Experiences of service users with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning with Flexible Assertive Community Treatment:A qualitative study

Background In the Netherlands, Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) teams have been established for people with mild intellectual disability (MID) or borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) and mental health problems or challenging behaviour. Little is known yet about service users’ experiences with FACT. Method An inductive grounded theory approach was used to explore how service users valued the treatment and their own functioning, and which factors were perceived as supportive. Semi‐structured interviews were held with 15 service users. Results Most service users highly appreciated the contact with the staff and the practical and emotional support. Persistent involvement, availability and humanity, and respect for autonomy were distinguished as core values in the relationship with the staff. Most service users experienced improvement in time and attributed this to intrapersonal changes and/or less stress in life. Conclusions From the perspective of service users with MID/BIF, FACT appears to have an added value

A Review of the Properties of Nb3Sn and Their Variation with A15 Composition, Morphology and Strain State

This article gives an overview of the available literature on simplified, well defined (quasi-)homogeneous laboratory samples. After more than 50 years of research on superconductivity in Nb3Sn, a significant amount of results are available, but these are scattered over a multitude of publications. Two reviews exist on the basic properties of A15 materials in general, but no specific review for Nb3Sn is available. This article is intended to provide such an overview. It starts with a basic description of the Niobium-Tin intermetallic. After this it maps the influence of Sn content on the the electron-phonon interaction strength and on the field-temperature phase boundary. The literature on the influence of Cu, Ti and Ta additions will then be briefly summarized. This is followed by a review on the effects of grain size and strain. The article is concluded with a summary of the main results.Comment: Invited Topical Review for Superconductor, Science and Technology. Provisionally scheduled for July 200

Flexible assertive community treatment for individuals with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning: results of a longitudinal study in the Netherlands

Background Assertive community treatment (ACT) and Flexible assertive community treatment (FACT) are organisation models for intensive assertive outreach that were originally developed for individuals with severe mental illness. The models are increasingly applied to people with mild intellectual disability (MID) or borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) and challenging behaviour or mental illness. Research on these types of care for this population is limited. To gain experience in FACT MID/BIF in the Netherlands and to obtain insight in its outcomes, four organisations specialised in the treatment of individuals with MID/BIF and challenging behaviour participated in a 6‐year implementation and research project. Methods A longitudinal study was set up to investigate outcomes over time. Outcome measures concerned admissions to (mental) health care, social and psychological functioning, (risk of) challenging and criminal behaviour, social participation and client satisfaction. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and linear mixed models. Results Over time, clients showed improvement in their social and psychiatric functioning and living circumstances. The number of admissions to (mental) health care diminished as well as the number of contacts with police and justice, the level of social disturbance and the risk factors for challenging and criminal behaviour. Problems related to finances, work and substance abuse remained unchanged. Conclusions The results are encouraging and give rise to continued development of and broader research on FACT MID/BIF