Health interventions often do not reach blue-collar workers. Citizen science engages target groups in the design and execution of health interventions, but has not yet been applied in an occupational setting. This preliminary study determines barriers and facilitators and feasible elements for citizen science to improve the health of blue-collar workers. The study was conducted in a terminal and construction company by performing semi-structured interviews and focus groups with employees, company management and experts. Interviews and focus groups were analyzed using thematic content analysis and the elements were pilot tested. Workers considered work pressure, work location and several personal factors as barriers for citizen science at the worksite, and (lack of) social support and (negative) social culture both as barriers and facilitators. Citizen science to improve health at the worksite may include three elements: (1) knowledge and skills, (2) social support and social culture, and (3) awareness about lifestyle behaviors. Strategies to implement these elements may be company specific. This study provides relevant indications on feasible elements and strategies for citizen science to improve health at the worksite. Further studies on the feasibility of citizen science in other settings, including a larger and more heterogeneous sample of blue-collar workers, are necessary.
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Citizen science – the active participation of lay people in research – may yield crucial local knowledge and increase research capacity. Recently, there is growing interest to understand benefits for citizen scientists themselves. We studied the perceived impacts of participation in a public health citizen science project on citizen scientists in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in the Netherlands. Local citizen scientists, characterised by low income and low educational level – many of whom were of migrant origin – were trained to interview fellow residents about health-enhancing and health-damaging neighbourhood features. Experiences of these citizen scientists were collected through focus groups and interviews and analysed using a theoretical model of potential citizen science benefits. The results show that the citizen scientists perceived participation in the project as a positive experience. They acquired a broader understanding of health and its determinants and knowledge about healthy lifestyles, and took action to change their own health behaviour. They reported improved self confidence and social skills, and expanded their network across cultural boundaries. Health was perceived as a topic that helped people with different backgrounds to relate to one another. The project also induced joint action to improve the neighbourhood’s health. We conclude that citizen science benefits participants with low educational or literacy level. Moreover, it seems to be a promising approach that can help promote health in underprivileged communities by strengthening personal skills and social capital. However, embedding projects in broader health promotion strategies and long-term engagement of citizen scientists should be pursued to accomplish this.
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Health and social well-being depend on many contextual facets which are interdependent in a complex way and are all but limited to the field of cure and care. Publications of the World Health Organization and the Dutch Ministry of Health show that good health also depends on socioeconomic aspects such as stable living conditions and (pre-emptive) debt counselling. Inspired by these findings, many programs have been launched that aim for an integrated approach of health and social issues.
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The main objective of this report is to analyse and inform about international labour mobility, particularly within Europe, from the perspective of the Dutch Health and Social Care Sector. The report starts by describing the introduction of a new care system in The Netherlands. The government does not participate directly in the actual provision of care. This is a task principally for private care suppliers. Furthermore, the legal position of the Health and Social Care professions, regulated through the Individual Health Care Professions Act, and questions like the international recognition of degrees and the evaluation of foreign diplomas are discussed. This is followed by a clarification of the Dutch education system, particularly, relating to the study of medicine, nursing education and social work education. Subsequently, some core data on the ageing Dutch population are presented. The grey pressure increases and this will have an impact on health spending, health support and the future labour market. Then what follows is a description of the development of employment in the Dutch Health and Social Care Sector, per branch as well as the professions that are engaged in it. The general picture, at this moment, is that the Health and Social Care labour market is reasonably in balance. This trend will continue in the near future; shortages are expected only in the long term. All research done on the subject indicates that international mobility of medical and social professionals is still low in the Netherlands. The question remains whether a more active recruitment policy would be a solution for the expected long term shortages. The report concludes with a look at recruitment policy and some of its developments at the global, national and local level.
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This contributed volume is based on the "European Core Competences Framework for health and social care professionals working with older people" (ECCF), developed and verified in a unique international cooperation between 26 universities and universities of applied sciences in 25 European countries, part of the European Later Life Active Network (ELLAN). In addition to the framework, the book outlines the necessary qualifications and describes the roles of professionals working with older people in health and social services. It explores healthy ageing for older people from different perspectives and describes the seven roles of health and social care professionals (Expert, Communicator, Collaborator, Organizer, Health and Welfare Advocate, Scholar, and Professional), before going on to define 18 related competences and elaborating them in performance indicators.
