Filipe Prazeres

University of Beira Interior | UBI · Faculty of Health Sciences

Introduction: The evolving landscape of general practice (GP)/family medicine (FM) in the post-COVID-19 era, focussing on integrating telemedicine and remote consultations requires a new definition for this specialty. Hence, a broader consensus-based definition of post-COVID-19 GP/FM is warranted. Methods: This study involved a modified electron...

Introduction Non-adherence to antihypertensive medication significantly contributes to inadequate blood pressure control. Regarding non-pharmacological interventions to improve medication adherence, the question remains of which interventions yield the highest efficacy.Understanding the complementary perspectives of patients and healthcare professi...

Background Evidence suggests that involving General Practitioners in the care of patients with palliative care needs may improve patient outcomes. Aim To evaluate whether a two-tiered intervention involving training in palliative care and a new consultation model in primary care for patients with palliative care needs is feasible and could reduce...

Objectives Our systematic review aimed to summarise non-pharmacological interventions applicable in primary care that improve the quality of life of older patients with palliative care needs. Design Systematic review. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome was patients’ quality of life. Secondary outcomes were symptoms relief...

Background Multimorbidity management poses significant challenges for general practitioners (GPs). The aim of this study is to analyse the role of resilience and social support on the burden experienced by GPs in managing patients with multiple health conditions in Portugal. Methods Cross-sectional quantitative study conducted among GPs in Portuga...

Background. Recent years have seen a signifcant body of research independently associatng the presence of happiness and well-being with a lower risk of mortality and with an improved physical and mental health status, which presents a relevant impact on public health. Nonetheless, there are stll gaps in literature, and the underlying mechanisms are...

Background Since 2019, Europe has experienced ongoing stressors with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian–Ukrainian War, which have had social, financial, physical, and psychological impacts. Studies suggest that anxiety, fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other psychological disorders are common in such situati...

Message from the Guest Editor Prof. Dr. Filipe Prazeres: Primary care services play an important role in preventing ill health, both physically and mentally, not only of our patients and their families but also of migrants and refugees. The purpose of this Special Issue is to gather recent research that shows the importance of primary care service...

Abstract Background Lifestyle factors are widely recognized as modifiers and major risk factors for non-communicable diseases. Previous studies on the prevalence of multimorbidity in Portugal predict an unfavourable reality. The aim of the present study was to analyse 1) the prevalence of multimorbidity in Portugal and 2) the association of individ...

The high prevalence of polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications in the elderly makes them a vulnerable group to adverse drug events. Deprescribing is the medication review plus cessation of potentially inappropriate medications with a health professional’s help. Several barriers and enablers influence it, and its knowledge can help he...

Introduction In the last decades, the number of older people living with chronic diseases has rapidly increased. The prevalence of palliative care needs in this population can reach 17%, making the general practitioner a cornerstone in the identification and first medical intervention delivery. Therefore, knowing the primary care interventions that...

Multimorbid patients represent a special population of vulnerable individuals who suffer from two or more long-term conditions. They are a very prevalent group with an increased risk of death from COVID-19. The present study aimed to identify the sociodemographic and clinical determinants of multimorbidity of underlying conditions that increase the...

Background Adherence to therapy has been reported worldwide as a major problem, and that is particularly relevant on inhaled therapy for Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), considering its barriers and features. We reviewed the global literature reporting the main determinants for adherence on these patients. Methods Searches w...

Background: Age discrimination affects older and younger workers, and prevents equal access to opportunities. Objective: This study aimed to characterize age discrimination at work in health-related professionals, and to explore its association to demographic variables. Methods: Exploratory cross-sectional, web-based questionnaire survey, incl...

Background: Aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the provision of palliative care for patients with palliative care needs emerges as a necessity more than ever. Most are managed in primary care by their family physicians (FP). This study aimed to understand the perspectives of specialist and trainee FPs about their role in palliative care. Methods:...

The untranslatable word desenrascanço, a Portuguese construct related to people's ability to skilfully negotiate complex issues and to solve them with originality and creativity, was studied using a common medical complex scenario-multimorbidity. An online qualitative survey was carried out in the last trimester of 2018. A total of 117 general prac...

Background Empathy is the capacity to understand and resonate with the experiences of other people. Patient enablement is the degree to which a patient feels strengthened in terms of being able to deal with, understand and manage their disease. Methods Secondary cross-sectional analysis of existing data from 2 independent datasets (456 primary hea...

A Medicina Geral e Familiar é uma especialidade médica generalista, que enquadra a pessoa nos seus episódios de saúde e de doença. Esta característica obriga a um posicionamento distinto em relação ao ensino médico clássico, baseado sobretudo no paradigma da doença e do doente, seu portador. Em Portugal, a especialidade de Medicina Geral e Familiar...

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of the general population, and for healthcare workers (HCWs) it has been no different. Religiosity and spirituality are known coping strategies for mental illnesses, especially in stressful times. This study aimed to describe the role of spiritual-religious coping regarding fear and an...

Mental health effects secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic were till recently considered less important or were neglected. Portugal and Brazil are facing the pandemic in quite different ways. This study aimed to describe the mental health status of the general adult population in Portugal and Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic and analyze the differ...

