Purpose – Self-efficacy has often been found to play a significant role in healthy dietary behaviours. However, self-efficacy interventions most often consist of intensive interventions. The authors aim to provide more insight into the effect of brief self-efficacy interventions on healthy dietary behaviours. Design/methodology/approach – In the present article, two randomized controlled trials are described. In study 1, a brief self-efficacy intervention with multiple self-efficacy techniques integrated on a flyer is tested, and in study 2, an online brief self-efficacy intervention with a single self-efficacy technique is tested. Findings – The results show that a brief self-efficacy intervention can directly increase vegetable intake and indirectly improve compliance to a diet plan to eat healthier. Originality/value – These findings suggest that self-efficacy interventions do not always have to be intensive to change dietary behaviours and that brief self-efficacy interventions can also lead to more healthy dietary behaviours.
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Study design: A secondary analysis of a systematic review. Background: Manipulations or mobilizations are commonly used interventions in patients with mechanical neck pain. The treatment effects have often been studied in randomized controlled trials (RCT) which are generally considered the gold standard in evaluating the treatment effects, mainly due to its high internal validity. External validity is defined as the extent to which the effects can be generalised to clinical practice. An important prerequisite for this is that interventions used in clinical trials can be replicated in clinical practice. It can be questioned if interventions utilized in randomized controlled trials can be translated into clinical practice. Objectives: The overall aim of this study is to examine whether the quality of the description of manipulation and mobilization interventions is sufficient for to replication of these interventions in clinical practice. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed. Two independent researchers used the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) which is a 12-item checklist for describing the completeness of the interventions. Results: Sixty-seven articles were included that used manipulation and/or mobilization interventions for patients with mechanical neck pain. None of the articles describe the intervention e.g. all the items on the TIDieR list. Considering item 8 (a-f) of the TIDieR checklist only one article described the used techniques completely. Conclusion: Manipulation or a mobilization interventions are poorly reported in RCTs, which jeopardize the external validity of RCTs, making it difficult for clinicians and researchers to replicate these interventions.
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Abstract Background: Antipsychotic-induced Weight Gain (AiWG) is a debilitating and common adverse effect of antipsychotics. AiWG negatively impacts life expectancy, quality of life, treatment adherence, likelihood of developing type-2 diabetes and readmission. Treatment of AiWG is currently challenging, and there is no consensus on the optimal management strategy. In this study, we aim to evaluate the use of metformin for the treatment of AiWG by comparing metformin with placebo in those receiving treatment as usual, which includes a lifestyle intervention. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled, pragmatic trial with a follow-up of 52 weeks, we aim to include 256 overweight participants (Body Mass Index (BMI) > 25 kg/m2) of at least 16years of age. Patients are eligible if they have been diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and if they have been using an antipsychotic for at least three months. Participants will be randomized with a 1:1 allocation to placebo or metformin, and will be treated for a total of 26 weeks. Metformin will be started at 500 mg b.i.d. and escalated to 1000 mg b.i.d. 2 weeks thereafter (up to a maximum of 2000mg daily). In addition, all participants will undergo a lifestyle intervention as part of the usual treatment consisting of a combination of an exercise program and dietary consultations. The primary outcome measure is difference in body weight as a continuous trait between the two arms from treatment inception until 26 weeks of treatment, compared to baseline. Secondary outcome measures include: 1) Any element of metabolic syndrome (MetS); 2) Response, defined as ≥5% body weight loss at 26 weeks relative to treatment inception; 3) Quality of life; 4) General mental and physical health; and 5) Cost-effectiveness. Finally, we aim to assess whether genetic liability to BMI and MetS may help estimate the amount of weight reduction following initiation of metformin treatment. Discussion: The pragmatic design of the current trial allows for a comparison of the efficacy and safety of metformin in combination with a lifestyle intervention in the treatment of AiWG, facilitating the development of guidelines on the interventions for this major health problem.
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Aanleiding Onderzoek wijst uit dat de leesvaardigheid van zowel vmbo- als hbo-studenten te wensen over laat; studerend lezen gaat ze niet goed af. Zowel hbo- als vmbo-studenten blijken vaak onvoldoende in staat om op een bevredigende manier kennis te verwerven uit studieteksten. Samenvattend is de vraag vanuit de onderwijspraktijk: 1) Op welke wijze kunnen vmbo-leerlingen en hbo-studenten binnenschools leren om informatie uit teksten te gebruiken voor (studeertaken gericht op) kennisverwerving? 2) In hoeverre kan men bij het uitvoeren van lees-studeertaken in groepjes gebruikmaken van ICT? Doelstelling Doel van het project is de ontwikkeling van een nieuwe leeromgeving voor studerend lezen in het vmbo en hbo, en het bepalen van de effectiviteit daarvan. Het onderzoek bestaat uit 2 delen. 1) Ontwikkelonderzoek. Het onderzoeksteam optimaliseert de leeromgeving in samenwerking met lerarenopleiders en vmbo-leerkrachten en de ICT-ondersteuning wordt afgestemd op de praktijk van het zaakvakonderwijs. 2) Effectonderzoek. Er worden twee 'randomized controlled trials' uitgevoerd (een in het vmbo en een in het hbo) om te toetsen welke effecten de nieuwe leeromgeving heeft op de vaardigheid 'studerend lezen' van leerlingen en studenten. Voorafgaand aan de experimenten maken de leerlingen/studenten voortoetsen om hun woordenschat en studerend lezen in kaart te brengen. De resultaten worden ingezet als co-variaten. Beoogde resultaten Het project resulteert in: 1) meer aandacht voor ondersteuning bij het lezen van teksten in vakonderwijs; 2) de ontwikkeling van een nieuwe leeromgeving voor studerend; 3) vergroting van de leesvaardigheden van vmbo-leerlingen/hbo-studenten. Het consortium zal de gegenereerde kennis over didactiek voor studerend lezen en de rol van de ICT-ondersteunde leeromgeving daarin verspreiden via wetenschappelijke artikelen en een proefschrift, presentaties op onderwijsconferenties en publicaties in landelijke vaktijdschriften voor het vmbo en hbo. De ontwikkelde didactiek wordt door Hogeschool Rotterdam geïntegreerd in het curriculum van de lerarenopleiding en wordt verspreid binnen de hogeschool, de consortiumscholen en de scholen van het Rotterdamse schoolbestuur BOOR. Ook Stichting Lezen, een intermediair tussen wetenschap en beroepspraktijk, gaat kennis over de didactiek verspreiden. Uitgeverij ThiemeMeulenhoff helpt de didactiek en leeromgeving beschikbaar te maken voor het onderwijsveld.
