Exploring the Viability and Acceptance of Nudge in Public Policies for Health Promotion.

BACKGROUND: Behaviorally informed interventions, such as nudging, encourage actions intended to promote longer and healthier lives. Holding significant potential for influencing health policies and healthcare practices, these interventions are partaking of a shift in governance and public health policymaking. However, a substantial knowledge gap remains regarding the feasibility and appropriateness of implementing policies that draw on nudge. METHODS: Ae survey on nudge's acceptability) was adapted to the Portuguese context to access attitudes towards 16 nudge measures. The research focused on evaluating attitudes among political science and public administration BSc and MSc students from nine Portuguese universities, and analyzing the relationship between these attitudes, sociodemographic characteristics, and sociopolitical attitudes. The data analysis involved the application of descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: The participants exhibited a moderate-to-high level of approval for various nudge measures, particularly those related to nutrition and public education/awareness raising. The study identified a nuanced relationship between the level of intrusiveness of nudges and their public approval, indicating that interventions preserving the architecture of choice gathered higher acceptance compared to more intrusive approaches. Notably, approval was associated with a high level of trust in social groups and a low propensity for risk-taking and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: This study not only sheds light on the types of nudge measures that are likely to be more acceptable for promoting healthy behaviors, but also establishes a crucial link between behavioral interventions and healthcare policies. Understanding the nuanced factors influencing the public acceptance of nudges contributes to the discourse on the implementation of behaviorally informed health policies and emphasizes the importance of tailoring interventions to align with public values and preferences.

Willingness to Work during Public Health Emergencies: A Systematic Literature Review.

The identification of the factors underlying the willingness or lack thereof to respond to public health emergencies is paramount to informing more capable health services. The interest in this topic appears renewed with each surge of threat, either referring to natural disasters, man-made violence, or epidemic and pandemics. However, there is no systematic approach to the research patterns and related main findings concerning individual and contextual determinants. The present article contributes to this theme through a systematic literature review of a sample of 150 articles published in the last 30 years on the subject of willingness and preparedness of health professionals to deal with public health threats. Our findings show that the research is mainly phenomena and contextual driven, responding to whichever emergency threat is more salient in a given period. Geographically, research on this topic is led by USA and China, mostly solely, while European countries invest in collaborations that are more international. Universities, including health institutes and schools, and researchers at hospitals conduct most of the research on the topic. The main research areas are medicine, psychology, and psychiatry. Pandemics, including COVID-19, influenza, and natural disasters, are the phenomena gauging more attention as opposed to terrorism events and biological accidents. The specific role of health professionals within the institution, their belief in ethical duties, preparation training, and concerns regarding infection of self and family are the main variables influencing the willingness and ability to report to work in public health emergencies.

Public Service Motivation and Determining Factors to Attract and Retain Health Professionals in the Public Sector: A Systematic Review.

(1) Background: The motivational determinants of health professionals to choose and remain in the public sector have been increasingly addressed, including the customized approach of Public Service Motivation (PSM). However, to date, no systematic research overview has been performed in this domain, leaving the body of literature unstructured. This article fills this gap by assessing the motivational factors of choice for the public sector in the health field, and the conceptual and methodological trends of this research stream. (2) Methods: This study follows the PRISMA protocol to ascertain patterns in past research and inform researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Eighty-nine documents published between 1998 and 2021 were retained after selecting them according to their theme and outlined goals. (3) Results: Common motivational determinants are remuneration, available resources, work conditions, and frequency of contact and interaction with patients. The PSM construct and scale are often employed as main frameworks, but there is also a concern in assessing motivation drawing on psychological constructs that reflect the challenging line of work and environment that is health care, such as presenteeism, stress, and perception of hindrances. (4) Conclusions: By focusing on health professionals' motivation, this study contributes to a timely systematization in challenging times for health institutions and their human resources.

Rural Ties and Consumption of Rural Provenance Food Products-Evidence from the Customers of Urban Specialty Stores in Portugal.

