Backgroundafter hospitalisation for cardiac disease, older patients are at high risk of readmission and death.Objectivethe cardiac care bridge (CCB) transitional care programme evaluated the impact of combining case management, disease management and home-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on hospital readmission and mortality.Designsingle-blind, randomised clinical trial.Settingthe trial was conducted in six hospitals in the Netherlands between June 2017 and March 2020. Community-based nurses and physical therapists continued care post-discharge.Subjectscardiac patients ≥ 70 years were eligible if they were at high risk of functional loss or if they had had an unplanned hospital admission in the previous 6 months.Methodsthe intervention group received a comprehensive geriatric assessment-based integrated care plan, a face-to-face handover with the community nurse before discharge and follow-up home visits. The community nurse collaborated with a pharmacist and participants received home-based CR from a physical therapist. The primary composite outcome was first all-cause unplanned readmission or mortality at 6 months.Resultsin total, 306 participants were included. Mean age was 82.4 (standard deviation 6.3), 58% had heart failure and 92% were acutely hospitalised. 67% of the intervention key-elements were delivered. The composite outcome incidence was 54.2% (83/153) in the intervention group and 47.7% (73/153) in the control group (risk differences 6.5% [95% confidence intervals, CI −4.7 to 18%], risk ratios 1.14 [95% CI 0.91–1.42], P = 0.253). The study was discontinued prematurely due to implementation activities in usual care.Conclusionin high-risk older cardiac patients, the CCB programme did not reduce hospital readmission or mortality within 6 months.Trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register 6,316, https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/6169
MULTIFILE
11/09/2021
Background: Nurse-sensitive indicators and nurses’ satisfaction with the quality of care are two commonly used ways to measure quality of nursing care. However, little is known about the relationship between these kinds of measures. This study aimed to examine concordance between nurse-sensitive screening indicators and nurse-perceived quality of care. Methods: To calculate a composite performance score for each of six Dutch non-university teaching hospitals, the percentage scores of the publicly reported nurse-sensitive indicators: screening of delirium, screening of malnutrition, and pain assessments, were averaged (2011). Nurse-perceived quality ratings were obtained from staff nurses working in the same hospitals by the Dutch Essentials of Magnetism II survey (2010). Concordance between the quality measures was analyzed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Results: The mean screening performances ranged from 63 % to 93 % across the six hospitals. Nurse-perceived quality of care differed significantly between the hospitals, also after adjusting for nursing experience, educational level, and regularity of shifts. The hospitals with high-levels of nurse-perceived quality were also high-performing hospitals according to nurse-sensitive indicators. The relationship was true for high-performing as well as lower-performing hospitals, with strong correlations between the two quality measures (r S = 0.943, p = 0.005). Conclusions: Our findings showed that there is a significant positive association between objectively measured nurse sensitive screening indicators and subjectively measured perception of quality. Moreover, the two indicators of quality of nursing care provide corresponding quality rankings. This implies that improving factors that are associated with nurses’ perception of what they believe to be quality of care may also lead to better screening processes. Although convergent validity seems to be established, we emphasize that different kinds of quality measures could be used to complement each other, because various stakeholders may assign different values to the quality of nursing care.
Background: Older cardiac patients are at high risk of readmission and mortality. Transitional care interventions (TCIs) might contribute to the prevention of adverse outcomes. The Cardiac Care Bridge program was a randomized nurse-coordinated TCI combining case management, disease management and home-based rehabilitation for hospitalized frail older cardiac patients. This qualitative study explored the experiences of patients’ participating in this study, as part of a larger process evaluation as this might support interpretation of the neutral study outcomes. In addition, understanding these experiences could contribute to the design and application of future transitional care interventions for frail older cardiac patients. Methods: A generic qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were performed with 16 patients ≥70 years who participated in the intervention group. Participants were selected by gender, diagnosis, living arrangement and hospital of inclusion. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. In addition, quantitative data about intervention delivery were analysed. Results: Three themes emerged from the data: 1) appreciation of care continuity; 2) varying experiences with recovery and, 3) the influence of an existing care network. Participants felt supported by the transitional care intervention as they experienced post-discharge support and continuity of care. The perceived contribution of the program in participants’ recovery varied. Some participants reported physical improvements while others felt impeded by comorbidities or frailty. The home visits by the community nurse were appreciated, although some participants did not recognize the added value. Participants with an existing healthcare provider network preferred to consult these providers instead of the providers who were involved in the transitional care intervention. Conclusion: Our results contribute to an explanation of the neutral study of a nurse-coordinated transitional care intervention. For future purpose, it is important to identify which patients might benefit most from TCIs. Furthermore, the intensity and content of TCIs could be more personalized by tailoring interventions to older cardiac patients’ needs, considering their frailty, self-management skills and existing formal and informal caregiver networks.
Mattresses for the healthcare sector are designed for robust use with a core foam layer and a polyurethane-coated polyester textile cover. Nurses and surgeons indicate that these mattresses are highly uncomfortable to patients because of poor microclimatic management (air, moisture, temperature, friction, pressure regulation, etc) across the mattress, which can cause pressure ulcers (in less than a day). The problem is severe (e.g., extra recovery time, medication, increased risk, and costs) for patients with wounds, infection, pressure-sensitive decubitus. There are around 180,000 waterproof mattresses in the healthcare sector in the Netherlands, of which yearly 40,000 mattresses are discarded. Owing to the rapidly aging population it is expected to increase the demand for these functional mattresses from 180,000 to 400,000 in the next 10 years in the healthcare sector. To achieve a circular economy, Dutch Government aims for a 50% reduction in the use of primary raw materials by 2030. As of January 1, 2022, mattress manufacturers and importers are obliged to pay a waste management contribution. Within the scope of this project, we will design, develop, and test a circular & functional mattress for the healthcare (cure & care) sector. The team of experts from knowledge institutes, SMEs, hospital(s), branch-organization joins hands to design and develop a functional (microclimate management, including ease of use for nurses and patients) mattress that deals with uncomfortable sleeping and addresses the issue of pressure ulcers thereby overall accelerating the healing process. Such development addresses the core issue of circularity. The systematic research with proper demand articulation leads to V-shape verification and validation research methodology. With design focus and applied R&D at TRL-level (4-6) is expected to deliver the validated prototype(s) offering SMEs an opportunity to innovate and expand their market. The knowledge will be used for dissemination and education at Saxion.
