Background: In Europe, cardiovascular disease is one of the predominant causes of mortality and morbidity among older people over 65 years. The occurrence of cardiovascular disease can have a negative impact on the quality of life of older patients and their families and family health overall. Assuming that illness is a family affair shaped by culture and health care systems, we explored European health care practices and interventions toward families of older patients with cardiovascular disease and heart failure.Aims: This paper aimed to determine the extent, range, and variety of practices and interventions in Europe directed to families of older patients and to identify knowledge gaps.Materials & Methods: A scoping review was conducted including studies published in Medline, CINHAL, or Cochrane library between 2009 and mid-2020.Results: A total of 22 articles from 17 studies were included, showing diverse practices and interventions. The interventions targeted the family as a unit (six studies), dyads (five studies), patients alone, but assessed family members’ reactions (five studies) or the family member primarily, but assessed the reaction of the patient (one study). Target outcomes were family caregiver burden; health-related QoL; and perceived control in patients; and family functioning and changes in health behavior or knowledge in both, family members and patients. Most studies did not include an integral view of the family as the unit of care but rather had a disease-centered approach.Discussion: This scoping review provides insight into a variety of healthcarepractices towards families of older patients with cardiovascular disease in Europe. Clarifying underlying assumptions to involve families is needed. More studies with family-focused approaches as integral models could lead to practices that improve families’ well-being. Exploring integral models for their acceptance in health care and family systems appears pertinent to develop European policy to support and add to family health.
OBJECTIVES: to test the effects of an intervention involving sensor monitoring-informed occupational therapy on top of a cognitive behavioural treatment (CBT)-based coaching therapy on daily functioning in older patients after hip fracture.DESIGN, SETTING AND PATIENTS: three-armed randomised stepped wedge trial in six skilled nursing facilities, with assessments at baseline (during admission) and after 1, 4 and 6 months (at home). Eligible participants were hip fracture patients ≥ 65 years old.INTERVENTIONS: patients received care as usual, CBT-based occupational therapy or CBT-based occupational therapy with sensor monitoring. Interventions comprised a weekly session during institutionalisation, followed by four home visits and four telephone consultations over three months.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: the primary outcome was patient-reported daily functioning at 6 months, assessed with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure.RESULTS: a total of 240 patients (mean[SD] age, 83.8[6.9] years were enrolled. At baseline, the mean Canadian Occupational Performance Measure scores (range 1-10) were 2.92 (SE 0.20) and 3.09 (SE 0.21) for the care as usual and CBT-based occupational therapy with sensor monitoring groups, respectively. At six months, these values were 6.42 (SE 0.47) and 7.59 (SE 0.50). The mean patient-reported daily functioning in the CBT-based occupational therapy with sensor monitoring group was larger than that in the care as usual group (difference 1.17 [95% CI (0.47-1.87) P = 0.001]. We found no significant differences in daily functioning between CBT-based occupational therapy and care as usual.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: among older patients recovering from hip fracture, a rehabilitation programme of sensor monitoring-informed occupational therapy was more effective in improving patient-reported daily functioning at six months than to care as usual.TRIAL REGISTRATION: Dutch National Trial Register, NTR 5716.
Aim: The aim of this study is to explore patients' and (in)formal caregivers' perspectives on their role(s) and contributing factors in the course of unplanned hospital readmission of older cardiac patients in the Cardiac Care Bridge (CCB) program. Design: This study is a qualitative multiple case study alongside the CCB randomized trial, based on grounded theory principles. Methods: Five cases within the intervention group, with an unplanned hospital readmission within six months after randomization, were selected. In each case, semi-structured interviews were held with patients (n = 4), informal caregivers (n = 5), physical therapists (n = 4), and community nurses (n = 5) between April and June 2019. Patients' medical records were collected to reconstruct care processes before the readmission. Thematic analysis and the six-step analysis of Strauss & Corbin have been used. Results: Three main themes emerged. Patients experienced acute episodes of physical deterioration before unplanned hospital readmission. The involvement of (in)formal caregivers in adequate observation of patients' health status is vital to prevent rehospitalization (theme 1). Patients and (in)formal caregivers' perception of care needs did not always match, which resulted in hampering care support (theme 2). CCB caregivers experienced difficulties in providing care in some cases, resulting in limited care provision in addition to the existing care services (theme 3). Conclusion: Early detection of deteriorating health status that leads to readmission was often lacking, due to the acuteness of the deterioration. Empowerment of patients and their informal caregivers in the recognition of early signs of deterioration and adequate collaboration between caregivers could support early detection. Patients' care needs and expectations should be prioritized to stimulate participation. Impact: (In)formal caregivers may be able to prevent unplanned hospital readmission of older cardiac patients by ensuring: (1) early detection of health deterioration, (2) empowerment of patient and informal caregivers, and (3) clear understanding of patients' care needs and expectations.
