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Rural areas have problems in attracting and retaining primary care workforce. This might have consequences for the existing workforce. We studied whether general practitioners (GPs) in rural practices differ by age, sex, practice population and workload from those in less rural locations and whether their practices differ in resources and service profiles. We used data from 2 studies: QUALICOPC study collected data from 34 countries, including 7183 GPs in 2011, and Profiles of General Practice in Europe study collected data from 32 countries among 7895 GPs in 1993. Data were analyzed using multilevel analysis. Results show that the share of female GPs has increased in rural areas but is still lower than in urban areas. In rural areas, GPs work more hours and provide more medical procedures to their patients. Apart from these differences between locations, overall ageing of the GP population is evident. Higher workload in rural areas may be related to increased demand for care. Rural practices seem to cope by offering a broad range of services, such as medical procedures. Dedicated human resource policies for rural areas are required with a view to an ageing GP population, to the individual preferences and needs of the GPs, and to decreasing attractiveness of rural areas.

The aim of this study was to explore the influence of characteristics of nurses and older people on emotional communication in home care settings. A generalized, linear, mixed model was used to analyze 188 audio-recorded home care visits coded with Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences. The results showed that most emotional distress was expressed by older females or with female nurses. The elicitation of an expression of emotional distress was influenced by the nurses' native language and profession. Older women aged 65-84 years were given the most space for emotional expression. We found that emotional communication was primarily influenced by sex for nurses and older people, with an impact on the frequency of expressions of and responses to emotional distress. Expressions of emotional distress by older males were less common and could risk being missed in communication. The results have implications for students' and health professionals' education in increasing their knowledge of and attentiveness to the impacts of their and others' characteristics and stereotypes on emotional communication with older people.

Introduction We aimed to develop an innovative population-based method to estimate the health effect of influenza vaccination based on electronic medical records collected within a general practitioner (GP)-based influenza surveillance system in the Netherlands. Methods In each season between 2006/07 and 2015/16, we fitted multilevel Poisson regression models to compare GP consultation rates for clinically diagnosed influenza, acute respiratory infections (ARI), pneumonia, and lower back pain (as a control) between vaccinated vs. unvaccinated individuals. Season-specific relative risks and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled into summary risk ratio (SRR) through random-effects meta-analysis models. Analyses were stratified by patient age ( Results Overall, 12.6% and 21.4% of study subjects were vaccinated because of their age only or because of an underlying medical condition. Vaccine uptake declined over time, especially among subjects aged ≤74 years with medical indications for vaccination. Vaccinated individuals had significantly higher GP consultation rates for clinically diagnosed influenza (SRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.12–1.38, p-value Discussion Contrary to expectations, influenza vaccinees have GP consultation rates for clinically diagnosed influenza, ARI and pneumonia that are 24–33% higher compared to unvaccinated individuals. The lower back pain finding suggests that the increase in consultation rates is partially caused by confounding. Importantly, considering the data are not laboratory-confirmed, our results cannot be linked directly to influenza, but only to respiratory illnesses in general.

Background The communication of relevant patient information between general practitioners (GPs) and medical specialists is important in order to avoid fragmentation of care thus achieving a higher quality of care and ensuring physicians’ and patients’ satisfaction. However, this communication is often not carried out properly. The objective of this study is to assess whether communication between GPs and medical specialists in the referral process is associated with the organisation of primary care within a country, the characteristics of the GPs, and the characteristics of the primary care practices themselves. Methods An analysis of a cross-sectional survey among GPs in 34 countries was conducted. The odds ratios of the features that were expected to relate to higher rates of referral letters sent and communications fed back to GPs were calculated using ordered logistic multilevel models. Results A total of 7183 GPs from 34 countries were surveyed. Variations between countries in referral letters sent and feedback communication received did occur. Little of the variance between countries could be explained. GPs stated that they send more referral letters, and receive more feedback communications from medical specialists, in countries where they act as gatekeepers, and when, in general, they interact more with specialists. GPs reported higher use of referral letters when they had a secretary and/or a nurse in their practice, used health information technologies, and had greater job satisfaction. Conclusions There are large differences in communication between GPs and medical specialists. These differences can partly be explained by characteristics of the country, the GP and the primary care practice. Further studies should also take the organisation of secondary care into account.

Background Low inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) adherence is associated with increased asthma burden. This relationship is likely bidirectional, and may vary across adherence stages (initiation, implementation, and persistence). Studies rarely examine reciprocal influences. Objective To investigate the relationship between ICS implementation and asthma-related outcomes over 2 years, considering bidirectionality and temporal sequence. Methods Primary care records (1987-2012) from the Optimum Patient Care Research Database, United Kingdom, were used. Eligible patients were 6 years or older and had 3 or more years of continuous registration starting 1 year before ICS initiation (index date), physician-diagnosed asthma, 2 or more ICS and/or short-acting β-agonist prescriptions each follow-up year, and no long-acting β-agonists, leukotriene receptor antagonists, or maintenance oral corticosteroids in the preceding year. ICS implementation (percentage of days covered) and risk domain asthma control (RDAC; no asthma-related hospitalizations, emergency visits, or outpatient visits and no oral corticosteroid or antibiotic prescriptions with evidence of respiratory review) were estimated for each prescription interval (period between 2 successive prescriptions). Multilevel analyses modeled bidirectional relationships between ICS implementation and RDAC (and its components), controlling for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Results In prescription data from 10,472 patients, ICS implementation in the preceding interval did not predict RDAC, but was weakly positively associated with simultaneous RDAC. Being male, non–current smoker, without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease diagnosis, and with fewer than 4 comorbidities significantly increased odds of RDAC. Asthma-related antibiotics and outpatient visits in the same interval and short-acting β-agonist overuse in the preceding and same interval predicted lower ICS implementation. Conclusions Patients may adapt their ICS use to their current needs without this impacting later RDAC.