Consumers' food preferences increasingly meet concerns of authenticity, health, origin, and sustainability, altogether attributes embodied in rural provenance food products. The dynamics of production, commercialization, and availability of these products in urban centers are growing stronger. This study aims to explore rural provenance food consumption and underlying motivations, the consumers' images of products and provenance areas, and the influence of rural ties in consumption. Data from a survey directed to 1554 consumers of 24 urban specialty stores located in three Portuguese cities were analyzed. The analysis is based on the differences between frequent and sporadic consumers of Portuguese rural provenance food products. The two groups significantly differ in the reasons provided to acquire the products. Those who buy and consume these products more frequently especially value sensorial features, convenience, national provenance, and the impacts on rural development. Additionally, the motivations to choose rural provenance foods tend to pair with positive images of those products and of their territories of origin. This is intrinsically connected with familiarity, a nuclear notion that encompasses the symbolic images of the products and their origins as actual connections (familiar and otherwise) to rural contexts.

Self-compassion in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for chronic pain: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence shows that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an empirically supported psychological approach for chronic pain (CP) management. Although self-compassion is not explicitly a target of ACT, it seems to be one mechanism of change in ACT for CP. However, research is lacking on the benefits of including explicit self-compassionate exercises in ACT for CP. The current study pilot tested a Compassionate ACT 8-session group program (COMP.ACT; n=9), as well as an ACT-only 8-session group program (ACT; n=7), in a sample of women with CP. METHODS: The current study follows a quasi-experimental design, and conducts Reliable and Significant Change analyses comparing pre- to post-intervention scores of self-report measures. RESULTS: No differences were found between conditions at baseline, nor between completers and drop-outs. Although preliminary, results showed COMP.ACT led to greater clinical improvements in depression and anxiety, while ACT led to greater improvements in stress and uncompassionate self-responding. Reliable and Significant Change analysis showed that some participants improved significantly (in psychopathological symptoms, valued living and uncompassionate self-responding) in both conditions, while the majority did not change significantly. CONCLUSIONS: More research is needed to conclude whether explicit self-compassion exercises are useful in ACT for CP. Limitations and implications are further discussed.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Strain: Teleworking and Health Behavior Changes in the Portuguese Context.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a societal essay, based on thorough measures of individual and communitarian protection, ranging from compulsory social distancing to quarantine. Following WHO recommendations, more or less strict policies were adopted by governments worldwide in order to mitigate public health risks. In Portugal, the first state of emergency was declared on 18 March 2020 and renewed until 2 May 2020. During this time, most citizens stayed in quarantine with practical implications regarding their work and daily activities. This exploratory study, conducted within the pandemic crisis context in Portugal, intends to grasp specificities of the adaptation to the lock down and social isolation/distancing measures, concerning, specifically, teleworking conditions and physical activity practice. Data was collected from March to May 2020 through an online survey from 1148 participants of different age groups and literacy. Considering that COVID-19 features a mutual feedback loop of disease and social dynamics-governmental measures, civic adjustments, and individual coping-to know more about what was featured, the first wave may provide some cues to ensure a more efficient co-operation among social actors and, ultimately, tailor better public policies towards teleworking, online distance learning, and the promotion of healthy behaviours.

Active Aging Governance and Challenges at the Local Level.

International and national guidelines have been promoting active aging while creating the necessary means for decision-makers and other relevant actors to work together (governance mechanisms) to implement local and active aging policies. This is especially important in the present COVID-19 pandemic context, posing greater challenges on older people who tend to be self-isolated. How are local actors conceptualizing active aging? What are their priorities related to a healthy life for older people? Which governance mechanisms are used to implement such policies? These are some of the questions addressed in this paper, targeting Portugal, a southern European country. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design combining a survey conducted at a national level and interviews with key actors in the NUTS III Aveiro Region was employed to identify and understand the underpinning governance mechanisms. Findings confirm the 'passive organization type' in which European politico-territorial studies tend to place Portugal, as there are gaps in the way policies are formulated, implemented and evaluated, as well as a lack of coordination. Results of this study have important impacts on the way local governments and other stakeholders will prepare themselves in the post-pandemic period to design and implement policies addressing active aging.

