ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 Pandemic highlighted the need to understand and improve the working conditions of health professionals, in addition to Individual Protection Equipment, as these workers oftenface precarious working conditions. This studysought to investigate the professional performance and working conditions of Primary Health Care professionals in the interior of the Brazilian Northeast. This is a qualitative-quantitative, transversal, descriptive research, carried out through semi-structured interviews. Of the 86 participants, 60% (n=52) were Community Health Agents, 15% (n=13) nursing technicians, 12% (n=10) nurses, 7% (n= 6) physicians, 3% (n=3) oral health technicians and 2% (n=2) dentists. Itwas observed that, in the work of professionals, there are still problems that compromise the guarantee of health care for populations in the interior of the Northeast region, such as the scarcity of human and material resources, work overload, or even the precariousness of infrastructure. Ensuring adequate working conditions is essential to strengthen the prevention and health promotion of the Brazilian population, even more so, in the current moment of facing the pandemic and the reduction in SUS funding.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Adolescence is a period where important lifestyle changes take place, accompanied by steep rises in obesity prevalence1. This is particularly relevant for Portugal as one third of 10-17-year-olds are overweight 2. Although adolescents are acknowledged as the next generation of adults, parents, workers, and decision makers3, and thus as an important target group for obesity prevention strategies, there are few examples where adolescents themselves are active actors in the development of such strategies. The CO-CREATE (CC) Project aims to involve young people in the policy-making process to effectively prevent obesity. We present one of the Project's stages (WP5), where youth alliances (YA) were established to develop policy ideas and how Covid-19 pandemic affected the project, in Portugal. Methods: For WP5, a common methodological protocol for the 5 European CC countries was based on youth-led participatory action research where youths (15-18 years old) used their new knowledge to co-create with researchers novel policy ideas to tackle obesity. This stage included face to face meetings from December 2019 and, by March 2020, these were forced to stop due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a solution to continue with the progress of the YA, an online approach was immediately established with regular contact with the youth to keep them engaged. Additionally, to accommodate some of the needs raised by the YA, E-books on the related topics were shared as well as Q&A sessions (about 90 min each) were arranged. Results: Out of the almost 40 adolescents enrolled in the Portuguese YA, all remaining online sessions in WP5, were participated by more than 80% of the adolescents, in each. A total of 5 Q&A sessions were conducted online on a weekly basis, from mid-March until April 2020, where young professionals experienced in several fields (namely nutritionists, a physical activity expert, a psychologist and a member of youth organizations) helped discussing and strengthening the YA policy ideas proposals. The 5 online Q&A sessions had an average participation of 16 teens per session. Conclusion: The Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges imposed by it proved to be an opportunity to include new dynamics into CC. The online approach was successful in maintaining the youth engaged and ensuring the progress of the policy development process, which will culminate in the discussion of the policy ideas between the youth and relevant stakeholders in the upcoming stage of the project. Thus, the YA members showed a swift adaptation and remarkable dedication to the project without compromising its objectives even during these challenging times.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has been presenting a high risk for the development or exacerbation of obesity and overweight in children, particularly during the lockdown period which brought a complete modification in their lifestyle with homeschooling, stress to cope with, lack of structured activities and social interaction as well as changes in eating habits1-4. In Portugal, studies haven't identified yet these changes in children.The present study analysed the parental perception on changes of their children eating habits, who participated in the community and school-based program MUN-SI Cascais 19/20, during the 2020 Portuguese first lockdown due to COVID-19. Methods: A longitudinal study in 11 primary schools with 113 children( 3rd and 4th grades)was carried out through a survey online using a family questionnaire to address the children's eating habits, which included a list of food items adapted from validated national questionnaires. The survey included 2 moments: pre-lockdown(Sep19-Mar20) and lockdown(Apr20-Jun20). Parental perception on changes of children' eating habits, from moment 1 to 2 was assessed using the following options: “More than before COVID-19“, “Same as Before COVID-19” and “Less than Before COVID-19“. Results: Parents reported that children's consumption on breakfast cereals, sliced white bread and french fries were the food items identified as consumed by the children “more than before COVID-19“(25.5%, 19.4% and 18.8%, respectively), unlike pastry products, sweets and 100% fruit juices where parents reported a “less than Before COVID-19” children's consumption(25.8%, 21.2% and 20.6%, respectively). There was a reported perception of the increase in children's intake of bakery bread by 21.9%, as well as of eggs, reported in 16.6% of cases and a parental perception on the decrease of children's fish intake by 15.8%, in fruit consumption in 8.6% of cases, and in vegetables in 10.0% reported by the families. Conclusion: This study adds some insights into the future impact of the confinement period on children's health, which adding to poorer eating habits, children who are confined at home, without any outdoor activities and social interaction, might result in worse children health outcomes.