Background Integrating physical therapy sessions and an online application (e-Exercise) might support people with hip osteoarthritis (OA), knee OA, or both (hip/knee OA) in taking an active role in the management of their chronic condition and may reduce the number of physical therapy sessions. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the short- and long-term effectiveness of e-Exercise compared to usual physical therapy in people with hip/knee OA. Design The design was a prospective, single-blind, multicenter, superiority, cluster- randomized controlled trial. Setting The setting included 143 primary care physical therapist practices. Participants The participants were 208 people who had hip/knee OA and were 40 to 80 years of age. Intervention e-Exercise is a 3-month intervention in which about 5 face-to-face physical therapy sessions were integrated with an online application consisting of graded activity, exercise, and information modules. Usual physical therapy was conducted according to the Dutch physical therapy guidelines on hip and knee OA. Measurements Primary outcomes, measured at baseline after 3 and 12 months, were physical functioning and free-living physical activity. Secondary outcome measures were pain, tiredness, quality of life, self-efficacy, and the number of physical therapy sessions. Results The e-Exercise group (n = 109) received, on average, 5 face-to-face sessions; the usual physical therapy group (n = 99) received 12. No significant differences in primary outcomes between the e-Exercise group and the usual physical therapy group were found. Within-group analyses for both groups showed a significant improvement in physical functioning. After 3 months, participants in the e-Exercise group reported an increase in physical activity; however, no objectively measured differences in physical activity were found. With respect to secondary outcomes, after 12 months, sedentary behavior significantly increased in the e-Exercise group compared with the usual physical therapy group. In both groups, there were significant improvements for pain, tiredness, quality of life, and self-efficacy. Limitations The response rate at 12 months was 65%. Conclusions The blended intervention, e-Exercise, was not more effective than usual physical therapy in people with hip/knee OA.

The database of the Global Influenza B Study was created by collecting surveillance datasets from each of the participating countries. These national datasets are owned by the participating countries, and thus cannot be shared publicly. Researchers interested in obtaining the country-specific datasets may contact the individuals listed below for further details regarding data access.Argentina (Santa Fe Province): Gabriela Kusznierz (labconi@yahoo.com.ar)Australia: Kate Pennington (kate.pennington@health.gov.au)Bhutan: Sonam Wangchuk (swangchuk@health.gov.bt)Brazil: Cláudio Maierovitch Pessanha Henriques (claudio.henriques@saude.gov.br)Cameroon: Guy Vernet (vernet@pasteur-yaounde.org)Chile: Rodrigo Fasce (rfasce@ispch.cl)China: Feng Luzhao (fenglz@chinacdc.cn)Costa Rica: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Ecuador: Alfredo Bruno (alfredobruno@yahoo.es)El Salvador: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)England: Maria Zambon (maria.zambon@phe.gov.uk)Guatemala: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Honduras: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Indonesia: Herman Kosasih (hermaninarespond@gmail.com)Italy: Caterina Rizzo (caterina.rizzo@iss.it)Ivory Coast: Herve A. Kadjo (hervekadjo@pasteur.ci)Kazakhstan: Gulzhan Muratbayeva (hnv2@cdc.gov)Kenya: Joshua Mott (zud9@cdc.gov)Madagascar: Jean-Michel Heraud (jmheraud@pasteur.mg)Morocco: Amal Barakat (amal.barakat@yahoo.fr)New Zealand: Sue Huang (sue.huang@esr.cri.nz)Nicaragua: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Panama: Alexey W. Clara (wclara@cdc.gov)Portugal: Ana Paula Rodrigues (ana.rodrigues@insa.min-saude.pt)Singapore: Vernon Lee (vernonljm@hotmail.com)South Africa: Cheryl Cohen (cherylc@nicd.ac.za)Turkey: Meral Akcay Ciblak (ciblakm@yahoo.com)Ukraine: Alla Mironenko (miralla@ukr.net)Viet Nam: Le Thi Quinh Mai (lom9@hotmail.com); International audience; BACKGROUND:Influenza disease burden varies by age and this has important public health implications. We compared the proportional distribution of different influenza virus types within age strata using surveillance data from twenty-nine countries during 1999-2014 (N=358,796 influenza cases).METHODS:For each virus, we calculated a Relative Illness Ratio (defined as the ratio of the percentage of cases in an age group to the percentage of the country population in the same age group) for young children (0-4 years), older children (5-17 years), young adults (18-39 years), older adults (40-64 years), and the elderly (65+ years). We used random-effects meta-analysis models to obtain summary relative illness ratios (sRIRs), and conducted meta-regression and sub-group analyses to explore causes of between-estimates heterogeneity.RESULTS:The influenza virus with highest sRIR was A(H1N1) for young children, B for older children, A(H1N1)pdm2009 for adults, and (A(H3N2) for the elderly. As expected, considering the diverse nature of the national surveillance datasets included in our analysis, between-estimates heterogeneity was high (I2>90%) for most sRIRs. The variations of countries' geographic, demographic and economic characteristics and the proportion of outpatients among reported influenza cases explained only part of the heterogeneity, suggesting that multiple factors were at play.CONCLUSIONS:These results highlight the importance of presenting burden of disease estimates by age group and virus (sub)type.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and cause of interruptions during intravenous medication administration, which factors are associated with interruptions and to what extent interruptions influence protocol compliance.BACKGROUND: Hospital nurses are frequently interrupted during medication administration, which contributes to the occurrence of administration errors. Errors with intravenous medication are especially worrisome, given their immediate therapeutic effects. However, knowledge about the extent and type of interruptions during intravenous medication administration is limited.DESIGN: Multicentre observational study.METHODS: Data were collected during two national evaluation studies (2011 - 2012 & 2015 - 2016). Nurses were directly observed during intravenous medication administration. An interruption was defined as a situation where a break during the administration was needed or where a nurse was distracted but could process without a break. Interruptions were categorized according to source and cause. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the associations between explanatory variables and interruptions or complete protocol compliance.RESULTS: In total, 2,526 intravenous medication administration processes were observed. During 291 (12%) observations, nurses were interrupted 321 times. Most interruptions were externally initiated by other nurses (19%) or patients (19%). Less interruptions occurred during the evening (odds ratio: 0.23 [95% confidence interval: 0.08-0.62]). Do-not-disturb vests were worn by 61 (2%) nurses. No significant association was found between being interrupted and complete protocol compliance.CONCLUSION: An interruption occurred in every eight observed intravenous medication administration, mainly caused by other nurses or patients. One needs to consider critically which strategies effectively improve safety during the high-risk nursing-task of intravenous medication administration.

