Adherence to Treatment in Hypertension.

The lack of adherence to treatment in hypertension affects approximately 30 % of patients. The elderly, those with several co-morbidities, social isolation, low incomes or depressive symptoms are the most vulnerable to this problem. There is no ideal method to quantify the adherence to the treatment. Indirect methods are recommended in clinical practice. Any intervention strategy should not blame the patient and try a collaborative approach. It is recommended to involve the patient in decision-making. The clinical interview style must be patient-centered including motivational techniques. The improvement strategies that showed greater effectiveness in the compliance of hypertension treatment were: treatment simplification, appointment reminders systems, blood pressure self-monitoring, organizational improvements and nurse and pharmacists care. The combination of different interventions are recommended against isolated interventions.

LiDAR-based reference aboveground biomass maps for tropical forests of South Asia and Central Africa.

Accurate mapping and monitoring of tropical forests aboveground biomass (AGB) is crucial to design effective carbon emission reduction strategies and improving our understanding of Earth's carbon cycle. However, existing large-scale maps of tropical forest AGB generated through combinations of Earth Observation (EO) and forest inventory data show markedly divergent estimates, even after accounting for reported uncertainties. To address this, a network of high-quality reference data is needed to calibrate and validate mapping algorithms. This study aims to generate reference AGB datasets using field inventory plots and airborne LiDAR data for eight sites in Central Africa and five sites in South Asia, two regions largely underrepresented in global reference AGB datasets. The study provides access to these reference AGB maps, including uncertainty maps, at 100 m and 40 m spatial resolutions covering a total LiDAR footprint of 1,11,650 ha [ranging from 150 to 40,000 ha at site level]. These maps serve as calibration/validation datasets to improve the accuracy and reliability of AGB mapping for current and upcoming EO missions (viz., GEDI, BIOMASS, and NISAR).

Impact of the COVID pandemic on mental health and training opportunities of Public Health Residents from 4 European countries: A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: There is little evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Public Health Residents' (PHR) mental health (MH). This study aims at assessing prevalence and risk factors for depression, anxiety and stress in European PHR during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Between March and April 2021, an online survey was administered to PHR from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The survey assessed COVID-19 related changes in working conditions, training opportunities and evaluated MH outcomes using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Multivariable logistic regressions were applied to identify risk factors. Results: Among the 443 respondents, many showed symptoms of depression (60.5%), anxiety (43.1%) and stress (61.2%). The main outcome predictors were: female gender for depression (adjOR = 1.59, 95%CI [1.05-2.42]), anxiety (adjOR = 2.03, 95%CI [1.33-3.08]), and stress (adjOR = 2.35, 95%CI [1.53-3.61]); loss of research opportunities for anxiety (adjOR = 1.94, 95%CI [1.28-2.93]) and stress (adjOR = 1.98, 95%CI [1.26-3.11]); and COVID-19 impact on training (adjOR = 1.78, 95%CI [1.12-2.80]) for depression. Conclusions: The pandemic had a significant impact on PHR in terms of depression, anxiety and stress, especially for women and who lost work-related opportunities. Training programs should offer PHR appropriate MH support and training opportunities.

Practice of biopsychosocial medicine in Portugal: perspectives of professionals involved.

Although, recently, the biopsychosocial approach has been emphasized in the practice of family medicine, how psychologists and physicians interact in collaborative family health care practice is still emerging in Portugal. This article describes a qualitative study that focused on the understanding of psychologists and family physicians' perceptions of their role and the collaborative approach in health care. A questionnaire gathered information regarding collaboration, referral, training and the practice of biopsychosocial medicine. A content analysis on respondents' discourse was performed. Results show that both physicians and psychologists agree on the importance of the biopsychosocial model and interdisciplinary collaboration. However, they also mentioned several difficulties that have to do with the lack of psychologists working full time in health care centers, lack of communication and different expectancies regarding each other roles in health care delivery. Both physicians and psychologists acknowledge the lack of academic training and consider the need for multidisciplinary teams in their training and practice to improve collaboration and integrative care. Implications for future research and for the practice of biopsychosocial medicine are addressed.

Spanish adaptation and validation of the supportive & palliative care indicators tool - SPICT-ESTM.