Trust is an essential part of a good physician-patient relationship and measuring it allows to improve the healthcare system. Medical students can evaluate physicians’ technical competency more profoundly than a layperson, so it is possible to evaluate a less asymmetrical interpersonal trusting relationship than the one between physician and patien...

A carreira profssional médica inicia-se com a importante decisão pela especialidade a ser seguida. Usualmente a escolha dos futuros especialistas é influenciada por factores pessoais (personalidade, estilo de vida, valores e interesses), pelas características da própria especialidade, além de experiências prévias. O contacto com a especialidade dura...

Background. Multimorbidity (MM) is associated with decreased quality of life, mainly due to decreased functional capacity and increased use of health care. Objectives. Evaluate the prevalence of MM in older people of Central Portugal and understand the impact of MM on daily life activities (DLA) and how socioeconomic level influences the prevalence...

Introduction Given the number of patients with mental conditions who receive treatment within the primary care (PC) context, and the high prevalence of multimorbidity (especially in older people), there is a need to study mental-physical multimorbidity (MPM) in this population and context. This study sought to identify the impact on health-related...

INTRODUÇÃO: A gestão da multimorbilidade pode originar sobrecarga médica que deve ser avaliada. O objetivo do trabalho foi criar e validar um questionário para medir a sobrecarga pela gestão da multimorbilidade nos médicos de Medicina Geral e Familiar. MÉTODOS: O questionário foi construído após revisão da literatura e das informações de um grupo f...

Background: Multimorbidity brings several difficulties and challenges to the daily work of primary care teams. Team meetings are opportunities to discuss approaches and solutions on how to best manage multimorbid patients. Objective: This qualitative study aimed to collect a consensus, from general practitioners that deal with multimorbid patients,...

A educação médica é um processo organizado que leva à aquisição de conhecimentos, atitudes e aptidões para atingir a proficiência. É um processo contínuo e dinâmico em que o atingir de cada objetivo abre a perspetiva de novos objetivos, permitindo estruturar estratégias mais eficientes para a execução de tarefas. No ensino médico, este processo est...

Background: The presence of multimorbidity in the family practice setting is as evident as it is hard to measure. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the differences in the prevalence of multimorbidity in a single primary care population, through the use of the only two available lists of chronic conditions based on the Intern...

To the Editor A systematic review of 2252 articles by Morgan and colleagues¹ and published recently in JAMA Internal Medicine describes the 10 most significant procedures and/or treatments considered to represent overuse of medical care in the year 2016. By reading this stimulating article, one can easily grasp the important implications of the fin...

The relationship between the PhD supervisor and the PhD student is a complex one. When this relationship is neither effective nor efficient, it may yield negative consequences, such as academic failure (1). The intricacy of the supervisor-student relationship may be in part comparable to the one between the physician and his/her patient [see, for e...

To the Editor A recent cross-sectional study by Tsugawa et al¹ in JAMA Internal Medicine consisting of more than 1.5 million hospitalizations of elderly patients (≥65 years) found that those who were treated by female internists had better outcomes (30-day mortality and 30-day readmissions) vs those cared by male internists. Both the authors of the...

Background Multimorbidity has a high prevalence in the primary care context and it is frequently associated with worse health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Few studies evaluated the variables that could have a potential effect on HRQoL of primary care patients with multimorbidity. The purpose of this study, the first of its kind ever undertaken...

Multimorbidity’s high prevalence and negative impact has made it a subject of worldwide interest. The main aim of this study was to access the Portuguese knowledge, awareness, and practices of general practitioners (GPs) regarding multimorbidity and its management, in order to aid in the development of interventions for improving outcomes in multim...

A utilização de múltiplos medicamentos ao mesmo tempo é habitualmente definida como polimedicação. A multimorbilidade e a polimedicação são indissociáveis. A polimedicação está associada a piores resultados em saúde, aumento de problemas relacionados com medicamentos, e aumento do risco de hospitalização. A polimedicação no contexto de multimorbili...

Objectives To determine the prevalence of multimorbidity in the adult population attending primary care in Portugal, to identify associated sociodemographic factors, and to reveal combinations of chronic health problems. Design Cross-sectional, analytical study. Setting Primary Care Centres in mainland Portugal across the five Portuguese Healthcare...

Objective . To translate the European General Practice Research Network multimorbidity definition according to Portuguese cultural and linguistic features. Methods . Similar to the process completed in several other European countries, a forward and backward translation of the English multimorbidity definition using the Delphi technique was perform...

Background: With the increasing prevalence of diabetes in patients aged over 75, the task of ensuring a good quality of life became even greater. This study aimed to evaluate quality of life of the very elderly (≥75 years) type 2 diabetic primary care patient, in an urban family practice setting. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted. Q...

Background: This study compares general practitioners (GPs) and general practice trainees (GPTs) on the adaptation to the electronic health records (EHRs) and how they perceive its impact on medical consultations. Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive study. The link for an online questionnaire was sent to mainland Portuguese health care centre...

Multimorbidity is defined as the co-occurrence of more than one chronic disease in one person without assigning an index disease. This rapidly increasing phenomenon markedly influences patients' overall health, has major implications for effective provision of healthcare services and has a significant economic toll on individuals and society. Since...