Portuguese Community Research Articles

The factorial structure of the SCARED-R in a Portuguese community sample

Aim To evaluate the three-, four-, five- and nine-factor structures of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders - revised version (SCARED-R) in a Portuguese sample. We further aimed at assessing the gender and age patterns of anxiety symptoms. Method The Portuguese version of the SCARED-R was administered to a community sample of 1,314 children, aged 10-13 years. Confirmatory factorial analysis and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were employed. Results The five-, four- and three-factor models presented an acceptable fit to the data. An unacceptable fit to the data was obtained for the one-factor model. The refined nine-factor model presented good fit to the data after the removal of items with low factorial weights. Based on theoretical considerations, this nine-factor model was considered the best model for assessing children’s anxiety symptoms. A hierarchical structure with a second-order factor called "General Anxiety" was proposed. Adequate internal consistency and criterion related validity were demonstrated. Effects of gender and age on the anxiety scores were found. Conclusion The SCARED-R is a reliable tool for screening anxiety symptoms, and can be initially administered to identify children at high risk for specific DSM-IV defined anxiety disorders.

Informing the homeopathic practice for Turkish pharmacists: reviewing the example of Portuguese community pharmacies

Alternative and complementary therapy systems, such as homeopathy, have long been used around the world. Since 1995 homeopathy has been officially recognized in Europe as a system of medicine or a medical specialty. Portuguese community pharmacists have long-standing experience with homeopathic products. By contrast, healthcare professionals in Turkey are less experienced with homeopathic practice although there is a new regulatory setting in place. There are a limited number of studies addressing pharmacists' role within the homeopathic system. To investigate the attitudes (knowledge, feelings and behaviour) of experienced Portuguese pharmacy practitioners who deal with homeopathy, and thus to inform Turkish pharmacy practice and policy on homeopathy-related success factors. A qualitative cross-sectional design was followed, using semi-structured and face-to-face individual interviews with purposively selected Portuguese pharmacists experienced with homeopathic medicines. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and the transcriptions imported into QSR NVivo v10 software for qualitative coding and analysis. Using a thematic content approach, the extracted codes were grouped and indexed by recurrent themes through a reflective procedure and constant comparison. Six general themes emerged, the most relevant being participants' feelings of gratitude for the ability to work in homeopathy; other themes were a helpful regulatory body, clear practice boundaries, scientific support and product quality assurance. Specialized homeopathic education was considered the most important factor for success. This was related to patients' positive perceptions and acceptance, suggesting an increase in public awareness through the pharmacy network. Portuguese pharmacists' attitudes towards their homeopathic practices highlighted the key elements for success in a field that is usually distant from traditional pharmaceutical education and practice. The present findings provide guidance for Turkish pharmacists willing to expand their professional scope and to embrace complementary medicines.

Biting myself so I don't bite the dust: prevalence and predictors of deliberate self-harm and suicide ideation in Azorean youths.

Objective:To characterize non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors, methods, and functions as well as suicide ideation in the adolescent population of a Portuguese community in São Miguel Island, Azores. Increasing rates of NSSI behaviors among adolescents have been observed globally, while suicidal behavior has been pointed as a major cause of death during adolescence.Methods:A sample of 1,763 adolescents, aged 14 to 22, was randomly drawn from public and private schools and administered a set of self-report questionnaires. Descriptive and regression analyses were used to look for specific relationships and predictors of NSSI and suicide ideation in this isolated community.Results:Approximately 30% of youths reported at least one NSSI behavior, a rate that is twice as high as most studies carried out in mainland Portugal and in other European countries. Biting oneself was the most frequent form of NSSI, and NSSI behaviors served predominantly automatic reinforcement purposes (i.e., regulation of disruptive emotional states). NSSI and suicide ideation encompassed different distal and proximal risk factors.Conclusions:Exploring and characterizing these phenomena is necessary to provide a better understanding, enhance current conceptualizations, and guide the development of more effective prevention and intervention strategies in youths.

Attitudes and opinions of Portuguese community pharmacy professionals towards patient reporting of adverse drug reactions and the pharmacovigilance system

Background An adverse drug reaction (ADR) is a harmful and unintended response to a drug. The Portuguese National Pharmacovigilance System (NPS) receives reports from healthcare professionals and consumers, then analyzes the reports to help prevent, eliminate or minimize the risks of drugs to consumers. Community pharmacy professionals (CPPs) have privileged access to consumers, and throughout their pharmacotherapeutic follow-up and the professional–consumer relationship, they can perceive possible ADRs and encourage consumers to report. The aim of this survey was to evaluate CPPs as role players in improving consumers’ involvement in pharmacovigilance and to describe their attitudes related to the pharmacovigilance system and consumers’ reporting of ADRs.

