Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent progressive respiratory disease, characterized by airflow limitation, respiratory symptoms, and exercise intolerance, which greatly impacts patient’s daily life. Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) is a well-recognized, cost-effective, and safe intervention with known benefits, recommended by COPD management guidelines. Despite this, there is a potent...
Identifying factors influencing adherence, such as patients’ beliefs about medication, is essential for effective asthma management. This study aims to assess and gain insight into the beliefs of patients with asthma regarding inhaled medication. This is a secondary analysis of the INSPIRERS studies. Patients aged ≥ 13 y.o., with persistent asthma and a prescription for inhaled controller were recruited from 60...
Background Validated questionnaires are used to assess asthma control over the past 1–4 weeks from reporting. However, they do not adequately capture asthma control in patients with fluctuating symptoms. Using the Mobile Airways Sentinel Network for airway diseases (MASK-air) app, we developed and validated an electronic daily asthma control score (e-DASTHMA). Methods We used MASK-air data (freely available to ...
Background Previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of using an asthma app to support medication management and adherence but failed to compare with other measures currently used in clinical practice. However, in a clinical setting, any additional adherence measurement must be evaluated in the context of both the patient and physician perspectives so that it can also help improve the process of shared...
Since ancient times, Man has known the powers of thermal waters in a relationship that has not been monotonous. In its evolution, the world began to include the two aspects of thermalism (classic and wellness) in the sphere of health and wellness tourism, which is considered, since 2006, as a strategic product for Portugal by Turismo de Portugal, IP. The aim of this study was to analyse the financial stability ...
Most mobile health (mHealth) decision support systems currently available for chronic obstructive respiratory diseases (CORDs) are not supported by clinical evidence or lack clinical validation. The development of the knowledge base that will feed the clinical decision support system is a crucial step that involves the collection and systematization of clinical knowledge from relevant scientific sources and its...
Long-term adherence to medication is of critical importance for the successful management of chronic diseases. Objective tools to track oral medication adherence are either lacking, expensive, difficult to access, or require additional equipment. To improve medication adherence, cheap and easily accessible objective tools able to track compliance levels are necessary. A tool to monitor pill intake that can be i...
Anxiety and depression are relevant comorbidities in asthma, but, in Portugal and Spain, data on this topic are scarce. We assessed, in patients with asthma, the frequency of anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the European Quality of Life Five Dimension Questionnaire (EQ-5D); the level of agreement between these questionnaires, and the factors associated with thes...
Background: Health and fitness apps have potential benefits to improve self-management and disease control among patients with asthma. However, inconsistent use rates have been reported across studies, regions, and health systems. A better understanding of the characteristics of users and nonusers is critical to design solutions that are effectively integrated in patients’ daily lives, and to ensure that these ...
We aimed to identify persistent asthma phenotypes among adolescents and to evaluate longitudinally asthma-related outcomes across phenotypes. Adolescents (13-17 years) from the prospective, observational, and multicenter INSPIRERS studies, conducted in Portugal and Spain, were included (n = 162). Latent class analysis was applied to demographic, environmental, and clinical variables, collected at a baseline med...