A visita domiciliária no período pós-parto como ferramenta facilitadora na transição para a parentalidade / Home visits in the postpartum period as a facilitating tool in the transition to parenthood

Problemática: A visita domiciliária no pós-parto, consiste num instrumento de intervenção fundamental na saúde da família, pois possibilita ao profissional mais contacto com o trinómio mãe-filho-família, o que o aproxima da realidade vivenciada e permite identificar as principais necessidades em saúde (Carvalho, Carvalho, Santos & Santos, 2018). Objetivos: Avaliar o impacto da visita domiciliária realizada pelo enfermeiro, na transição para a parentalidade em mães primíparas. Metodologia: Trata-se de um estudo de nível I, de natureza quantitativa do tipo exploratório descritivo, partindo de uma amostra do tipo não probabilística em bola de neve, constituída por 30 puérperas com bebés até aos seis meses de vida que tenham recebido visita domiciliária do enfermeiro no pós-parto. Após o parecer favorável da Comissão de Ética a recolha de dados foi realizada através de um questionário online, composto por questões sociodemográficas e obstétricas e pelas escalas Versão Portuguesa de Avaliação da Satisfação da Vista Domiciliária no pós-parto (Almeida, 2011). Através do programa SPSS foram analisadas as frequências absolutas e relativas, média e desvio padrão. Resultados: A satisfação da visita domiciliária foi considerada como moderada (87.4 pontos). Verifica-se que 36,7% da amostra apresenta um score de satisfação insuficiente. Face aos resultados da escala verificamos que em todos os itens a pontuação do valor de resposta se encontra muito próxima do valor médio da escala. Verificamos também que os valores médios obtidos em cada dimensão da escala se aproximam do valor máximo de pontuação para cada uma das dimensões. Conclusão: Os ganhos em saúde a curto prazo, relacionados com a visita domiciliária no pós-parto, estão identificados e representam aumento dos conhecimento e capacidades da puérpera e família em determinadas áreas, nomeadamente nos cuidados ao recém-nascido, na amamentação e na adaptação às alterações físicas e psicológicas da puérpera. A visita domiciliária no pós-parto deve ser considerada como uma ferramenta essencial, podendo ser utilizada para minimizar os fatores de risco e facilitar a transição para a parentalidade.

Respiratory and heart rate monitoring using an FBG 3D-printed wearable system.

This work proposes a 3D-printed sensor based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) technology for respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate (HR) monitoring. Each sensor is composed of a single FBG fully encapsulated into a 3D-printable Flexible, during the printing process. Sensors with different material thicknesses and infill densities were tested. The sensor with the best metrological properties was selected and preliminary assessed in terms of capability of monitoring RR and HR on three users. Preliminary results proved that the developed sensor can be a valuable easy-to-fabricate solution, with high reproducibility and high strain sensitivity to chest wall deformations due to breathing and heart beating.

Sensor Cell Network for Pressure, Temperature and Position Detection on Wheelchair Users.

This work proposes an optical sensing network to monitor pressure and temperature in specific areas of a wheelchair to prevent pressure ulcers and to monitor the position of the wheelchair user by analyzing its pressure distribution. The sensing network is composed of six optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based sensor cells. Each sensor cell is built from a polylactic acid (PLA) base and has two FBGs, one embedded in epoxy resin to monitor pressure variations (FBGP) and another without resin to monitor temperature (FBGT). Once produced, all sensor cells were experimentally characterized for pressure and temperature variations, resulting in an average pressure sensitivity of 81 ± 5 pm/kPa (FBGP) and -5.0 ± 0.4 pm/kPa (FBGT), and an average temperature sensitivity of 25 ± 1 pm/°C (FBGP) and 47.7 ± 0.7 pm/°C (FBGT). The sensor cells were then placed in six specific areas of a wheelchair (four in the seat area and two in the shoulder blade area) to carry out experimental tests, wherein the response of the sensors to a specific sequence of relief positions was tested. During the execution of the test, the optical signal of all sensors was monitored, in real time, with the pressure and temperature values detected in each zone of the wheelchair. In addition, random position changes were performed in order to evaluate the precision of the proposed sensing network in the identification of such positions.

High Rate Dynamic Monitoring with Fabry-Perot Interferometric Sensors: An Alternative Interrogation Technique Targeting Biomedical Applications.