Chronische pijn is een groot, complex en duur probleem en heeft een grote impact op de kwaliteit van leven van patiënten, dagelijks functioneren, stemming en ziekteverzuim. Er zijn verschillende interventies ontwikkeld die met name gericht zijn op het beïnvloeden en veranderen van het gedrag waarbij zelfmanagement een belangrijke rol speelt. Echter het bestendigen van resultaten op lange termijn blijkt een groot probleem en leidt zelfs tot terugval naar “oud” gedrag waardoor patiënten opnieuw vaak kostbare hulp gaan zoeken. Er zijn twee additionele interventies ontwikkeld in een eerder RAAK-project (SOLACE) ter voorkoming van deze terugval: “Do It Your Self” en “Waarde gerichte Doelen” , echter de werkzaamheid van deze interventies op de lange termijn is niet onderzocht. Een eerste feasibility studie lijkt veelbelovend met positieve effecten naar de bruikbaarheid van deze interventies in de betrokken revalidatiecentra. Vanuit dit werkveld maar ook vanuit de patiënten kwam nadrukkelijk de vraag om deze interventies op effectiviteit te toetsen. Dit heeft geleid tot de onderzoeksvraag; “Is een additionele interventie (do it yourself en/of waarde gerichte doelen) gericht op het blijven toepassen van aangeleerde vaardigheden na een succesvol doorlopen pijn programma effectief in het bestendigen van de resultaten op de lange termijn en leidt dit tot een afname van het zorggebruik.” Het onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd in twee werkpakketten; (1) het ontwikkelen van een bruikbare app voor de ontwikkelde interventies in samenwerking met DIO Design en (2) een effectiviteit studie in de revalidatiecentra Adelante in Hoensbroek en Maastricht, Libra R&A locatie Weert en Heliomare Revalidatie in Wijk aan Zee. De doelstelling van het consortium is om de samen met zorgprofessionals, patiënten, beroepsvereniging en ontwerpers een product ter voorkoming van terugval verder te ontwikkelen en te toetsen. Na afronding van dit project zijn de op effectiviteit getoetste additionele interventies, DIY en WD, klaar om landelijk te worden uitgerold.
Chronische gewrichtsaandoeningen zijn veelvoorkomende aandoeningen waarmee patiënten bij de fysiotherapeut of oefentherapeut komen. Aandoeningen zoals artrose en reuma veroorzaken problemen in het dagelijks functioneren vanwege pijn en verminderde mobiliteit. Genezing is vaak niet mogelijk, maar het bevorderen van zelfmanagement kan verergering voorkomen. Oefentherapeuten en fysiotherapeuten spelen een centrale rol in het ondersteunen van zelfmanagement bij patiënten met gewrichtsaandoeningen. De inzet van online toepassingen, waaronder mobiele applicaties, en online platforms, die gericht zijn op het bevorderen van zelfmanagement (in dit voorstel gedefinieerd als Behavioral Intervention Technologies: BITs) kunnen patiënten met chronische gewrichtsaandoeningen ondersteunen. Echter, voor veel professionals is het onduidelijk hoe BITs kunnen worden ingezet om zelfmanagement te vergroten en hoe dit gecombineerd kan worden met fysieke begeleiding. Daarom onderzoeken we in dit tweejarige project de manier waarop oefen- en fysiotherapeuten coaching op zelfmanagement via BITs kunnen vormgeven. In werkpakket 1 brengen we met een review, observaties en een concept mapping in kaart welke elementen en randvoorwaarden van BITs belangrijk zijn voor het bevorderen van zelfmanagement. Zodra we inzicht hebben in deze elementen en randvoorwaarden wordt in co-creatie met stakeholders toegewerkt naar beroepsrollen en beroepscompetenties die voorwaardelijk zijn voor het gebruik van BITs. Met de input van deze onderzoeksactiviteiten ontwikkelen we samen met de doelgroep de AmSOS methodiek die professionals helpt bij het gebruik van BITs om zelfmanagement te bevorderen bij patiënten met chronische gewrichtsaandoeningen (WP2). Om te bepalen in hoeverre de methodiek bruikbaar is in de praktijk wordt in WP3 een haalbaarheidsstudie opgezet waarbij 25 eerstelijnsfysio- en/of oefentherapiepraktijken de AmSOS methodiek gaan gebruiken in de behandeling van patiënten met chronische gewrichtsaandoeningen. Omdat gewrichtsaandoeningen een substantieel onderdeel zijn van de curricula, maar tegelijkertijd weinig aandacht wordt besteed aan technologie en zelfmanagement, ontwikkelen we in WP4 een onderwijsmodule voor scholing van studenten en praktiserende oefen- en fysiotherapeuten.
Physical rehabilitation programs revolve around the repetitive execution of exercises since it has been proven to lead to better rehabilitation results. Although beginning the motor (re)learning process early is paramount to obtain good recovery outcomes, patients do not normally see/experience any short-term improvement, which has a toll on their motivation. Therefore, patients find it difficult to stay engaged in seemingly mundane exercises, not only in terms of adhering to the rehabilitation program, but also in terms of proper execution of the movements. One way in which this motivation problem has been tackled is to employ games in the rehabilitation process. These games are designed to reward patients for performing the exercises correctly or regularly. The rewards can take many forms, for instance providing an experience that is engaging (fun), one that is aesthetically pleasing (appealing visual and aural feedback), or one that employs gamification elements such as points, badges, or achievements. However, even though some of these serious game systems are designed together with physiotherapists and with the patients’ needs in mind, many of them end up not being used consistently during physical rehabilitation past the first few sessions (i.e. novelty effect). Thus, in this project, we aim to 1) Identify, by means of literature reviews, focus groups, and interviews with the involved stakeholders, why this is happening, 2) Develop a set of guidelines for the successful deployment of serious games for rehabilitation, and 3) Develop an initial implementation process and ideas for potential serious games. In a follow-up application, we intend to build on this knowledge and apply it in the design of a (set of) serious game for rehabilitation to be deployed at one of the partners centers and conduct a longitudinal evaluation to measure the success of the application of the deployment guidelines.