Background Poor communication between general practitioners (GPs) and medical specialists can lead to poorer quality, and continuity, of care. Our study aims to assess patients’ perceptions of communication at the interface between primary and secondary care in 34 countries. It will analyse, too, whether this communication is associated with the organisation of primary care within a country, and with the characteristics of GPs and their patients. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey among patients in 34 countries. Following a GP consultation, patients were asked two questions. Did they take to understand that their GP had informed medical specialists about their illness upon referral? And, secondly, did their GP know the results of the treatment by a medical specialist? We used multi-response logistic multilevel models to investigate the association of factors related to primary care, the GP, and the patient, with the patients’ perceptions of communication at the interface between primary and secondary care. Results In total, 61,931 patients completed the questionnaire. We found large differences between countries, in both the patients’ perceptions of information shared by GPs with medical specialists, and the patients’ perceptions of the GPs’ awareness of the results of treatment by medical specialists. Patients whose GPs stated that they ‘seldom or never’ send referral letters, also less frequently perceived that their GP communicated with their medical specialists about their illness. Patients with GPs indicating they ‘seldom or never’ receive feedback from medical specialists, indicated less frequently that their GP would know the results of treatment by a medical specialist. Moreover, patients with a personal doctor perceived higher rates of communication in both directions at the interface between primary and secondary care. Conclusion Generally, patients perceive there to be high rates of communication at the interface between primary and secondary care, but there are large differences between countries. Policies aimed at stimulating personal doctor arrangements could, potentially, enhance the continuity of care between primary and secondary care.

Background: Measuring pain is important for the adequate pain management of postoperative patients. The actual compliance with pain assessment in postoperative patients after implementation of a national safety program is unknown.Objectives: The aim of this study is to examine the compliance with pain assessment in postoperative patients after implementation of a national safety program, according to the national quality indicators for pain assessment in postoperative patients. Furthermore, organisational factors associated with this compliance were determined.Study design: In this study, two data sources were used: 1) data from an evaluation study of the Dutch Hospital Patient Safety Program; and 2) data from a questionnaire survey.Methods: The compliance with two different pain process indicators was determined: 1) 3 pain measurements a day, all three full days after surgery; and 2) >= 1 pain measurement a day, all three full days after surgery. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between organisational factors in hospitals and compliance with pain process indicators.Results: Data of 3895 patient records from 16 hospitals was included in this study. In 12% of the postoperative patients, pain was measured 3 times a day, all three full days after surgery. In 53% of the postoperative patients, pain was measured >= 1 time a day, all three full days after surgery. Compliance was highest in general hospitals compared to tertiary teaching and academic hospitals, and was statistically significantly higher at the surgery and surgical oncology department compared to the other departments.Conclusions: Low compliance was shown with pain assessment in postoperative patients, according to the process indicator pain after surgery in Dutch hospitals. This suggests that the implementation of measuring pain in hospitals is still insufficient. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background: In the Netherlands, ethnic minority populations visit their general practitioner (GP) more often than the indigenous population. An explanation for this association is lacking. Recently, health literacy is suggested as a possible explaining mechanism. Internationally, associations between health literacy and health care use, and between ethnicity and health literacy have been studied separately, but, so far, have not been linked to each other. In the Netherlands, some expectations have been expressed with regard to supposed low health literacy of ethnic minority groups, however, no empirical study has been done so far. The objectives of this study are therefore to acquire insight into the level of health literacy of ethnic minorities in the Netherlands and to examine whether the relationship between ethnicity and health care use can be (partly) explained by health literacy.Methods: A questionnaire was sent to a sample of 2.116 members of the Dutch Health Care Consumer Panel (response rate 46%, 89 respondents of non-western origin). Health literacy was measured with the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) which covers nine different domains. The health literacy levels of ethnic minority groups were compared to the indigenous population. A negative binomial regression model was used to estimate the association between ethnicity and GP visits. To examine whether health literacy is an explaining factor in this association, health literacy and interaction terms of health literacy and ethnicity were added into the model.Results: Differences in levels of health literacy were only found between the Turkish population and the indigenous Dutch population. This study also found an association between ethnicity and GP visits. Ethnic minorities visit their GP 33% more often than the indigenous population. Three domains of the HLQ (the ability to navigate the health care system, the ability to find information and to read and understand health information) partly explained the association between ethnicity and GP visits.Conclusions: In general, there are no differences in health literacy between most of the ethnic minority groups in the Netherlands and the indigenous Dutch population. Only the Turkish population scored significantly lower on several health literacy domains. Some domains of health literacy do explain the association between ethnicity and higher frequency of GP visits. Further research is recommended to understand the pathways through which health literacy impacts health care use.

BackgroundSelf-referral for physical therapy was introduced in 2006 in the Netherlands. Internationally, debate on self-referral is still ongoing.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of self-referral for physical therapy in the Netherlands, focusing on volume of general practice and physical therapy care (incidence rates and utilization of services).DesignThe study was based on monitoring data from existing data sources.MethodsLongitudinal electronic medical record data from general practitioners (GPs) and physical therapists participating in the NIVEL Primary Care Database were used, as well as public data from Statistics Netherlands. Descriptive statistics and Poisson multilevel regression analyses were used for analyzing the data.ResultsIncidence rates of back (including low back), shoulder, and neck pain in general practice declined slightly from 2004 to 2009. No linear trends were found for number of contacts in GP care for back (including low back) and neck pain. The number of patients visiting physical therapists and the proportion of self-referrers are growing. Self-referrers receive treatment less often after initial intake than referred patients, and the mean number of visits is lower.LimitationsThis study was based on data of various patient populations from existing data sources.ConclusionsThe current study indicates that self-referral in the Netherlands has fulfilled most expectations held prior to its introduction, although no changes to the workload of GP care have been found. Use of physical therapy grew, but due to population aging and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, it remains unclear whether self-referral affects health care utilization. Therefore, cost-benefit analyses are recommended.

