Dual consent? Donors' and recipients' views about involvement in decision-making on the use of embryos created by gamete donation in research

Background Reasonable disagreement about the role awarded to gamete donors in decision-making on the use of embryos created by gamete donation (EGDs) for research purposes emphasises the importance of considering the implementation of participatory, adaptive, and trustworthy policies and guidelines for consent procedures. However, the perspectives of gamete donors and recipients about decision-making regarding research with EGDs are still under-researched, which precludes the development of policies and guidelines informed by evidence. This study seeks to explore the views of donors and recipients about who should take part in consent processes for the use of EGDs in research. Methods From July 2017 to June 2018, 72 gamete donors and 175 recipients completed a self-report structured questionnaire at the Portuguese Public Bank of Gametes (response rate: 76%). Agreement with dual consent was defined as the belief that the use of EGDs in research should be consented by both donors and recipients. Results The majority of participants (74.6% of donors and 65.7% of recipients) were willing to donate embryos for research. Almost half of the donors (48.6%) and half of the recipients (46.9%) considered that a dual consent procedure is desirable. This view was more frequent among employed recipients (49.7%) than among non-employed (21.4%). Donors were less likely to believe that only recipients should be involved in giving consent for the use of EGDs in research (25.0% vs. 41.7% among recipients) and were more frequently favourable to the idea of exclusive donors' consent (26.4% vs. 11.4% among recipients). Conclusions Divergent views on dual consent among donors and recipients indicate the need to develop evidence-based and ethically sustainable policies and guidelines to protect well-being, autonomy and reproductive rights of both stakeholder groups. More empirical research and further theoretical normative analyses are needed to inform people-centred policy and guidelines for shared decision-making concerning the use of EGDs for research

A prevenção do tabagismo em meio escolar: teoria e prática

Neste capítulo apresenta-se o conjunto de medidas atualmente consideradas mais eficientes na prevenção do consumo de tabaco pelas crianças e adolescentes.Fundos Nacionais através da FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) e cofinanciado pelo Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) através do COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) com a referência POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562; CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, IE, UMinho (UI 317 da FCT), Portugalinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hábitos tabágicos dos pais de alunos do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico: implicações para a intervenção

A evidência de que a exposição ao Fumo Ambiental do Tabaco (FAT) é prejudicial para a saúde, em todas as fases da vida do ser humano, particularmente na infância, é consistente, robusta e consensual. Os principais responsáveis pela exposição das crianças ao fumo ambiental do tabaco no domicílio são os pais. Os objectivos deste artigo são: 1) Caracterizar os hábitos tabágicos dos pais/mães dos alunos; 2) Determinar a prevalência de pais/mães, que fumam no domicílio; 3) Identificar alguns factores sócio-demográficos relacionados com o consumo de tabaco no domicílio; 4) Relacionar as opiniões dos pais/mães da amostra, relativamente ao tabagismo activo e passivo, com os hábitos tabágicos. O estudo realizou-se no final do ano lectivo de 2006/2007, consistindo na aplicação de um questionário anónimo de auto preenchimento a uma amostra constituída por um total de 515 pais (272 mães e 243 pais), de alunos com idades entre sete e dez anos. São elevadas as percentagens de pais fumadores que fumam em casa, pondo em risco a sua saúde e dos conviventes, especialmente a dos seus filhos. Este estudo mostra a necessidade de todos os que lidam com pais fumadores ajam, no sentido de proteger as crianças desta agressão.The evidence that exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) is health damaging, in all stages of human life, particularly during childhood, is consistent, strong and has consensus. The main responsible for child exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at home are the parents. The goals of this paper are: 1) To determine the prevalence of the sample students’ fathers/mothers who smoke at home; 2) To identify some social-demographical factors related to tobacco consumption by the students’ fathers/ mothers, at home; 3) To relate fathers/mothers’ opinion regarding active and passive smoking with their tobacco consumption. The study took place in the end of the 2006/ 2007 school year, consisting on the application of a self-filling anonymous questionnaire to a sample of 515 parents (272 mothers and 243 fathers), parents of students aged between seven and ten years old. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that there is a high percentage of smoking parents who smoke at home, putting their health and the health of the ones who live with them at risk, especially their children. This study shows the need for everyone who deals with smoking parents (paediatricians, family doctors, teachers, etc.) to act accordingly to protect children from this aggression. Implications for action are discussed