Cultural Importance of Portuguese Religious Festivals in California

Cultural Importance of Portuguese Religious Festivals in California By Victor Toste During the summers in California, families with Portuguese origins find themselves at their local Portuguese lodge throughout the state. In the past 150 years, the Festas do Espirito Santo (Holy Spirit Festivals) have travelled from the Azores into Portuguese-American society and has become an integral physical and social link between these their new and previous home countries. Over the past 50 years though, immigration from Portugal and specifically the Azores has peaked and declined rapidly. I argue that due to this decrease in immigration from Portugal to the United States, the Holy Ghost festivals have slowly changed the transition of Azorean immigrants into American society. Originally, these festivals served as community building and preservation of their Portuguese/Azorean culture and religion, but the festivals have dwindled and the lack of steady immigration has allowed the festivals’ cultural meaning and importance to diminish. Once a celebration of an Azorean lifestyle, the festivals have become a recognition of a unified Portuguese culture while the second and third generation lose part of their Azorean identity. My work goes on to look at the process in which these festivals began, the power they have over the Portuguese community, and how their disappearance could cripple the remaining Portuguese- American community.

Voices From the Periphery? The Polyphony of Hip Hop and the Portuguese Community

Voices From the Periphery? The Polyphony of Hip Hop and the Portuguese Community

Books in the Ets Haim Yeshivah: Acquisition, Publishing, and a Community of Scholarship in Eighteenth-Century Amsterdam

This essay concerns the place of books in shaping three decades (1728–60) during which Amsterdam’s Portuguese community deepened and expanded its rabbinic study. It discusses two sets of sources primarily. The first consists of annual book acquisition lists discovered in the records of the community’s Ets Haim yeshivah. These lists provide insight into contemporary reading habits and interests, the Ets Haim’s education system and literary emphasis, and the economics of book production and commerce. The second set of sources comes from the hundreds of Hebrew books printed in Amsterdam during these decades. Members of the Ets Haim composed and published their own books, edited the work of their peers, and facilitated the publication of texts authored or brought to the city by rabbinic scholars from abroad. Paratextual material elucidates relations between authors, publishers, editors, printers, and rabbinic leadership. This research shows that the Ets Haim expended huge sums of money on book acquisition, thereby placing unprecedented resources at the disposal of its religious intellectual elite. In turn, the yeshivah’s students enjoyed significant freedom to work and produce as they saw fit. As a direct outgrowth of this freedom, the production and dissemination of books facilitated interaction and collaboration between Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews still in many ways demarcated along communal lines.

Parents’ Marital Status and Child Physical Abuse Potential: The Mediation of Depression Symptoms

Informed by a social interactional framework of stress and parenting, the aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of depression symptoms on the association between parents’ marital status (married and divorced parents) and child physical abuse potential, in a Portuguese community sample. It was hypothesized that the possible observed differences between divorced and married parents in the child physical abuse potential would be explained by their depression symptoms. Parents (N = 892) were assessed in their marital status, severity of depression symptoms and child physical abuse potential. Results showed that, when compared with married parents, divorced parents had higher child physical abuse potential. However, parents’ depression symptomatology was found as a mediator of the effect of marital status differences on child physical abuse potential. The influence of the status of divorced parents on the increase of child physical abuse potential was explained by the increase of the parents’ depression symptoms. This finding suggested that parents’ divorced status had no longer an effect on child physical abuse potential when parents’ depression symptomatology was tested as a mediator variable. The present mediation model explained 47 % of the variability in the child physical abuse potential score. Practical implications of these findings for prevention and psychological intervention are also discussed.