ObjectivesAntidepressant prescribing almost doubled in the Netherlands between 1996 and 2012, which could be accounted for by longer continuation after the first prescription. This might be problematic given a growing concern of large-scale antidepressant dependence. We aimed to assess the extent and determinants of chronic antidepressant prescribing among patient aged 18 years and older. We hypothesise a relatively large prevalence of chronic (>2 years) prescription.DesignA longitudinal observational study based on routinely registered prescription data from general practice.Setting189 general practices in the Netherlands.Participants326 025 patients with valid prescription data for all 5 years of the study.Outcome measuresPrimary outcome measure: the number of patients (N) receiving at least four antidepressant prescriptions in 2011, as well as during each of the four subsequent years. Secondary outcome measure: the above, but specified for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and for tricyclic antidepressants.ResultsAntidepressants were prescribed to almost 7% of our 326 025 participants each year. They were prescribed for depression (38%), anxiety (17%), other psychological disorders (20%) and non-psychological indications (25%). Antidepressants were prescribed in all 5 years to the 42% of the population who had at least four prescriptions dispensed in 2011. Chronic prescribing was higher among women than men, for those aged 45–64 years than for those aged >65 years and for those treated for depression or anxiety than for non-psychological indications (eg, neuropathic pain). Chronic prescribing also varied markedly among general practices.ConclusionChronic antidepressant use is common for depression and for anxiety and non-psychological diagnoses. Once antidepressants have been prescribed, general practitioners and other prescribers should be aware of the risks associated with long-term use and should provide annual monitoring of the continued need for therapy.

Health literacy has been put forward as a potential mechanism explaining the well-documented relationship between education and health. However, little empirical research has been undertaken to explore this hypothesis. The present study aims to study whether health literacy could be a pathway by which level of education affects health status. Health literacy was measured by the Health Activities and Literacy Scale, using data from a subsample of 5,136 adults between the ages of 25 and 65 years, gathered within the context of the 2007 Dutch Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. Linear regression analyses were used in separate models to estimate the extent to which health literacy mediates educational disparities in self-reported general health, physical health status, and mental health status as measured by the Short Form-12. Health literacy was found to partially mediate the association between low education and low self-reported health status. As such, improving health literacy may be a useful strategy for reducing disparities in health related to education, as health literacy appears to play a role in explaining the underlying mechanism driving the relationship between low level of education and poor health.

Studies on the effects of guided imagery in patients with fibromyalgia show varying results. This randomized controlled trial ( n = 65) aims to give more insight into the effects on pain, functional status, and self-efficacy. Daily pain was assessed with a pain diary using a Visual Analogue Scale. Functional status and self-efficacy were measured at pretest, posttest, and follow-up using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and the Chronic Pain Self-Efficacy Scale. No effects of guided imagery could be established. Explanations for the diverging results between studies might be found in the content of the exercises, length of the intervention period, and background of participants.

Contains fulltext : 175739.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) BACKGROUND: Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) associated mortality has not been well-established in tropical Africa. METHODS: We used the negative binomial regression method and the rate-difference method (i.e. deaths during low and high influenza/RSV activity months), to estimate excess mortality attributable to influenza and RSV using verbal autopsy data collected through a health and demographic surveillance system in Western Kenya, 2007-2013. Excess mortality rates were calculated for a) all-cause mortality, b) respiratory deaths (including pneumonia), c) HIV-related deaths, and d) pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) related deaths. RESULTS: Using the negative binomial regression method, the mean annual all-cause excess mortality rate associated with influenza and RSV was 14.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.0-93.3) and 17.1 (95% CI 0.0-111.5) per 100,000 person-years (PY) respectively; and 10.5 (95% CI 0.0-28.5) and 7.3 (95% CI 0.0-27.3) per 100,000 PY for respiratory deaths, respectively. Highest mortality rates associated with influenza were among >/=50 years, particularly among persons with TB (41.6[95% CI 0.0-122.7]); and with RSV were among

Background: Little is known about the quantity and reasons for use of palliative sedation in general practice. Aim: To gain more insight into the trends of and reasons for palliative sedation in Dutch general practice. Design and setting: Dynamic cohort study using registrations and questionnaire data of Dutch GPs. Method: Data collected in the years from 2005 until 2011 in the Dutch Sentinel General Practice Network were analysed. Trends and reasons for use of palliative sedation were analysed using multilevel analyses to control for clustering of observations within general practices. Results: From 2005–2011, 183 cases were reported from 56 general practices. The incidence of palliative sedation fluctuated between 33.7 per 100 000 patients in 2006 and 15.2 in 2011. No rise or decline during the period was observed. Palliative sedation was applied in 5.7% of all deaths and most frequently used in younger patients with cancer. The mean number of refractory symptoms was 2.6 (SD 1.2); pain (69.4%), dyspnoea (53.0%), and fear (39.3%). Patient involvement in decision making before the start of palliative sedation (87.4%) was less frequently present in patients suffering from cardiovascular or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and in older patients compared to patients with cancer (P

