{"title":"Absenteeism Among National Health Service Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal.","authors":"Joana Alves, Carolina Nunes, André Peralta Santos","doi":"10.20344/amp.21761","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.21761","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>By March 2020, the first COVID-19 cases were detected in Portugal. Anecdotal evidence showed that the National Health Service absenteeism rate rose. The present study aimed to quantify and characterize the absenteeism rate among these healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal. This study used data from the Portuguese National Health Service Transparency Portal for the number of National Health Service workers and absence days (2015 - 2021). Absenteeism was compared, before and after the pandemic onset, in absolute terms, and as absenteeism rates. Additionally, we performed an interrupted time series analysis, by fitting a Poisson regression model with level change. We controlled for data seasonality using Fourier terms. The results showed that, between 2015 and March 2020, the average monthly absenteeism rate was of 12.2%, rising to 14.5% in the subsequent period. This represented an increase of 19% in the absenteeism rate. The interrupted time series analysis showed an increase of 10.8% in the National Health Service absenteeism rate after the pandemic onset [relative risk = 1.10; 95% CI 1.10 - 1.11; p < 0.01]. When accounting for seasonality in the data, the interrupted time series analysis showed an increase of 11.0% in the National Health Service absenteeism rate [relative risk = 1.11; 95% CI 1.00 - 1.23; p < 0.05]. These results suggest an increased number of days of absence rate among the National Health Service healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>","PeriodicalId":7059,"journal":{"name":"Acta medica portuguesa","volume":"37 12","pages":"853-857"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142765261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comment on the Article \"Burnout Among Portuguese Residents: A Case for Change\".","authors":"Gabriela Galvão Montenegro, Bernardo Peixinho-Pernadas","doi":"10.20344/amp.22384","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.22384","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7059,"journal":{"name":"Acta medica portuguesa","volume":"37 12","pages":"893"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142765283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maria Manuel Bica Tavares, Inês Rosendo Carvalho E Silva, Luiz Miguel Santiago
{"title":"[Analysis of Expectations in Routine Appointments: A Cross-Sectional Study in Portugal].","authors":"Maria Manuel Bica Tavares, Inês Rosendo Carvalho E Silva, Luiz Miguel Santiago","doi":"10.20344/amp.22060","DOIUrl":"10.20344/amp.22060","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Preventive medicine is a subject of study due to the increasing evidence that it can cause more harm than good, and the population's interest in routine appointments is widely recognized. The main objective of this study was to understand users' expectations regarding routine appointments in primary health care and compare them to doctors' perceptions regarding these expectations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We carried out a cross-sectional observational study in 2023 through the application of two questionnaires: one for adult patients and another for family physicians. The invitations to answer the questionnaire via Google Forms were shared on specific social networks. For elderly patients, the questionnaire was conducted in-person by one of the researchers. It consisted of 25 questions about preventive attitudes during appointments, analytical tests and their frequency, and recommendations based on sex and age, differing in the language used.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A sample of 225 patients and 100 general and family medicine doctors was obtained. The patients selected an average of 7.8 ± 9.7 preventive attitudes during the consultation, and the doctors judged that they would have selected 4.6 ± 2.9 (p = 0.001). Cardiac and pulmonary auscultation (82.6%), physical exercise quantification (74.7%), and smoking habits assessment (72.9%) were the most selected measures, the most selected tests being blood glucose measurement (81.8%), lipid profile (80.4%), and urine analysis (75.1%). For 68.2% of patients, routine check-ups should be annual, with 88.0% of doctors believing that patients would want this frequency. The socioeconomic level of the population did not significantly influence the results.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>It is important that general practitioners / family doctors are aware of patients' expectations. In this sample, patients revealed a greater appreciation for a higher number of preventive medical measures during consultations and more periodic analytical testing than thought by the doctors. Doctors also judged that users would show greater interest in the frequent implementation of screening programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":7059,"journal":{"name":"Acta medica portuguesa","volume":"37 12","pages":"838-846"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142765240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Letter to the Editor: \"Rare Presentation of Primary~Hyperparathyroidism in a Young Woman\".","authors":"Ariana Maia, André Couto Carvalho","doi":"10.20344/amp.22048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.22048","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7059,"journal":{"name":"Acta medica portuguesa","volume":"37 12","pages":"887-888"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142765298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thiago Gonçalves Dos Santos Martins, Diogo Gonçalves Dos Santos Martins, Thomaz Gonçalves Dos Santos Martins, Eduardo Damasceno
{"title":"Oropouche Fever and its Current Context in Brazil.","authors":"Thiago Gonçalves Dos Santos Martins, Diogo Gonçalves Dos Santos Martins, Thomaz Gonçalves Dos Santos Martins, Eduardo Damasceno","doi":"10.20344/amp.22371","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.22371","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7059,"journal":{"name":"Acta medica portuguesa","volume":"37 12","pages":"897-898"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142765301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nuno Sepúlveda, João Malato, João Carlos Winck, António Vaz Carneiro, Joan Serra Hoffman, Jaime Branco
{"title":"Post-Infection Fatigue Syndromes in the Era of Long COVID: The Case of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.","authors":"Nuno Sepúlveda, João Malato, João Carlos Winck, António Vaz Carneiro, Joan Serra Hoffman, Jaime Branco","doi":"10.20344/amp.21845","DOIUrl":"10.20344/amp.21845","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7059,"journal":{"name":"Acta medica portuguesa","volume":" ","pages":"819-822"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142387128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"[Anxiety and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Elite Athletes].","authors":"Laura Pires, Sofia Gomes, Paula Freitas","doi":"10.20344/amp.21600","DOIUrl":"10.20344/amp.21600","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Physical activity is recommended as a strategy for promoting mental health, and it can even be integrated into treatment plans for psychiatric disorders affecting the general population. However, elite athletes are a subpopulation with protective and risk factors inherent to high-level competition and are not shielded from psychiatric symptoms and conditions. The mental health of elite athletes has been the subject of increasing attention, driven in part by the initiatives of the International Olympic Committee and the growing importance of sports psychiatry. This article is a narrative review that provides an overview regarding anxiety, in particular generalized anxiety disorder in elite athletes. Our assessment concluded that competitive anxiety may affect an elite athlete's performance in both harmful and beneficial ways. Assessing the duration, frequency, and functional impact of anxiety symptoms is crucial for ruling out generalized anxiety disorder. Elite athletes do not show a significantly different prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder compared to the general population. Identifying specific protective and risk factors can contribute to adopting more effective preventive and intervention strategies. As in the general population, psychotherapy is recommended for elite athletes as the initial treatment for this condition, combined, if necessary, with pharmacotherapy, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency Code.</p>","PeriodicalId":7059,"journal":{"name":"Acta medica portuguesa","volume":" ","pages":"858-864"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142638317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"On the Power of Data Visualization in Transforming Patient Decision-Making.","authors":"Diogo Nogueira, Célia Azevedo Soares","doi":"10.20344/amp.21904","DOIUrl":"10.20344/amp.21904","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7059,"journal":{"name":"Acta medica portuguesa","volume":" ","pages":"883-884"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142455451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}