Acolhimento Familiar em Portugal e Espanha: Uma Investigação Comparada sobre a Satisfação dos Acolhedores

Este estudo apresenta uma comparação entre as experiências de famílias de acolhimento de Portugal e Espanha, avaliando-se a sua satisfação com a informação recebida antes do acolhimento; a preparação da criança para o acolhimento; os apoios técnico e fi nanceiro; e a evolução do processo de acolhimento. Pretende-se contribuir para melhorar e promover a medida de acolhimento familiar nos dois países. Os processos de acolhimento familiar dependem de fatores históricos e culturais que produzem diferenças importantes nos diversos contextos internacionais. Assim, foram realizadas entrevistas em duas amostras aleatórias constituídas por 52 famílias de acolhimento em Portugal e 46 na Espanha, cujos resultados foram comparados através de testes estatísticos paramétricos e não paramétricos. Os acolhedores, em ambos os países, mostraram um elevado grau de satisfação com o processo de acolhimento. No entanto, em Portugal, existe maior preocupação com o fraco apoio fi nanceiro, as informações não fornecidas pelos serviços de acolhimento ou a má preparação da criança para o acolhimento. Por fi m, são apresentadas sugestões para a melhoria da gestão e implementação desta resposta social. Palavras-chave: Bem-estar da criança, acolhimento familiar, satisfação dos acolhedores, estudo comparativo.

Acolhimento Familiar em Portugal e Espanha: Uma Investigação Comparada sobre a Satisfação dos Acolhedores

Este estudo apresenta uma comparação entre as experiências de famílias de acolhimento de Portugal e Espanha, avaliando-se a sua satisfação com a informação recebida antes do acolhimento; a preparação da criança para o acolhimento; os apoios técnico e fi nanceiro; e a evolução do processo de acolhimento. Pretende-se contribuir para melhorar e promover a medida de acolhimento familiar nos dois países. Os processos de acolhimento familiar dependem de fatores históricos e culturais que produzem diferenças importantes nos diversos contextos internacionais. Assim, foram realizadas entrevistas em duas amostras aleatórias constituídas por 52 famílias de acolhimento em Portugal e 46 na Espanha, cujos resultados foram comparados através de testes estatísticos paramétricos e não paramétricos. Os acolhedores, em ambos os países, mostraram um elevado grau de satisfação com o processo de acolhimento. No entanto, em Portugal, existe maior preocupação com o fraco apoio fi nanceiro, as informações não fornecidas pelos serviços de acolhimento ou a má preparação da criança para o acolhimento. Por fi m, são apresentadas sugestões para a melhoria da gestão e implementação desta resposta social.

The suitability of written education materials for stroke survivors and their carers

This study evaluated the suitability of written materials for stroke survivors and their carers. Twenty stroke survivors and 14 carers were interviewed about the stroke information they had received and their perceptions of the content and presentation of materials of increasing reading difficulty. The mean readability level of materials (grade 9) was higher than participants’ mean reading ability (grade 7–8). Satisfaction with materials decreased as the content became more difficult to read. Seventy-five percent reported that their information needs were not met in hospital. More stroke survivors with aphasia wanted support from health professionals to read and understand written information, and identified simple language, large font size, color, and diagrams to complement the text as being important features of written materials. Simple materials that meet clients’ information needs and design preferences may optimally inform them about stroke.

Patients' satisfaction with community treatment: a pilot cross-sectional survey adopting multiple perspectives.

