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The purpose of this article is to discuss a method for compensating a private concession-aire for cash flow losses related to Covid-19 suffered in 2020 and 2021. The analysis is based on a public-private partnership (PPP) set up to exploit surface parking lots, signed between a Portuguese municipality and a private corporation. The contract has no financial base case. The article concludes that a base case is not an obstacle to calculate this type of compensation, that the previous performance of the contractor is a reasonable basis to estimate losses and the forecasts extending to 2026 are a good schema with which to estimate the extension of the concession period claimed by the Petitioner. The arbitration court deciding the corporation's claim has valid reasons for an equitable decision. © 2023, Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. All rights reserved.
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Energy poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon that affects many Europeans. Alleviating energy poverty is high in the EU, national, and local policy agendas. Despite the attention the phenomenon has been gaining from a policy perspective, especially after the current energy crisis, there are still some gaps due to the complexity of the issue and its vastly different manifestations across Europe. This manuscript presents the policy implications stemming from the implementation of the POWEPROOR approach in alleviating energy poverty in eight European countries, as co-created with relevant stakeholders in each country. The knowledge gained from empowering energy-poor citizens by promoting behavioural changes and small-scale energy efficiency interventions, as well as by encouraging the uptake of renewable energy sources in the form of collective energy initiatives while leveraging innovative financing schemes, resulted in policy recommendations for national and sub-national governments and lessons for civil society and the private sector.
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The article aims to investigate how the use of videoconferencing hearings in Portuguese judicial proceedings, established by Law 1-A/2020 of March 19th, affected the principle of immediacy. To achieve it goals, this paper will analyze the meaning and definition of the mentioned principle. In addition to that, it will be highlighted the conduction of the hearings during the pandemic scenario. Last but not least, it will be evaluated whether or not there has been an effective violation of the principle. © 2022, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved.
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Objectives: To evaluate the ECMO offer during the COVID pandemic in the different European countries Methods: We colected COVID and demographic data from Worldometer and the national ECMO runs from the EuroELSO platform. Result(s): Europe presented a broad offer of ECMO. If during the first wave the Health System;s resources were not prepared to accommodate the high number of patients, during the following two years ECMO demonstrated to be a useful tool in the treatment of COVID pneumonia. However, across different European countries the use of ECMO was very different. In Portugal ECMO was used in 336 patients, in a universe of 5,557,941 COVID cases within a total population of 10,140,570 individuals. Of these, 336 were placed on extracorporeal circulation, which corresponds to 60.5 cases per million positive cases and 33.1 per 1 million individuals. The average number of patients placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) per million positive cases was 39 amongst the surveyed countries. Portugal was the 4th country with the most patients of ECMO per million cases (1st is Belgium with 106.5;Estonia 106.1;and Austria 68.5) and per million inhabitants (33.1), after Estonia (49.2), Austria (43.2) and Belgium (42.6). The mortality rate of COVID patients in Portugal is 0.46%. It is lower than the average of the countries under analysis (0.56%). When analyzing the frequency of cases concerning the mortality rate, there is seemingly an increase in the mortality rate with a decrease in the number of cases. The significant differences in the mortality rate between different countries can be explained by several other factors: different criteria for the main diagnosis of death;capacity of the different countries regarding the population;s access to vaccination and the different access to health care. Conclusion(s): ECMO-COVID offer was very different across countries. In Portugal, the offer was amongst the greatest in Europe, not compromising the overall response to the global COVID population.
