Purpose: This study examined the effects of a giant (4×3 m) exercising board game intervention on ambulatory physical activity (PA) and a broader array of physical and psychological outcomes among nursing home residents. Materials and methods: A quasi-experimental longitudinal study was carried out in two comparable nursing homes. Ten participants (aged 82.5±6.3 and comprising 6 women) meeting the inclusion criteria took part in the 1-month intervention in one nursing home, whereas 11 participants (aged 89.9±3.1 with 8 women) were assigned to the control group in the other nursing home. The giant exercising board game required participants to per-form strength, flexibility, balance and endurance activities. The assistance provided by an exercising specialist decreased gradually during the intervention in an autonomy-oriented approach based on the self-determination theory. The following were assessed at baseline, after the intervention and after a follow-up period of 3 months: PA (steps/day and energy expenditure/day with ActiGraph), cognitive status (mini mental state examination), quality of life (EuroQol 5-dimensions), motivation for PA (Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2), gait and balance (Tinetti and Short Physical Performance Battery), functional mobility (timed up and go), and the muscular isometric strength of the lower limb muscles. Results and conclusion: In the intervention group, PA increased from 2,921 steps/day at baseline to 3,358 steps/day after the intervention (+14.9%, P=0.04) and 4,083 steps/day (+39.8%, P=0.03) after 3 months. Energy expenditure/day also increased after the intervention (+110 kcal/day, +6.3%, P=0.01) and after 3 months (+219 kcal/day, +12.3%, P=0.02). Quality of life (P<0.05), balance and gait (P<0.05), and strength of the ankle (P<0.05) were also improved after 3 months. Such improvements were not observed in the control group. The preliminary results are promising but further investigation is required to confirm and evaluate the long-term effectiveness of PA interventions in nursing homes.
Abstract Background: The generalist-plus-specialist palliative care model is endorsed worldwide. In the Netherlands, the competencies and profile of the generalist provider of palliative care has been described on all professional levels in nursing and medicine. However, there is no clear description of what specialized expertise in palliative care entails, whereas this is important in order for generalists to know who they can consult in complex palliative care situations and for timely referral of patients to palliative care specialists. Objective: To gain insight in the roles and competencies attributed to palliative care specialists as opposed to generalists. Methods: A scoping review was completed based on PRISMA-ScR guidelines to explore the international literature on the role and competence description of specialist and expert care professionals in palliative care. Databases Embase.com, Medline (Ovid), CINAHL (Ebsco) and Web of Science Core Collection were consulted. The thirty-nine included articles were independently screened, reviewed and charted. Thematic codes were attached based on two main outcomes roles and competencies. Results: Five roles were identified for the palliative care specialist: care provider, care consultant, educator, researcher and advocate. Leadership qualities are found to be pivotal for every role. The roles were further specified with competencies that emerged from the analysis. The title, roles and competencies attributed to the palliative care specialist can mostly be applied to both medical and nursing professionals. Discussion: The roles and competencies derived from this scoping review correspond well with the seven fields of competence for medical/nursing professionals in health care of the CanMEDS guide. A specialist is not only distinguished from a generalist on patient-related care activities but also on an encompassing level. Clarity on what it entails to be a specialist is important for improving education and training for specialists. Conclusion: This scoping review adds to our understanding of what roles and competencies define the palliative care specialist. This is important to strengthen the position of the specialist and their added value to generalists in a generalist-plus-specialist model
Nationwide and across the globe, the quality, affordability, and accessibility of home-based healthcare are under pressure. This issue stems from two main factors: the rapidly growing ageing population and the concurrent scarcity of healthcare professionals. Older people aspire to live independently in their homes for as long as possible. Additionally, governments worldwide have embraced policies promoting “ageing in place,” reallocating resources from institutions to homes and prioritising home-based services to honour the desire of older people to continue living at home while simultaneously addressing the rising costs associated with traditional institutional care.Considering the vital role of district nursing care and the fact that the population of older people in need of assistance at home is growing, it becomes clear that district nursing care plays a crucial role in primary care. The aim of this thesis is twofold: 1) to strengthen the evidence base for district nursing care; and 2) to explore the use of outcomes for learning and improving in district nursing care. The first part of this thesis examines the current delivery of district nursing care and explores its challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen the evidence base and get a better understanding of district nursing care. Alongside the goal of strengthening the evidence for district nursing care, the second part of this thesis explores the use of patient outcomes for learning and improving district nursing care. It focuses on nurse-sensitive patient outcomes relevant to district nursing care, their current measurement in practice, and what is needed to use outcomes for learning and improving district nursing practice.
Verpleegkundig specialisten (VS’en) zijn hbo-master-opgeleide professionals die acteren op het hoogste beheersingsniveau binnen de verpleegkunde (NLQF 7). Zij hebben in Nederland hun intrede gedaan sinds de eeuwwisseling. Binnen de ggz is de inzet van de VS als regiebehandelaar echter pas sinds januari 2017 bekrachtigd in het Model Kwaliteitsinstituut. Elke ggz-instelling is verplicht om een Kwaliteitsstatuut te heb-ben, waarin inzichtelijk wordt gemaakt hoe de kwaliteit en doelmatigheid van de zorgverlening vorm krijgt. De VS als regiebehandelaar wordt in het Model Kwaliteitsstatuut aanbevolen voor cliënten waarbij de pri-maire focus van de behandeling gericht is op de gevolgen van de psychiatrische stoornis. VS’en-ggz vragen zich af hoe zij invulling kunnen geven aan de rol van regiebehandelaar. Het resultaat van dit RAAK-project moet een handreiking worden voor VS’en-ggz om hen te ondersteunen bij het invullen van de rol als regie-behandelaar binnen het multidisciplinaire team. We richten ons in dit project op de basis- en specialistische ggz die geboden wordt vanuit de ggz-instellingen. Om te komen tot een handreiking kiezen we voor data-triangulatie door drie verschillende methoden in te zetten, namelijk 1. nationale survey, 2. multiple casestu-die met mixed methods en 3. ontwerpgericht design om een handreiking te ontwikkelen. Tijdens het onder-zoeksproject en bij de verspreiding van kennis werken we samen met: cliëntraden, cliënten/naasten, VS’en-ggz, psychiaters en psychologen uit zeven ggz-instellingen; lectoren en docenten uit zes instellingen voor Hoger Beroeps Onderwijs; beroepsverenigingen voor VS’en, psychiaters en psychologen; hoogleraar verple-gingswetenschap en brancheorganisatie GGZ Nederland. Op deze wijze borgen we dat het onderzoek en de handreiking daadwerkelijk leiden tot breed gedragen handvatten voor de dagelijkse praktijk die bijdragen aan de invulling van de rol van regiebehandelaar door de VS, wat resulteert in kwaliteitswinst voor cliënten die in behandeling zijn bij een ggz-instelling.
