Mario J. D. S. Santos

Background The parent-infant relationship plays a central role in early emotional, cognitive, and social development. Difficulties in bonding, interaction, attachment, or parental sensitivity during the first two years of life may have lasting consequences for children and families, making early identification essential for timely support and intervention. Although a range of instruments has been developed to assess parent-infant relational processes, the evidence remains dispersed, and no comprehensive mapping of instruments specifically applicable from birth to 24 months has been identified. This scoping review aims to map the instruments used to assess parent-infant relationships during the first 24 months of life and to describe their main characteristics. Methods This scoping review protocol follows the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. Studies describing instruments used to assess the parent-infant relationship among parents of typically developing infants aged 0–24 months will be considered across any clinical, community, research, or cultural context. Eligible instruments may assess bonding, interaction, attachment, parental sensitivity, or related relational dimensions. Studies involving preterm infants, infants with medical conditions or developmental disorders, or instruments focused exclusively on parental stress or mental health without explicit assessment of relational dynamics will be excluded. A three-step search strategy will be used to identify published and unpublished studies and grey literature. Two reviewers will independently screen records, extract data using a piloted charting form, and summarise findings in tables and descriptive narrative form. The final scoping review will be reported in accordance with the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). This review will provide an overview of available instruments, their characteristics, contexts of use, psychometric properties, adaptations, and short-form versions. This protocol is registered in the Open Science Framework (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/HRVX9).

Early relational health during the first 24 months of life is a key determinant of child development and wellbeing. During this postnatal period, the parent–infant relationship plays a central role in emotional regulation, bonding, and developmental trajectories. Although the broader early relational health framework encompasses the first 1,000 days of life, this scoping review focuses specifically on the postnatal phase, where parent–infant interactions are directly observable and measurable. However, existing assessment instruments vary widely in their conceptual focus, scope, and characteristics, and no comprehensive review has systematically mapped tools used to assess the parent–infant relationship during early infancy. In response to this gap, a transdisciplinary working group within the COST Action CA22114 – TREASURE collaboratively developed a scoping review protocol to systematically map instruments assessing the parent–infant relationship from birth to 24 months of age. This Brief Report describes the collaborative methodological process underpinning the protocol’s development. The process followed an iterative, consensus-driven approach involving multidisciplinary experts from multiple COST member countries. Through structured online meetings, the group clarified core constructs and established the age range using the Population–Concept–Context (PCC) framework. The JBI methodology for scoping reviews was adopted and aligned with PRISMA-ScR standards to ensure transparency and reproducibility. Progressive drafting, internal peer review, and iterative refinement led to the final protocol, which was registered on the Open Science Framework (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/HRVX9).The resulting protocol provides a replicable methodological framework for mapping instruments that assess the parent–infant relationship in the first two years of life. This Brief Report presents a framework for collaborative protocol development in international research networks, promoting shared knowledge generation in early relational health research and offering potential applicability to other COST initiatives.

Early relational health during the first 24 months of life is a key determinant of child development and wellbeing. The parent–infant relationship plays a central role in emotional regulation, bonding, and developmental trajectories. However, existing assessment tools differ widely in their scope and characteristics, and no comprehensive review has yet mapped the instruments available to assess this relationship in early infancy. In response to this gap, a transdisciplinary working group within the COST Action CA22114 – TREASURE collaboratively developed a scoping review protocol to systematically map instruments assessing the parent–infant relationship from birth to 24 months of age. This Brief Report outlines the collaborative methodological process used to construct the protocol. Development followed an iterative, consensus-driven approach involving multidisciplinary experts from multiple COST member countries. Through structured online meetings, the group clarified core constructs and established the age range using the Population–Concept–Context (PCC) framework. The JBI methodology for scoping reviews was adopted and aligned with PRISMA-ScR standards to ensure transparency and reproducibility. Progressive drafting, internal peer review, and iterative refinement led to the final protocol, which was registered on the Open Science Framework (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/HRVX9). The resulting protocol provides a replicable methodological framework for mapping instruments that assess the parent–infant relationship. This Brief Report presents a framework for collaborative protocol development in international research networks, promoting shared knowledge generation in early relational health research and offering potential applicability to other COST initiatives.

Effective communication in relation to pregnancy and birth is crucial to quality care. A recent focus in reproductive healthcare on “sexed language” reflects an ideology of unchangeable sex binary and fear of erasure, from both cisgender women and the profession of midwifery. In this paper, we highlight how privileging sexed language causes harm to all who birth—including pregnant trans, gender diverse, and non‐binary people—and is, therefore, unethical and incompatible with the principles of midwifery. We show how this argument, which conflates midwifery with essentialist thinking, is unstable, and perpetuates and misappropriates midwifery's marginalized status. We also explore how sex and gender essentialism can be understood as colonialist, heteropatriarchal, and universalist, and therefore, reinforcing of these harmful principles. Midwifery has both the opportunity and duty to uphold reproductive justice. Midwifery can be a leader in the decolonization of childbirth and in defending the rights of all childbearing people, the majority of whom are cisgender women. As the systemwide use of inclusive language is central to this commitment, we offer guidance in relation to how inclusive language in perinatal and midwifery services may be realized.