Objective To determine the change in adverse event (AE) rates and preventable AE rates over time, identify certain patient risk groups and discuss factors influencing the outcome. Design Longitudinal retrospective patient record review study. Setting and participants A random sample of 21 hospitals in The Netherlands in 2004, and 20 hospitals in 2008. In each hospital, 400 patient admissions were included in 2004, and 200 in 2008. Main outcome measures AEs and preventable AEs. Results Multilevel analyses of 11 883 patient records (7.887 in 2004, 3.996 in 2008) showed that the rate of patients experiencing an AE increased from 4.1% (95% CI 3.3% to 5.1%) in 2004 to 6.2% (95% CI 5.0% to 7.6%) in 2008. The preventable AE rate remained relatively stable at 1.8% (95% CI 1.3% to 2.4%) in 2004 and 1.6% (95% CI 1.2% to 2.3%) in 2008. The risk of experiencing a preventable AE was increasingly higher for patients admitted to a surgical unit (OR 1.54 (95% CI 1.10 to 2.16) in 2004 and 3.32 (95% CI 2.17 to 5.07)) in 2008. More than 50% of all AEs were related to surgery. Indications were found that differences in the risk of experiencing a preventable AE between hospital departments were larger in 2008 than in 2004, while differences between hospitals themselves were smaller. Conclusions Patient harm related to healthcare is a persistent problem that is hard to influence. Measuring AEs over time stresses the continuing urgency, and also identifies possible areas for improvement.

ObjectiveTo examine how information presentation affects the understanding and use of information for quality improvement.DesignAn experimental design, testing 22 formats, and showing information on patient safety culture. Formats differed in visualization, outcomes and benchmark information.Intervention(s)Respondents viewed three randomly selected presentation formats in an online survey, completing several tasks per format.SettingThe hospital sector in the Netherlands.ParticipantsA volunteer sample of healthcare professionals, mainly nurses, working in hospitals. Main Outcome Measure(s): The degree to which information is understandable and usable (accurate choice for quality improvement, sense of urgency to change and appraisal of one's own performance).ResultsAbout 115 healthcare professionals participated (response rate 25%), resulting in 345 reviews.UnderstandabilityInformation in tables (P = 0.007) and bar charts (P < 0.0001) was better understood than radars. Presenting outcomes on a 5-point scale (P < 0.001) or as ‘% positive responders’ (P < 0.001) was better understood than ‘% negative responders’. Formats without benchmarks were better understood than formats with benchmarks. Use: Bar charts resulted in more accurate choices than tables (P = 0.003) and radars (P < 0.001). Outcomes on a 5-point scale resulted in more accurate choices than ‘% negative responders’ (P = 0.007). Presenting ‘% positive responders’ resulted in a higher sense of urgency to change than outcomes on a 5-point scale (P = 0.002). Benchmark information had inconsistent effects on the appraisal of one's own performances.ConclusionsInformation presentation affects healthcare professionals’ understanding and use of quality information. Our findings supplement the further understanding on how quality information can be best communicated to healthcare professionals for realizing quality improvements.understanding and using information, presentation approach, healthcare professionals

Contains fulltext : 172815.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) BACKGROUND: Information on the timing of influenza circulation remains scarce in Tropical regions of Africa. OBJECTIVES: We assessed the relationship between influenza activity and several meteorological factors (temperature, specific humidity, precipitation) and characterized the timing of influenza circulation and its implications to vaccination strategies in Kenya. METHODS: We analyzed virologically confirmed influenza data for outpatient influenza-like illness (ILI), hospitalized for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), and cases of severe pneumonia over the period 2007-2013. Using logistic and negative binomial regression methods, we assessed the independent association between climatic variables (lagged up to 4 weeks) and influenza activity. RESULTS: There were multiple influenza epidemics occurring each year and lasting a median duration of 2-4 months. On average, there were two epidemics occurring each year in most of the regions in Kenya, with the first epidemic occurring between the months of February and March and the second one between July and November. Specific humidity was independently and negatively associated with influenza activity. Combinations of low temperature (

Background: In the Netherlands, various organisational models of dementia case management exist. In this study the following four models are distinguished, based on differences in the availability of the service and in the case management function: Model 1: the case management service is available from first dementia symptoms + is always a separate specialist function; Model 2: the case management service is only available after a formal dementia diagnosis + is always a separate specialist function; Model 3: the case management service is available from first dementia symptoms + is often a combined function; Model 4: the case management service is only available after a formal dementia diagnosis + is often a combined function. The objectives of this study are to give insight into whether satisfaction with dementia case management and the development of caregiver burden depend on the organisational model. Methods: A survey was carried out in regional dementia care networks in the Netherlands among 554 informal carers for people with dementia at the start of case management (response of 85 %), and one year later. Descriptive statistics and multilevel models were used to analyse the data. Results: The satisfaction with the case manager was high in general (an average of 8.0 within a possible range of 1 to 10), although the caregiver burden did not decrease in the first year after starting with case management. No differences were found between the four organisational models regarding the development of caregiver burden. However, statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found regarding satisfaction: informal carers in the organisational model where case management is only available after formal diagnosis of dementia and is often a combined function had on average the lowest satisfaction scores. Nevertheless, the satisfaction of informal carers within all organisational models was high (ranging from 7.51 to 8.40 within a range of 1 to 10). Conclusions: Organisational features of case management seem to make little or no difference to the development in caregiver burden and the satisfaction of informal carers. Future research is needed to explore whether the individual characteristics of the case managers themselves are associated with case management outcomes.

Background. The recent emphasis on providing comparative health care data to the public has resulted in a large amount of online information. To focus on the most essential attributes, insight is needed into which attributes are actually considered by consumers. Objective. To assess which attributes of Dutch hospital performance information contribute most to consumers’ hospital choice for cataract and total hip or knee replacement surgery. Design. Two discrete-choice experiments were performed: one for cataract surgery and one for total hip or knee replacement surgery. Participants viewed hypothetical hospitals based on representative values for 10 attributes (e.g., distance to the hospital, waiting time for the surgery, conduct of professionals, information provision, complication rate) and were asked to select the hospital they would choose if they needed treatment. We used multilevel logistic regression analysis to test the effects of the attributes and the interactions between attributes and respondent characteristics on consumers’ hospital choice. Results. All except one attribute (length of the first appointment with the ophthalmologist) contributed significantly to consumers’ choices. Although some differences were found between cataract and hip/knee replacement surgery, the most influential attributes for both types of surgeries were distance, waiting time, and the attributes of patient safety (complication rate of capsular rupture and the use of procedures to prevent adverse effects of thrombosis). Interaction effects were found between hospital attributes, on one hand, and age, education, and consumer choice orientation, on the other hand. Conclusions. As for cataract and total hip/knee replacement surgery, the attributes that seem most important to consumers when choosing a hospital are access (waiting time and distance) and patient safety attributes.

