A comparison between caring communities in Wedde (Groningen) and a rural community in Northwestern Germany. Motives, setbacks and changes for two small rural communities where citizens take charge of the care in their community
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Lifelong learning is necessary for nurses and caregivers to provide good, person-centred care. To facilitate such learning and embed it into regular working processes, learning communities of practice are considered promising. However, there is little insight into how learning networks contribute to learning exactly and what factors of success can be found. The study is part of a ZonMw-funded research project ‘LeerSaam Noord’ in the Netherlands, which aims to strengthen the professionalization of the nursing workforce and promote person-centred care. We describe what learning in learning communities looks like in four different healthcare contexts during the start-up phase of the research project. A thematic analysis of eleven patient case-discussions in these learning communities took place. In addition, quantitative measurements on learning climate, reciprocity behavior, and perceptions of professional attitude and autonomy, were used to underpin findings. Reflective questioning and discussing professional dilemma's i.e. patient cases in which conflicting interests between the patient and the professional emerge, are of importance for successful learning.
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• Introduction research concern • Presentation: Images and metaphors expressed by Dutch parents (caring for children with PIMD) • Dialogue and participation
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The current study analyzed blogs written by four Dutch parents of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities, with the aim of deepening the understanding of the parents’ concerns. Thematic analysis was conducted and five main themes were identified: Dealing with uncertainties addressed the impact of unpredictability present in the everyday lives of parents, Love and loss described the complexity of concurrently cherishing the child and grieving various types of loss, Struggling with time, energy and finances detailed imbalances and struggles related to parents’ personal resources, Feeling included in communities and society specified social consequences, and Relating to professional care services reflected on stress and support associated with professional care delivery. The study findings demonstrate how care professionals should acknowledge parents’ vulnerabilities by being aware of their existential distress and empowering parents to exercise control of family thriving.
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Older people today are more likely to age in their own private living environment. However, many face declining health and/or other issues that affect their ability to live independently and necessitate additional support. Such support can be provided by formal networks, but a considerable part can also be offered by informal networks of older people themselves. Going beyond these networks, older people can additionally and perhaps even more substantially benefit from vital communities. Nevertheless, even though this term is increasingly common in the literature, its meaning remains indistinct. A more thorough understanding of this concept might provide valuable knowledge that health care professionals, researchers and community workers can use to offer meaningful and effective support. The purpose of this paper is to draw on existing empirical research on vital communities to build knowledge of the different descriptions and dimensions of the concept. Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology was adopted. Our search, conducted on 23 March 2020 and updated on 06 January 2021, yielded 4433 articles, of which six articles were included in the scoping review. We deduced that the conceptualisation of a vital community is based on three dimensions: the aim of a vital community, the processes behind a vital community and the typical characteristics of a vital community. None of the selected studies have mapped all three dimensions. Nevertheless, we assume that understanding all three matters when vital communities aim to contribute to the quality of life of people ageing in place.
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Within healthcare and social care education, students, teachers, supervisors and others are increasingly collaborating and learning in networked learning communities. These communities can take different forms, such as networked internships, interorganisational projects or interdisciplinary networks. In order to improve the success of these networks, four conditions for reciprocal collaboration in networks are important. This research aims to gain more insight into how students, teachers, supervisors and others work and learn together in these reciprocal networks. The research questions are: 1) To what extent are the learning communities already set up according to the conditions of reciprocity? 2) How is reciprocity experienced in the learning communities? 3) To what extent is trialogical and interactive learning given a place in the learning communities? and 4) How is social bonding experienced in the learning communities? A yearly survey will be used amongst the members of in total 15 learning communities with 15-25 members each, throughout three years. The survey consists of the Reciprocity Instrument, Classroom Community scale and trialogical learning.
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The “Creating Age-friendly Communities: Housing and Technology” publication presents contemporary, innovative, and insightful narratives, debates, and frameworks based on an international collection of papers from scholars spanning the fields of gerontology, social sciences, architecture, computer science, and gerontechnology. This extensive collection of papers aims to move the narrative and debates forward in this interdisciplinary field of age-friendly cities and communities. (This book is a reprint of the Special Issue Creating Age-friendly Communities: Housing and Technology that was published in Healthcare)
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How can Zuyd University promote knowledge sharing between different departments and locations, and what structures are needed to enable the knowledge sharing?
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Increasing flexibilisation and personalisation of education creates challenges in terms of students’ social connectedness with each other, with the programme and with lecturers. For this reason, a team of researchers and professors from four universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands carried out research into how a sense of community can be created in learning communities. On the basis of a literature review and design-oriented research, we conducted experiments aimed at fostering social connectedness in eight learning communities. These learning communities were in the domains of Nursing, Healthcare and Welfare Teacher Training, Management in Care, Teacher Training, and Nutrition and Dietetics (part-time, full-time and dual programme variants). The above research resulted in this Social connectedness in Online and Blended Learning Communities guide, which consists of two parts. Part one outlines the seven design principles (focused on content, attitude and preconditions) which lecturers can work with in their role as facilitator. The lecturer can apply these design principles to promote social connectedness in online and blended learning communities, including when flexible student paths are involved. These design principles are supported by practical IT tools and working methods and are widely applicable. The design principles involved are: A. Getting to know each other B. Trust and cooperationC. Shared and common goals D. Willingness to participate E. Programme and instruction strategies F. Sharing information and knowledge G. Resources and preconditions. Part 2 consists of a methodological justification and substantiation of the research underpinning the guide as well as a description of the results and ends with a conclusion, discussion and recommendations for further research.The experiments showed that learning communities that were newly established or had changed in composition after some time mainly opted for design principles A. Getting to know each other and B. Trust and cooperation. Learning communities that had been active for a longer period chose mainly C. Shared and common goals. Further longitudinal and other research is needed to determine to what extent the design principles and the role of the facilitators can be applied in other domains (such as technology, economics, etc.).
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Older people with confused behavior, have behavioral problems due to dementia, mental problems or social problems. For the Healthcare Assistant (HA) in district nursing, it is a daily challenge to care for older people with confused behavior. Aim of this research is to achieve an insight in the strategies the HA uses to deal with the daily care for older people with confused behavior. It is also the aim to have insight in factors which contribute to the daily care in a positive or negative way. Method: a qualitative explorative research. 17 HA’s in district nursing participated in semi-structured interviews. All respondents had experience with caring for older people with confused behavior. The most important influencing factors are the experienced relationship between HA and the client and the experienced support by the team. Particularly behavioral problems due to mental problems can impede a relationship with the client. Further research is recommended to study the level of knowledge and competences of all levels of employees in district nursing.
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