OBJECTIVE To culturally adapt and validate the SPICTTM to Spanish, which is a brief and simple tool to support a better identification of chronic patients who have palliative care needs. METHODS For this study, we designed a multicenter and national project between the centers of Galicia, Balearic Islands, and Andalusia. For the process of translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the SPICTTM to Spanish, we followed the steps proposed by Beaton et al. with successive translations and subsequent consensus of experts using the debriefing methodology. After the content validation was completed, the psychometric properties were validated. A prospective longitudinal study was designed with 188 patients from Galicia, the Balearic Islands, and Andalusia. The internal consistency and reliability of the test and retest was analyzed for 10 days by the same researcher. RESULTS For more than 90% of the participants of the SPICT-ESTM, it seems simple to be filled out, and they consider it written in an understandable language. The average time to apply the questionnaire without prior knowledge was 4 minutes and 45 seconds. To evaluate the internal consistency of the instrument, we used the Kuder-Richardson formula 20. Internal consistency is 0.71. The agreement index of the Kappa test is between 0.983 and 0.797 for the different items. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we demonstrate the equivalence of content with the original. In addition, the validation of the psychometric properties establishes that the SPICT-ESTM maintains adequate reliability and stability. If we add the satisfaction shown by the professionals and the ease of use, the SPICT-ESTM is an adequate tool for the identification of palliative patients with chronic diseases and palliative care needs.

Behavioral and ecological interactions of foraging mice (Peromyscus melanotis) with overwintering monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in México.

Mice (Peromyscus melanotis) immigrate extensively to overwintering colonies of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in México. There they feed on both live and dead butterflies that accumulate on the ground and in low vegetation. Through a series of feeding experiments, we examined the potential impact of mouse predation on these colonies, as well as how this predation was influenced by the accessibility and the degree of desiccation of the monarchs. Mice attacked on average 39.9 wet (freshlykilled) butterflies per night. We estimated that a population of mice (75-105 individuals) could kill approximately 0.40-0.57 million butterflies in a 1 ha colony (4-5.7% of the colony) over the 135-day overwintering season. In feeding experiments, mice fed disproportionately on: 1) wet (hydrated) monarchs close to the ground versus those perched higher; 2) wet monarchs, when both wet and dry (desiccated) monarchs were on the ground; and 3) wet monarchs on stakes versus dry monarchs on the ground. Mice commonly ate the entire abdomen of dry monarchs, whereas they fed selectively on the abdomen of wet monarchs by discarding the bitter, cardenolide-laden cuticle and eating the internal tissues. These results suggest that the monarchs' state of desiccation is more important than their accessibility in determining the feeding preferences of these mice. However, the monarchs' strong tendency to crawl up vegetation does appear to reduce their risk to mouse predation.

A segurança do paciente, qualidade do atendimento e ética dos sistemas de saúde / Patient safety, quality of care and ethics of health organizations / Seguridad del paciente, calidad asistencial y ética professional

Resumo Em 1999, o relatório "Errar é humano: construir um sistema de saúde mais seguro" do Instituto de Medicina dos Estados Unidos concluiu que a atividade de atendimento especializado não era uma prática infalível e que havia maior probabilidade de causar eventos adversos. Para reduzir os danos dos sistemas de cuidados de saúde, os países desenvolvidos concentraram seu interesse nos cidadãos a partir dos primeiros anos do século XXI. Todas as estratégias de modernização terão como objetivo melhorar a qualidade do atendimento. Nesse contexto, a segurança do paciente é um componente-chave da qualidade assistencial. Em 2003, o Hastings Center publicou o relatório "Promover a segurança do paciente: uma base ética para a deliberação de políticas", que faz uma reflexão ética das obrigações morais subjacentes à cultura de segurança desenvolvida na sequência da publicação do relatório "Errar é humano".

Abstract The "To err is human: building a safer health system" report from the United States Institute of Medicine in 1999 concluded that skilled care activity was not infallible and was likely to cause adverse events. From the early years of the twenty-first century developed countries have focused their interest on citizens in order to reduce the damage of health care systems. All modernization strategies will aim to improve the quality of care. In this context, patient safety is a key component of quality of care. In 2003 the Hastings Center published the report "Promoting patient safety: an ethical basis for policy deliberation", which provides an ethical reflection on the moral obligations underlying the safety culture developed following the publication of the report To err is human.