Objective Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, chronic, and often disabling disorder. Cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in alleviating IBS symptoms. The aim of this study was to establish the feasibility and the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral e-intervention using personal digital assistants (PDAs) on the self-management of IBS patients. Methods A feasibility trial was conducted with 38 control group patients receiving standard care and 37 intervention group patients receiving standard care supplemented with a 4-week CBT intervention on PDAs. All patients fulfilled the diagnostic Rome III criteria for IBS. At baseline, 4-week, and 3-month follow-up, patients' abdominal pain, dysfunctional cognitions, IBS quality of life, and pain catastrophizing thoughts were assessed using written questionnaires. Results Between-group comparisons between baseline and 4 weeks showed more overall quality of life improvement, more improvement in catastrophizing thoughts, and more pain improvement in the intervention group. Only improvement in catastrophizing thoughts persisted in the long-term. No significant differences between groups were found for dysfunctional cognitions. As all 37 intervention group patients completed the intervention and completed diaries three times a day for 4 weeks, the e-health intervention seems feasible. Conclusions A cognitive–behavioral intervention on pocket-type computers appears feasible and efficacious for improving IBS-related complaints and cognitions in the short-term. The intervention group improved on several aspects, but most on catastrophizing thoughts, and these improvements even persisted after 3 months. Future studies should focus on unravelling the effective components of this innovative e-health intervention.

A randomized pre- and post-test control group design was conducted in 12 oncology wards to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention, existing of a communication skills training with web-enabled video feedback and a Question Prompt Sheet (QPS), which aimed to improve patient education to older cancer patients (≥65 years). The effects were studied by analyzing questionnaires and video recordings of patient education sessions preceding chemotherapy with 210 different patients.Patients’ recall of information was the primary outcome of the study. Recall was checked against the actual communication in the video-recordings. Moreover, communication skills were assessed by observing the extent to which nurses implemented 67 communication aspects, categorized in seven dimensions, using the QUOTEchemo. Experimental nurses demonstrated a significant intervention effect on communicating realistic expectations. Within-group improvements were measured in the experimental group for tailored communication, affective communication and interpersonal communication. Although the use of a QPS significantly increased question asking, only limited results were found on older patients’ recall scores. The overall proportion recall of recommendations showed a marginally significant pre-/post-change in proportion recall in favour of the experimental group and there was a significant pre-/post-change in two out of six sub-categories. The results indicate that nurses’ communication skills can be improved by communication skills training. More research is needed to understand the difficult relationship between patient-provider communication and recall of information.

Objective To study the effects of introducing a nursing guideline on depression in residents with dementia of psychogeriatric nursing home wards. Methods A multi-center controlled clinical trial with randomization at ward level was used to study the effects of the guideline introduction. Nursing teams were trained in applying the guideline to their own residents diagnosed with depression in dementia. Key elements of the nursing guideline are increasing individualized pleasant activities and decreasing unpleasant events. Participating residents were 97 residents diagnosed with dementia and comorbid depression, from 18 psychogeriatric nursing home wards, in 9 Dutch nursing homes. Measurements took place at pre-test, post-test and follow-up. Primary outcome was severity of depression measured with the MDS/RAI-Depression Rating Scale (DRS) and the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia. Secondary outcome is mood as measured by the FACE-observation scale. Results Compliance with the nursing guideline was moderate. Despite this, residents on the experimental wards showed a significant reduction in depression on the DRS. With the Cornell scale a reduction of depression was found as well, although not significantly different from that in the control group. No effects on observed mood were found. Conclusion This study shows significant reductions in depression severity by introducing a nursing guideline on psychogeriatric nursing home wards. Better compliance with the guideline could probably enlarge the effects. Some ways to achieve enhanced compliance are: (1) additionally train non-certified nurse assistants, and (2) emphasize necessary conditions for successful introduction of the guideline to nursing team managers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Contains fulltext : 81744.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) OBJECTIVE: Anxiety and depressive disorders are widely prevalent, but patients are only treated in a minority of cases. In this study, the explanation of receiving mental health treatment is sought in predisposing and enabling characteristics and indicators for objective and self-perceived need. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of data collected in the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) among 743 persons with an anxiety and/or depression diagnosis as assessed by the CIDI. Receipt of mental health treatment was assessed in the face-to-face interview, as well as indicators of predisposing and enabling factors and variables evaluating need for care. RESULTS: Of the total sample, 57% received treatment in the past 6 months in the general practice setting (50%) or the mental health care setting (14%). Younger patients, patients who evaluated their providers better on communicative abilities and patients who perceived mental health problems themselves had greater odds of having professional mental health contacts in the primary care setting. Confidence in professional help and higher severity of mental problems were associated with greater odds of having specialized mental health care. CONCLUSION: Receiving help for common mental disorders depends not only on the objective need of the patient but also at least as much on the patients' own recognition that their problems have a mental health origin. Furthermore, in primary care especially, the patients' judgment of their providers' affective abilities may be decisive for being treated. For receiving specialized care, patients are also directed by their confidence in professional help.

