Constança Festas

Constança Festas is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Nursing, Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP). She holds a PhD and is affiliated with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Health (CIIS). She has been actively involved in research since 1994, with a focus on pediatric and adolescent health, chronic disease management, and school health services. Her work emphasizes self-management interventions for children with chronic illnesses, lifestyle assessment tools, and preventive healthcare strategies.

• Education: PhD (specific field not explicitly stated).
• Research Interests:
  • Chronic disease self-management in children and adolescents
  • Evaluation of lifestyle and postural health in school-age populations
  • Nursing care in pediatric and community settings

Her recent publications highlight scoping reviews on topics such as backpack weight recommendations for children, vulnerability in pediatric celiac disease, and the validation of health assessment tools like the FANTASTIC questionnaire. She has led or contributed to projects like the CIIS Center and CLIL (Católica Learning Innovation Lab), focusing on nursing education and health promotion.

Awards:

• "Estilos de Vida e Competências Pessoais Sociais e Emocionais em Pré Adolescentes: Diagnóstico em Saúde Escolar" (2022)
• "Os benefícios da sesta no desenvolvimento das crianças durante a primeira infância" (2023)

Advising and Grants: Supervised studies on autism spectrum disorder interventions and school health practices. Active in grant-funded research projects addressing healthcare education and pediatric chronic disease management.

Labs/Teams: Member of the CIIS Center, collaborating on nursing research and interdisciplinary health initiatives.