Mapping health vulnerabilities: exploring territorial profiles to support health policies.

Vulnerability processes and effects, albeit of great importance to cohesion and territorial policies, are nonetheless still underexplored and narrowly operationalized in scientific research. In particular, most assessments rely on economic indicators and a limited territorial scale, which do not have the same analytic potential of a broader view at a national level with regional/municipal similarities, specificities, and inter-connections. This gap also applies to health-related vulnerabilities, which, stemming from a lack of socioeconomic and environmental resources, has increased during and after the economic crisis of the past decade. This paper aims to analyze the health vulnerability phenomena in Portugal from a spatial perspective. Following a Multiple Correspondence Analysis, different territorial profiles of social vulnerability associated with the population health condition and access to and use of "health services" are identified. We conclude by outlining the importance of adding the spatial context to health policies addressing vulnerabilities and suggest avenues for future research.

Mapping health vulnerabilities: exploring territorial profiles to support health policies / Mapeamento de vulnerabilidades de saúde: explorando perfis territoriais para apoiar políticas de saúde

Abstract Vulnerability processes and effects, albeit of great importance to cohesion and territorial policies, are nonetheless still underexplored and narrowly operationalized in scientific research. In particular, most assessments rely on economic indicators and a limited territorial scale, which do not have the same analytic potential of a broader view at a national level with regional/municipal similarities, specificities, and inter-connections. This gap also applies to health-related vulnerabilities, which, stemming from a lack of socioeconomic and environmental resources, has increased during and after the economic crisis of the past decade. This paper aims to analyze the health vulnerability phenomena in Portugal from a spatial perspective. Following a Multiple Correspondence Analysis, different territorial profiles of social vulnerability associated with the population health condition and access to and use of "health services" are identified. We conclude by outlining the importance of adding the spatial context to health policies addressing vulnerabilities and suggest avenues for future research.

Resumo Os processos e os efeitos da vulnerabilidade, embora de grande importância para a coesão e políticas territoriais, ainda são pouco explorados e operacionalizados do ponto de vista científico. Na verdade, a maioria das avaliações baseia-se em indicadores económicos e em contextos territoriais muito específicos, não explorando o potencial analítico de uma visão mais ampla ao nível nacional, tendo por base as especificidades e as interconexões regionais / municipais. Essa lacuna é visível nas vulnerabilidades relacionadas com a saúde, que, decorrentes da falta de recursos sociais, económicos e ambientais, aumentaram durante e após a crise económica iniciada na década passada. O principal objetivo deste artigo consiste em analisar os fenómenos de vulnerabilidade associados à saúde em Portugal numa ótica territorial. Através da realização de uma Análise de Correspondência Múltipla, são identificados diferentes perfis territoriais de vulnerabilidade social associados ao "estado de saúde" dos indivíduos e ao acesso e uso de "serviços de saúde". Na conclusão do artigo, sublinha-se a importância de adicionar o contexto territorial às políticas de saúde que procuram encontrar respostas para fazer face aos desafios decorrentes de vulnerabilidades sociais e sugerem-se pistas para investigação futura.

I Want More and Better Cells! - An Outreach Project about Stem Cells and Its Impact on the General Population.

Although science and technology impact every aspect of modern societies, there is still an extensive gap between science and society, which impairs the full exercise of citizenship. In the particular case of biomedical research increased investment should be accompanied by parallel efforts in terms of public information and engagement. We have carried out a project involving the production and evaluation of educational contents focused on stem cells - illustrated newspaper chronicles, radio interviews, a comic book, and animated videos - and monitored their impact on the Portuguese population. The study of the outreach materials in a heterogeneous sample of the population suggests that they are valuable tools to disseminate scientific messages, and that this is especially true for the comic-book format. Furthermore, the data showed that clear and stimulating outreach materials, that are able to teach new concepts and to promote critical thinking, increase engagement in science at different levels, depending on the depth of the concepts involved. Additionally, these materials can influence political, social and personal attitudes toward science. These results, together with the importance attributed to scientific research in stem cells by the population sampled, validates the diffusion of such materials as a significant contribution towards an overall public understanding and engagement in contemporary science, and this strategy should thus be considered in future projects. Regardless, stringent quality control must be implemented in order to efficiently communicate accurate scientific developments, and the public stimulated in terms of finding additional sources of reliable information.

