Browsing by Author "Gaspar, M. Filomena"
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- Can health care providers recognise a fibromyalgia personality?Publication . Silva, José A. P. da; Jacobs, Johannes W. G.; Branco, Jaime C.; Canaipa, Rita; Gaspar, M. Filomena; Griep, Ed N.; Helmond, T. van; Oliveira, Paula J.; Zijlstra, T. R.; Geenen, RinieOBJECTIVES: To determine if experienced health care providers (HCPs) can recognise patients with fibromyalgia (FM) based on a limited set of personality items, exploring the existence of a FM personality. METHODS: From the 240-item NEO-PI-R personality questionnaire, 8 HCPs from two different countries each selected 20 items they considered most discriminative of FM personality. Then, evaluating the scores on these items of 129 female patients with FM and 127 female controls, each HCP rated the probability of FM for each individual on a 0-10 scale. Personality characteristics (domains and facets) of selected items were determined. Scores of patients with FM and controls on the eight 20-item sets, and HCPs’ estimates of each individual’s probability of FM were analysed for their discriminative value. RESULTS: The eight 20-item sets discriminated for FM, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve ranging from 0.71-0.81. The estimated probabilities for FM showed, in general, percentages of correct classifications above 50%, with rising correct percentages for higher estimated probabilities. The most often chosen and discriminatory items were predominantly of the domain neuroticism (all with higher scores in FM), followed by some items of the facet trust (lower scores in FM). CONCLUSIONS: HCPs can, based on a limited set of items from a personality questionnaire, distinguish patients with FM from controls with a statistically significant probability. The HCPs’ expectation that personality in FM patients is associated with higher levels for aspects of neuroticism (proneness to psychological distress) and lower scores for aspects of trust, proved to be correct.
- The person within: parents and professionals’ views about the practitioner’s role in a parenting programPublication . Leitão, Sara; Francisco, Rita; Gaspar, M. Filomena; Seabra-Santos, Maria JoãoPractitioners’ characteristics and actions influence the implementation of evidence-based programs, but little is known about the practitioner’s role in the implementation of parent-based programs. The present qualitative study is the first to explore the perceptions of parents and professionals regarding the practitioners’ characteristics and actions which influence the implementation of a parent program directed at children’s behavior problems. Using thematic analysis, data were examined from eight focus groups comprising 24 parents and 19 practitioners who have participated in the Incredible Years parent group program (IYPP). The analysis identified three groups of practitioners’ characteristics perceived to impact the implementation of the IYPP: inferred interpersonal characteristics (genuine interest; empathy and warmth; positive regard; humbleness); inferred intrapersonal characteristics (objectivity; flexibility; well-being; reflexiveness) and objective characteristics (similar age; being a parent; clinical professional background; professional experience with children and the IYPP). These personal characteristics are perceived as serving to underpin practitioners’ actions, and an integrated framework model is proposed where specific practitioners’ actions are understood in relation to personal characteristics. Inferred characteristics are perceived as determinants in the intervention process while objective characteristics are seen as facilitators of parent engagement in the earliest stages of intervention. Finally, most of the characteristics and actions perceived as relevant in this study are contemplated in the IYPP model; however, the practitioners’ intrapersonal well-being, self-reflexiveness and genuineness emerged as characteristics which may merit further consideration. The results from this study suggest that in the IYPP the person of the practitioner may indeed be worthy of more critical examination.