Interviews for the assessment of long-term incapacity for work: a study on adherence to protocols and principles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Assessments for long-term incapacity for work are performed by Social Insurance Physicians (SIPs) who rely on interviews with claimants as an important part of the process. These interviews are susceptible to bias. In the Netherlands three protocols have been developed to conduct these interviews. These protocols are expert- and practice-based. We studied to what extent these protocols are adhered to by practitioners.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We compared the protocols with one another and with the ICF and the biopsychosocial approach. The protocols describe semi-structured interviews with comparable but not identical topics. All protocols prescribe that the client's opinion on his capacity for work, and his arguments, need to be determined and assessed. We developed a questionnaire to elicit the adherence SIPs have to the protocols, their underlying principles and topics. We conducted a survey among one hundred fifty-five experienced SIPs in the Netherlands.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ninety-eight SIPs responded (64%). All respondents used some form of protocol, either one of the published protocols or their own mix. We found no significant relation between training and the use of a particular protocol. Ninety percent use a semi-structured interview. Ninety-five percent recognise having to verify what the claimant says and eighty-three percent feel the need to establish a good relation (p = 0.019). Twelve topics are basically always addressed by over eighty percent of the respondents. The claimant's opinion of being fit for his own work or other work, and his claim of incapacity and his health arguments for that claim, reach a hundred percent. Description of claimants' previous work reaches ninety-nine percent.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study shows professional consensus among experienced Dutch SIPs about the principle of assessment on arguments, the principle of conducting a semi-structured interview and the most crucial interview topics. This consensus can be used to further develop a protocol for interviewing in the assessment of incapacity for work in social insurance. Such a protocol can improve the quality of the assessments in terms of transparency and reproducibility, as well as by enabling clients to better prepare themselves for the assessments.</p

GROUP CONTRIBUTIONS TO COSPHERE COSPHERE INTERACTION PARAMETERS - ESTER HYDROLYSIS IN AQUEOUS-SOLUTIONS CONTAINING CARBOXAMIDES

Rate constants for the hydrolysis of p-methoxyphenyl dichloroethanoate in dilute aqueous solutions of carboxamides can be quantitatively accounted for using cosphere interaction parameters G(c) which are linear functions of the number of methylene groups in an added carboxamide

Revision and update of the Callovian-Ryazanian Stratigraphic Nomenclature in the northern Dutch offshore, i.e. Central Graben Subgroup and Scruff Group

Exploration in a mature basin requires a detailed classification and standardisation of rock stratigraphy to adequately comprehend the depositional history and prospect architecture. The pre-Quaternary Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the Netherlands compiled by Van Adrichem Boogaert &Kouwe in 1993 provided a consistent framework for use by the Dutch geological community. Over the past twenty years, new biostratigraphic techniques and continued exploration in the Netherlands have provided additional stratigraphic information. Based on this information the Late Jurassic lithostratigraphy in particular, shows significant inaccuracies. The Callovian-Ryazanian strata from the northern offshore of the Netherlands’ territorial waters, termed the Central Graben Subgroup and Scruff Group, reveal a complex sedimentary history. The combination of non-marine to shallow marine lateral facies changes, repetitive log and facies characteristics in time, sea-level and climate change, salt tectonics and structural compartmentalisation hamper straightforward seismic interpretation and log correlation. Recognition of three genetic sequences by Abbink et al. in 2006 enabled an improved reconstruction of the geological history. Further improvements in refinement and reliability of the stratigraphy together with new information on the facies and ages of the successions and about the subsequent tectonostratigraphic development of the northern Dutch offshore area form the basis of the present revision. As a result, earlier lithostratigraphic models have been changed and new lithostratigraphic relationships and names are introduced in this paper

KINETICS OF UNCATALYZED HYDROLYSIS OF 1-BENZOYL-3-PHENYL-1,2,4-TRIAZOLE AND P-METHOXYPHENYL DICHLOROETHANOATE IN AQUEOUS-SOLUTION CONTAINING UREAS, CARBOXAMIDES, SULFONAMIDES, SULFONES AND SULFOXIDES

Rate constants are reported for the hydrolysis of 1-benzoyl-3-phenyl-1,2,4-triazole and p-methoxyphenyl dichloroethanoate in aqueous solutions containing formamide, acetamide, propionamide, isobutyramide, N-methylformamide, N,N-dimethylformamide, n-butyramide, N-methylacetamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide, urea, 1,3-dimethylurea, 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea, methanesulfonamide, N-methylmethanesulfonamide, dimethylsulfonamide, dimethyl sulfone, tetramethylene sulfone, diethyl sulfone, DMSO, tetramethylene sulfoxide or diethyl sulfoxide. The data are analysed to yield quantities defined as G(c) which describe Gibbs energies for substrate added solute interactions. The G(c) parameters are used to calculate group interaction parameters. Trends in derived G(c) parameters can be understood in terms of additivity of group interactions following the pattern described by Savage and Wood for pairwise solute-solute interactions in aqueous solutions

Design and results of an exploratory double blind testing program in firearms examination

In 2010, the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) started a series of tests for the NFI's Firearms Section. Ten cartridge case and bullet comparison tests were submitted by various external parties as regular cases and mixed in the flow of real cases. The results of the tests were evaluated with the VU University Amsterdam (VUA). A total of twenty-nine conclusions were drawn in the ten tests. For nineteen conclusions the submitted cartridge cases or bullets were either fired from the questioned firearm or from one and the same firearm, in tests where no firearm was submitted. For ten conclusions the submitted cartridge cases or bullets were either fired from another firearm than the submitted one or from several firearms, in tests where no firearm was submitted. In none of the conclusions misleading evidence was reported, in the sense that all conclusions supported the true hypothesis. This article discusses the design considerations of the program, contains details of the tests, and describes the various ways the test results were and could be analyzed