PURPOSE Diagnosing asthma in children with asthmatic symptoms remains a challenge, particularly in preschool children. This challenge creates an opportu- nity for variability in prescribing. The aim of our study was to investigate how and to what degree patient, family, and physician characteristics infl uence pre- scribing of asthma medication in children. METHODS We undertook a multilevel population-based study using the second Dutch national survey of general practice (DNSGP-2), 2001. Participants were 46,371 children aged 1 to 17 years belonging to 25,537 families registered with 109 general practitioners. Using a multilevel multivariate logistic regression analysis with 3 levels, our main outcome measure was the prescribing of asthma medication, defi ned as at least 1 prescription for β2-adrenergic agonists, inhaled corticosteroids, cromones, or montelukast during the 1-year study period. RESULTS We identifi ed characteristics signifi cantly associated with prescribing asthma medication on all 3 levels (child, family, and physician). The variance in prescribing among physicians was signifi cantly higher with children who were younger than 6 years than with children aged 6 years and older (95% CI, 3.5%- 25.2% vs 2.4%-13.4%). Several diagnoses other than asthma and asthmatic com- plaints were strongly associated with prescribing asthma medication, including bronchitis/bronchiolitis (OR = 9.04; 95% CI, 7.57-10.8) and cough (OR = 6.51; 95% CI, 5.68-7.47). CONCLUSIONS Our study shows a much higher variance in prescribing patterns among general practitioners for children younger than 6 years compared with older children, which could be a direct result of the diagnostic complexities found in young children with asthmatic symptoms. Thus diagnostic gaps may lead to more physician-driven prescribing irrespective of the clinical context.

Background: Ratings on the quality of healthcare from the consumer’s perspective need to be adjusted for consumer characteristics to ensure fair and accurate comparisons between healthcare providers or health plans. Although multilevel analysis is already considered an appropriate method for analyzing healthcare performance data, it has rarely been used to assess case-mix adjustment of such data. The purpose of this article is to investigate whether multilevel regression analysis is a useful tool to detect case-mix adjusters in consumer assessment of healthcare. Methods: We used data on 11,539 consumers from 27 Dutch health plans, which were collected using the Dutch Consumer Quality Index health plan instrument. We conducted multilevel regression analyses of consumers’ responses nested within health plans to assess the effects of consumer characteristics on consumer experience. We compared our findings to the results of another methodology: the impact factor approach, which combines the predictive effect of each case-mix variable with its heterogeneity across health plans. Results: Both multilevel regression and impact factor analyses showed that age and education were the most important case-mix adjusters for consumer experience and ratings of health plans. With the exception of age, case-mix adjustment had little impact on the ranking of health plans. Conclusions: On both theoretical and practical grounds, multilevel modeling is useful for adequate case-mix adjustment and analysis of performance ratings.

“Eating profiles” can be defined as types of clients distinguished by combinations of food preferences, consumption patterns, and preferences for ambiance. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and initial testing of an instrument to establish eating profiles of residents of nursing homes or elderly homes. We constructed a 35-item, 4-subscale questionnaire. This self-administered, usable instrument derived five eating profiles from clients' perspectives. Insight in eating profiles is important for facility managers to ascertain that the food, dinner service, and ambiance are adequately tailored to the residents' preferences.

Objective Caregiving has been described in the literature as a risk factor for ill health in the carer. This controlled, prospective study examines the course of physical and mental health problems in parents of adolescent survivors of a mass burn incident. Methods Health information was extracted from electronic medical records. Continuous data were available for 1 year before and 4 years after the fire. Cohorts comprised 273 parents of survivors with burns, 199 parents of survivors without burns, and 1756 controls. Post-fire increases in health problems were compared by means of logistic regression. Results Parents of burn victims were more likely to present mental health problems during the first 2 years after the incident, when compared to the baseline. Moreover, they were more likely to present cardiovascular health problems in every year following the disaster, compared to the baseline. Increases observed in mental and cardiovascular health problems were significantly larger in parents of burn victims compared to controls. Risk factors for presenting mental health problems were female gender of the parent and a large burn size in the child. Lower socioeconomic status and female gender of the parent predicted cardiovascular health problems. Conclusion Evidence gained in longitudinal studies informs on which health problems are most likely to develop in parental caregivers. In the interest of both parent and child, a family-oriented approach is proposed.

BACKGROUND: This general practice-based case-control study tested the association between cerebrovascular risk factors (CVRFs) and the development of later-life depression by focusing on the impact of exposure duration to CVRFs and the modifying influence of age at depression onset. METHODS: Cases were 286 patients aged > or = 50 years with a first diagnosis of depression at age > or = 50 years. Nondepressed controls (N=832) were individually matched for age, gender and practice. CVRF diagnoses (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular conditions) prior to depression were determined. Analyses controlled for education, somatic and nondepressive psychiatric disease. RESULTS: No CVRF variable examined was significantly associated with subsequent depression in the total sample. An unexpected impact of age at onset of depression was observed: the odds ratio associated with having any CVRF was smaller for patients with age at onset > or = 70 years than for patients with onset between ages 50-59 years (p=.002) and 60-69 years (p=.067). Subsequent analyses excluding patients with onset at age > or = 70 years revealed that CVRF variables, including long-term exposure to CVRFs, significantly increased the odds of subsequent depression with onset between ages 50 and 69 years. LIMITATIONS: Reliance on GPs' records of morbidity may have resulted in bias towards underestimation in patients with depression onset at age > or = 70 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that CVRFs play a relevant role in the development of depression with onset between ages 50 and 69 years, but no evidence was found that they contribute to the occurrence of depression with onset at age > or = 70 years. Replication is warranted to exclude the possibility of bias

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems associated with benzodiazepine treatment are often highly prevalent in the aftermath of disasters. Nevertheless, not much is known about benzodiazepine use after disasters. Considering the negative effects associated with prolonged use and the adverse effects of benzodiazepines on recovery of patients with acute stress, the aim of the present study was to explore benzodiazepine use in the context of the Enschede fireworks disaster of 13 May 2000. METHODS: A longitudinal study using electronic medical records of general practitioners. Subjects were patients aged 16 years and older, registered at one of the practices between 1999 and 2003 (1541 victims and 5370 references). Pre- and post-disaster data were available on benzodiazepine prescriptions, healthcare utilization and sociodemographic characteristics. Benzodiazepine use was defined using different criteria (e.g. any use, daily use, chronic use). Data were analysed using multivariate multilevel logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Compared with patients from a reference group, disaster victims were at increased risk of becoming an incident benzodiazepine user after the disaster. Benzodiazepine use also had a different time course among victims compared with references. However, daily or prolonged use of benzodiazepines was not often observed and did not show dramatic deviations among disaster victims compared with references. CONCLUSION: There is no convincing evidence that general practitioners systematically deviated from clinical guidelines for benzodiazepines, which generally advocate their short time application.

