• Energy Research

Social prescribing (SP) is an approach that promotes the use of local non-clinical activities by people. The referral is usually made by primary health-care professionals, in a process wherein local providers play a pivotal role. The main objective of this study was to identify domains of intervention and evidence about the effectiveness of SP programs regarding health-related outcomes. A systematic literature review was carried out following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, CINHAL, and SCOPUS. Inclusion criteria of the reviewed papers were as follows: (i) effectiveness studies of interventions designated as SP or interventions entailing SP conceptual components; (ii) interventions with adults. Quality assessment was performed with the Cochrane tool for assessing risk of bias in randomized trials; an assessment tool developed by the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute was applied to observational studies. Overall, 13 articles were included for analysis, with a total of 4603 patients. Although three studies comprised a control group, only two followed a randomized controlled trials (RCT) design. Nine principal domains of intervention within SP were identified, with three categories of outcome measures: Physical and psychological wellbeing; Health behaviors and self-efficacy; and Health care resources end economic evaluation. SP is an emergent and promising health-care intervention, and it has been used to promote different health behaviors. Evidence of SP effectiveness on patient’s health and wellbeing is not strong. Further research is needed for understanding how SP can be applied efficiently.

Environmental health is at the intersection between health and the environment. However, it still has a recent (and narrow) history as a scientific area, mainly addressing human biomonitoring and toxicological issues. Only recently additional environmental ‘layers’, other than the traditional chemical, biological and physical environmental determinants, have been considered. This broader perspective of environmental health also encompasses digital, psychosocial, political, socioeconomic and cultural determinants, all of them relevant when considering human health from a planetary health paradigm. This reflects the progressive adoption of a systemic perspective regarding the impact of gains for human health and well-being towards a sustainable environment. It also implies a multi-method and participatory approach to understand the intertwined relationship between environmental changes and human health. In this paper, the broader approach to environmental health is discussed in order to ‘set the stage’ for introducing the Institute of Environmental Health (ISAMB) of the Lisbon School of Medicine, Portugal. Each of the research groups and labs that compose ISAMB are presented, as well as their main lines of research. Present and planned contributions of ISAMB to advance knowledge on environmental health and for promoting human health gains in an environmentally sustainable way are also discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given more relevance to identifying the common and specific competencies of specialized nurses in community health and public health, presenting and characterizing their interventions, relations with health indicators in the population, identifying factors that facilitate their performance, and their respective regulations. A qualitative case study was undertaken with 31 nurses from a group of health centers and data collection by interviews, direct observation, and documents analysis. The flow model and an interpretive matrix, with two strategies and two techniques, was used for the analysis and discussion. The majority of participants were female, who were aware of and familiar with the specific and defined competencies, which they put into practice. They recognize their activities as important and feel happy where they are and doing what they do. They have good a knowledge of the regulations that concern them. They consider themselves well prepared and available to intervene in many dimensions, such as epidemiological surveillance, management, and group empowerment, contributing to good health indexes and health sustainability. Expected changes are related to their potential contributions to advance the nursing profession, which this pandemic has highlighted.