Adaptation and Acceptance: Moses Ḥayim Luzzatto's Sojourn in Amsterdam among Portuguese Jews

Although scholars have written extensively about Moses Ḥayim Luzzatto and his literary oeuvre, there has been virtually no work on his stay in Amsterdam (1735–43). The controversy over his supposed Sabbatianism, which engulfed much of the European rabbinate and led to his self-imposed exile from Padua, did not rage overtly in the Dutch Republic, and historians have generally regarded these years as nothing more than a quiet period for Luzzatto and of little consequence to him personally.Using previously unpublished archival material, this article demonstrates that Luzzatto was highly regarded in Amsterdam's generally insular Portuguese community. He received charity and a regular stipend to study in the Ets Haim Yeshiva, forged relationships with both rabbinic and lay leaders, and arguably influenced the community's religious outlook. However, a comparison of the manuscript and print versions ofMesillat yesharim, his famous Musar treatise composed and published in the city, reveals the limitations under which Luzzatto lived. Research into Luzzatto's time in Amsterdam shows the man's enduring self-assurance and relentless critique of his critics, as well as the Portuguese rabbinate's broadening horizons.

PHS132 - Social And Economic Value of Portuguese Community Pharmacies In Public Health

PHS132 - Social And Economic Value of Portuguese Community Pharmacies In Public Health

Introducing an archival collecting model for the records created by South African Portuguese community organisations

This article is based on a study which aimed at broadening archival representation by investigating how to bring the contemporary history of the South African Portuguese community into the country’s archival heritage. To achieve this aim, the study sought to develop an archival collecting model for the records generated by Portuguese community-based organisations, since these materials are deemed an important source for preserving the social history, memories and experiences of an under-documented group, such as the Portuguese in South Africa. National and international sources were analysed and reviewed, and an empirical investigation to examine the Portuguese community organisations was conducted, in order to gain an understanding of the most effective strategies for collecting, managing and preserving these records. This article therefore proposes an archival collecting model for the records generated by South African Portuguese community-based organisations which demonstrates the processes, resources and other factors that are necessary to establish and sustain an archival collecting initiative for the Portuguese community in South Africa. It is hoped that, in addition to benefitting the Portuguese community, the model will also benefit other underdocumented communities in South Africa interested in preserving their histories and experiences.

La langue portugaise se protège au sein de sa forteresse : La « communauté portugaise » de Montréal

Cette contribution est issue d’une enquete ethnographique en sociolinguistique sur la « communaute portugaise » a Montreal. Suite a la recherche de terrain conduite a Montreal en 2011 et en 2014, nous avons pu realiser deux typologies d’analyse. Dans un premier temps, grâce a l’analyse linguistique, nous avons observe sept « elements de fragilite » de la langue portugaise parlee au sein du groupe, qui montrent son degre d’erosion. Ensuite, en analysant les discours epilinguistiques, nous avons pu souligner differents statuts donnes a la langue et surtout son role comme marqueur identitaire de la « communaute ».

Juste une mise au point : débat identitaire, récit de filiation et parodie dans le roman graphique Portugal de Cyril Pedrosa

ABSTRACTCyril Pedrosa's Portugal, is a graphic novel which tries to represent a symbolic Portuguese ethnic identity. Belonging to a “third generation” of Portuguese immigrants in France, the author and his main character are not able to give a name to this ethnic identity in the French Republic. Ethnic identities are not officially recognized in France. In this article, I analyze how the genres of the graphic novel, filiation narrative, and parody allow Pedrosa not only to stage a transnational identity but also to represent the diversity of the “Portuguese community” different from the stereotype of the “model minority.” Returning to his origins, but also to the origins of comics (caricature and social commentary), Pedrosa challenges the very idea of “return” and takes a stand on the French identity debate by criticizing identity politics and questioning the representation of immigrants and their descendants in France.

Toronto’s Little Portugal: gentrification and social relations among local entrepreneurs

This article clarifies neighborhood politics in Toronto’s Little Portugal Business Improvement Area (BIA), an ethnic neighborhood facing gentrification, by focusing on local entrepreneurs and the social relations among them. In the BIA, non-Portuguese businesses have replaced Portuguese businesses in the past decade; Portuguese and non-Portuguese entrepreneurs are now found in almost the same numbers. I visualized their social relations by using a diagram called a sociogram. Portuguese and non-Portuguese entrepreneurs are spatially inseparable but socially divided in the neighborhood. The BIA board, an organization for community development spearheaded by local entrepreneurs and property owners, has become predominantly non-Portuguese. The social relations among non-Portuguese entrepreneurs affect and are affected by the activities of this organization. While the Portuguese community could potentially mount resistance by mobilizing the collective power of the provincial ethnic alliance, the BIA is a form of quasi-government in Little Portugal; hence, the Portuguese community may have limited options for such resistance.

