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Affective teacher–child relationships have frequently been investigated in school settings, but less attention has been devoted to these relationships in after-school care. This study explored caregiver- (N = 90) and child-informed reports (N = 90) of the affective caregiver–child relationship (N = 180 dyads) in Dutch after-school care, exploring gender differences at caregiver and child level and the relationship with a gender match between children and caregivers. The caregivers and children reported relatively high levels of closeness and relatively low level of conflict and dependency/autonomy support, irrespective of gender. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that a gender match between child and caregiver was associated with teacher-reported closeness: levels were highest in female-girl dyads and lowest in male-boy dyads. Further, boys indicated the highest levels of autonomy in male-boy dyads, whereas girls indicated the lowest levels in female-girl dyads. Masculinity of staff was associated with more child-reported autonomy support, whereas femininity predicted caregiver-reported closeness in the relationship.
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Background: Engaging families in postsurgical care is potentially beneficial for improving cancer patient outcomes and quality of care. The authors developed a family involvement program (FIP) and in this study, the authors aim to evaluate the impact of the FIP on family caregiver burden and well-being. Moreover, the authors aim to assess the fidelity of the program. Materials and methods: This is a preplanned subgroup analysis of a patient-preferred prospective cohort study that included family caregivers of patients who underwent major oncological surgery for gastrointestinal tumors. Only patient-nominated family caregivers could participate in the FIP. Caregivers received structured training in fundamental caregiving tasks from healthcare professionals and then actively participated in these tasks. Caregiver burden and well-being were measured four times (at hospital admission, at hospital discharge, and at 1 and 3 months posthospital discharge) using the Caregiver Strain Index+ (CSI+) and the Care-related Quality of Life instrument (CarerQoL-7D). The fidelity of the FIP was assessed by recording completion of care activities. In addition, family caregivers were asked whether they would participate in the FIP again. Results: Most of the 152 family caregivers were female (77.6%), and their mean age was 61.3 years (SD=11.6). Median CSI+ scores ranged between -1 and 0 and remained below the cutoff point of experiencing burden. CarerQoL-7D results indicated no significant differences in family caregivers' well-being over time. Upon discharge, over 75% of the family caregivers stated that they would recommend the FIP to others. The highest compliance with all fundamental care activities was observed during postoperative days 2-4. Conclusion: The family caregivers of oncological surgical patients who participated in the FIP exhibited acceptable levels of caregiver burden and well-being. These findings suggest that the FIP is a valuable intervention to equip family caregivers with the skills to navigate the uncertain period following a patient's hospital discharge.
MULTIFILE
The project aims to improve palliative care in China through the competence development of Chinese teachers, professionals, and students focusing on the horizontal priority of digital transformation.Palliative care (PC) has been recognised as a public health priority, and during recent years, has seen advances in several aspects. However, severe inequities in the access and availability of PC worldwide remain. Annually, approximately 56.8 million people need palliative care, where 25.7% of the care focuses on the last year of person’s life (Connor, 2020).China has set aims for reaching the health care standards of the developed countries by 2030 through the Healthy China Strategy 2030, where one of the improvement areas in health care includes palliative care, thus continuing the previous efforts.The project provides a constructive, holistic, and innovative set of actions aimed at resulting in lasting outcomes and continued development of palliative care education and services. Raising the awareness of all stakeholders on palliative care, including the public, is highly relevant and needed. Evidence based practice guidelines and education are urgently required for both general and specialised palliative care levels, to increase the competencies for health educators, professionals, and students. This is to improve the availability and quality of person-centered palliative care in China. Considering the aging population, increase in various chronic illnesses, the challenging care environment, and the moderate health care resources, competence development and the utilisation of digitalisation in palliative care are paramount in supporting the transition of experts into the palliative care practice environment.General objective of the project is to enhance the competences in palliative care in China through education and training to improve the quality of life for citizens. Project develops the competences of current and future health care professionals in China to transform the palliative care theory and practice to impact the target groups and the society in the long-term. As recognised by the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), palliative care competences need to be developed in collaboration. This includes shared willingness to learn from each other to improve the sought outcomes in palliative care (EAPC 2019). Since all individuals have a right to health care, project develops person-centered and culturally sensitive practices taking into consideration ethics and social norms. As concepts around palliative care can focus on physical, psychological, social, or spiritual related illnesses (WHO 2020), project develops innovative pedagogy focusing on evidence-based practice, communication, and competence development utilising digital methods and tools. Concepts of reflection, values and views are in the forefront to improve palliative care for the future. Important aspects in project development include health promotion, digital competences and digital health literacy skills of professionals, patients, and their caregivers. Project objective is tied to the principles of the European Commission’s (EU) Digital Decade that stresses the importance of placing people and their rights in the forefront of the digital transformation, while enhancing solidarity, inclusion, freedom of choice and participation. In addition, concepts of safety, security, empowerment, and the promotion of sustainable actions are valued. (European Commission: Digital targets for 2030).Through the existing collaboration, strategic focus areas of the partners, and the principles of the call, the PalcNet project consortium was formed by the following partners: JAMK University of Applied Sciences (JAMK ), Ramon Llull University (URL), Hanze University of Applied Sciences (HUAS), Beijing Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH), Guangzhou Health Science College (GHSC), Beihua University (BHU), and Harbin Medical University (HMU). As project develops new knowledge, innovations and practice through capacity building, finalisation of the consortium considered partners development strategy regarding health care, (especially palliative care), ability to create long-term impact, including the focus on enhancing higher education according to the horizontal priority. In addition, partners’ expertise and geographical location was also considered important to facilitate long-term impact of the results.Primary target groups of the project include partner country’s (China) staff members, teachers, researchers, health care professionals and bachelor level students engaging in project implementation. Secondary target groups include those groups who will use the outputs and results and continue in further development in palliative care upon the lifetime of the project.
In this project, we explore how healthcare providers and the creative industry can collaborate to develop effective digital mental health interventions, particularly for survivors of sexual assault. Sexual assault victims face significant barriers to seeking professional help, including shame, self-blame, and fear of judgment. With over 100,000 cases reported annually in the Netherlands the need for accessible, stigma-free support is urgent. Digital interventions, such as chatbots, offer a promising solution by providing a safe, confidential, and cost-effective space for victims to share their experiences before seeking professional care. However, existing commercial AI chatbots remain unsuitable for complex mental health support. While widely used for general health inquiries and basic therapy, they lack the human qualities essential for empathetic conversations. Additionally, training AI for this sensitive context is challenging due to limited caregiver-patient conversation data. A key concern raised by professionals worldwide is the risk of AI-driven chatbots being misused as therapy substitutes. Without proper safeguards, they may offer inappropriate responses, potentially harming users. This highlights the urgent need for strict design guidelines, robust safety measures, and comprehensive oversight in AI-based mental health solutions. To address these challenges, this project brings together experts from healthcare and design fields—especially conversation designers—to explore the power of design in developing a trustworthy, user-centered chatbot experience tailored to survivors' needs. Through an iterative process of research, co-creation, prototyping, and evaluation, we aim to integrate safe and effective digital support into mental healthcare. Our overarching goal is to bridge the gap between digital healthcare and the creative sector, fostering long-term collaboration. By combining clinical expertise with design innovation, we seek to develop personalized tools that ethically and effectively support individuals with mental health problems.