Prenatal bonding and anxiety in mothers and fathers: the impact of ultrasound in the 1st trimester of pregnancy

Com o objectivo de avaliar o impacto da ecografia do 1º trimestre de gravidez na ansiedade e vinculação pré-natal, 22 mães e 22 pais foram recrutados numa Unidade de Medicina Fetal e Diagnóstico Pré-Natal. Foram administrados a Bonding Scale (Taylor, Atkins, Kumar, Adams, & Glover, 2005; versão portuguesa de Figueiredo, Marques, Costa, Pacheco, & Pais, 2005b) e o State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983; versão portuguesa de Silva, 2003), antes e depois da ecografia, a ambos os membros do casal. Os resultados revelaram que a vinculação pré-natal aumenta significativamente enquanto a sintomatologia ansiosa diminui, depois da realização da ecografia. Conclui-se que a ecografia pode ter um papel tranquilizador e potenciador da ligação dos pais ao seu bebé por nascer.In order to analyse the first-trimester ultrasound impact on anxiety and prenatal bonding, 22 mothers and 22 fathers were recruited from a Fetal Medicine and Prenatal Diagnosis Unit. The mothers and fathers filled out Portuguese versions of the Bonding Scale (Taylor, Atkins, Kumar, Adams, & Glover, 2005; Figueiredo, Marques, Costa, Pacheco, & Pais, 2005) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983; Portuguese version by Silva, 2003), before and after the ultrasound attendance. The results show that prenatal bonding improves significantly from before to after the ultrasound attendance, while the anxiety levels diminished. We can conclude that the ultrasound scanning seems to have a positive impact on the mother and father prenatal bonding and reassuranc

Exposición de niños al humo ambiental del tabaco (FAT) : un estudio efectuado con alumnos de 4º curso de escolaridad de Braga - Portugal

Objetivos: 1) Determinar la prevalencia de padres fumadores; 2) Determinar la prevalencia de padres fumadores que fuman en el domicilio. Pacientes y método: Ha sido aplicado un cuestionario anónimo y autoadministrado a una muestra de 793 alumnos, con una edad media de 9,14 años, pertenecientes a escuelas de la región Norte de Portugal. Resultados: el 15,5% de las madres y el 37,0% de los padres son fumadores diarios; el 11,4% de las madres y el 25,8% de los padres fuman diaria u ocasionalmente en casa. El 14,2% de los alumnos relatan que por lo menos una de las personas con las que conviven (padre, madre, hermano u otro) fuma diariamente en casa y el 28,0% que lo hacen ocasionalmente. Conclusiones: Casi la mitad de los niños están expuestos diaria u ocasionalmente al humo ambiental del tabaco. Los profesionales de la salud, en especial los pediatras, deben preguntar sistemáticamente a los padres si fuman en casa y aconsejarles a que dejen de fumar, o por lo menos, a fumar fuera de ella. La escuela debe aplicar programas de prevención de los niños al humo pasivo

Flows of gametes for purposes of reproduction: analysis of Portuguese fertility clinic websites

5º Congresso Ibero-americano de Investigação Qualitativa (CIAIQ2016). Porto, 12-14 Julho de 2016

Bad habits in oral hygiene on campus: to change or not to change, that’s the question!

Oral health behaviours are fundamental for health, but few studies have been focused on them, particularly on university students. This study aims to describe st udent s’ oral hygiene behaviours, perceptions about campus facilities concerning oral hygiene, and readiness to change oral behaviours. Participants were 403 college students from University of Minho, attending different courses; 70.5% were female. The mean age was 22.74 (s.d.= 4.74). The percentage of students that self-report absence of daily oral care was 61.5. The majority of students (88.6%) have meals on campus, however only 20.7% practiced oral health behaviours. Only 10.4% evaluated campus’ conditions to promote oral hygiene as “good” or “very good”. If conditions improved, 40.4% would think about changing their behaviours and 29% would effectively change them. These results reveal the urgency to improve oral hygiene habits on campus and encourage the development of health promotion programmes

Antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes after infertility treatment