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INTRODUCTION: The use of face masks in public was one of several COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions adopted to mitigate the pandemic in Portugal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of lifting the mask mandate on the April 22, 2022 on COVID-19 incidence and mortality in mainland Portugal and in the Azores. As a secondary objective, we aimed to evaluate the evolution of COVID-19 cases in a setting without a mask mandate (Azores islands) and in a setting with a mask mandate (Madeira islands). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Surveillance data on laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 deaths were used to conduct an interrupted time series analysis to estimate changes in daily incidence and deaths during a mask mandate period (28th March - 21st April 2022) and during a post-mask mandate period (22nd April - 15th May 2022), in mainland Portugal and the Azores. In a second phase, for each group of islands, we fitted a negative binomial regression model, with daily COVID-19 incident cases as the primary outcome of interest, and relative frequency of Omicron BA.5 lineage as explanatory variable. RESULTS: Significant changes in trends were observed for the overall incidence rate and COVID-19 deaths; increasing trends were observed for COVID-19 incidence and deaths in the post mandate period [5.3% per day; incidence rate ratio (IRR): 1.053; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.029 - 1.078] and [3.2% per day; mortality rate ratio (MRR): 1.032; 95% CI: 1.003 - 1.062], respectively. For every unit increase in the percentage of Omicron BA.5 lineage there was a 1.5% increase per day (IRR: 1.015; 95% CI: 1.006 - 1.024) in COVID-19 incidence rate in the Azores islands, while for Madeira islands an increase of 0.05% COVID-19 cases per day was observed (IRR: 1.005; 95% CI: 1.000 - 1.010). CONCLUSION: Lifting the mask mandate in Portugal was associated with an increase in COVID-19 incidence and deaths, thus highlighting the positive effect of face mask policies in preventing respiratory virus transmission and saving lives.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.903946.].
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The COVID-19 pandemics and the lockdowns imposed to mitigate the rise of infections beyond manageable levels strongly affected international trade. Although the health crisis and the mobility restrictions associated with lockdowns are closely related, their impacts on international trade have a different nature. This paper uses monthly firm-level trade data for Portuguese firms to measure the impact of partner countries' lockdowns on nominal export and import flows during 2020 and the first half of 2021, while also assessing the impact of the health crisis. The high time frequency and granularity of the data contribute to the identification of the impact of these obstacles on trade. We conclude that the detrimental impact of lockdowns is sizeable and broadly similar in exports and imports, and the impact of the health conditions is slightly stronger in exports. There is evidence that the detrimental impact of lockdowns was stronger for larger firms, for those with higher geographical concentration of trade, more integrated in global value chains and in the upper quartiles of the trade unit value distribution. The negative impact is also estimated to be larger for industries with high import content and for trade partners that are more important as sources of value added to be embodied in Portuguese exports. Results also suggest that exports adapted to the prevailing circumstances as of June 2020, but such an effect is not clear in imports.
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The novelty and uncertainty of the pandemic nourished a gener-alized fear of the COVID-19, which seems to have exacerbated the pan-demic's negative impact. It is thus relevant to monitor fear of COVID-19 and its association with individuals' mental health, well-being, and behav-iors. Valid and reliable measures of fear of COVID-19 are necessary for that purpose. This study aimed at assessing the psychometric properties of a European Portuguese version of the Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S-P). A secondary aim was to assess FCV-19S-P's multigroup measurement invariance (female vs. male). A sample of 572 Portuguese adults (72 % fe-male) completed the FCV-19S-P and measures of depression, anxiety, and stress. The study results supported this version validity and reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .84;Composite Reliability = .83), and a factorial struc-ture similar to the original version. Fear of COVID-19 was positively asso-ciated (.23 < r < .31) with depression, anxiety, and stress. Results of the multigroup invariance analysis supported the FCV-19S-P total scalar invar-iance and its partial residual invariance, suggesting that this measure may be used to reach valid conclusions in respect to gender comparisons in samples of Portuguese adults in regard to group observed composite means. © 2023, Universidad de Murcia Servicio de Publicaciones. All rights reserved.
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Currently, digital transformation is a process that cuts across different sectors of activity, including banks. One of the examples is the availability of products and services on digital channels. This study aims to identify the changes implemented in the digital channels of banks in Portugal that were driven by the covid-19 pandemic, contributing to the acceleration of digital transformation. 30 Reports and Accounts from 10 banks were selected from 2019 to 2021 and analyzed using the Leximancer software to identify the main themes and concepts. The results allowed the identification of 4 themes and 40 most relevant concepts. It is concluded that banks have reinforced digital channels in terms of products and services with evident concerns associated with security. This study, at an academic level, aims to contribute with a conceptual map of the measures adopted. At the business level, it aims to enable managers to define other initiatives and enhance those already implemented. © 2022 Associacao Portuguesa de Sistemas de Informacao. All rights reserved.
