In a home care setting, high-quality care is typically associated with continuity of care. In addition, the increasing pressure due to labor shortages calls for cost-efficient operations. This paper focuses on obtaining cost-efficient daily schedules over a longer time horizon, with balanced shift lengths, while ensuring continuity of care (using the continuity of care index). To address this challenge, we propose a novel method based on blueprint routes. This method generates daily schedules by constructing optimized shifts and routes with regard to travel time, (time window) waiting time, and shift costs based on hourly wages. To ensure continuity of care, the daily scheduling decisions are strategically guided using the concept named blueprint routes. The blueprint routes are pre-optimized (partial) routes that help to align the daily schedules to achieve continuity of care in the subsequent nurse-to-shift assignment. Model-based evolutionary algorithms are employed to overcome the NP-hardness of the routing problem and nurse-to-shift assignment. Real-life-based numerical experiments demonstrate that continuity of care does not have to compromise home care schedule costs significantly.
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Background: Functional Capacity (FC) is a multidimensional construct within the activity domain of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework (ICF). Functional capacity evaluations (FCEs) are assessments of work-related FC. The extent to which these work-related FC tests are associated to bio-, psycho-, or social factors is unknown. The aims of this study were to test relationships between FC tests and other ICF factors in a sample of healthy workers, and to determine the amount of statistical variance in FC tests that can be explained by these factors. Methods: A cross sectional study. The sample was comprised of 403 healthy workers who completed material handling FC tests (lifting low, overhead lifting, and carrying) and static work FC tests (overhead working and standing forward bend). The explainable variables were; six muscle strength tests; aerobic capacity test; and questionnaires regarding personal factors (age, gender, body height, body weight, and education), psychological factors (mental health, vitality, and general health perceptions), and social factors (perception of work, physical workloads, sport-, leisure time-, and work-index). A priori construct validity hypotheses were formulated and analyzed by means of correlation coefficients and regression analyses. Results: Moderate correlations were detected between material handling FC tests and muscle strength, gender, body weight, and body height. As for static work FC tests; overhead working correlated fair with aerobic capacity and handgrip strength, and low with the sport-index and perception of work. For standing forward bend FC test, all hypotheses were rejected. The regression model revealed that 61% to 62% of material handling FC tests were explained by physical factors. Five to 15% of static work FC tests were explained by physical and social factors. Conclusions: The current study revealed that, in a sample of healthy workers, material handling FC tests were related to physical factors but not to the psychosocial factors measured in this study. The construct of static work FC tests remained largely unexplained.
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The „Ageing of Europe‟ phenomenon is related to a higher life expectancy of European inhabitants as well as to decreasing fertility and mortality rates. Those developments affect small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) because the number of older workers in SMEs is increasing too. Our research investigates whether older workers support corporation‟s internationalization. The research was conducted in SMEs in Germany, the Netherlands and United Kingdom by using a mixed method approach (questionnaires and interviews). Respondents provided us with 62 filled questionnaires and results of six semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed by simply searching for answer patterns. Findings revealed that older workers remain professional to keep international relationships running although older workers show less developed language skills, cultural awareness and flexibility. In the future, SMEs in Europe should offer trainings for older workers in foreign languages, how to work in an international environment and how to increase cultural difference awareness.
This proposal is a resubmission of an earlier proposal (Dossier nr: GOCH.KIEM.KGC02.079) which was not approved because of the too ambitious planning. As advised by the commission, the focus is kept only on the recycling of the mattress cover. The Netherlands has 180,000+ waterproof mattresses in the healthcare sector, of which yearly 40,000+ mattresses are discarded. Owing to the rapidly aging population it is expected to increase the demand for these waterproof mattresses in the consumer sector as well. Considering the complex nature of functional mattresses, these valuable resources are partly incinerated. To achieve a circular economy, Dutch Government aims for a 50% reduction in the use of primary raw materials in five key economic sectors including ‘consumer products’ by 2030. Within the scope of this research, Saxion together with partners (CFC BV, Deron BV, MRE BV & Klieverik Heli BV) will bring emphasis on Recycling (sustainable chemistry) of mattress covers. Other aspects such as reuse and re-designing are beyond the scope of this project proposal, for which a bigger consortium will be built during the course of this project. A case under study is a water-impermeable mattress cover made of 100% polyester with polyurethane (PU) coatings. The goal is to enable the circular use of textiles with (multilayer) ‘coatings’, which are not recyclable yet. These ‘coatings’ comprise functional coatings as well as adhesion layers. Therefore, novel triggerable molecular systems and the corresponding recycling processes will be developed. The coatings will be activated by a specific trigger (bio)-chemical solvation, heat, pressure, humidity, microwave, or combination of thereof. The emphasis is to develop a scalable coating removal process. Learnings will be used to build larger (inter)-national consortia to develop multiple industry closed-loop solutions required for 100% mattress circularity with desired functionality. The generated knowledge will be used for education at Saxion.