Intimate Partner Violence Among Older Portuguese Immigrant Women in Canada.

One third of the immigrant population around the world is made up of women. Of these women, many belong to the Portuguese community. Immigrants account for more than one in five Canadians. The Portuguese older immigrant women living in Canada are vulnerable to be victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), which is a prevalent and important global health issue that affects differently diverse groups. There are few available researches regarding IPV on this population. The objective of this study is to understand how Portuguese older immigrant women living in Canada experience IPV. This is a qualitative study with a social phenomenological focus. Alfred Schutz's motivation theory was used to analyze the impulses that led older women to face IPV. The data were collected from July to October 2013 in the Greater Toronto Area. Ten women 60 years or older were included in the study. The participants perceived themselves as being victimized by their current or ex partners. They are unhappy and suffer from a variety of health problems, which they related to their experience of IPV. These factors, along with participants' personal beliefs, and their legal situations as immigrants in Canada, made them act, either in a way that would try to maintain their relationships, or tried to escape the violent situation. IPV is a complex phenomenon, with different perceptions surrounding it. The experiences of the older immigrant women showed that ending the marriage is not always a possibility to them because of cultural issues and their immigrant status in Canada. Some women wish help and support to improve their relationships.

Portuguese American gay men in southeastern Massachusetts: cultural scripts and risk for HIV

In this study, we examined the lived experiences of an understudied subgroup, Portuguese American gay men, within the context of sexual script theory. We employed a phenomenological study design with eight men to provide a more in-depth analysis of their sociocultural sexual behaviours. Recruitment was conducted through word of mouth and a snowball approach beginning with two well-known HIV education and prevention outreach centres in southeastern Massachusetts. In this study, the sexual scripts of the participants were conceptualised within the three domains of cultural, interpersonal and intrapsychic scripts. Our findings suggest the three scripts are constantly interacting and informing one another. This ongoing negotiation influences the way our participants position their sexuality within the broader context of their everyday life within the US Portuguese community. Participants script their sexuality while they navigate multiple but separate entities within their culture, their religion and their families. Learning from these experiences could have important implications for the development of HIV prevention programmes for specific subgroups of men who have sex with men.

Determinants of self-medication with NSAIDs in a Portuguese community pharmacy.

Background:Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a widely used therapeutic group in the world, and particularly in the Portuguese population.Objective:To compare NSAID’s use by prescription and self-medication acquisition and to determine the pattern of indication of NSAIDs, their usage profile and possible implications for patients’ safety.Methods:A cross-sectional design was used where individuals presenting at a community pharmacy requesting NSAIDs during the study period (one month) were invited to answer a face-to-face interview where socio-demographic characteristics, the indication pattern and previous experience of side effects were assessed. A follow-up interview was performed one week later to assess the incidence of adverse effects. The study was ethically approved.Results:A sample of 130 NSAIDs users was recruited, comprising mostly women (n=87; 66.9%), actively employed (n=77; 59.2%) and presenting a mean age of 49.5 years old (SD=20.49). An equal proportion of individuals acquired NSAIDs by self-medication and with medical prescription (n=65; 50%). Over 4/5 of patients (n=57; 87.7%) acquiring NSAIDs without a prescription were self-medicated by their own initiative, and only 10.8% (n=7) had been advised by the pharmacist. The most commonly acquired active substances were ibuprofen and diclofenac. Self-medicated users more frequently resorted to topical NSAIDs following short term treatments. The major underlying condition motivating NSAIDs sought were musculoskeletal disorders (45.0%), regardless of the regimen. An important proportion of prevalent users of NSAIDs reported previous experience of adverse effects (11.3%). One week after initiating NSAID therapy, a small proportion of patients reported incidence of adverse effects.Conclusion:Self-medication with NSAIDs is sought for numerous medical conditions. Reported adverse effects (prevalent and incident) confirm the need for a more rational use of NSAIDs and ongoing pharmacovigilance.

How to best manage time interaction with patients? Community pharmacist workload and service provision analysis.