Beyond the ECCF, the book explains the widely used CanMED role model and puts forward theories to support a client centered and integrated approach on health and social care in order to change attitudes toward older clients and offer better care and support. It also provides health and social care professionals, for example nurses, allied health professionals and social workers with new contextual information and cultural awareness. It gives a voice to students by addressing selected perspectives for professional development. The book includes questions for reflective learning helping to make the book a vital practical instrument for use in the educational context throughout Europe.
Europe’s ageing populations represent a major challenge for both public health and social care systems. 18% of the population is 65 years old and over, and this proportion will increase in the coming years. As a result, more and more health and social care professionals will work with older people in different settings – at home, in the community, in hospitals or in long-term care settings.
Older people, and especially the frail, face a host of interrelated issues, e.g. cognitive restrictions, functional restrictions, psychosocial problems, multimorbidity, polypharmacy and social isolation. These problems call for an integrated approach to health and social care, which this book supplies. It is intended for health and social care professionals, students and educators, for a better understanding of Europe’s ageing society and of the impact on care and services. Furthermore, the ECCF offers educational institutes a unique resource for curriculum development, education, training and assessment.
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Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of data science as a profession and an academic field. The increasing impact and societal relevance of data science is accompanied by important questions that reflect this development: how can data science become more responsible and accountable while also responding to key challenges such as bias, fairness, and transparency in a rigorous and systematic manner? This Patterns special collection has brought together research and perspective from academia, the public and the private sector, showcasing original research articles and perspectives pertaining to responsible and accountable data science.
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Abstract Despite the numerous business benefits of data science, the number of data science models in production is limited. Data science model deployment presents many challenges and many organisations have little model deployment knowledge. This research studied five model deployments in a Dutch government organisation. The study revealed that as a result of model deployment a data science subprocess is added into the target business process, the model itself can be adapted, model maintenance is incorporated in the model development process and a feedback loop is established between the target business process and the model development process. These model deployment effects and the related deployment challenges are different in strategic and operational target business processes. Based on these findings, guidelines are formulated which can form a basis for future principles how to successfully deploy data science models. Organisations can use these guidelines as suggestions to solve their own model deployment challenges.
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The evolving landscape of science communication highlights a shift from traditional dissemination to participatory engagement. This study explores Dutch citizens’ perspectives on science communication, focusing on science capital, public engagement, and communication goals. Using a mixed-methods approach, it combines survey data (n = 376) with focus group (n = 66) insights. Findings show increasing public interest in participating in science, though barriers like knowledge gaps persist. Trust-building, engaging adolescents, and integrating science into society were identified as key goals. These insights support the development of the Netherlands’ National Centre of Expertise on Science and Society and provide guidance for inclusive, effective science communication practices.
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Universal school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs target several social-emotional skills assuming a relationship between the skills and psychosocial health outcomes. However, greater insight into the relationship is required to clarify the skills that are most crucial to address. It will support the development and refinement of SEL programs. This study investigated (1) the relationship among the social-emotional skills, (2) the association between the skills and psychosocial health variables, and (3) the mediating effect of the skills on psychosocial variables. Results: There was a high degree of overlap between the five skills (self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making). The skills were univariately associated with emotional-behavioral difficulties and prosocial behavior. In the multivariate model, self-management most strongly correlated with emotional-behavioral difficulties and mediated the relationship between self-awareness and emotional-behavioral difficulties. Social awareness showed the highest correlation with prosocial behavior and mediated the relationship between prosocial behavior and three other skills: self-awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
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This open access book states that the endemic societal faultlines of our times are deeply intertwined and that they confront us with challenges affecting the security and sustainability of our societies. It states that new ways of inhabiting and cultivating our planet are needed to keep it healthy for future generations. This requires a fundamental shift from the current anthropocentric and economic growth-oriented social contract to a more ecocentric and regenerative natural social contract. The author posits that in a natural social contract, society cannot rely on the market or state alone for solutions to grand societal challenges, nor leave them to individual responsibility. Rather, these problems need to be solved through transformative social-ecological innovation (TSEI), which involves systemic changes that affect sustainability, health and justice. The TSEI framework presented in this book helps to diagnose and advance innovation and change across sectors and disciplines, and at different levels of governance. It identifies intervention points and helps formulate sustainable solutions for policymakers, administrators, concerned citizens and professionals in moving towards a more just and equitable society.
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