Browsing by Author "Sousa, Joana"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- COVID-19 and lockdown, as lived and felt by university studentsPublication . Branquinho, Cátia; Guedes, F. B.; Cerqueira, Ana; Marques-Pinto, Alexandra; Branco, Amélia; Galvão, Cecília; Sousa, Joana; Goulão, Luís F.; Bronze, Maria Rosário; Viegas, Wanda; Matos, Margarida Gaspar deIn the last 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread all over the world, forcing the closure of universities, among other unusual measures in recent history. (1) Background: This work is based on the study HOUSE-ULisbon, a survey carried out during the second confinement (March–May 2021) in Portugal with the collaboration of all the Faculties of the University of Lisbon (UL). The present work aims to explore gender differences in how first-year college students experienced and felt COVID-19 and the second confinement. (2) Methods: A questionnaire was carried out. In total, 976 university students (19.66 years (SD = 4.033); Min = 17 and Max = 65) from the first year of the UL were included, of which 69.5% (n = 678) were female, and 30.5% were male (n = 298). SPSS v. 26 was used for quantitative data and MAXQDA 2020 for qualitative data. (3) Results: Overall, students reported various symptoms of physical and mental discomfort (especially females). Statistically significant differences were found in the problems that could arise from the pandemic, such as the prevalence of higher anxiety and worries by females, and online gaming by males. In coping strategies, differences were found in leisure and family relationships, with greater difficulty on the female side. Social interaction was perceived as difficult or very difficult by both genders. As strategies for future pandemics, they highlighted a concerted effort between the government and media in the transmission of messages to the population, facilitating information, knowledge and adoption of protective behaviors. (4) Conclusions: These results are important data for activating or maintaining resources and services for first-year university students, who in some university institutions were supported during the pandemic by psychological, material (e.g., computers, internet), and financial support measures, which are now diminished or extinct. The impacts on their lives will certainly not be extinguished post-pandemic, and health, education, and public policy measures should be prioritized for this group. These results are important data for activating resources and services for students, informing health and education professionals, and supporting public policies.
- Emotional distress in portuguese cancer patients: The use of the emotion thermometers (ET) screening toolPublication . Silva, S.; Paredes, T.; Teixeira, R.J.; Brandão, Tânia; Dimitrovova, Klara; Marques, Diogo; Sousa, Joana; Leal, Monick; Dias, Albina; Neves, Carole; Marques, Graciete Saraiva; Amaral, Natália ACancer patients may experience significant distress. The “Emotion Thermometers” (ETs) are a short visual analogue scale used to screen patients for psychosocial risk. This study aimed to assess emotional distress in a large sample of cancer patients attending psychological services at an non-governmental organization (NGO), and to explore factors that may contribute to it. The ETs were answered by 899 cancer patients. They were, on average, 59.9 years old, the majority were female, had breast cancer, were under treatment or were disease-free survivors, and reported high levels of emotional distress, above the cut-off (≥5). A Generalized Linear Model was used to measure the association between the level of distress, age, gender, disease phase and 33 items of the problem list. Four items—sadness, depression, sleep and breathing—were found to be significantly related to a higher level of distress. Additionally, women and patients who were in the palliative phase also had significantly higher levels of distress. The results confirm the need for early emotional screening in cancer patients, as well as attending to the characteristics of each patient. Additionally, they highlight the utility of the ETs for the clinical practice, allowing to optimize the referral to specialized psychosocial services.
- School and family ecosystem: Incentives and barriers to school–family communicationPublication . Guedes, F. B.; Cerqueira, Ana; Marques-Pinto, A.; Branco, Amélia; Galvão, Cecília; Sousa, Joana; LF, Goulao; Bronze, MR; Viegas, Wanda; Gaspar, Tania; Moreno, Carmen; Matos, M. G.The aim of the study was to explore the factors and barriers related to the incentive and opportunity of school–family communication. This work is part of the HOUSE-Colégio F3 Project, ULisbon, which included 1,143 first-year university students from the University of Lisbon, with average age of 19.61 ± 3.96 years. The young people who had better communication with their parents, greater family support and better family relationship were the ones who reported greater incentives for school–family communication. School–family communication and relationship were associated with the incentives for school–family communication and greater parental monitoring. These results align with the literature stating that parents' communication and presence in all areas of young people's lives, including the school context, foster better social and family relationships and academic results. This result should not be read as a call for non-autonomy. Instead, it highlights that monitoring and supporting family presence promotes that autonomy