Polycotton textiles are fabrics made from cotton and polyester. It is used in many textile applications such as sporting cloths, nursery uniforms and bed sheets. As cotton and polyester are quite different in their polymer nature, polycotton textiles are hard to recycle and therefore mostly incinerated. Incineration of discarded polycotton, and substitution by virgin polycotton, create a significant environmental impact. However, textile manufacturers and brand owners will become obliged to apply recycled content in clothing from 2023 onwards. Therefore, the development of more sustainable recycling alternatives for the separation and purification of polycotton into its monomers and cellulose is vital. In a recently approved GoChem project, it has been shown that cotton can be separated from polyester successfully, using a chemical recycling process. The generated solution is a mixture of suspended and partially decolorized cotton (cellulose) and a liquid fraction produced from the depolymerization of the polyester (monomers). A necessary further step of this work is the investigation of possible separation methods to recover the cotton and purify the obtained polyester monomers into polymer-grade pure products suitable for repolymerization. Repolymerize is a new consortium, composed of the first project members, plus a separation and purification process group, to investigate efficient and high yield purification steps to recover these products. The project will focus on possible steps to separate the suspended fraction (cotton) and further recover of high purity ethylene glycol from the rest fraction (polyester depolymerization solution). The main objective is to create essential knowledge so the private partners can evaluate whether such process is technologically and economically feasible.
We leven in een vergrijzende samenleving, waarbij ook een toename in ziekenhuis opnames wordt gezien. Een ziekenhuisopname heeft risico’s voor ouderen: bij 30-60% van hen ontstaat na een ziekenhuisopname blijvend functieverlies dat komt door het ontwikkelen van zorg gerelateerde complicaties die wellicht voorkomen hadden kunnen worden of ten minste vroegtijdig herkend en behandeld. Om veilige zorg voor ouderen te garanderen en het verlies van zelfstandigheid te voorkomen zijn de ziekenhuizen met ingang van januari 2012 in het kader van het veiligheidsmanagementsysteem (VMS) alle patiënten van 70 jaar en ouder bij opname gaan screenen op delirium, valrisico, voeding en mobiliteit. Deze screening zou moeten resulteren in gerichte verpleegkundige interventies waardoor functieverlies zou moeten afnemen. Of dit beleid slaagt, hangt sterk af van de kennis, inzet en houding van verpleegkundigen. Met de KOP-Q, het meetinstrument dat ontwikkeld en gevalideerd is in de Nurses and Older Patients Reducing Stress Study (NO PRESS), meet kennis van studenten en verpleegkundigen in het ziekenhuis over oudere patiënten. Verschillende geriatrische thema’s worden gemeten zoals o.a.: normale veroudering, geriatrische aandoeningen zoals delirium, depressie, dementie, decubitus, voeding, vallen, incontinentie etc, screening, passende interventies en het belang van familiezorg. Naast kennis kan met de gevalideerde Older Patients in Acute Care Survey (OPACS, ook gevalideerd in de NO PRESS) de ervaring en mening over oudere patiënten worden vastgesteld. Tezamen meten de instrumenten kennis, ervaring en mening van verpleegkundigen en studenten over oudere patiënten. Uit metingen die we hebben gedaan in verschillende ziekenhuizen en twee opleidingen blijkt dat kennis onvoldoende aanwezig is. Verpleegkundigen gaven daarbij aan dat zij graag een persoonlijke terugkoppeling zouden willen zien: ‘hoe heb ik de "test" gemaakt?’ Uit vele gesprekken met verpleegkundigen, verpleegkundig specialisten geriatrie en opleiders blijkt dat veel verpleegkundigen denken dat ze over voldoende kennis over ouderen beschikken, terwijl de KOP-Q een ander beeld laat zien. De terugkoppeling naar het individu is tot op heden niet mogelijk geweest, technisch niet omdat gegevens geaggregeerd worden verwerkt en daarnaast omdat anonimiteit borgt dat verpleegkundigen zo eerlijk mogelijk de vragen invullen. Het zou goed zijn wanneer ook op individueel niveau een terugkoppeling plaatsvindt die inzicht geeft in het kennis niveau (tekorten), de ervaring en de eigen mening over de oudere patiënten. Inzicht in eigen score en vooral in wat men goed weet en wat nog onvoldoende is, is een belangrijke eerste stap om te kunnen leren en de kennis te verbeteren. De individuele score leidt tot een scholingsadvies op maat, bijvoorbeeld door het linken (doorverwijzen) naar schriftelijke informatie, het tonen van beeldmateriaal en een opdracht om binnen de eigen instelling op zoek te gaan naar antwoorden. Om een individuele terugkoppeling te geven die privacy waarborgt en in een vervolg voorziet is een webapplicatie nodig. In deze applicatie kunnen de KOP-Q en OPACS vragen beantwoord worden door de individuele verpleegkundige die op basis van haar uitslag direct op individueel niveau een terugkoppeling met aanwijzingen voor het verbeteren van de zwakke punten ontvangt. Dit zou een aanwinst zijn voor zowel de beroepspraktijk als voor het beroeps onderwijs.
