ObjectiveIn this Lesson from the Field, we examine changes in the burden experienced by caregivers of persons who experience homelessness associated with lack employment, employability or education, and mental health challenges when the care recipient receives support from an outreach professional known as a social street worker (herein identified as worker). In addition, we focus on caregivers' perception of change in the quality of their relationship with the person for whom they care and whether the caregivers receive support from the worker.BackgroundIn the Netherlands, due to the transformation toward a participation society, persons living in compromised circumstances must increasingly rely on caregivers for support and shelter instead of relying on services, such as support from social community teams.MethodsWorkers provided by a Dutch organization covering the northwest of the Netherlands gained the consent of their clients to contact the clients' caregivers. Caregivers were invited to participate in the research and completed consent. A total of 111 caregivers of persons receiving support from workers completed surveys.ResultsCaregivers who had more contact with the worker worried less about the person for whom they provided care. No changes were found regarding tension between caregivers and the person for whom they cared. Most caregivers (73%) perceived positive changes in the quality of the relationship with the person for whom they provided care, and 52% received support from the worker.ConclusionMost carers did not perceive changes in their burden, but did perceived positive changes in the quality of the relationship with the person for whom they cared and received support themselves.ImplicationsOur study underpins the need to recognize the caregiver's burden of caregivers who support marginalized people, to connect with these caregivers, and to support them.
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There appears to be some hesitation within the forensic biology community to formally evaluate and report on findings given activity level propositions. This hesitance in part stems from concerns about the lack of relevant data on the dynamics of biological traces and doubt about the relevance of such expert opinions to the trier of fact. At the Netherlands Forensic Institute formal evaluative opinions on the probability of case findings given propositions at the activity level are provided since 2013, if requested by a mandating authority. In this study we share the results from a retrospective analysis of 74 of such requests. We explore which party initiates requests, the types of cases that are submitted, the sources of data being used to assign probabilities to DNA transfer, persistence, prevalence and recovery (TPPR) events, the conclusions that were drawn by the scientists, and how the conclusions were used by the courts. This retrospective analysis of cases demonstrates that published sources of data are generally available and can be used to address DNA TPPR events in most cases, although significant gaps still remain. The study furthermore shows that reporting on forensic biology findings given activity level propositions has been generally accepted by the district and appeal courts, as well as the other parties in the criminal justice system in the Netherlands.
During crime scene investigations, numerous traces are secured and may be used as evidence for the evaluation of source and/or activity level propositions. The rapid chemical analysis of a biological trace enables the identification of body fluids and can provide significant donor profiling information, including age, sex, drug abuse, and lifestyle. Such information can be used to provide new leads, exclude from, or restrict the list of possible suspects during the investigative phase. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art labelling techniques to identify the most suitable visual enhancer to be implemented in a lateral flow immunoassay setup for the purpose of trace identification and/or donor profiling. Upon comparison, and with reference to the strengths and limitations of each label, the simplistic one-step analysis of noncompetitive lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) together with the implementation of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) as visual enhancers is proposed for a sensitive, accurate, and reproducible in situ trace analysis. This approach is versatile and stable over different environmental conditions and external stimuli. The findings of the present comparative analysis may have important implications for future forensic practice. The selection of an appropriate enhancer is crucial for a well-designed LFA that can be implemented at the crime scene for a time- and cost-efficient investigation.
