Previous research shows that automatic tendency to approach alcohol plays a causal role in problematic alcohol use and can be retrained by Approach Bias Modification (ApBM). ApBM has been shown to be effective for patients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD) in inpatient treatment. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of adding an online ApBM to treatment as usual (TAU) in an outpatient setting compared to receiving TAU with an online placebo training. 139 AUD patients receiving face-to-face or online treatment as usual (TAU) participated in the study. The patients were randomized to an active or placebo version of 8 sessions of online ApBM over a 5-week period. The weekly consumed standard units of alcohol (primary outcome) was measured at pre-and post-training, 3 and 6 months follow-up. Approach tendency was measured pre-and-post ApBM training. No additional effect of ApBM was found on alcohol intake, nor other outcomes such as craving, depression, anxiety, or stress. A significant reduction of the alcohol approach bias was found. This research showed that approach bias retraining in AUD patients in an outpatient treatment setting reduces the tendency to approach alcohol, but this training effect does not translate into a significant difference in alcohol reduction between groups. Explanations for the lack of effects of ApBM on alcohol consumption are treatment goal and severity of AUD. Future ApBM research should target outpatients with an abstinence goal and offer alternative, more user-friendly modes of delivering ApBM training.
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From Narcis.nl :" Patients with substance use disorder (SUD) are frequently suffering from co-occurring somatic disorders, increasing the risk of mortality. Somatic health care utilization (sHCU) often remains unknown to the physician during SUD treatment. This paper analyses sHCU and associated costs among patients in SUD treatment compared to matched, non-substance dependent controls. METHODS: Health care utilization data on 4972 SUD patients were matched to 19,846 controls by gender, birth year and ethnic origin. Subcategories of patients were formed based on SUD and on co-morbid psychiatric disorder. Data on sHCU during the year prior to the last treatment contact (the 'index date') for both patients and their matched controls were extracted from a health insurance database. RESULTS: Patients had a higher sHCU (with increased associated costs) than controls, especially when alcohol dependence was involved. In particular, sHCU for cardiovascular, respiratory, infectious diseases, injuries and accidents was increased among patients. However, the use of preventive medication, such as lipid-lowering drugs, is lower among SUD patients. Co-morbidity of psychiatric disorders led to further increase of sHCU, whereas patients with comorbid non-affective psychotic disorder (NAPD) showed lower sHCU and costs. CONCLUSION: Patients with SUD overall have a high sHCU, associated with high costs. There are indications that SUD patients have less access to preventive medication. Patients with comorbid NAPD are at risk of possible underutilization of somatic health care. Furthermore, we conclude that these larger administrative databases allow for comparisons between various diagnostic categories."
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Abstract Background: Multidimensional frailty, including physical, psychological, and social components, is associated to disability, lower quality of life, increased healthcare utilization, and mortality. In order to prevent or delay frailty, more knowledge of its determinants is necessary; one of these determinants is lifestyle. The aim of this study is to determine the association between lifestyle factors smoking, alcohol use, nutrition, physical activity, and multidimensional frailty. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two samples comprising in total 45,336 Dutch communitydwelling individuals aged 65 years or older. These samples completed a questionnaire including questions about smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, sociodemographic factors (both samples), and nutrition (one sample). Multidimensional frailty was assessed with the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI). Results: Higher alcohol consumption, physical activity, healthy nutrition, and less smoking were associated with less total, physical, psychological and social frailty after controlling for effects of other lifestyle factors and sociodemographic characteristics of the participants (age, gender, marital status, education, income). Effects of physical activity on total and physical frailty were up to considerable, whereas the effects of other lifestyle factors on frailty were small. Conclusions: The four lifestyle factors were not only associated with physical frailty but also with psychological and social frailty. The different associations of frailty domains with lifestyle factors emphasize the importance of assessing frailty broadly and thus to pay attention to the multidimensional nature of this concept. The findings offer healthcare professionals starting points for interventions with the purpose to prevent or delay the onset of frailty, so communitydwelling older people have the possibility to aging in place accompanied by a good quality of life.