De laatste jaren is er veel veranderd in het sociale domein, waar bijvoorbeeld de schuldhulpverlening onder valt. Sociale hulpverleners, hebben daardoor meer dan ooit juridische kennis en vaardigheden nodig. In verschillende onderzoeken kijken we hoe bewust sociale hulpverleners omgaan met het recht.Doel Hoe bewust zijn sociale professionals, zoals wijkteamleden, zorgverleners en sociaal raadslieden, zich van de juridische gevolgen van hun handelen? Het lectoraat Toegang tot het Recht voert in de periode 2017-2023 verschillende onderzoeken uit waarin dit onderwerp centraal staat. We kijken onder meer naar hulp en recht in sociale wijkteams en sociaal werkers en mensenrechten. Resultaten De afgeronde onderzoeken hebben geleid tot wetenschappelijke publicaties, vakpublicaties en een adviesrapport voor docenten. Wetenschappelijke publicaties Social Workers as Local Human Rights Actors? Their Response to Barriers in Access to Care and Support in the Netherlands (Journal of Human Rights Practice, juli '21). Social Support and Access to Justice at the Kitchen Table? An Assessment of the Legal Capabilities of Community Social Care Professionals in the Netherlands (European Journal of Social Work, juli 2019). Tussen Burgers en Recht Lokaal? Sociaal Raadslieden over Toegang tot Zorg en Ondersteuning Tussen burgers en mensenrechten lokaal: Sociale professionals over toegang tot zorg en ondersteuning Sociaal werk: Een mensenrechtenberoep bij uitstek? Met recht een zorg: Lokale sociale professionals als poortwachters van de Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning 2015. Translators, Advocates or Practitioners? Social Workers and Human Rights Localization Hulp en Recht aan de Keukentafel: De toegang tot de Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning volgens lokale professionals Vakpublicaties Fundamentele rechten: De sociaal werker draagt een mensenrechtenbril. In: Vakblad Sociaal Werk, nummer 6, december 2017. Adviesrapport Sociaal werk en Mensenrechten Animatie VN-verdrag Handicap binnen de Wmo 2015 Deze animatie is het resultaat van interprofessionele samenwerking van het Lectoraat Toegang tot het Recht met professionals uit de praktijk en het onderwijs. Het is het afstudeerproject van Britta Bavelaar (Sociaal Juridische Diensverlening) binnen het promotieonderzoek 'Human Rights and Social Work: Challenges of local professionals at the frontline’. Het laat zien hoe de Wet Maatschappelijke Ondersteuning (WMO) en het VN-Verdrag Handicap verbonden zijn en hoe dit wijkteams kan helpen bij goede besluitvorming en het realiseren van gelijke rechten voor iedereen. Looptijd 01 januari 2017 - 31 december 2023 Aanpak
To optimize patient care, it is vital to prevent infections in healthcare facilities. In this respect, the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains threatens public healthcare. Current gold standard techniques are based on classical microbiological assays that are time consuming and need complex expensive lab environments. This limits their use for high throughput bacterial screening to perform optimal hygiene control. The infection prevention workers in hospitals and elderly nursing homes underline the urgency of a point-of-care tool that is able to detect bacterial loads on-site in a fast, precise and reliable manner while remaining with the available budgets. The aim of this proposal titled SURFSCAN is to develop a novel point-of-care tool for bacterial load screening on various surfaces throughout the daily routine of professionals in healthcare facilities. Given the expertise of the consortium partners, the point-of-care tool will be based on a biomimetic sensor combining surface imprinted polymers (SIPs), that act as synthetic bacterial receptors, with a thermal read-out strategy for detection. The functionality and performance of this biomimetic sensor has been shown in lab conditions and published in peer reviewed journals. Within this proposal, key elements will be optimized to translate the proof of principle concept into a complete clinical prototype for on-site application. These elements are essential for final implementation of the device as a screening and assessment tool for scanning bacterial loads on surfaces by hospital professionals. The research project offers a unique collaboration among different end-users (hospitals and SMEs), and knowledge institutions (Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, Fontys University of Applied Sciences and Maastricht Science Programme, IDEE-Maastricht University), which guarantees transfer of fundamental knowledge to the market and end-user needs.