Fabry-Perot interferometric (FPI) sensors are an accurate and well-established sensing technology that are used to monitor a wide range of parameters such as strain, temperature, and refractive index, among many others. Nevertheless, due to the limited number and high cost of existing interrogation techniques for FPIs, its use is often restricted to discrete measurements, not being so explored for dynamic applications. The development of an alternative interrogation technique for a high rate of acquisition may propel this type of sensor into less explored fields such as dynamic biomedical applications. In this work, we present the theoretical and experimental analyses of an FPI sensing architecture by using an alternative high rate dynamic acquisition methodology, based on frequency to amplitude conversion, where the FPI spectral shift is detuned by the convolution of the optical light source with the FPI interference pattern. The good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results verified the reliability of the proposed methodology. Moreover, preliminary results show that the developed sensing architecture can be a suitable solution to monitor biomedical parameters such as the carotid pulse wave.

Wheelchair Pressure Ulcer Prevention Using FBG Based Sensing Devices.

In this work, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) based sensing system for wheelchair pressure ulcer prevention was developed. Six FBGs were strategically positioned in a wheelchair to monitor the more prominent bone areas, namely scapulas (right (SR) and left (SL)), ischiatic zone (right (IR) and left (IL)), and heels (right (HR) and left (HL)). The sensing architecture was tested by a female user during pressure relief exercises, to verify its effectiveness on pressure monitoring. The proposed system proves to be a compact and reliable solution for wheelchair pressure ulcer prevention, making it a suitable alternative to existing conventional electronic sensors, with the advantage of being immune to electromagnetic interferences and usable in humid environments. In addition to the pressure, the breathing rate was also monitored. By combining the proposed sensing architecture with a wheelchair user detection software, it is possible to create alerts for the user to know when a new position should be adopted, in order to relieve the pressure in a specific area, thus avoiding one of the biggest problems for such patients, pressure ulcers.

Gait Shear and Plantar Pressure Monitoring: A Non-Invasive OFS Based Solution for e-Health Architectures.

In an era of unprecedented progress in sensing technology and communication, health services are now able to closely monitor patients and elderly citizens without jeopardizing their daily routines through health applications on their mobile devices in what is known as e-Health. Within this field, we propose an optical fiber sensor (OFS) based system for the simultaneous monitoring of shear and plantar pressure during gait movement. These parameters are considered to be two key factors in gait analysis that can help in the early diagnosis of multiple anomalies, such as diabetic foot ulcerations or in physical rehabilitation scenarios. The proposed solution is a biaxial OFS based on two in-line fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), which were inscribed in the same optical fiber and placed individually in two adjacent cavities, forming a small sensing cell. Such design presents a more compact and resilient solution with higher accuracy when compared to the existing electronic systems. The implementation of the proposed elements into an insole is also described, showcasing the compactness of the sensing cells, which can easily be integrated into a non-invasive mobile e-Health solution for continuous remote gait monitoring of patients and elder citizens. The reported results show that the proposed system outperforms existing solutions, in the sense that it is able to dynamically discriminate shear and plantar pressure during gait.

Insole optical fiber Bragg grating sensors network for dynamic vertical force monitoring.

In an era of unprecedented progress in technology and increase in population age, continuous and close monitoring of elder citizens and patients is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury. Contributing toward this field and enhancing the life quality of elder citizens and patients with disabilities, this work presents the design and implementation of a noninvasive platform and insole fiber Bragg grating sensors network to monitor the vertical ground reaction forces distribution induced in the foot plantar surface during gait and body center of mass displacements. The acquired measurements are a reliable indication of the accuracy and consistency of the proposed solution in monitoring and mapping the vertical forces active on the foot plantar sole, with a sensitivity up to 11.06 ?? pm / N . The acquired measurements can be used to infer the foot structure and health condition, in addition to anomalies related to spine function and other pathologies (e.g., related to diabetes); also its application in rehabilitation robotics field can dramatically reduce the computational burden of exoskeletons' control strategy. The proposed technology has the advantages of optical fiber sensing (robustness, noninvasiveness, accuracy, and electromagnetic insensitivity) to surpass all drawbacks verified in traditionally used sensing systems (fragility, instability, and inconsistent feedback).