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COVID-1 9 led to an extraordinary increase in both telework and remote work, exposing some of the fragilities and loopholes of the Portuguese applicable regulation and leading the Portuguese Parliament to approve a new law on teleworking in the form of an amendment to the Labour Code aimed at extending the protection of teleworkers. This paper intends to analyse this new regulation implemented by Law No. 83/2021 of 6 December regarding its concept and scope of application;the telework agreement and the principle of volunteering;teleworkers' rights and employers' duties related to equipment, tools and teleworking-related expenses;employers' duty to abstain from any contact during rest periods;privacy and data protection;health, safety and work-related accidents;and the right to telework, namely for work-life balance reasons. The final objective is to provide a critical overview of the legal regulation, assessing its strengths and weaknesses.
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The Covid-19 pandemic is having a great impact on people's mental health all over the world. Adolescents have been facing several potential stressors. The aim of this study was to explore how Portuguese adolescents were perceiving the Covid-19 outbreak and the relationship between the perceived impact of the pandemic and mental health. Participants were 130 adolescents (97 girls) who completed online questionnaires about the Covid-19 pandemic and the DASS-21. Around 73% of the adolescents agreed that the Covid-19 pandemic affected their lives and 45% felt emotionally affected. Feeling uncomfortable around family during quarantine was correlated with depression (r = .39), anxiety (r = .44), and stress symptoms (r = .37), and feeling capable to deal with the pandemic was negatively correlated with psychopathological symptoms. Girls seemed to be more emotionally affected. Results revealed the negative effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on Portuguese adolescents' mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Portuguese) A pandemia de Covid-19 esta a ter um grande impacto na saude mental das pessoas em todo o mundo. Os adolescentes tem enfrentado diversos potenciais stressores. O objectivo deste estudo foi explorar como os adolescentes portugueses percecionaram o surto do Covid-19 e a relacao entre o impacto percebido da pandemia e a saude mental. Os participantes foram 130 adolescentes (97 do sexo feminino) que responderam a questionarios online sobre a pandemia de Covid-19 e DASS-21. Cerca de 73% dos adolescentes concordaram que a pandemia afectou as suas vidas e 45% sentiu-se emocionalmente afectado. Sentir-se desconfortavel perto da familia durante a quarentena mostrou-se correlacionado com sintomas de depressao (r = .39), ansiedade (r = .44) e stress (r = .37) e sentir-se capaz de lidar com a pandemia esteve negativamente correlacionado com sintomas psicopatologicos. Adolescentes do sexo feminino pareceram ficar mais emocionalmente afectadas. Esses resultados apontam para o efeito negativo da pandemia de Covid-19 na saude mental dos adolescentes portugueses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Spanish) La pandemia de Covid-19 esta teniendo un gran impacto en la salud mental de las personas. Los adolescentes se han enfrentado a varios posibles estresores. El objetivo de este estudio fue explorar como los adolescentes portugueses percibieron el brote de Covid-19 y la relacion entre el impacto percibido de la pandemia y la salud mental. Los participantes fueron 130 adolescentes (97 mujeres) que respondieron cuestionarios online sobre la pandemia Covid-19 y DASS-21. 73% de los adolescentes estuvo de acuerdo en que la pandemia de Covid-19 afecto sus vidas y el 45% se sintio emocionalmente afectado. Sentirse incomodo con la familia durante la cuarentena se correlaciono con sintomas de depresion (r = .39), ansiedad (r = .44) y estres (r = .37), y sentirse capaz de lidiar con la pandemia se correlaciono negativamente con los sintomas psicopatologicos. Las adolescentes parecian estar mas emocionalmente afectadas. Estos resultados apuntan al efecto negativo de la pandemia Covid-19 en la salud mental de los adolescentes portugueses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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Waste generated in university laboratories is an important component of university waste management, especially regarding their hazardousness and, also, the cost involved in their forwarding. To make a good management of this waste, it is essential to know the amount generated and the composition. However, this type of information remains scarce. In this work, waste from the laboratories of the University of evora (Portugal) was surveyed from 2007 to 2021, using existing records. In the 15 years under analysis, the laboratories of the University of evora generated about 61 tonnes of waste, 88% of which were hazardous and 66% were in the liquid state. In addition, only 3% of this waste was subjected to recovery operations. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a double increase in hospital waste generated and to a substantially decreased of hazardous liquid waste from the laboratory activity, especially in the first year of the pandemic. In 2021, the second year of the pandemic, there was a "return to normality", reaching the highest value of waste generated in the laboratories, of 8.6 tonnes. Finally, possible solutions for improving laboratory waste management were also discussed.