ACCESSIBLE SUMMARY: Patients' satisfaction is scarcely studied within the context of community treatment for adolescents. Thus, this study adopts a multiple perspective on patients' satisfaction (including service users as well as staff members). The results highlighted that all informants (patients, foster carers in foster homes and professional caregivers from community treatment teams) perceived the patients to be satisfied, with foster carers reporting the highest patient satisfaction rate. Considering the patient satisfaction rate from multiple perspectives provides complementary understandings. Clinical outcomes and, specifically, a reduction in emotional difficulties were related to patient's satisfaction, but only from the patients' perspective. ABSTRACT: Community treatment (CT) teams in Switzerland provide care to patients who are unable to use regular child and adolescent mental health services (i.e. inpatient and outpatients facilities). No study has considered patients' self-rated satisfaction alongside with staff members' perspectives on patient satisfaction. Thus, adopting a cross-sectional survey design, we collected patients' satisfaction using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8), rated by multiple informants (patients, foster carers in foster homes and professional caregivers from CT teams). Professional caregivers assessed clinical outcomes using the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale for Children and Adolescents. The results indicated that all informants were satisfied with the community treatment teams. The satisfaction scores were not correlated across informants; however, the alleviation of emotional symptoms was correlated with patients' satisfaction. This study indicated that the use of a combined approach including the views of service users and professionals gives important complementary information. Finally, in our sample, lower emotional symptoms were linked to enhanced patient satisfaction. This study demonstrated the importance of considering multiple perspectives to obtain the most accurate picture of patients' satisfaction. Second, focusing on the reduction of emotional symptoms might lead to a higher degree of patients' satisfaction.

Patients' satisfaction with community treatment: a pilot cross-sectional survey adopting multiple perspectives.

ACCESSIBLE SUMMARY: Patients' satisfaction is scarcely studied within the context of community treatment for adolescents. Thus, this study adopts a multiple perspective on patients' satisfaction (including service users as well as staff members). The results highlighted that all informants (patients, foster carers in foster homes and professional caregivers from community treatment teams) perceived the patients to be satisfied, with foster carers reporting the highest patient satisfaction rate. Considering the patient satisfaction rate from multiple perspectives provides complementary understandings. Clinical outcomes and, specifically, a reduction in emotional difficulties were related to patient's satisfaction, but only from the patients' perspective. ABSTRACT: Community treatment (CT) teams in Switzerland provide care to patients who are unable to use regular child and adolescent mental health services (i.e. inpatient and outpatients facilities). No study has considered patients' self-rated satisfaction alongside with staff members' perspectives on patient satisfaction. Thus, adopting a cross-sectional survey design, we collected patients' satisfaction using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8), rated by multiple informants (patients, foster carers in foster homes and professional caregivers from CT teams). Professional caregivers assessed clinical outcomes using the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale for Children and Adolescents. The results indicated that all informants were satisfied with the community treatment teams. The satisfaction scores were not correlated across informants; however, the alleviation of emotional symptoms was correlated with patients' satisfaction. This study indicated that the use of a combined approach including the views of service users and professionals gives important complementary information. Finally, in our sample, lower emotional symptoms were linked to enhanced patient satisfaction. This study demonstrated the importance of considering multiple perspectives to obtain the most accurate picture of patients' satisfaction. Second, focusing on the reduction of emotional symptoms might lead to a higher degree of patients' satisfaction.

Satisfaction with pregnancy and delivery services: The quality of maternity care services as experienced by women

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the opinions of women regarding the satisfaction about the quality of maternity care received. We hope to establish whether health care technology increases satisfaction or whether it actually interferes with the construction of personal satisfaction in the process of care. Design and setting: Information was gathered using the focus group technique. The area of study comprised the post-natal groups run as part of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme of the Catalan Health Authority. (Spain) Participants: Five focus groups were held between May 2006 and July 2007. Findings: Quality of care is a complex concept in which a number of independent core features can be identified. We have grouped these core features into three basic categories. Safety: the hospital and its technological facilities, and the technical expertise of health professionals. The other two main pillars of quality of care are the human dimension of the relationship between the carers and the patient, and finally the structural aspects that determine the context in which the heath care is provided. Key conclusions and implications for practice: The mothers of our study feel satisfied with healthcare technology and view it as a source of security; technology become indispensable features in order to reduce the anxiety provoked by the perceived lack of confidence in their ability as mothers. In this study, women, both during pregnancy and especially when giving birth, believe their feelings and values should be understood by professionals, from whom they seek empathy and a personal commitment, and not just information.

