Aims: To evaluate the effects of the implementation of a professional practice model based on Magnet principles on the nurse work environment in a Dutch teaching hospital. Design: A quasi-experimental study. Methods: Data were collected from registered nurses working on the clinical wards and outpatient clinics of the hospital in June/July 2016 (baseline) and in June/September 2019 (measurement of effects). Participants completed the Dutch Essentials of Magnetism II survey, which was used to measure their perception of their work environment. After baseline measurements were collected, interventions based on a professional practice model incorporating Magnet principles were implemented to improve the nurse work environment. Descriptive statistics and independent t-tests were conducted to examine differences between survey outcomes in 2016 and 2019. Results: Survey outcomes revealed significant changes in the nurse work environment between 2016 and 2019. Seven of the eight subscales (essentials of magnetism) improved significantly. Score for overall job satisfaction increased from 7.3 to 8.0 and score for quality of care increased from 7.0 to 7.6. On unit level, 17 of the 19 units showed improvement in the nurse work environment. Conclusion: The implementation of a professional practice model positively affects the nurse work environment, job satisfaction and quality of care. Impact: Nowadays, the quality of care is threatened by workload pressure and the low autonomy experienced by nurses. Considering the global shortage of nurses and growing complexity of healthcare, it is important to invest in improving the nurse work environment. The Magnet concept created a work environment in which nurses can deliver optimal quality of care. Knowledge of how Magnet principles affect the nurse work environment in the Netherlands is missing. These study results, including the description of how the interventions were implemented, will assist other hospitals to develop improvement strategies by focusing on the nurse work environment.
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Quality of life serves a reference against which you can measure the various domains of your own life or that of other individuals, and that can change over time. This definition of the World Health Organization encompasses many elements of daily living, including features of the individual and the environment around us, which can either be the social environment, the built environment, or other environmental aspects. This is one of the rationales for the special issue on “Quality of Life: The Interplay between Human Behaviour, Technology and the Environment”. This special issue is a joint project by the Centre of Expertise Health Innovation of the Hague University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands. The main focus of this Special Issue is how optimising the interplay between people, the environment, and technology can enhance people’s quality of life. The focus of the contributions in this special issue is on the person or end‐user and his or her environment, both the physical, social, and digital environment, and on the interaction between (1) people, (2) health, care, and systems, and (3) technology. Recent advances in technology offer a wide range of solutions that support a healthy lifestyle, good quality of life, and effective and efficient healthcare processes, for a large number of end‐users, both patients/clients from minus 9 months until 100+ years of age, as well as practitioners/physicians. The design of new services and products is at the roots of serving the quality of life of people. Original article at MDPI; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16245106 (Editorial of Special Issue with the same title: "Quality of Life: The Interplay between Human Behaviour, Technology and the Environment")
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Contribution to exhibition Qua Art - Qua Science. The artist Joost Verhagen represents spaces in an original way by using colours, texture and forms. He invokes thoughts and feelings with his works of art. The concept of ambient intelligence also deals with space, but especially with spaces that are organized as smart environments. Intelligence in environments arises when a space becomes sensitive for the presence of people and responds to their desires and needs. This paper describes in brief how men have adapted the space they live in and how a smart enviroment can respond to people. The notion of smart is investigated as well as the technology that enables it. Ambient intelligence or ambient intelligence raises questions. With questions like "How do people experience intelligent environment?" and "What ethical dilemmas are emerging?" this contribution is concluded.
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Mycelium biocomposites (MBCs) are a fairly new group of materials. MBCs are non-toxic and carbon-neutral cutting-edge circular materials obtained from agricultural residues and fungal mycelium, the vegetative part of fungi. Growing within days without complex processes, they offer versatile and effective solutions for diverse applications thanks to their customizable textures and characteristics achieved through controlled environmental conditions. This project involves a collaboration between MNEXT and First Circular Insulation (FC-I) to tackle challenges in MBC manufacturing, particularly the extended time and energy-intensive nature of the fungal incubation and drying phases. FC-I proposes an innovative deactivation method involving electrical discharges to expedite these processes, currently awaiting patent approval. However, a critical gap in scientific validation prompts the partnership with MNEXT, leveraging their expertise in mycelium research and MBCs. The research project centers on evaluating the efficacy of the innovative mycelium growth deactivation strategy proposed by FC-I. This one-year endeavor permits a thorough investigation, implementation, and validation of potential solutions, specifically targeting issues related to fungal regrowth and the preservation of sustained material properties. The collaboration synergizes academic and industrial expertise, with the dual purpose of achieving immediate project objectives and establishing a foundation for future advancements in mycelium materials.
The postdoc candidate, Sondos Saad, will strengthen connections between research groups Asset Management(AM), Data Science(DS) and Civil Engineering bachelor programme(CE) of HZ. The proposed research aims at deepening the knowledge about the complex multidisciplinary performance deterioration prediction of turbomachinery to optimize cleaning costs, decrease failure risk and promote the efficient use of water &energy resources. It targets the key challenges faced by industries, oil &gas refineries, utility companies in the adoption of circular maintenance. The study of AM is already part of CE curriculum, but the ambition of this postdoc is that also AM principles are applied and visible. Therefore, from the first year of the programme, the postdoc will develop an AM material science line and will facilitate applied research experiences for students, in collaboration with engineering companies, operation &maintenance contractors and governmental bodies. Consequently, a new generation of efficient sustainability sensitive civil engineers could be trained, as the labour market requires. The subject is broad and relevant for the future of our built environment being more sustainable with less CO2 footprint, with possible connections with other fields of study, such as Engineering, Economics &Chemistry. The project is also strongly contributing to the goals of the National Science Agenda(NWA), in themes of “Circulaire economie en grondstoffenefficiëntie”,”Meten en detecteren: altijd, alles en overall” &”Smart Industry”. The final products will be a framework for data-driven AM to determine and quantify key parameters of degradation in performance for predictive AM strategies, for the application as a diagnostic decision-support toolbox for optimizing cleaning &maintenance; a portfolio of applications &examples; and a new continuous learning line about AM within CE curriculum. The postdoc will be mentored and supervised by the Lector of AM research group and by the study programme coordinator(SPC). The personnel policy and job function series of HZ facilitates the development opportunity.
