Percorrer por autor "Cerqueira, Ana"
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- An overview of health-promoting programs and healthy lifestyles for adolescents and young people: a scoping reviewPublication . Raimundo, Marta; Cerqueira, Ana; Gaspar, Tania; Matos, Margarida Gaspar deThe health of children, adolescents, and young adults is a primary global concern. In 2021, there were 2.1 million deaths among children and adolescents. Injuries, violence, communica‑ ble diseases, nutritional deficiencies, substance use, non‑communicable diseases, and mental health disorders are among the leading causes of death in this age group. Background/objectives: This scoping review aims to identify and describe health promotion and healthy lifestyle programs devel‑ oped worldwide targeting adolescents and young adults. Methods: A total of 106 programs were included, of which 8 were selected through scientific databases and 98 through other research meth‑ ods (e.g., government websites and other online sources). Results: The results show that Europe, North America, New Zealand, and the United States of America are the continents and countries with the highest number of programs. Most programs originated before 2020 and are aimed at chil‑ dren, adolescents, and young adults. Mental health, substance and non‑substance dependencies, and sexual and reproductive health were the most frequent areas among the available youth programs. Most programs do not mention evaluating or monitoring the services provided. Conclusions: This work allows for a deeper understanding of the programs available for adolescents and young adults, providing an overview of their characteristics. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of increas‑ ing the number of available programs, especially in countries with higher morbidity and mortality rates among the young population. The programs must be based on population studies to better meet their needs. Lastly, programs should become sustainable and integrated into national public policies, accompanied by ongoing training, supervision, and intervision of professionals working in these contexts.
- Bridging the gap: environmental health literacy as key to adolescent well-being and sustainable behaviorsPublication . Matos, Margarida Gaspar de; Branquinho, Cátia; Domingos, Leonor; Guedes, Fabio Botelho; Cerqueira, Ana; Gaspar, TaniaAdolescents who possess environmental health literacy are more equipped to handle the effects of the environment on their health. This study uses data from Portugal’s 2022 HBSC survey to investigate the environmental health literacy (EHL) of teenagers. The Environmental Health Literacy Scale (EHLS) was verified by confirmatory component analysis. Within the framework of an ecosystem, this study investigates factors related to health and well-being. There are 7355 adolescents in the sample. EHLS_Social Norms and participation in volunteering activities were found to be significant predictors of EHL_Knowledge, which explained 25.2% of the variance in the final model. EHLS_Social Norms and EHLS_Knowledge accounted for 42.9% of the variance in EHL_Behaviors, while school grade was adversely connected with pro-environmental behavior. While actions and knowledge were major positive predictors, gender and school grades showed negative relationships, and EHL_Social Norms accounted for 46% of the variance. This study establishes a valid measure of environmental health literacy in adolescents, informing science education strategies and public health interventions.
- COVID-19, wellness and life satisfaction in adolescence: individual and contextual issuesPublication . Matos, Margarida Gaspar de; Carvalho, Marina; Branquinho, Cátia; Noronha, Catarina; Moraes, Bárbara; Gaspar, Tania; Guedes, Fábio Botelho; Cerqueira, Ana; Santos, Osvaldo; Rodrigues, Nuno NetoDuring and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, several works reflected on young people’s physical and psychological health. The Dual Factor Model, which we refer to as the quadripartite model, is useful for understanding children’s and adolescents’ psychological health and differentiating them regarding their attitude toward the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this investigation, students from the fifth to twelfth year of schooling enrolled in the DGEEC study “Psychological Health and Wellbeing in Portuguese schools” were considered. Four groups were created based on life satisfaction (low or high) and psychological distress (with or without symptoms). The study included 4444 students (M = 13.39 years ± 2.41), of whom 47.8% were male. Of the participants, 27.2% were in the second cycle of primary education, and 72.8% were in lower and upper secondary education. Differences in gender and education level (as a proxy for age) were observed. Additionally, when considering students’ perceptions of changes in their lives following the COVID-19 pandemic (stayed the same, became worse, became better), these three groups were compared concerning personal and contextual variables, revealing significant differences at both the individual and contextual levels. Finally, the study discusses the influence of education and health professionals and the need for friendly public policies.