Satisfaction with pregnancy and delivery services: The quality of maternity care services as experienced by women

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the opinions of women regarding the satisfaction about the quality of maternity care received. We hope to establish whether health care technology increases satisfaction or whether it actually interferes with the construction of personal satisfaction in the process of care. Design and setting: Information was gathered using the focus group technique. The area of study comprised the post-natal groups run as part of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme of the Catalan Health Authority. (Spain) Participants: Five focus groups were held between May 2006 and July 2007. Findings: Quality of care is a complex concept in which a number of independent core features can be identified. We have grouped these core features into three basic categories. Safety: the hospital and its technological facilities, and the technical expertise of health professionals. The other two main pillars of quality of care are the human dimension of the relationship between the carers and the patient, and finally the structural aspects that determine the context in which the heath care is provided. Key conclusions and implications for practice: The mothers of our study feel satisfied with healthcare technology and view it as a source of security; technology become indispensable features in order to reduce the anxiety provoked by the perceived lack of confidence in their ability as mothers. In this study, women, both during pregnancy and especially when giving birth, believe their feelings and values should be understood by professionals, from whom they seek empathy and a personal commitment, and not just information.

Producing computer-generated tailored written information for stroke patients and their carers: System development and preliminary evaluation

Purpose: The aim of this project was to design and evaluate a system that would produce tailored information for stroke patients and their carers, customised according to their informational needs, and facilitate communication between the patient and, health professional. Method: A human factors development approach was used to develop a computer system, which dynamically compiles stroke education booklets for patients and carers. Patients and carers are able to select the topics about which they wish to receive information, the amount of information they want, and the font size of the printed booklet. The system is designed so that the health professional interacts with it, thereby providing opportunities for communication between the health professional and patient/carer at a number of points in time. Results: Preliminary evaluation of the system by health professionals, patients and carers was positive. A randomised controlled trial that examines the effect of the system on patient and carer outcomes is underway. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The positive impact of multiple sclerosis (MS) on carers: Associations between carer benefit finding and positive and negative adjustment domains

Purpose. This study examined benefit finding in MS carers including the dimensionality of benefit finding, relations between carer and care recipient benefit finding, and the effects of carer benefit finding on carer positive and negative adjustment domains. Method. A total of 267 carers and their care recipients completed questionnaires at Time 1 and 3 months later, Time 2 (n=155). Illness data were collected at Time 1, and number of problems, stress appraisal, benefit finding, negative (global distress, negative affect) and positive (life satisfaction, positive affect, dyadic adjustment) adjustment domains were measured at Time 2. Results. Qualitative data revealed seven benefit finding themes, two of which were adequately represented by the Benefit Finding Scale (BFS) [1] (Mohr et al. Health Psychology 1999; 18: 376). Factor analyses indicated two factors (Personal Growth, Family Relations Growth) which were psychometrically sound and showed differential relations with illness and adjustment domains. Although care recipients reported higher levels of benefit finding than carers, their benefit finding reports regarding personal growth were correlated. The carer BFS factors were positively related to carer and care recipient dyadic adjustment. Care recipient benefit finding was unrelated to carer adjustment domains. After controlling for the effects of demographics, care recipient characteristics, problems and appraisal, carer benefit finding was related to carer positive adjustment domains and unrelated to carer negative adjustment domains. Conclusion. Findings support the role of benefit finding in sustaining positive psychological states and the communal search for meaning within carer-care recipient dyads.

Relations between coping and positive and negative outcomes in carers of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS)

This study examined relations between stress and coping predictors and negative and positive outcomes in MS caregiving. A total of 222 carers and their care-recipients completed questionnaires at Time 1 and three months later, Time 2 ( n = 155). Predictors included care-recipient characteristics ( age, time since diagnosis, course and life satisfaction), and Times 1 and 2 carer problems, stress appraisal and coping. Dependent variables were Time 2 negative ( anxiety, depression) and positive outcomes ( life satisfaction, positive affect, benefits). Regressions indicated that, overall, the hypothesised direct effects of stress appraisal and coping strategies on positive and negative outcomes were supported. The hypothesised stress-buffering effects of positive reframing coping were also supported. All but one of the coping strategies were related to both positive and negative outcomes; specifically, practical assistance coping emerged as a unique predictor of distress. Of the model predictors, care-recipient life satisfaction emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictor of both positive and negative outcomes except benefit finding. Findings support the role of care-recipient characteristics and the carer's appraisal and coping processes in shaping both positive and negative outcomes. The guiding framework and findings have the potential to inform interventions designed to promote well-being in carers.

