify factors related to their level of knowledge about BLS.METHODObservational study including 1,700 people who responded to a questionnaire containing data on demography, profession, training, interest in training and knowledge about BLS.RESULTSAmong 754 men and 943 women, only 17.8% (303) attended a course on BLS, but 95.6% expressed willingness to carry out the training. On average, they did not show good levels of knowledge on basic life support (correct answers in 25.9 ± 11.5 of the 64 indicators). Male, older respondents who had the training and those who performed BLS gave more correct answers, on average (p<0.01).CONCLUSIONThe skill levels of the Portuguese population are low, but people are available for training, hence it is important to develop training courses and practice to improve their knowledge.

Positive parenting by parents of children up to three years of age: development and validation of measurement scales

This study aimed to describe the development and validation of three multidimensional scales in which the same 30 items, distributed among five dimensions, measure parents' self-perceived confidence, difficulties and knowledge needs in the exercise of positive parenting during the first three years of the child's life. The content of the scales resulted from the literature and exploratory studies and was validated by experts. The analysis of its reliability and validity, using Pearson's correlations and Cronbach's alpha, was based on data from a questionnaire administered to a non-probabilistic sample of 1011 parents. In the dimensions and items, α-values ranged between 0.769 and 0.890 and r-coefficients were >0.37;p <0.01. It was concluded that the scales measure three variables that correspond to the practice of positive parenting and their use permits guiding nursing support.