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New workspaces, such as coworking spaces (CSs), have had exponential growth in Portugal in recent years, both in number and variety. Lockdowns and other restrictive measures on mobility, employment and business activity during the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly impacted all sectors, albeit differently. This chapter summarises the central events related to the pandemic crisis in Portugal, reflecting on the impacts observed and highlighting the main legislative measures adopted by the government and the subsequent increasing expressiveness of telework. Therefore, in addition to the gradual transformation of work, CSs have gained a growing space in the media and on the political agenda. Based on ongoing research, this article aims to provide a brief overview of the pandemic effects on Portuguese coworking reality and related issues, pointing out insights for the future. © 2023, The Author(s).
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The pandemic crisis compelled organizations to adopt telework to continue their activity. This study seeks to determine the perception of individuals regarding teleworking, and also the role of Information Systems in the paradigm shift along the pandemic period, in the Portuguese health sector. An online questionnaire was applied to health professionals working in Portugal, obtaining a sample of 264 professionals. The perceptions identified in relation to telework can be especially useful when considering the progressive incorporation of non-face-to-face activities in the health sector. Participants identify advantages in teleworking, namely in reducing travel costs, but also identify work overload as a disadvantage. Despite the difficulties, Information Systems are identified as facilitators in this process of change. Most participants express availability to work in a mixed regime, in the post-pandemic period. © 2022 Associacao Portuguesa de Sistemas de Informacao. All rights reserved.
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This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using low-cost solutions to monitor and mitigate PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in nursery and primary schools in Porto (Portugal). Three periods were considered: i) early 2020 (before COVID-19 pandemic), ii) early 2021 (during COVID-19 pandemic, with mitigation measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 spread);and iii) in the middle of 2021 (additionally using a low-cost portable air cleaner). PM2.5 and PM10 were continuously monitored with a low-cost sensing device for at least two consecutive days in five classrooms. In general, the lowest PM concentrations were observed in the third period. Concentrations reduced up to 63% from the second to the third period. The application of low-cost solutions for monitoring and mitigating PM levels seems to be an effective tool for managing indoor air in schools. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.
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The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the production and circulation of false information, especially online, leading the World Health Organization to classify this phenomenon as an infodemic, i.e., a misinformation epidemic. In addition to this, the growing aging of the population is a reality not only in Portugal, but throughout the world. The Internet, and in particular social networks, can be an important contribution to the well-being of the elderly, reducing their social isolation. However, it makes them even more susceptible to the consumption of false information. Considering the increasing contact with fake news, it is important to evaluate the determinants of the ability of the elderly to identify fake news. In this article we present a research proposal with a quantitative methodology, based on a hypothetical-deductive process, supported by a self-administered online questionnaire survey for data collection, to meet this objective. © 2022 Associacao Portuguesa de Sistemas de Informacao. All rights reserved.
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As a result of the digital transition, planned or imposed, it is important that companies introduce control tools that allow measuring, validating, and improving the operations performed automatically, by the various technologies involved in the processes. For SMEs the challenge is increased by the lack of available resources. The additional benefits that the introduction of these tools can bring are several and diversified, but there are also several challenges to their implementation. One of the main obstacles will be the time factor, which in this case covers several dimensions. We intend to demonstrate that in the first stage of the implementation process, the ChatGPT technology can be important in presenting these benefits and challenges to managers of SMEs as well as higher education institutions, increasing the training of future managers in business intelligence and data analysis platforms that are mostly open source and low/no code for cost reduction. We focus our attention on a small Portuguese company where the advances in the digital transition were imposed by the pandemic but now faces the challenges of uncertainty in the quality of its process data and has to make choices between the visible and invisible costs of implementing business intelligence tools.
