A qualidade e o modelo common assessment framework: O caso dos Serviços Académicos da Universidade de Évora

Uma das condições que mais influencia a competitividade entre instituições de ensino é a Qualidade. Sendo a sociedade cada vez mais exigente, é necessário medir e avaliá-la. A utilização de uma ferramenta de autoavaliação, desenvolvida ao nível da União Europeia, a Common Assessment Framework (CAF), que teve como modelo de origem o European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), veio permitir a medição da qualidade dos serviços prestados na administração pública. Este estudo apresenta os diversos aspectos referentes à temática da qualidade, o modelo CAF e os principais resultados obtidos num inquérito por questionário, junto dos alunos, colaboradores internos e gestores dos Serviços Académicos da Universidade de Évora, com o objectivo de avaliar o grau de satisfação com a qualidade do serviço prestado, o desempenho de todas as partes interessadas e, consequentemente, a sustentabilidade desse serviço. Desses resultados retiraram-se alguns pontos fortes, enunciaram-se diversos pontos fracos e evidenciaram-se sugestões de melhoria para o serviço em estudo. Neste sentido, este trabalho serviu de diagnóstico e apresenta uma ferramenta que permite aos Serviços académicos da Universidade de Évora conhecerem-se melhor e poderem mover-se no caminho da qualidade. ABSTRACT: One of the conditions that most influences the competitiveness among institutions of education is quality. As society increasingly demanding in terms of professional skills, it is necessary to measure and assess the quality of education, through continuous improvement to achieve excellence. Currently, the quality must be measured and seen as a competitive advantage. The use of a tool for self-evaluation of the quality, developed at EU level, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) that has had its origin on European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), carne allow the measurement of quality of services provided to the clients, based on an internal guidance for quality in the organization and on the adoption of quality ratings as a routine in their work. This study presents the various aspects relating to the issue of quality and the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and presents the main results obtained through a survey by questionnaire. These questionnaires were applied to the students, staff and internal managers from the Academic Services of the University of Évora with the aim of assessing the grade of satisfaction with the quality of the services provided, the performance of all interested parties and therefore the sustainability of this service in this institution of higher education. As results obtained on this research there are some strengths, several weaknesses and suggestions for improvement that can benefit the service under study. This work can be used as a diagnosis and gives a tool that allows Academic Services of the University of Évora know themselves better and to be able to move on the path of quality.

Assessment of the elderly’s functional ability to manage theirmedication: a systematic literature review

Background The evaluation of the elderly’s ability to manage medication through the use of a validated tool can be a significant step in identifying inabilities and needs, with the objective of increasing their self-care skills, and promoting successful aging. Aim of the review To identify studies assessing the elderly’s functional ability to manage their own medication. Method For the search strategy, the PICO method was used: P—Population(elderly), I—Instruments (tools for assessing medication management ability), C—Context (community) and O—Outcomes (functional ability to manage medication). Thefinal search query was run in MEDLINE/PubMed,CINAHL Plus, ISI Web of Science and Scopus. The whole process was developed according to the PRISMA statement. Results The search retrieved 8051 records. In each screening stage, the selection criteria were applied to eliminate records where at least one of the exclusion criteria was verified. At the end of this selection, we obtained a total of 18 papers (17 studies). The results allow the conclusion to be drawn that studies use several different instruments, most of them not validated. The authors agree that medication management abilities decrease as cognitive impairment increases, even if a lot of studies assess only the physical dimension. DRUGS was the instrument most often used. Conclusion Older adults’ ability to manage their medication should be assessed using tools specifically built and validate for the purpose. DRUGS (which uses the real regimen taken by the elderly) was the most widely used assessment instrument in the screened studies.