Midtrimester preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM):expectant management or amnioinfusion for improving perinatal outcomes (PPROMEXIL - III trial)

BACKGROUND: Babies born after midtrimester preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) are at risk to develop neonatal pulmonary hypoplasia. Perinatal mortality and morbidity after this complication is high. Oligohydramnios in the midtrimester following PPROM is considered to cause a delay in lung development. Repeated transabdominal amnioinfusion with the objective to alleviate oligohydramnios might prevent this complication and might improve neonatal outcome. METHODS/DESIGN: Women with PPROM and persisting oligohydramnios between 16 and 24 weeks gestational age will be asked to participate in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial. Intervention: random allocation to (repeated) abdominal amnioinfusion (intervention) or expectant management (control). The primary outcome is perinatal mortality. Secondary outcomes are lethal pulmonary hypoplasia, non-lethal pulmonary hypoplasia, survival till discharge from NICU, neonatal mortality, chronic lung disease (CLD), number of days ventilatory support, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), periventricular leucomalacia (PVL) more than grade I, severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) more than grade II, proven neonatal sepsis, gestational age at delivery, time to delivery, indication for delivery, successful amnioinfusion, placental abruption, cord prolapse, chorioamnionitis, fetal trauma due to puncture. The study will be evaluated according to intention to treat. To show a decrease in perinatal mortality from 70% to 35%, we need to randomise two groups of 28 women (two sided test, β-error 0.2 and α-error 0.05). DISCUSSION: This study will answer the question if (repeated) abdominal amnioinfusion after midtrimester PPROM with associated oligohydramnios improves perinatal survival and prevents pulmonary hypoplasia and other neonatal morbidities. Moreover, it will assess the risks associated with this procedure. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NTR3492 Dutch Trial Register (http://www.trialregister.nl)

The nonprofit case for corporate volunteering: a multi-level perspective

This article argues that the nonprofit case for corporate volunteering is complex, requiring a multi-level perspective on the outcomes for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). To develop this perspective, we adopted an inductive research approach, conducting 39 exploratory semi-structured interviews with NPO staff. We argue that NPO scholars and practitioners should disentangle individual and organizational-level outcomes resulting from interactions between corporate volunteers and NPO staff, as such micro-dynamics ultimately affect NPO services. Moreover, these outcomes are subject to conditions at the organizational level (e.g. involvement of intermediaries), as well as at the individual level (e.g. type of assignment). Our study highlights the complexity that should be considered when addressing the fundamental question of whether corporate volunteering contributes to the ability of NPOs to provide their services, and under what conditions. We therefore propose that corporate volunteer management within NPOs is inherently, albeit contingently, intertwined with the services that these organizations provide

Bringing the beneficiary closer: Explanations for volunteering time in Dutch private development initiatives

Contains fulltext : 116848.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)In the Netherlands, charitable behavior for international development purposes is subject to important changes. Whereas established development organizations suffer from a declining support base, private development initiatives (PDIs) that execute concrete, small-scale projects within direct personalized aid networks can count on increasing enthusiasm from individual donors of money and time. We investigate to what extent cost-benefit evaluations of volunteers (supply side) and characteristics of PDIs (demand side) affect the time allocation for volunteering in these organizations. The study is based on a survey among 661 volunteers active in Dutch PDIs. PDI volunteers face time and budget restrictions, partly due to their position on the (paid) labor market. Volunteers who are skeptical toward established development organizations increase voluntary time investment in PDIs. Corroborating the proximity hypothesis, volunteers perceiving a smaller distance to beneficiaries, spend more volunteering hours in PDIs. Volunteers also spend more hours volunteering for PDIs with larger budgets and more staff.25 p

The relationship between confidence in charitable organizations and volunteering revisited

Confidence in charitable organizations (charitable confidence) would seem to be an important prerequisite for philanthropic behavior. Previous research relying on cross-sectional data has suggested that volunteering promotes charitable confidence and vice versa. This research note, using new longitudinal panel data from the Netherlands, contradicts the suggestion generated by previous research. Volunteers indeed have more charitable confidence, but changes in one are not related to changes in the other. The authors identify generalized social trust and altruistic values as omitted variables that produce the previously observed relationship. The practical implication of this finding is that a decline in charitable confidence is unlikely to reduce volunteering. The theoretical implication is that volunteering is symbolic rather than instrumental. © 2009 SAGE Publications

Corporate Foundations in Europe

The objective is to give an insight into what we know and what we don't know about the current situation of corporate foundations. While we are able to put the spotlight on several interesting developments in the field, this chapter cannot give a comprehensive overview of corporate foundations in all European foundation sectors. As corporate foundations are predominantly public-benefit foundations and part of the nonprofit sector, it is useful to start with a brief overview of the European foundation sector. This may help to gain a first impression of the sector and possibly allows conclusions about the number and country-specific nature of corporate foundations, at least to give some indication about the environment corporate foundations act in