To date, there are no comprehensive analyses of the official data on home births in Portugal that consider other determinants beyond place of birth, such as the conditions in which births occur or the mothers’ social profiles. The aims of this article were: (1) to describe the characteristics of childbirth in Portugal according to the place of birth, and (2) to analyse the association between home birth assistance and perinatal, neonatal, and infant mortality rates. We performed a descriptive, correlational analysis of the official datasets of live births in Portugal (census-based) produced by the National Institute of Statistics. In 2020, home births had more similarities with hospital births than to births occurring in any “other place”. Furthermore, considering the 1995–2020 timeframe, home births with specialised assistance were negatively correlated with perinatal, neonatal, and infant mortality, and home births with non-specialised professional assistance or those that were unassisted showed a positive correlation with these mortality rates. Home births are heterogenous, and merely referencing the place of birth does not provide enough information. Although it recommended further investigation, this analysis pointed to the need to assure a specific, systematic evaluation of the quality of care in home births that allows for the consistent assessment and improvement of its safety.

Approximately 10% of patients experience symptoms of Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC) after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Akin acute COVID-19, PCC may impact a multitude of organs and systems, such as the cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, and neurological systems. The frequency and associated risk factors of PCC are still unclear among both community and hospital settings in individuals with a history of COVID-19. The LOCUS study was designed to clarify the PCC’s burden and associated risk factors. LOCUS is a multi-component study that encompasses three complementary building blocks. The “Cardiovascular and respiratory events following COVID-19” component is set to estimate the incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory events after COVID-19 in eight Portuguese hospitals via electronic health records consultation. The “Physical and mental symptoms following COVID-19” component aims to address the community prevalence of self-reported PCC symptoms through a questionnaire-based approach. Finally, the "Treating and living with Post COVID-19 Condition" component will employ semi-structured interviews and focus groups to characterise reported experiences of using or working in healthcare and community services for the treatment of PCC symptoms. This multi-component study represents an innovative approach to exploring the health consequences of PCC. Its results are expected to provide a key contribution to the optimisation of healthcare services design.

Biobanks for clinical research collect human biological samples and associated data for biomedical research. The establishment of biobanks in Portugal is still an understudied phenomenon, although there are signs of a growing trend in setting up these repositories to support biomedical research. Among other factors, individuals’ willingness to donate samples and public trust in biobanks play a crucial role in sustaining biobanking activities. In this article, we analyse public attitudes in Portugal towards biobanking, based on data from the biotechnology survey conducted by Eurobarometer in 2010. Different assumptions about science and technology enabled profiling the Portuguese population into four distinct groups: the optimistic, the cautious, the sceptical and the pessimistic. Each profile implies a diverse range of intentions and attitudes regarding biobanks. Furthermore, we found that previous study of science could be an important predictor of the willingness to donate information to biobanks.

The Babies Born Better international project aimed at surveying women’s experience in childbirth, privileging the qualitative description of this experience. It was translated into several languages and, in each country, there were different strategies for data analysis. However, analysing a qualitative dataset of this dimension, without completely transforming qualitative into quantitative data, poses practical challenges to researchers. Thus, in this article, we aim to explore the potential of using a qualitative data analysis software to avoid homogenising women’s experiences and preserve the subjectivity of responses in the analysis of open-ended questions of the B3 survey. We focused on the Portuguese version of the survey, reporting a thematic, computer assisted qualitative data analysis of 1348 responses. The software acted as a mediator of the researchers’ analysis and interpretation, beyond classical content analysis, without converting qualitative into quantitative data through plain word count. Exploring new possibilities of interpreting not only the meaning, but the relations between categories, may expand the scope of qualitative data analysis. However, we argue that the use of a software should not be overvalued, as such strategy should always remain as subsidiary to the researcher’s subjective interpretation of data.

Cervical cancer screening (CCS) has been proven to reducing mortality of cervical cancer; yet migrant women show a lower participation in screening compared to non-migrants. This study explores the perspectives of healthcare workers and community workers on the factors influencing the CCS participation of migrant women living in Portugal. A qualitative study with online focus groups was conducted. Healthcare workers experienced in CCS and community workers working with migrant communities were purposively sampled. A semi-structured guide was used covering the participation of migrant women in CCS, barriers, and strategies to overcome them. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Participants considered that migrant women have low participation in CCS related to insufficient knowledge, low risk perception, and lack of interest on preventive care. Other barriers such as difficulties in accessing the healthcare services, relationship with healthcare workers, language, and cultural differences were highlighted. Promoting continuity of care, disseminating culturally tailored information, and use of self-sampling methods were suggested to improve participation in CCS. Inequalities in access to CCS among migrant women are mostly caused by information gaps and healthcare system-related barriers. Building a migrant-friendly healthcare system that creates opportunities for healthcare workers to establish relationships with their patients and delivering culturally and linguistically adapted information may contribute to overcoming those barriers and increasing the participation of migrant women in screening.