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Introduction: Ecstasy (MDMA) is a popular recreational drug, but its illegal production and trade in the Netherlands have developed into a serious public order and ecological problem which endanger and question the harm reduction approach of the Dutch ecstasy policy.Methods: The market characteristics, adverse health effects, risk profile, and link to criminal activity of ecstasy were reviewed.Results: Ecstasy is often used in combination with other substances (i.e. polydrug use). Compared to several other illicit drugs and alcohol, ecstasy has a very low abuse and dependence liability and, as yet, there is little evidence of long-term harm. A potential health risk associated with ecstasy is acute hyperthermia, however this occurs at an unknown incidence rate and seems to be more prevalent when ecstasy is consumed in combination with heavy exercise at high ambient temperatures or when used in combination with other substances, including alcohol. Organized crime related to the production and trafficking of ecstasy in the Netherlands is a growing problem.Conclusions: This review provides a science-based summary that can be used to assist the public and political debate surrounding future Dutch ecstasy policy to reduce ecstasy-related organized crime while maintaining the principle of harm reduction.
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Forensisch sociale professionals hebben een cruciale rol in de trajecten van cliënten met verslavingsproblematiek. Veel onderzoek naar de effectiviteit van het forensische werk gaat over methodieken; er is relatief weinig bekend over de persoon van de forensisch sociale professional en diens persoonlijke stijl en opvattingen. Wat zijn bijvoorbeeld opvattingen ten aanzien van (de behandelbaarheid van) middelenmisbruik van forensische cliënten? Wanneer en hoe grijp je in als een cliënt terugvalt in middelengebruik? Hier is nog nauwelijks onderzoek naar verricht. In dit artikel presenteren wij de resultaten van een verkennend onderzoek naar de attitudes ten aanzien van cliënten die middelen gebruiken en behandelbaarheid van verslaving van reclasseringswerkers en professionals in de ambulante en klinische forensische zorg. Daarnaast wordt inzicht gegeven in de verschillen tussen subgroepen naar gender, werkervaring, setting, verslavingsprofessional of niet, en persoonlijke ervaringen met middelengebruik/verslaving. Vervolgens wordt ingegaan op de acties en overwegingen van forensisch sociale professionals bij het constateren van middelengebruik bij cliënten. Na de conclusies besluiten we met enkele aanbevelingen voor de versterking van de beroepspraktijk. Eerst worden de bevindingen uit eerdere literatuur beschreven.
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Background: Major surgery is associated with negative postoperative outcomes such as complications and delayed or poor recovery. Multimodal prehabilitation can help to reduce the negative effects of major surgery. Offering prehabilitation by means of mobile health (mHealth) could be an effective new approach. Objective: The objectives of this pilot study were to (1) evaluate the usability of the Be Prepared mHealth app prototype for people undergoing major surgery, (2) explore whether the app was capable of bringing about a change in risk behaviors, and (3) estimate a preliminary effect of the app on functional recovery after major surgery. Methods: A mixed-methods pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted in two Dutch academic hospitals. In total, 86 people undergoing major surgery participated. Participants in the intervention group received access to the Be Prepared app, a smartphone app using behavior change techniques to address risk behavior prior to surgery. Both groups received care as usual. Usability (System Usability Scale), change in risk behaviors 3 days prior to surgery, and functional recovery 30 days after discharge from hospital (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System physical functioning 8-item short form) were assessed using online questionnaires. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariable linear regression. Semistructured interviews about the usability of the app were conducted with 12 participants in the intervention group. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Results: Seventy-nine people—40 in the intervention group and 39 in the control group—were available for further analysis. Participants had a median age of 61 (interquartile range 51.0-68.0) years. The System Usability Scale showed that patients considered the Be Prepared app to have acceptable usability (mean 68.2 [SD 18.4]). Interviews supported the usability of the app. The major point of improvement identified was further personalization of the app. Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed an increase in self-reported physical activity and muscle strengthening activities prior to surgery. Also, 2 of 2 frequent alcohol users in the intervention group versus 1 of 9 in the control group drank less alcohol in the run-up to surgery. No difference was found in change of smoking cessation. Between-group analysis showed no meaningful differences in functional recovery after correction for baseline values (β=–2.4 [95% CI –5.9 to 1.1]). Conclusions: The Be Prepared app prototype shows potential in terms of usability and changing risk behavior prior to major surgery. No preliminary effect of the app on functional recovery was found. Points of improvement have been identified with which the app and future research can be optimized.
