The All4Children project to assess the initial implementation of the Integrated Model of Family Foster Care in Portugal: A description of the study protocol.

BACKGROUND: The All4Children project addresses the urgent need to transition from institutionalization to family-based care for out-of-home children in Portugal. Despite evidence highlighting the detrimental effects of institutionalization, only a small percentage of children (less than 4%) are currently placed in family foster care in the country. In response to European directives for deinstitutionalization, Portuguese legislation now prioritizes non-kinship family foster care as the preferred alternative for young children in need of care. To facilitate this transition, the Integrated Model of Family Foster Care (MIAF) was developed, offering a comprehensive framework covering the entire spectrum of family foster care. OBJECTIVE: This research aims to investigate the initial implementation stage of the MIAF to promote high-quality family foster care in Portugal. METHOD: The study will conduct a mixed-method and longitudinal research project in family foster care agencies across different regions of Portugal, focusing on evaluating the implementation and outcomes of the MIAF model using a multi-informant and multi-method approach. The participants will include caseworkers, children aged 0-9 years entering foster care, and their respective foster families enrolled in the MIAF program. Process evaluation will assess fidelity, feasibility, appropriateness, and acceptability of MIAF modules, while outcome evaluation will examine child safety, stability, well-being, as well as foster family well-being and quality of relational care. OUTCOMES: The insights gained from this research initiative will serve as a foundation for the ongoing enhancement of MIAF. Consequently, this project has the capacity to advance evidence-based child welfare practices by refining processes and strategies to better serve vulnerable children and youth. CONCLUSION: Facilitated by a multidisciplinary team, this project will contribute to advancing research in the field, enhancing practice, and informing policy during a pivotal stage of deinstitutionalization in Portugal.

Quality by design in pharmaceutical manufacturing: A systematic review of current status, challenges and future perspectives.

Quality by Design (QbD) was originated in the broad domain of Quality Management and was recently adapted and formalized in specific terms for assisting pharmaceutical companies efforts towards market and operational excellence. However, despite some impressive success stories, the pharmaceutical industry have not yet fully embraced QbD, particularly in routine commercial manufacturing (Rantanen and Khinast, 2015; Puñal Peces et al., 2016). In this review, we aim to analyse the current state of implementation of QbD methodologies and tools in the pharmaceutical industry, extracting patterns and trends and identifying gaps and opportunities that may be considered to improve QbD adoption. For this purpose, a critical analysis of 60 research papers was performed, whose contents were classified, compared and summarized at different abstraction levels. Our analysis reveals the following tools as the frequently adopted for conducting each activity: Risk Assessment (RA) - Ishikawa Diagram, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Risk Estimation Matrix (REM); Screening Design of Experiments (DoE) - 2-level Full and Fractional Factorial Designs; Optimisation DoE - Central Composite Design (CCD). Emerging trends include the growing interest in quantifying and managing the impact of raw materials' attributes variability on process and product, as well as the development of Retrospective QbD approaches (rQbD) in complement to standard QbD.