STUDY QUESTION: Do mode of conception [ART versus Natural (NC)] and depression have an interactive effect on antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes? SUMMARY ANSWER: Depression increased the negative effect of ART on antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes, specifically on antenatal marital relationship satisfaction. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Research on antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes after ART is scarce and has produced inconsistent results. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This cross-sectional study assessed 197 primiparous men (71 ART and 126 NC) during their partner’s second trimester of gestation. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Participants were derived from three larger longitudinal studies recruited at public Health Services in Northern Portugal. All men, for who this was their first child and had filled in a socio-demographic questionnaire, measures of depression and anxiety, and antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes were selected. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: An interaction effect of mode of conception and depression was found on antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes. ART men showing high depressive symptomatology had lower antenatal marital relationship satisfaction than ART men showing low depressive symptomatology and NC men showing high or low depressive symptomatology. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Due to the cross-sectional design of this study and the small sample size in the depression groups, the findings should be interpreted with caution. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Specialized psychological support should be available for ART men screened with high depressive symptomatology as part of routine prenatal care appointments.This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/ 01662/2013), University of Minho, and at the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia—Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UID/DTP/04750/2013). It was supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science) through National funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653) and through the Operational Programme Factors of Competitiveness–COMPETE within the project ‘Health, Governance and Accountability in Embryo Research: Couples’ Decisions About the Fates of Embryos’ (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014453), the FCT Investigator contract IF/01674/2015 and PhD grants (SFRH/BD/115048/2016, SFRH/BD/75807/2011 and SFRH/BD/40146/2007).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evolução do consumo de álcool em adolescentes portugueses escolarizados: beber álcool ainda estará na moda?

Introdução: O consumo de álcool entre os jovens é um problema grave e muito prevalente, associando-se a comportamentos de risco, danos cerebrais, problemas de aprendizagem e dependência na idade adulta. Têm sido desenhadas e implementadas medidas preventivas, no entanto é necessário avaliar a sua eficácia. Nesse contexto, efetuamos este estudo que tem como objetivo: descrever a evolução do consumo de bebidas alcoólicas em adolescentes portugueses escolarizados entre 1995 e 2011 e avaliar a eficácia das medidas preventivas implementadas. Materiais e Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, com recurso a dados de fontes secundárias. Para caraterizar a evolução do consumo de álcool em adolescentes portugueses recorreu-se aos dados dos relatórios do Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC), efetuados entre 1998 e 2010, para os 11, 13 e 15 anos de idade, e aos relatórios do European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), efetuados entre 1995 e 2011, com jovens com idade média de 16 anos. Resultados: Os dados dos relatórios do HBSC demonstram que entre 1998 e 2010, o consumo semanal, aos 15 anos, decresceu de 29% para 12% nos rapazes e de 9% para 6% nas raparigas. A análise dos relatórios do ESPAD demonstra que a prevalência do consumo, nos 30 dias que precederam o inquérito, aumentou dois pontos percentuais no sexo masculino entre 1995 (54%) e 2011 (56%) e, no sexo feminino, aumentou de 45% em 1995 para 50% em 2011. Entre 1995 e 2011, a prevalência de "binge drinking", nos últimos 30 dias, aumentou de 11% para 19% nas raparigas e de 18% para 27% nos rapazes. Conclusão: Parece existir uma tendência decrescente na prevalência do consumo de álcool em ambos os sexos, aos 15 anos, mas um aumento em adolescentes do sexo feminino de 16 anos. À semelhança de outros países da União Europeia, o consumo de várias bebidas alcoólicas na mesma ocasião ("binge drinking") está a aumentar de forma apreciável em ambos os sexos. Face à gravidade deste comportamento é urgente tomar medidas preventivas, sobretudo na escola, com vista ao seu controlo.Background: Alcohol consumption among youth is a serious and very prevalent problem associated with risk behaviors, brain damages, learning problems and substance dependence in adulthood. Preventive measures have been developed and implemented, although the evaluation of their effectiveness is needed. This study aims to describe alcohol consumption trends in Portuguese school-aged adolescents between 1995-2011 and to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented preventive measures. Methods and Materials: This is a descriptive study, with data from secondary sources. To characterize trends in alcohol consumption prevalence among Portuguese adolescents data was retrieved from Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children’s Reports (HBSC), between 1998 and 2010, for 11, 13 and 15 years old, and from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs’ Reports, between 1995 and 2011, with teenagers aged 16 years old on average. Results: Data from the HBSC reports show that between 1998 and 2010, alcohol consumption, in 15 years old teenagers, decreased from 29% to 12% in boys and from 9% to 6% in girls. Data from the ESPAD reports show that alcohol consumption prevalence, in the last 30 days, increased 2 percentage points in males, between 1995 (54%) and 2011 (56%), and in females increased from 45% in 1995 to 50% in 2011. Between 1995 and 2011, binge drinking prevalence increased from 11% to 19% in girls and from 18% to 27% in boys. Conclusions: A decreasing trend in alcohol consumption prevalence in both boys and girls, with 15 years old, seems to be registered, but among females with 16 years old an increasing trend is observed. As in other countries in the European Union, the consumption of several alcoholic beverages in the same occasion (“binge drinking”) is increasing in both sexes. Due to the severity of this behavior, preventive measures aiming its control are essential, especially in school.Projeto FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-019925 (Ref.ª FCT PTDC/CPE-PEC/117991/2010) financiado pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia no âmbito do Programa Operacional Temático Factores de Competitividade (COMPETE) e comparticipado pelo Fundo Comunitário Europeu FEDER

