Search results

“Continuously struggling for balance”:

Background: Parents of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) have extensive care duties. This study describes the phenomenon “parenting a child with PIMD.” Method: We conducted in-depth interviews with 25 Dutch parents. A reflective lifeworld research. Findings: The essential meaning of the phenomenon was understood as “continuously struggling to create and maintain new equilibriums that protect the child and the family from hardship; changing in context through time.” The following eight constituents were identified: (1) medical complexity; (2) multidimensional weariness; (3) care for siblings; (4) social connectedness; (5) uncertainty about the future; (6) wrecking bureaucracy; (7) dependency on healthcare delivery; and (8) financial concerns. Conclusions: Healthcare services should provide families with easy access to assistive technology and services needed to manage family life. Responsiveness to parents’ challenges offers them the possibility to participate in society. Healthcare professionals should address the parents’ perspectives related to the child’s quality of life.

Work–family conflict and depressive complaints among Dutch employees: examining reciprocal associations in a longitudinal study

Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the reciprocal association between work–family conflict and depressive complaints over time. Methods Cross-lagged structural equation modeling (SEM) was used and three-wave follow-up data from the Maastricht Cohort Study with six years of follow-up [2416 men and 585 women at T1 (2008)]. Work–family conflict was operationalized by distinguishing both work–home interference and home–work interference, as assessed with two subscales of the Survey Work–Home Interference Nijmegen. Depressive complaints were assessed with a subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Results The results showed a positive cross-lagged relation between home–work interference and depressive complaints. The results of the χ 2 difference test indicated that the model with cross-lagged reciprocal relationships resulted in a significantly better fit to the data compared to the causal (Δχ 2 (2)=9.89, P=0.001), reversed causation model (Δχ 2 (2)=9.25, P=0.01), and the starting model (Δχ 2 (4)=16.34, P=0.002). For work–home interference and depressive complaints, the starting model with no cross-lagged associations over time had the best fit to the empirical data. Conclusions The findings suggest a reciprocal association between home–work interference and depressive complaints since the concepts appear to affect each other mutually across time. This highlights the importance of targeting modifiable risk factors in the etiology of both home–work interference and depressive complaints when designing preventive measures since the two concepts may potentiate each other over time.

Effect of Wii-intervention on balance of children with poor motor performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of training with the Wii-balance board on balance and balance-related skills of children with poor motor performance. Twenty-nine children (23 boys, 6 girls; aged 7–12 years) participated in this study and were randomly assigned to an experimental and control group. All children scored below the 16th percentile on a standardized test of motor ability and balance skills (Movement Assessment Battery for children (M-ABC-2)). Before and after a six-week Wii-intervention (M = 8 h, 22 min, SD = 53 min), the balance skills of the experimental group and control group were measured with the M-ABC-2 and the Bruininks–Oseretsky test of motor proficiency (BOT-2). Both groups improved on all tests. The M-ABC-2 and the BOT-2 total balance-scores of the experimental group improved significantly from pre to post intervention, whereas those of the control group showed no significant progress. This resulted in significant interaction-effects, favoring the experimental children. No transfer-effects of the intervention on balance-related skills were demonstrated. Our findings showed that the Wii-balance board is an effective intervention for children with poor balance control. Further development and investigation of the intervention could be directed toward the implementation of the newly acquired balance-skills in daily life.

Daily work-home interference and fatigue: A diary study on the moderating role of recovery experiences.

Home-to-Work spillover and turnover intentions: the mediating role of perceived investment in training and development practices

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the relationship between home-to-work spillover, measured as positive and negative home–work interference (HWI) and turnover intentions, as well as the mediating role of perceptions concerning training and development practices. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected among 418 respondents who were working at two business schools. A confirmative structural equation modeling analysis was conducted for the analysis. Findings: As expected, positive HWI showed negative relationships with turnover intentions, while negative HWI related positively to turnover intentions. Training and development practices mediated the relationship between positive HWI and turnover intentions; the mediation effect was stronger for women than it was for men. Training and development practices did not mediate the relationship between negative HWI and turnover intentions, however. Practical implications: The outcomes suggest that helping employees to balance their work and home lives can be beneficial for employees, as well as for employers in terms of reducing turnover intentions. Originality/value: As contributions, additional insight into the relationship between positive and negative non-work factors and turnover intentions by examining the ways in which both positive as well as negative HWI are related to turnover intentions. Furthermore, the research considers the mediating role played by perceptions concerning human resource (HR) practices, and particularly training and development practices as perceived by the employee, in the relationship between positive and negative HWI and turnover intentions.

The Relationship Between Balance Measured With a Modified Bathroom Scale and Falls and Disability in Older Adults

Background: There are indications that older adults who suffer from poor balance have an increased risk for adverse health outcomes, such as falls and disability. Monitoring the development of balance over time enables early detection of balance decline, which can identify older adults who could benefit from interventions aimed at prevention of these adverse outcomes. An innovative and easy-to-use device that can be used by older adults for home-based monitoring of balance is a modified bathroom scale. Objective: The objective of this paper is to study the relationship between balance scores obtained with a modified bathroom scale and falls and disability in a sample of older adults. Methods: For this 6-month follow-up study, participants were recruited via physiotherapists working in a nursing home, geriatricians, exercise classes, and at an event about health for older adults. Inclusion criteria were being aged 65 years or older, being able to stand on a bathroom scale independently, and able to provide informed consent. A total of 41 nursing home patients and 139 community-dwelling older adults stepped onto the modified bathroom scale three consecutive times at baseline to measure their balance. Their mean balance scores on a scale from 0 to 16 were calculated—higher scores indicated better balance. Questionnaires were used to study falls and disability at baseline and after 6 months of follow-up. The cross-sectional relationship between balance and falls and disability at baseline was studied using t tests and Spearman rank correlations. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to study the relationship between balance measured at baseline and falls and disability development after 6 months of follow-up.