Browsing by Author "Fernandes, L."
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- Effectiveness of Psycho-Educational Intervention in HIV Patients' TreatmentPublication . Ribeiro, C.; Sarmento-Castro, R.; Dinis-Ribeiro, M.; Fernandes, L.Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) is the main prognostic factor associated with HIV disease progression and death. The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a psycho-educational program to promote adherence to HAART in HIV patients. A longitudinal study (n = 102) over 9 months in an Infectious Diseases Hospital was carried out. Adherence to HAART was measured with standardized scales and values of viral load. Two groups were defined: adherents and non-adherents. In the latter, a psycho-educational program was implemented and 6 months later measured adherence to HAART. Knowledge about the infection, CD4 T lymphocytes and HIV-ribonucleic acid values were measured before and after this program. The sample was predominantly male (70%), heterosexual (78%), with a mean age of 49 (SD = 12.7) years, and 48% of participants were not adhering to HAART. After the program, non-adherence decreased to 21.6%. Knowledge about the infection increased from 79 to 97%. A significant increase in CD4 T lymphocytes (mean 540-580) and a decrease in viral load (mean 5411-3052) were observed, the latter of statistical significance. This program seems to be feasible and efficient, improving adherence to HAART.
- The Portuguese Severe Asthma Registry: Development, Features, and Data Sharing PoliciesPublication . Sá-Sousa, A.; Fonseca, J.; Pereira, A.; Ferreira, A.; Arrobas, A.; Mendes, A.; Drummond, M.; Videira, W.; Costa, T.; Farinha, P.; Soares, J.; Rocha, P.; Todo-Bom, A.; Sokolova, A.; Costa, A.; Fernandes, B.; Chaves Loureiro, C.; Longo, C.; Pardal, C.; Costa, C.; Cruz, C.; Loureiro, C.; Lopes, C.; Mesquita, D.; Faria, E.; Magalhães, E.; Menezes, F.; Todo-Bom, F.; Carvalho, F.; Regateiro, F.; Falcao, H.; Fernandes, I.; Gaspar-Marques, J.; Viana, J.; Ferreira, J.; Silva, J.; Simão, L.; Almeida, L.; Fernandes, L.; Ferreira, L.; van Zeller, M.; Quaresma, M.; Castanho, M.; André, N.; Cortesão, N.; Leiria-Pinto, P.; Pinto, P.; Rosa, P.; Carreiro-Martins, P.; Gerardo, R.; Silva, R.; Lucas, S.; Almeida, T.; Calvo, T.The Portuguese Severe Asthma Registry (Registo de Asma Grave Portugal, RAG) was developed by an open collaborative network of asthma specialists. RAG collects data from adults and pediatric severe asthma patients that despite treatment optimization and adequate management of comorbidities require step 4/5 treatment according to GINA recommendations. In this paper, we describe the development and implementation of RAG, its features, and data sharing policies. The contents and structure of RAG were defined in a multistep consensus process. A pilot version was pretested and iteratively improved. The selection of data elements for RAG considered other severe asthma registries, aiming at characterizing the patient's clinical status whilst avoiding overloading the standard workflow of the clinical appointment. Features of RAG include automatic assessment of eligibility, easy data input, and exportable data in natural language that can be pasted directly in patients' electronic health record and security features to enable data sharing (among researchers and with other international databases) without compromising patients' confidentiality. RAG is a national web-based disease registry of severe asthma patients, available at asmagrave.pt. It allows prospective clinical data collection, promotes standardized care and collaborative clinical research, and may contribute to inform evidence-based healthcare policies for severe asthma.