Second hand smoke (SHS) exposure in children: an evaluation of a preventative measure

Objectivo: Avaliar a eficácia de uma intervenção preventiva, dirigida a alunos do 4.º ano de escolaridade e aos seus pais/encarregados de educação, com a finalidade de reduzir a exposição das crianças ao fumo ambiental do tabaco (FAT) no domicílio. Material e métodos: Trata -se de um estudo pré-experimental, do tipo pré -teste e pós -teste, com alunos pertencentes a 32 escolas do 1.º ciclo do ensino básico, de cinco agrupamentos de escolas do concelho de Braga, no ano lectivo 2007/08. Foi aplicado um questionário de autorrelato, em contexto de sala de aula, antes e depois da intervenção. Na análise de dados, foi utilizado o qui -quadrado, por se tratarem de variáveis de categoria. Resultados: A prevalência de crianças expostas diária ou ocasionalmente ao FAT, pelo facto de pelo menos um dos conviventes fumar em casa, desceu dos 42,2% para os 32,6% (p=0,001). A percentagem de alunos, filhos de fumadores, que percepcionam que o pai fuma diária ou ocasionalmente em casa baixou de 68,0% no pré -teste para 51,6% no pós -teste (p=0,001). Em relação às mães, não houve uma redução estatisticamente significativa. Conclusão: O Programa Domicílios Sem Fumo terá sido eficaz em prevenir o consumo dos pais e outros conviventes em casa, tendo por isso ajudado a reduzir a prevalência de crianças expostas ao fumo ambiental. No entanto, verifica -se que ainda há cerca de um terço de crianças expostas, o que releva a necessidade de investimento em intervenções nesta área. Os profissionais de saúde, em especial os pediatras, devem aconselhar os pais a parar de fumar, sobretudo em casa.Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of the preventative programme “Smoke-free Homes” undertaken in 4th year children and their parents or guardians, aiming to reduce children’s exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) in the home. Material and methods: This was a pre- and post-test pre-experimental study, in students from 32 Braga district primary schools 2007/08. A self-administered and structured questionnaire was given out to 795 students in the classroom before and after the programme. In analysing data, we used the chi-squared test for the categorical variables.Results: The rate of children exposed to regular or occasional SHS due to living with at least one smoker dropped from 42.2% to 32.6% (p=0.001). The percentage of students, children of smokers who stated that their father smoked regularly or occasionally at home, dropped from 68.0% pre-test to 51.6% posttest (p=0.000). No significant reduction was seen in mothers. Conclusion: Based on the data, we can conclude that the “Smoke-free Homes” programme was effective in preventing smoking in the home, and therefore reducing the rate of children exposed to SHS by about 10%. However, it appears that about a third of children are still exposed, which highlights the need for further measures in this area. Healthcare professionals, particularly those working in Paediatrics, should advise parents to quit smoking, especially in the home