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Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between depression, anxiety, and stress levels, headaches, and symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorders in healthcare professionals in a post-pandemic setting. Method(s): A cross-sectional study conducted through an online questionnaire was distributed among healthcare professionals in Mainland Portugal. The sample's characterization was undertaken according to sociodemographic parameters. The following assessment instruments were used: 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) for emotional parameters, namely depression, anxiety, and stress;International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3) for headache disorders;Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) for temporomandibular joint dysfunction symptoms. Inferential analysis was performed using phi, Cramer's V, and gamma tests. Result(s): The sample comprised 118 individuals (93.2% female, 6.8% male). Results showed a prevalence of 38.1% for depression, 51.7% for anxiety, and 39.8% for stress. Regarding headaches, a prevalence of 62.7% was reported. Symptoms of temporomandibular disorders had a prevalence of 50%. Significant differences were found between headache and stress (p=0.034), headache and temporomandibular joint disorders symptoms (p=0.002), and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders and depression (p=0.009), anxiety (p=0.003), and stress levels (p=0.014). Conclusion(s): There seems to be a positive correlation between headaches and stress levels, between temporomandibular disorders symptoms and all psychosocial parameters, and between temporomandibular disorder symptoms and headaches. Data suggests that these symptoms worsened after the pandemic.Copyright © 2023 Sociedade Portuguesa de Estomatologia e Medicina Dentaria. Published by SPEMD.
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Having a proper understanding of the impact of influenza is a fundamental step towards improved preventive action. This paper reviews findings from the Burden of Acute Respiratory Infections study on the burden of influenza in Iberia, and its potential underestimation, and proposes specific measures to lessen influenza's impact.
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Influenza, Human , Respiratory Tract Infections , Humans , Influenza, Human/epidemiology , Influenza, Human/prevention & controlABSTRACT
Background: Viral Hepatitis remains a health priority. We performed a comprehensive evaluation of epidemiological HCV estimates in Southern countries of Western Europe and assessed the impact of the 2008 economic crisis on HCV burden. Method(s): We analyzed data of the Global Burden of Diseases to describe the patterns of six measures of HCV burden [prevalence, incidence, mortality, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), disability adjusted life years (DALYs)] in Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain. We assessed age-standardized rates (per 100,000 population) between 2000-2019, disaggregated by sex and age, and compared the annualized age-standardized rate of change (ARC%) in 2000-2010 (pre-austerity) and 2010-2019 (post-austerity). Result(s): Prevalence, incidence and YLDs rates of acute HCV showed a general stable trend in Western Europe (WE), globally and in the four studied countries except Italy, where, despite a marked decline (ARC: 1.4% in 2010-2019), the 2019 estimates [7.8 (95% UI 6.6-9.2)] were still 1.7-fold higher than in WE. Mortality, YLLs and DALYs associated with acute HCV decreased in the analyzed countries and peaked in Greece post-austerity. Globally and in Greece, mortality rate was higher in females than in males (1.3-times and 1.5-times in 2019, respectively). Mortality caused by chronic liver diseases including cirrhosis decreased globally, in WE and in all countries albeit at a lower rate in the post-austerity period (decrease in ARC for WE: 2.5% in 2000-2010;1.6 in 2010-2019). Liver cancer prevalence due to HCV increased in WE (ARC: 2.1%) and in the analyzed countries mainly in the pre-austerity period except for Italy. However, despite having the highest prevalence rate in both sexes, Italy showed major decreases in all six-disease metrics. HCV liver cancer mortality declined significantly only in Italy (ARC: 2.6%) and globally (ARC: 2.1%) especially in the pre-austerity period, while Portugal experienced a major increase postausterity. Overall, males and people over 70 years old are at greater risk of developing chronic liver diseases due to HCV infection. Conclusion(s): The economic crisis of 2008 negatively impacted hepatitis C related liver cancer mortality rates in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Despite the observed recovery in recent years, elimination of HCV infection by 2030 will be a major challenge in these countries and the COVID-19 pandemic and the current grim economic context are expected to compromise even further hepatitis C elimination.