This article describes the challenges in communication and medical, ethical and legal issues a physician might have to deal with when faced with children and adolescents that are deaf or severely hard of hearing.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess physiotherapists’ clinical use and acceptance of a novel telemonitoring platform to facilitate the recording of measurements during rehabilitation of patients following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Additionally, suggestions for platform improvement were explored. Methods: Physiotherapists from seven Dutch private physiotherapy practices participated in the study. Data were collected through log files, a technology acceptance questionnaire and focus group meetings using the “buy a feature” method. Data regarding platform use and acceptance (7-point/11-point numeric rating scale) were descriptively analysed. Total scores were calculated for the features suggested to improve the platform, based on the priority rating (1 = nice to have, 2 = should have, 3 = must have). Results: Participating physiotherapists (N = 15, mean [SD] age 33.1 [9.1] years) together treated 52 patients during the study period. Platform use by the therapists was generally limited, with the number of log-ins per patient varying from 3 to 73. Overall, therapists’ acceptance of the platform was low to moderate, with average (SD) scores ranging from 2.5 (1.1) to 4.9 (1.5) on the 7-point Likert scale. The three most important suggestions for platform improvement were: (1) development of a native app, (2) system interoperability, and (3) flexibility regarding type and frequency of measurements. Conclusions: Even though health care professionals were involved in the design of the telemonitoring platform, use in routine care was limited. Physiotherapists recognized the relevance of using health technology, but there are still barriers to overcome in order to successfully implement eHealth in routine care.
Background: The aim of this study is to validate a newly developed nurses' self-efficacy sources inventory. We test the validity of a five-dimensional model of sources of self-efficacy, which we contrast with the traditional four-dimensional model based on Bandura's theoretical concepts. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis was used in the development of the newly developed self-efficacy measure. Model fit was evaluated based upon commonly recommended goodness-of-fit indices, including the χ2 of the model fit, the Root Mean Square Error of approximation (RMSEA), the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), the Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR), and the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). Results: All 22 items of the newly developed five-factor sources of self-efficacy have high factor loadings (range .40-.80). Structural equation modeling showed that a five-factor model is favoured over the four-factor model. Conclusions and implications: Results of this study show that differentiation of the vicarious experience source into a peer- and expert based source reflects better how nursing students develop self-efficacy beliefs. This has implications for clinical learning environments: a better and differentiated use of self-efficacy sources can stimulate the professional development of nursing students.
The main objective is to write a scientific paper in a peer-reviewed Open Access journal on the results of our feasibility study on increasing physical activity in home dwelling adults with chronic stroke. We feel this is important as this article aims to close a gap in the existing literature on behavioral interventions in physical therapy practice. Though our main target audience are other researchers, we feel clinical practice and current education on patients with stroke will benefit as well.
Over a million people in the Netherlands have type 2 diabetes (T2D), which is strongly related to overweight, and many more people are at-risk. A carbohydrate-rich diet and insufficient physical activity play a crucial role in these developments. It is essential to prevent T2D, because this condition is associated with a reduced quality of life, high healthcare costs and premature death due to cardiovascular diseases. The hormone insulin plays a major role in this. This hormone lowers the blood glucose concentration through uptake in body cells. If an excess of glucose is constantly offered, initially the body maintains blood glucose concentration within normal range by releasing higher concentrations of insulin into the blood, a condition that is described as “prediabetes”. In a process of several years, this compensating mechanism will eventually fail: the blood glucose concentration increases resulting in T2D. In the current healthcare practice, T2D is actually diagnosed by recognizing only elevated blood glucose concentrations, being insufficient for identification of people who have prediabetes and are at-risk to develop T2D. Although the increased insulin concentrations at normal glucose concentrations offer an opportunity for early identification/screening of people with prediabetes, there is a lack of effective and reliable methods/devices to adequately measure insulin concentrations. An integrated approach has been chosen for identification of people at-risk by using a prediabetes screening method based on insulin detection. Users and other stakeholders will be involved in the development and implementation process from the start of the project. A portable and easy-to-use demonstrator will be realised, based on rapid lateral flow tests (LFTs), which is able to measure insulin in clinically relevant samples (serum/blood) quickly and reliably. Furthermore, in collaboration with healthcare professionals, we will investigate how this screening method can be implemented in practice to contribute to a healthier lifestyle and prevent T2D.
Meestal is er geen specifieke oorzaak te vinden voor nekpijn. Fysiotherapie richt zich daarom op algemene zaken, zoals spierkracht en beweeglijkheid. We onderzoeken of er effectieve behandelingen zijn voor subgroepen met niet-specifieke nekpijn. Met deze inzichten kunnen we fysiotherapie verbeteren.Doel We willen inzicht krijgen in effectieve behandelingen bij subgroepen patiënten met niet-specifieke nekpijn. Dit leidt uiteindelijk tot kostenvermindering voor de maatschappij en een sneller en beter herstel van de patiënten. Resultaten Dit onderzoek loopt nog. Na afronding vind je hier een samenvatting van alle resultaten. Tot nu toe is duidelijk geworden dat de volgende behandelingen effectief kunnen zijn bij patiënten met niet-specifieke nekpijn: Behandelingen gericht op kracht en uithoudingsvermogen. Behandelingen gericht op coördinatie met gebruik van visuele feedback. Een voorbeeld hiervan is patiënten met een laserlamp een parcours laten uitvoeren op een scherm. De resultaten van het onderzoek worden verwerkt in het bachelor- en masteronderwijs en cursussen binnen het werkveld. Looptijd 01 december 2015 - 01 december 2020 Aanpak Dit onderzoek bestaat uit verschillende delen: We onderzoeken wat er vanuit wetenschappelijk onderzoek al bekend is over de relatie tussen beperking in activiteit en een passende behandeling. We voeren een Delphi-studie uit onder deskundigen naar het behandelen van mensen met niet-specifieke nekpijn. We vragen ze naar een overeenstemming over de relatie tussen beperking in activiteit en een algemene behandeling, zoals het trainen van spierkracht. We onderzoeken of beweegoefeningen en/of manipulaties, als meest onderzochte behandelingen bij mensen met nekpijn, zo zijn beschreven dat we het kunnen hergebruiken. In de laatste studie onderzoeken we of beweegoefeningen en/of manipulaties effectief zijn in het herstellen van de beweeglijkheid. Het gaat hierbij om een subgroep van mensen met nekpijn die ook beperkt zijn in hun beweeglijkheid. Rapporten tot nu toe: The clinical reasoning process in randomized clinical trials with patients with non-specific neck pain is incomplete: A systematic review. Maissan F, Pool J, de Raaij E, Mollema J, Ostelo R, Wittink H. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2018 Jun;35:8-17 Clinical reasoning in unimodal interventions in patients with non-specific neck pain in daily physiotherapy practice, a Delphi study. Maissan F, Pool J, Stutterheim E, Wittink H, Ostelo R., Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2018 Oct;37:8-16
