Zoekresultaten

Changes in stool frequency following chicory inulin consumption, and effects on stool consistency, quality of life and composition of gut microbiota

Inulin is a soluble dietary fibre, also classified as a prebiotic, extracted from chicory roots. The present study aimed to determine the effect of consumption of native chicory inulin on the stool frequency of middle-aged to older adults (40–75 years old) with uncomfortably but not clinically relevant low stool frequency, specified as two to four days without bowel movements per week. Two randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled crossover trials were conducted using similar protocols in differing populations. Trial A was conducted in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and subsequently Trial B was conducted in Newcastle, United Kingdom. Both trials involved supplementation for 5 weeks with 10 g per day of inulin or placebo, a washout period of 2 weeks, and then crossed over to receive the other treatment. In Trial B, faecal gut microbiota composition was assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In Trial A, which 10 volunteers completed, the stool frequency was significantly increased to an average 4.9 ± 0.23 (SEM) times per week during inulin periods versus 3.6 ± 0.25 in the periods with placebo (p = 0.01). In contrast, in Trial B which 20 volunteers completed, there was no significant effect of the inulin on stool frequency (7.5 ± 2.1 times per week with inulin, 8.1 ± 3.0 with placebo, p = 0.35). However, many subjects in Trial B had a stool frequency >5 per week also for the placebo period, in breach of the inclusion criteria. Combining the data of 16 low stool frequency subjects from Trials A and B showed a significant effect of inulin to increase stool frequency from 4.1 to 5.0 per week (p = 0.032). Regarding secondary outcomes, stool consistency was significantly softer with inulin treatment compared to placebo periods, it increased 0.29 on the Bristol stool scale (p = 0.008) when data from all subjects of Trials A and B were combined. No other differences in bowel habit parameters due to inulin consumption were significant. None of the differences in specific bacterial abundance, alpha or beta diversity were significant, however the trends were in directions consistent with published studies on other types of inulin. We conclude that 10 g per day of native chicory inulin can increase stool frequency in subjects with low stool frequency.

Forbidden fruit: An exploration of meaning construction of tobacco smoking of people living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Background: Smoking is an avoidable risk factor for diseases, impacting socioeconomic and health care systems globally. The meaning, purposes, and values related to continued smoking after being diagnosed with COPD have not yet been sufficiently explored from an occupational perspective. Gaining an understanding of why people continue to engage in health-compromising or harmful occupations facilitates a more inclusive view on and discussion of occupation. The purpose of this study was to explore meaning construction regarding the occupation of tobacco smoking of people living with COPD in Germany. Methods: This study applied an interpretative phenomenology analysis (IPA) approach to explore the lived experience of people living with COPD who continue to smoke. Four participants were interviewed. Their accounts were then analysed following IPA guidelines. Findings: Three themes emerged from the data: Set in stone, Forbidden fruit, and To wear sackcloth and ashes. Smoking was experienced as a meaningful occupation, and it was especially valued for how it structured the day. Smoking was a familiar habit, and it supported emotional, physical, and cognitive well-being, and contributed to sense of identity. Conclusion: The findings illustrate the importance of understanding occupations that are not positively related to physical health and well-being because of their harmful nature. The findings of this study suggest that occupations do not need to be health-promoting, productive, or reasonable to be meaningful to individuals—meaning is constructed by subjective perceptions of enjoyment, pleasure, and well-being and by experiencing a sense of restoration and reward when engaging in them.

Using feedback through digital technology to disrupt and change habitual behavior

Habitual behavior is often hard to change because of a lack of self-monitoring skills. Digital technologies offer an unprecedented chance to facilitate self-monitoring by delivering feedback on undesired habitual behavior. This review analyzed the results of 72 studies in which feedback from digital technology attempted to disrupt and change undesired habits. A vast majority of these studies found that feedback through digital technology is an effective way to disrupt habits, regardless of target behavior or feedback technology used.

The participative society. Why social work professionals should focus on environment rather than behaviour

This text is structured as follows. Section 1 concerns the background to this public lecture: the fact that social participation is becoming increasingly important in our society. This is evident, for example, from the way we are evolving from a protective welfare state into an activational, participative society. This development has consequences for the social sector and therefore also for the professionals who work in it. Social work professionals are not necessarily expected to identify or solve participation problems; they are seen as ‘intermediaries’ who enable citizens to take responsibility themselves. Social work professionals are therefore expected to provide the individual applicant with less direct support and to focus more on strengthening the social networks of people and the social contexts in which they find themselves. Section 2 connects sections 1 and 3, but may also be read independently. It is about the fact that social work professionals are not yet in the habit of providing systematic insight into the results of their actions, while policy makers, for example, are increasingly looking to them precisely for this. First of all, I set out the reasons why it is so important to make the products of their interventions more visible, not only to policy makers, but also to social work professionals themselves and to the customers/citizens who depend on them. Secondly, I set out how the results of social interventions can be made more visible than they are at present; and what research can contribute. In this, I advocate a change in thinking: from thinking in terms of the evidence to thinking in terms of the evident. This argument forms the basis of the type of research that is being taken up from within the research group. In section 3, I describe a number of research projects that will be conducted during my tenure. I also set out the main proposition of this address, which states that social work professionals should do more with the knowledge that people’s behaviour is determined to a significant degree by contexts. In particular, social contexts could play a bigger role in promoting citizen participation. At present, social work professionals normally intervene directly in people’s behaviour, such as with therapies for combating problem behaviour. Interventions in a broader, social, context are rare. Why is this? And couldn’t citizen participation be more effectively promoted by these means than through direct behavioural interventions? I put forward four propositions in this regard, and explain each of them in reference to one of the current research projects within the research group. With this, in combination with the general outlines of the research presented in section 2, I hope to provide a clear and inspiring overview of the research that will be carried out within the research group in the coming years. Finally, in section 4, I will discuss the significance of the research group to the faculty of Society and Law at Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, and to parties outside of Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences.

Wat leren studenten in de Innovatiewerkplaats Westerbork?

Wat leren studenten in de Innovatiewerkplaats Westerbork?

Vervolgonderzoek naar de effecten van participatie in de Innovatiewerkplaats Westerbork op de PMV van deelnemende honours-studenten.