Ehrenamt im Krankenhaus - Tradition oder Thema der Zukunft? : Die Sicht von Leitungskräften, Personal und Ehrenamtlichen auf das Ehrenamt in der akutstationären Versorgung

Volunteer services are a traditional part of hospitals. To cope with future tasks, politicians and experts value volunteer services as an integral component of the health care mix. However, little is known about how volunteering is perceived within hospitals and among staff. This study focuses the goals and expectancies of hospital leaders, hospital staff and volunteers. The results of group discussions in four German hospitals indicate that volunteer services are perceived as valuable complement to medical care and nursing care, especially with regard to patient orientation. Some topics inhibiting motivation or use of volunteer services were identified. As the relevance of voluntary work is increasing, integration of volunteers into the health care system should be improved. Moreover there is a need for initiatives to increase the appeal for volunteering and the knowledge of voluntary work in hospitals. Politics should give greater attention to volunteer services in hospitals and better support. To enhance the requirements, there is a need for more in-depth research on the effects of volunteer services in health care

Volunteer services in hospitals - Tradition or topic for the future? : The perception of managers, staff and volunteers on volunteer services in hospital care.

Volunteer services are a traditional part of hospitals. To cope with future tasks, politicians and experts value volunteer services as an integral component of the health care mix. However, little is known about how volunteering is perceived within hospitals and among staff. This study focuses the goals and expectancies of hospital leaders, hospital staff and volunteers. The results of group discussions in four German hospitals indicate that volunteer services are perceived as valuable complement to medical care and nursing care, especially with regard to patient orientation. Some topics inhibiting motivation or use of volunteer services were identified. As the relevance of voluntary work is increasing, integration of volunteers into the health care system should be improved. Moreover there is a need for initiatives to increase the appeal for volunteering and the knowledge of voluntary work in hospitals. Politics should give greater attention to volunteer services in hospitals and better support. To enhance the requirements, there is a need for more in-depth research on the effects of volunteer services in health care

Phenotypic spectrum and prevalence of INPP5E mutations in Joubert Syndrome and related disorders

<p>Joubert syndrome and related disorders (JSRD) are clinically and genetically heterogeneous ciliopathies sharing a peculiar midbrain-hindbrain malformation known as the 'molar tooth sign'. To date, 19 causative genes have been identified, all coding for proteins of the primary cilium. There is clinical and genetic overlap with other ciliopathies, in particular with Meckel syndrome (MKS), that is allelic to JSRD at nine distinct loci. We previously identified the INPP5E gene as causative of JSRD in seven families linked to the JBTS1 locus, yet the phenotypic spectrum and prevalence of INPP5E mutations in JSRD and MKS remain largely unknown. To address this issue, we performed INPP5E mutation analysis in 483 probands, including 408 JSRD patients representative of all clinical subgroups and 75 MKS fetuses. We identified 12 different mutations in 17 probands from 11 JSRD families, with an overall 2.7% mutation frequency among JSRD. The most common clinical presentation among mutated families (7/11, 64%) was Joubert syndrome with ocular involvement (either progressive retinopathy and/or colobomas), while the remaining cases had pure JS. Kidney, liver and skeletal involvement were not observed. None of the MKS fetuses carried INPP5E mutations, indicating that the two ciliopathies are not allelic at this locus.</p>