ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic brought many changes and challenges to health professionals, due to a lack of knowledge when dealing with the disease, fear of contagion, and the sequelae that characterize long COVID. To deal with this situation, respiratory rehabilitation programs are recommended in face-to-face and/or telerehabilitation modalities. (1) Background: This study had as its primary aim identifying the aspects/components to be considered in the planning and implementation of telerehabilitation interventions that guarantee transitional care for people with long COVID-19 after hospitalization and as a secondary aim identifying the positive aspects of telerehabilitation. (2) Methods: The method used to answer the research question was a focus group, carried out online with eight nurses specialized in rehabilitation nursing. The answers to the semi-structured interview were subjected to content analysis, and qualitative data analysis software (WebQDA®) was used to organize and analyze the findings. (3) Results: Four categories emerged from the content analysis: coordination between care levels; transitional care telerehabilitation intervention; advantages of telerehabilitation; and opportunities. (4) Conclusions: These findings make an important contribution to the reorganization of transitional care, allowing the identification of central aspects to be considered in the planning and implementation of telerehabilitation programs for people with long COVID.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Nurses , Telerehabilitation , Transitional Care , Humans , Pandemics , Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome , Portugal , Disease Progression , PerceptionABSTRACT
The increasing overload of chronic conditions raises challenges for the health system. Informal caregivers have a major role in ensuring the quality of life of the cared-for person, despite the reported lack of working resources which can lead to unmet needs. This article reports on the first part of a nurse-led research project entitled ''Informal caregiver' profiles in Lisbon county: a health community approach.' We aimed to support decision-making by developing an informal caregiver profile to promote tailored interventions. A survey addressing the dyad was developed and submitted to a convenient, network-based, stratified sample of carers aged 18 years or above. More than thirty community partners supported the identification of caregivers. Data were submitted to univariate descriptive analysis. A profile of the cared-for person and the informal caregiver was uncovered by identifying 639 caregivers, of whom the majority lived with the cared-for person. Only four percent planned the transition to a caregiver role, and no more than 10% had access to support programs. Approximately half of the respondents found that COVID-19 negatively impacted their performance in the caregiver role. Developing a local and tailored strategy with collaboration between healthcare professionals, academics, and community partners is key to ensuring that meaningful support is provided to caregivers.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Caregivers , COVID-19/epidemiology , Humans , Nurse's Role , Quality of Life , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Primary healthcare must guarantee health and well-being for the community as a whole, ensuring equity and quality in different responses. For this goal to be achieved, teams must be trained and integrated, and service flows must be functional. Continuing education in health, as a form of training professionals in the workplace, helps to center responses around the needs and preferences of people and families, and to balance the fulfillment of demands by using better work management as a starting point. The objectives of the present qualitative study were to elucidate the meaning given by health professionals who developed their activities in the Family Health Strategy in order to continue education in health, and to discuss the qualification and structuring of work management with this type of education as a background. The methodology used was Straussian grounded theory. Thirty professionals in four Brazilian health units who had experience in the family health field participated in the study. Data were collected between June 2018 and May 2019. Based on three categories, the emerging substantive theory was as follows: laying the foundations of continuing education in health in a collective dialogic and dialectical effort to contribute to the qualification of the work processes in the Family Health Strategy. The professionals’ accounts showed that they recognize the importance of continuing education in health and the need to discuss it, given its potential to transform and to assist in the education of professionals with autonomy in the management of their work processes.
ABSTRACT
The knowledge of long-term informal care is particularly interesting for social and health measures related to ageing. This study aims to analyze how Portugal differs from Denmark regarding long-term informal care, specifically referring to personal care received by older people. A cross-sectional study was developed in Portugal and Denmark through the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2015, with a total of 2891 participants. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were performed. The findings suggest a significant association for older people from Portugal who receive long-term informal care from non-household caregivers and household caregivers. Moreover, as they age and are from Portugal, their availability to receive long-term informal care from non-household caregivers increases. Furthermore, older people in Portugal are more likely to receive long-term informal care from a household caregiver. It is important to take a closer look at long-term informal care in both countries and think about healthy ageing policies in the current context of the ageing population. This study provides knowledge about disaggregated health data on ageing in the European region, helping to fill research gaps related to older people.