Primary health care disease management models are rooted in multidisciplinary participation; however, implementation of services is lagging behind desires and predictions. Barriers like workload and lack of demand have been described. The aim of this research is to observe the workload and work patterns of Portuguese community pharmacists, and relate it with the demand of pharmaceutical services. A time-and-motion observational study was performed to describe community pharmacists' workload in a sample of four pharmacies in the metropolitan Lisbon area. A reference list of activities to be observed was developed by reviewing other studies of community pharmacy work. This study took place during a weekday's 8-h shift, focusing on pharmacists' activities. Data to be collected included the type and duration of the activity, who performed it and where. To estimate the demand of pharmaceutical care services, "thematic-patient scenarios" were developed. These scenarios were based on the defined daily dose and package size of the most consumed medicines in Portugal, combined with data obtained from the four pharmacies' information systems on the day the observational study took place. Between 67.0% and 81.8% of the registered activities were pharmacist-patient interactions. These interactions summed 158.44min, with a mean duration of 3.98min per interaction. On average, participant pharmacies' professionals handled 4.2 prescriptions and 0.9 over-the-counter (OTC) consultations per hour. About one third of the day was spent performing administrative and non-differentiated tasks. About 54.92min were registered as free time, 50% of which were "micro pauses" with 1min or less. The most dispensed therapeutic subgroup was antihypertensive drugs, while the dispensation of antidiabetics was characterized by a high number of packages sold per interaction. From the developed scenarios, one can estimate that a chronic patient may visit the pharmacy 4-9 times per year, depending on the condition presented. Workload results are very similar to findings from studies in other countries, which may be an indication of uniformity of community pharmacy practice across countries. The amount of time a pharmacist has at the counter to interact with a patient during a year renders disease management or therapeutic management non-viable. Also, the perception of "lack of time," many times reported as a barrier for service provision, must be called into question, since substantial available time was found. However, to turn this available time into usable time, redesign of work processes and new role definition are necessary. Both better management and new communication channels should be developed to address this gap and increase patient follow-up services.

The Capabilities Questionnaire for the Community Mental Health Context (CQ-CMH): A measure inspired by the capabilities approach and constructed through consumer-researcher collaboration.

The involvement of people with psychiatric disabilities in research and service evaluation has traditionally been rare, especially in the construction of outcome measures. This study documents a collaborative process with consumers from 2 Portuguese community mental health services in the construction of the Capabilities Questionnaire for the Community Mental Health context (CQ-CMH). The measure is inspired by Nussbaum's capabilities approach and aims to measure consumers' capabilities when supported by the community mental health services. Focus groups with 50 consumers from 2 programs generated data about their gains from and goals for participation in the programs. A Steering Committee-comprising 3 consumers and 2 researchers-analyzed the data, generated a list of items, sorted them according to Nussbaum's list of capabilities, and developed a rating scale. To check face validity, the questionnaire was tested with 15 consumers. The collaborative process led to the transformation of traditional research roles, the promotion of empowerment to participants, the ecological validity of the results, and a cultural adaptation of Nussbaum's list to the context of the study. The resulting CQ-CMH is composed of 104 items organized by 10 capabilities, and 1 open-ended question about service improvements. The capabilities approach and the collaborative process undertaken both support the exercise of choice and control by people with psychiatric disabilities. The capabilities measure-constructed by consumers-may be used as an outcome measure in service evaluation. The questionnaire will undergo further testing of its validity and psychometric qualities.

SAFEGUARDING SOUTH AFRICA’S PORTUGUESE COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANISATIONAL RECORDS: THE QUESTION OF CUSTODY

This research article made an effort to uncover the attitudes of South African Portuguese community-based organisations in Gauteng, South Africa, towards the custody of their potential archival records and where these organisations would prefer to house any archival records they may hold. The literature reviewed revealed that community records often present community organisations that hold these records with a dilemma regarding who might take custody of their potential records if they do decide to participate in an archival collecting effort of their community. The literature also showed that archival custody options come in different forms, ranging from traditional approaches to custody of physical and legal transfer of ownership to a mainstream archive, to alternative methods often referred to as the post-custodial and stewardship approaches. Utilising an interpretive qualitative research design, similarly the empirical findings from the interviews held with the Portuguese organisations in Gauteng also revealed that these organisations’ preferences towards custody were not uniform. The results showed that any proposed archival collecting effort of the Portuguese community will have to take all their divergent views into consideration if an archival collecting strategy that facilitates the contribution of the records from all their organisations is to be achieved. It also became evident that each organisation’s preference towards the custody of their records is often contentious and therefore needs to be respected if these community records are to be preserved in the long term.