M & L Jaargang 1/2

Edgard Goedleven - EditoriaalFrans Baudouin en Nora De Poorter Het gerestaureerde Kolveniershof en het Rubenianum te Antwerpen. [The Antwerp Kolveniershof and Rubenianum restored.]Herman Stynen Het huis Guiette (1962) van architect Le Corbusier te Antwerpen. [The Guiette house (1962) by Le Corbusier in Antwerp.]Jos Vandenbreeden Het Vlaams Huis te Watermaal-Bosvoorde, een ontwerp van Albert Charle (1821-1889). [The Flemish House at Watermaal-Bosvoorde (Brussels), a design by Albert Charle (1821-1889).]Marjan Buyle en Leon Smets De Begijnhofkerk te Sint-Truiden en haar muur- en pijlerschilderingen. [The beguinage church of Sint-Truiden and its wall and column paintings.]Wim Claes en Roger Deneef Het plateau van Overijse. [The Plateau of Overijse.]Anthony Demey Het bouwkundig erfgoed van het arrondissement Sint-Niklaas in vogelvlucht. [Architectural heritage in the Sint-Niklaas arrondissement: a birds eye view.]Lut Pans Sociale stadsvernieuwing van naderbij bekeken. [Social aspects of urban renovation: a close view.]Toespraak van Gemeenschapsminister K. PomaM&L Binnenkran

Enhancing return-to-work in cancer patients, development of an intervention and design of a randomised controlled trial

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Compared to healthy controls, cancer patients have a higher risk of unemployment, which has negative social and economic impacts on the patients and on society at large. Therefore, return-to-work of cancer patients needs to be improved by way of an intervention. The objective is to describe the development and content of a work-directed intervention to enhance return-to-work in cancer patients and to explain the study design used for evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention. METHODS: Development and content of the intervention The work-directed intervention has been developed based on a systematic literature review of work-directed interventions for cancer patients, factors reported by cancer survivors as helping or hindering their return-to-work, focus group and interview data for cancer patients, health care professionals, and supervisors, and vocational rehabilitation literature. The work-directed intervention consists of: 1) 4 meetings with a nurse at the treating hospital department to start early vocational rehabilitation, 2) 1 meeting with the participant, occupational physician, and supervisor to make a return-to-work plan, and 3) letters from the treating physician to the occupational physician to enhance communication. Study design to evaluate the intervention The treating physician or nurse recruits patients before the start of initial treatment. Patients are eligible when they have a primary diagnosis of cancer, will be treated with curative intent, are employed at the time of diagnosis, are on sick leave, and are between 18 and 60 years old. After the patients have given informed consent and have filled out a baseline questionnaire, they are randomised to either the control group or to the intervention group and receive either care as usual or the work-directed intervention, respectively. Primary outcomes are return-to-work and quality of life. The feasibility of the intervention and direct and indirect costs will be determined. Outcomes will be assessed by a questionnaire at baseline and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after baseline. DISCUSSION: This study will provide information about the effectiveness of a work-directed intervention for cancer patients. The intention is to implement the intervention in normal care if it has been shown effective. Trial registration: NTR165

The Impeding Role of Self-Critical Perfectionism on Therapeutic Alliance During Treatment and Eating Disorder Symptoms at Follow-up in Patients with an Eating Disorder

This study examines the impeding role of self-critical perfectionism at onset of treatment on therapeutic alliance during treatment and eating disorder symptoms at follow-up in patients with an eating disorder. Participants were 53 female patients with a mean age of 21.1 years treated for an eating disorder in a specialized inpatient treatment unit. Self-critical perfectionism was assessed at admission, therapeutic alliance was assessed during treatment (after three months of treatment), and eating disorder symptoms were assessed at admission, after three months and one year later. Self-critical perfectionism negatively related to treatment alliance with the therapist. Although self-critical perfectionism was not directly predictive of subsequent changes in eating disorder symptoms, it was indirectly related to less reduction in body dissatisfaction through the therapeutic alliance. These results point to the importance of self-critical perfectionism in the therapeutic alliance and in changes in body image problems. Treatment implications are discussed