Tight glycaemic control: intelligent technology or a nurse-wise strategy?

Despite disappointing findings with the computerized decision-supported tight glycaemic control (TGC) protocol, Shulman and colleagues [1] argue that one reason to proceed with computerized TGC protocols is that complex protocols remain mandatory for TGC. Indeed, most intensivists think of TGC as difficult and complex. In The Netherlands as many as 46 different protocols are in use, including protocols with flowcharts, sliding scales, calculators and conversion tables as well as computerized decisionsupport protocols (survey, de Graaff MJ, Royakkers AANM, Kieft H, Spronk PE, van der Sluijs HP, Schultz MJ, unpublished data); they all are exceptionally complex and frequently difficult to follow. We recently had the opportunity to visit the Leuven hospital and were surprised to see their protocol, which is remarkably concise, far from complex, an

Barriers to home care for terminally ill Turkish and Moroccan migrants, perceived by GPs and nurses: a survey

BACKGROUND: Previous qualitative research proved that relatives of elderly terminally ill Turkish and Moroccan immigrants experience several barriers to the use of Dutch professional home care. The aim of this study was to explore how general practitioners and home care nurses perceive the home care for terminally ill Turkish and Moroccan migrants and their families in the Netherlands. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to home care organizations and GPs working in areas where most of these migrants are living. 93 nurses and 78 GPs provided information about their experiences and opinions regarding home care for this group of patients. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. RESULTS: GPs refer relatively few patients from these migrant groups to home care. They often find it difficult to assess the needs of these patients and their families. In 40% of the GPs' cases in which terminally ill Turkish and Moroccan migrants were not referred to home care, the GP regretted this afterwards: the patients had not received sufficient qualified care, and their informal carers had often become overburdened. In addition, home care nurses often express dissatisfaction with the home care given to terminally ill Turkish or Moroccan patients, because of communication problems, the patients' lack of knowledge of the disease, or difficulties in making suitable appointments with the patient or with the family. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses and GPs cite chiefly similar factors influencing access to and use of home care as family members did in a previous study. However, according to GPs and nurses, the main barrier to the use of home care concerns communication problems, while relatives cited the preference for family care as the main reason for abstaining from the use of home care. (aut. ref.

The relation between self-event connections and personality functioning in youth with severe psychopathology

OBJECTIVE: One way in which individuals construct their narrative identity is by making self‐event connections, which are often linked to better functioning. Being unable to make connections is related to identity discontinuity and psychopathology. Work in the general population corroborates this association, but also highlights the importance of focusing on specific aspects of these connections and on vulnerable populations. METHOD: We examined the association of self‐event connections with personality functioning in youth with severe psychopathology (cross‐sectional N = 228, M (age) = 19.5, longitudinal N = 84), and the role of event and connection valence in the subsample of youth who made a connection (n = 188 and n = 68). Negative affectivity was controlled for in all models. RESULTS: We found no evidence that self‐event connections, nor connection valence and its interaction with event valence, are related to functioning. Positive event valence was associated with better functioning. Higher negative affectivity was strongly linked to lower functioning and explained the relation between event valence and functioning. No longitudinal associations emerged. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that for youth with severe psychopathology making self‐event connections may not be associated with better functioning. Moreover, negative affectivity may be a distal predictor of both event valence and functioning

Diermeel in diervoeders? : een methodische discussie met stakeholders

In dit rapport wordt verslag gedaan van een workshop die ten doel had een beter inzicht te krijgen in de belangen van de Nederlandse samenleving met betrekking tot de vraag of het beleid ten aanzien van dierlijke eiwitten in diervoeders versoepeld kan worden. Daarbij is gebruik maakt van een nieuwe, brede afwegingsmethodiek (TRAK) waarmee het mogelijk is verschillende beleidsscenario's' aan de hand van verschillende waarden te beoordelen en te scoren