Resumen En 1999, el informe "Errar es humano: construir un sistema de salud más seguro" del Instituto de Medicina de los Estados Unidos llegaba a la conclusión de que la especializada actividad asistencial no era una práctica infalible y había supuesto una mayor probabilidad de ocasionar eventos adversos. Para aminorar los daños derivados de la atención sanitaria, los sistemas sanitarios de los países desarrollados centrarán su interés en el ciudadano a partir de los primeros años del siglo XXI. Todas las estrategias de modernización tendrán como objetivo la mejora de la calidad asistencial. En ese contexto, un componente fundamental de la calidad lo constituye la seguridad del paciente. En 2003, el Hastings Center publicó el informe Promoviendo la "Seguridad del paciente: una base ética para la deliberación de políticas", que realiza una reflexión ética de las obligaciones morales que subyacen en la cultura de seguridad desarrollada tras la publicación del informe "Errar es humano".

Spanish adaptation and validation of the supportive & palliative care indicators tool - SPICT-ESTM / Adaptación y validación al español del cuestionario de identificación paliativa SPICT-ESTM

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To culturally adapt and validate the SPICTTM to Spanish, which is a brief and simple tool to support a better identification of chronic patients who have palliative care needs. METHODS For this study, we designed a multicenter and national project between the centers of Galicia, Balearic Islands, and Andalusia. For the process of translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the SPICTTM to Spanish, we followed the steps proposed by Beaton et al. with successive translations and subsequent consensus of experts using the debriefing methodology. After the content validation was completed, the psychometric properties were validated. A prospective longitudinal study was designed with 188 patients from Galicia, the Balearic Islands, and Andalusia. The internal consistency and reliability of the test and retest was analyzed for 10 days by the same researcher. RESULTS For more than 90% of the participants of the SPICT-ESTM, it seems simple to be filled out, and they consider it written in an understandable language. The average time to apply the questionnaire without prior knowledge was 4 minutes and 45 seconds. To evaluate the internal consistency of the instrument, we used the Kuder-Richardson formula 20. Internal consistency is 0.71. The agreement index of the Kappa test is between 0.983 and 0.797 for the different items. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we demonstrate the equivalence of content with the original. In addition, the validation of the psychometric properties establishes that the SPICT-ESTM maintains adequate reliability and stability. If we add the satisfaction shown by the professionals and the ease of use, the SPICT-ESTM is an adequate tool for the identification of palliative patients with chronic diseases and palliative care needs.

RESUMEN OBJETIVO Adaptar culturalmente al español y validar el SPICTTM, una herramienta breve y sencilla para apoyar una mejor identificación de pacientes crónicos que presentan necesidades de atención paliativa. MÉTODOS Para este estudio se diseñó un proyecto multicéntrico y nacional entre centros de Galicia, Islas Baleares y Andalucía. Para el proceso de traducción y adaptación transcultural del SPICTTM al castellano, se siguieron los pasos propuestos por Beaton et al. con sucesivas traducciones y posterior consenso de expertos mediante la metodología debriefing. Tras finalizar la validación de contenido se procedió a la validación de las propiedades psicométricas. Se diseñó un estudio longitudinal prospectivo en 188 pacientes de Galicia, Baleares y Andalucía. Fue analizada la consistencia interna y la fiabilidad test-retest a los 10 días por el mismo investigador. RESULTADOS A más del 90% de los participantes SPICT-ESTM les parece sencillo cumplimentarlo, y consideran que está escrito en un lenguaje comprensible. El tiempo medio para aplicar el cuestionario sin conocimiento previo fue de 4 minutos y 45 segundos. Para la evaluación de la consistencia interna del instrumento, se ha utilizado la fórmula Kuder Richardson 20. La consistencia interna es de 0,71. El índice de concordancia del test Kappa se encuentra entre 0,983 y 0,797 para los distintos ítems. CONCLUSIONES En este estudio se ha demostrado la equivalencia de contenido con el original. Además, la validación de las propiedades psicométricas establece que SPICT-ESTM mantiene una adecuada fiabilidad y estabilidad. Si añadimos la satisfacción mostrada por los profesionales y la facilidad de uso, SPICT-ESTM es una herramienta adecuada para la identificación de pacientes paliativos con enfermedades crónicas y necesidad de cuidados paliativos.