A preliminary investigation of parenting attributes of Australian foster carers

Utilising a comparison research design of mothers involved in fostering (N= 28) and their peers (N =28), the major findings were that within the fostering group, those who had been fostering the longest had the lowest sense of efficacy, reflecting that the experience of providing foster care eroded parents' sense of their own skill. In terms of attachment to the children, the data suggested that foster carers may resist becoming too close to the children in their care in order to limit the emotional cost of subsequent separation. Importantly, there was no significant correlation between the length of time in providing foster care and marital satisfaction, which supports the notion that providing foster care does not, in itself cause marital stress. While formal support services were more utilised by foster carers there was some indication that this group is not well integrated into the broader community. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that over the long- term providing fostering care has some negative consequences for the carers in terms of their self-confidence. Agencies designated to work with carers need to consider proactive strategies to reduce this consequence.

[factors Associated With Satisfaction With Life Among Elderly Caregivers And Non-caregivers].

This article seeks to investigate associations between satisfaction with life and sociodemographic variables, health conditions, functionality, social involvement and social support among elderly caregivers and non-caregivers, as well as between satisfaction and the intensity of stress in the caregiver group. A sample of 338 caregivers was selected according to two items of the Brazilian version of the Elders Life Stress Inventory. A comparison-group of elderly non-caregivers was selected at random, with a similar gender, age and income profile. Data were derived from self-reported questionnaires and scales. Elderly caregivers with low levels of satisfaction and high levels of stress revealed more symptoms of insomnia, fatigue, diseases and worse IADL performance. Those with greater satisfaction and less stress revealed a good level of social support. Insomnia, depression and fatigue were associated with low satisfaction among caregivers, and with fatigue, depression and low social support among non-caregivers. It was considered relevant that instrumental, psychological and informative support can improve the quality of life and the quality of care provided by elderly caregivers, especially if they are affected by unfavorable health and psychosocial conditions and low satisfaction with life.

Factors associated with low life life satisfaction in community-dwelling elderly: FIBRA Study

The objectives were to identify factors associated with decreased life satisfaction in community-dwelling elderly and describe such factors according to gender and age bracket. The study interviewed 2,472 elderly individuals 65 years or older without cognitive deficits suggestive of dementia, in probabilistic samples from seven Brazilian cities. All measures were self-reported except for functional performance, indicated by handgrip and gait speed. Women had more chronic diseases, worse functional performance, and greater social involvement when compared to men. The oldest participants showed worse functional performance and less social involvement when compared to the youngest. Low satisfaction was associated with three or more diseases, memory problems, low social involvement, low handgrip strength, and urinary incontinence. The authors conclude that health, functional performance, and social involvement interact with well-being, so interventions targeting these areas can favor quality of life for the elderly.

Validação da Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age (LSITA) e do Aging Perception Questionnaire (APQ) para a língua portuguesa no Brasil : um estudo em idosos brasileiros

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Women's satisfaction with childbirth's experience in different models of care: a descriptive study

Com o objetivo de comparar a satisfação das mulheres com a experiência do parto em três modelos assistenciais, foi realizada pesquisa descritiva, com abordagem quantitativa, em dois hospitais públicos de São Paulo, um promovendo o modelo "Típico" e o outro com um centro de parto intra-hospitalar (modelo "CPNIH") e um peri-hospitalar (modelo "CPNPH"). A amostra foi constituída por 90 puérperas, 30 de cada modelo. A comparação entre os resultados referentes à satisfação das mulheres com o atendimento prestado pelos profissionais de saúde, com a qualidade da assistência e os motivos de satisfação e insatisfação, com a indicação ou recomendação dos serviços recebidos, com a sensação de segurança no processo e com as sugestões de melhorias, mostrou que o modelo CPHPH foi o melhor avaliado, vindo em seguida o CPNIH e por último o Típico. Conclui-se que o modelo peri-hospitalar de assistência ao parto deveria receber maior apoio do SUS, por se constituir em serviço em que as mulheres se mostram satisfeitas com a atenção recebida