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Previous research suggests that narrative engagement (NE) in entertainment-education (E-E) narratives reduces counterarguing, thereby leading to E-E impact on behavior. It is, however, unclear how different NE processes (narrative understanding, attentional focus, emotional engagement, narrative presence) relate to different thought types (negative or positive; about the narrative form or about the target behavior) and to E-E impact. This study explores these relations in the context of alcohol binge drinking (BD). Participants (N = 172) watched an E-E narrative showing negative BD consequences, thereby aiming to discourage BD. The main findings were that the E-E narrative had a positive impact on discouraging BD on almost all assessed BD determinants such as beliefs and attitude. It was shown that attentional focus, emotional engagement, and narrative presence were associated with BD-discouraging impact, albeit on different BD-related determinants. No evidence was found that negative thoughts about BD mediated these associations. From this, we conclude that attentional focus, emotional engagement, and narrative presence were important for E-E impact but that negative thoughts about BD did not play a role therein. The study’s empirical and practical implications are discussed.
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ACHTERGROND : Problematisch middelengebruik is een belangrijke risicofactor voorcriminaliteit en geweld.Dit is echter vooral bij mannen onderzocht en meer kennis over vrouwen is gewenst. DOEL: Beschrijven van mogelijke genderverschillen in problematisch middelengebruik en de relatie tot delictgedrag bij forensisch psychiatrische patiënten. METHODE: Dossiers van 275 vrouwen en 275 mannen die in 1984-2014 opgenomen zijn (geweest) in één van vier forensisch psychiatrische instellingen werden gecodeerd en gerelateerd aan geweldsincidenten tijdens behandeling en recidive na ontslag (bij 78 vrouwen). RESULTATEN: Hoewel problematisch middelenmisbruik bij vrouwen prevalent was (57%), kwam het bij mannen significant vaker voor (68%). Mannen hadden vaker de dsm-iv-classificatie middelenafhankelijkheid en hadden vaker het indexdelict gepleegd terwijl ze onder invloed waren. Middelengebruik had bij hen een betere voorspellende waarde voor geweldsincidenten tijdens behandeling. Zowel vrouwen als mannen met problematisch middelengebruik hadden beduidend meer historische risicofactoren dan degenen zonder middelenmisbruik. Een geschiedenis van problemen met middelengebruik was geen significante voorspeller voor recidive na ontslag bij vrouwen. CONCLUSIE: Er bestaan genderverschillen wat betreft problematisch middelengebruik, waarbij de relatie met delictgedrag voor mannen sterker is. De gevonden genderverschillen hebben implicaties voor (verslavings-) behandeling in forensische zorginstellingen.
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CONCEPT 15-01-2012: gebaseerd op het Rapport ‘Gedragsverandering via campagnes’ van het Ministerie van Algemene Zaken; Zie Renes, et al., 2011 De publiekscampagnes van de Nederlandse rijksoverheid zijn effectiever in het realiseren van kennisoverdracht dan in het (op korte termijn) veranderen van houding en gedrag (zie o.a. Jaarevaluatie Postbus 51-campagnes 2009, 2010). Nederlandse ministeries hechten steeds meer belang aan gedragseffecten en gebruiken dit ook als criterium om de effectiviteit van campagnes te beoordelen. Momenteel zijn veel campagnes nog gebaseerd op klassieke modellen die sterk uitgaan van systematische informatieverwerking en rationeel keuzegedrag (Wevers, Renes, Van Woerkum, 2010). Door groeiend inzicht dat deze modellen niet meer voldoen, heeft de vraag hoe communicatie effectiever kan bijdragen aan gedragsverandering het afgelopen jaar veel aandacht gekregen binnen de Dienst Publiek en Communicatie (DPC), onderdeel van het Ministerie van Algemene Zaken, en verantwoordelijk voor het uitvoeren en evalueren van Postbus 51 campagnes.
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