Psychosocial explanations in research articles in Psychology: the Portuguese case and comments to Torres & Neves / Explicações psicossociais em artigos de Psicologia: o caso português e comentários a Torres e Neves

In the present paper we present a commentary on the talk given by Torres and Neves regarding the themes of research in Social Psychology in Brazil. This commentary focuses on issues of intercultural analyses referred to by these authors and their importance in the development of Social Psychology. We also aim to feed this debate with an illustration of the Portuguese scenario. Therefore, we present an analysis of the concepts, explanations and/or psychosocial analyses present in articles published between 2006 and 2012 in three Portuguese journals of Psychology (Análise Psicológica, Psicologia e Psychologica). The results show a high predominance of the "systems external to individuals", especially the ones related to systems of categorization and/or social identities in groups of different social status (Doise, 2012). These results are discussed, synthetically, in articulation with the defence of "cultural translation" as proposed by Torres and Neves.(AU)

Apresenta-se aqui um comentário à intervenção de Torres e Neves sobre os temas de pesquisa em psicologia social no Brasil. Este comentário foca-se nas questões de análise intercultural referidas por aqueles autores e da sua importância no desenvolvimento da psicologia social. Procura também alimentar este debate com uma ilustração do que se passa no cenário português. Assim, apresenta-se uma análise aos conceitos, explicações ou análises psicossociais presentes nos artigos publicados entre 2006 e 2012 em três revistas portuguesas (Análise Psicológica, Psicologia e Psychologica). Os resultados mostram uma grande predominância dos "sistemas externos aos indivíduos", em especial daqueles que se relacionam com sistemas de categorizações e/ou de identidades sociais de grupos com diferente estatuto social (Doise, 2012). Estes dados são discutidos, de forma sintética, em articulação com a defesa da "tradução cultural" que Torres e Neves fazem.(AU)

Psychosocial explanations in research articles in psychology: the portuguese case and comments to Torres & Neves / Explicações psicossociais em artigos de psicologia: o caso português e comentários a Torres e Neves

In the present paper we present a commentary on the talk given by Torres and Neves regarding the themes of research in Social Psychology in Brazil. This commentary focuses on issues of intercultural analyses referred to by these authors and their importance in the development of Social Psychology. We also aim to feed this debate with an illustration of the Portuguese scenario. Therefore, we present an analysis of the concepts, explanations and/or psychosocial analyses present in articles published between 2006 and 2012 in three Portuguese journals of Psychology (Análise Psicológica, Psicologia e Psychologica). The results show a high predominance of the "systems external to individuals", especially the ones related to systems of categorization and/or social identities in groups of different social status (Doise, 2012). These results are discussed, synthetically, in articulation with the defence of "cultural translation" as proposed by Torres and Neves.

Apresenta-se aqui um comentário à intervenção de Torres e Neves sobre os temas de pesquisa em psicologia social no Brasil. Este comentário foca-se nas questões de análise intercultural referidas por aqueles autores e da sua importância no desenvolvimento da psicologia social. Procura também alimentar este debate com uma ilustração do que se passa no cenário português. Assim, apresenta-se uma análise aos conceitos, explicações ou análises psicossociais presentes nos artigos publicados entre 2006 e 2012 em três revistas portuguesas (Análise Psicológica, Psicologia e Psychologica). Os resultados mostram uma grande predominância dos "sistemas externos aos indivíduos", em especial daqueles que se relacionam com sistemas de categorizações e/ou de identidades sociais de grupos com diferente estatuto social (Doise, 2012). Estes dados são discutidos, de forma sintética, em articulação com a defesa da "tradução cultural" que Torres e Neves fazem.