- Positive youth development, mental stress and life satisfaction in middle school and high school students in Portugal: outcomes on stress, anxiety and depressionPublication . Carvalho, Marina; Branquinho, Cátia; Moraes, Barbara; Cerqueira, Ana; Tomé, Gina; Noronha, Catarina; Gaspar, Tânia; Rodrigues, Nuno; Matos, Margarida Gaspar deThe relation between positive youth development and stress, anxiety and depression was studied considering the mediator role of psychological symptoms and life satisfaction. A total of 3109 students included in the “Psychological Health and Well-being” study of the School Observatory participated, including 1618 females and 1491 males aged between 11 and 18 years old (M = 14.45; SD = 1.88), belonging to different school groups in different regions of the country. Adolescents with higher stress, depression and anxiety levels reported lower levels of competence, confidence and connection, as well as more psychological symptoms and lower life satisfaction. The results also showed that adolescents with higher levels of competence, confidence and connection reported less psychological symptoms and more life satisfaction. Two separate mediation analyses were performed to analyse the role of mental distress and life satisfaction on the relationship between positive youth development indicators and stress, anxiety and depression. These analyses confirmed the predicted relationships and partial mediations between mental distress and life satisfaction. These results should be taken into account in public policies concerning young people’s health and education that should involve both targeted and indicated prevention strategies, including school and community-based interventions, in order to be effective.
- Psychosocial factors and quality of life of portuguese adolescents with chronic conditions - increased risk for victims of bullyingPublication . Cerqueira, Ana; Guedes, Fábio Botelho; Gaspar, Tania; Godeau, Emmanuelle; Simões, Celeste; Matos, Margarida Gaspar deThe experience of living with a chronic condition (CC) impacts adolescents’ psychological and social adjustment and overall functioning. Considering the increased risk of psychosocial challenges among adolescents with CC, this study aimed to enhance our understanding of the psychological and social factors that impact their quality of life. It also compared the psychological and social variables among (a) adolescents with and without CC and (b) adolescents with CC who are and who are not victims of bullying. The results demonstrated that adolescents with CC showed more psychosocial difficulties than their peers, as they more frequently reported involvement in situations of violence, and demonstrated more difficulties at a psychological and emotional level. Further, being victims of bullying increased the psychosocial vulnerabilities of these adolescents. A better quality of life was associated with the following psychosocial factors: not being a victim of bullying or cyberbullying, having less anxiety and fewer depressive symptoms, liking school, receiving more support from family and friends, having better relationships with peers, and having fewer physical and psychological symptoms. These findings are significant for helping schools develop tools and strategies to address violence and support students with CC, who are at a higher risk of being involved in such situations and require a targeted response.
- Sequential injection spectrophotometric method for screening bromate produced as an ozonation water disinfection by-productPublication . Mesquita, Raquel B. R.; Ferreira, Francisca T. S. M.; Cerqueira, Ana; Rangel, António O. S. S.The aim of this work was the development of an automatic sequential injection analysis method to monitor the ozonation process for water disinfection. The determination was based on the reaction between bromate and o-dianisidine in the presence of bromide in acidic medium. The determination parameters were studied and adjusted to enable bromate quantification in the range 0.35-4.0 mg BrO3-/L with a limit of detection of 20 μg BrO3-/L. The choice of a sequential injection procedure enabled a minimal consumption of reagents and no need for sample pre-treatment. The developed sequential injection proved to be accurate with < 5% relative deviation when compared to ICP-MS and an average of 101% in recovery percentages studies. It was effectively applied to monitor an ozonation process enabling the follow-up of the process with real-time quantification of the bromate content.