This paper focuses on the evaluation of dementia case management in the Netherlands, as well as factors associated with positive evaluations of informal caregivers. A survey was completed by 554 informal carers. The majority of the informal carers were older (69% was 55+), and female (73%), and often concerned the partner or adult children of the person with dementia. Eighty percent indicated that the contact with the case manager facilitated their role as informal carer, while 95% or more stated that the case manager showed sufficient understanding, allowed enough space to decide together on how to approach problems in the care, took time to listen to their story, gave sufficient attention to and showed interest in their relative, took their schedule into account and/or kept appointments. Contrary to the expectations, multilevel analyses did not show association between informal caregivers’ care burden and the evaluation of case management. Neither were the period living with dementia and the number of personal contacts with the case manager associated with the evaluations of informal caregivers. However, being the partner of the patient was significantly related ( p

Background and Objective: To comprehensively examine comorbidity in unselected cohorts of patients with depression, stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease/parkinsonism (PD/PKM), dementia, migraine, and epilepsy. Methods: This cross-sectional study used morbidity data recorded by Dutch general practitioners. Index disease cohort sizes ranged from 241 patients with MS to 6,641 patients with lifetime depression. Thirty somatic and seven psychiatric disease categories were examined to determine whether they were comorbid with the index diseases by performing comparisons with age- and gender-matched control cohorts. Identified comorbidities were classified as either "possible" or "highly probable" comorbidity. Results: An extensive range of 26 disease categories was found to be comorbid with lifetime depression. The comorbidity profile of stroke was also wide, including 21 disease categories. The comorbidity patterns of migraine and epilepsy comprised each 11 disease categories. Those concerning MS, PD/PKM, and dementia included a small number of disease categories. Conclusion: This study provides comprehensive knowledge of the occurrence of somatic and psychiatric comorbidity in general populations of patients with depression, stroke, MS, PD/PKM, dementia, migraine, and epilepsy. The implications of the findings for clinical practice and research are discussed.

Contains fulltext : 50582.pdf ( ) (Open Access) PURPOSE: Headaches and abdominal pain are examples of minor ailments that are generally self-limiting. We examined the extent to which patterns of visits to family physicians for minor ailments, such as headaches or abdominal pain, cluster within families. METHODS: Using information from the Second Dutch National Survey of General Practice for 96 family practices, we analyzed the visits of families with at least 1 child aged 12 years or younger during a period of 12 months. RESULTS: Family patterns were clearest in the visits of mothers and children. A large part of the similarity in the frequencies of contact by mothers and daughters could be attributed to shared family factors. This finding was especially true for families with a child who had a headache or abdominal pain as the presenting symptom, rather than physical trauma or chronic disease. Within families, we did not find any specific patterns of diagnoses. Diagnoses were recorded by family physicians. In the case of young children, family similarity may have been overestimated because parents initiated the visits and put their child's health problem into words. CONCLUSIONS: Visits to family physicians for headaches or abdominal pain can be seen as indicators of consultation patterns in families. Family patterns related to minor ailments are likely to be a result of socialization. Family consultation patterns might point toward specific needs of families and consequently at a different approach to treatment.

Objectives To assess whether, compared with previous years, hospital care became safer in 2011/2012, expressing itself in a fall in preventable adverse event (AE) rates alongside patient safety initiatives. Design Retrospective patient record review at three points in time. Setting In three national AE studies, patient records of 2004, 2008 and 2011/2012 were reviewed in, respectively, 21 hospitals in 2004, 20 hospitals in 2008 and 20 hospitals in 2011/2012. In each hospital, 400, 200 and 200 patient records were sampled, respectively. Participants In total, 15 997 patient admissions were included in the study, 7926 patient admissions from 2004, 4023 from 2008 and 4048 from 2011/2012. Interventions The main patient safety initiatives in hospital care at a national level between 2004 and 2012 have been small as well as large-scale multifaceted programmes. Main outcome measures Rates of both AEs and preventable AEs. Results Uncorrected crude overall AE rates showed no change in 2011/2012 in comparison with 2008, whereas preventable AE rates showed a reduction of 45%. After multilevel corrections, the decrease in preventable AE rate in 2011/2012 was still clearly visible with a decrease of 30% in comparison to 2008 (p=0.10). In 2011/2012, fewer preventable AEs were found in older age groups, or related to the surgical process, in comparison with 2008. Conclusions Our study shows some improvements in preventable AEs in the areas that were addressed during the comprehensive national safety programme. There are signs that such a programme has a positive impact on patient safety.

Background To investigate the average and extrapolated excess length of stay and direct costs of adverse events (AEs) and preventable AEs in Dutch hospitals, and to evaluate patient characteristics associated with excess length of stay and costs. Methods Data of a large retrospective patient record review study on AEs was used. A stratified sample of 20 Dutch hospitals was included. Excess length of stay and costs attributable to AEs and preventable AEs were calculated and extrapolated to a national estimate. The association between patient characteristics and excess length of stay (and costs thereof) attributable to AEs and preventable AEs was investigated through multilevel linear regression analyses. Results A total of 2975 patient records were included in the analysis, of which 325 experienced one or more AEs. Hospital patients experiencing an AE stayed 5.11 (95 % CI 3.91–6.30) more days in hospital and cost €2600 (95 % CI €1968–€3232) more compared to those without an AE. There was no significant difference in days and costs between preventable and non-preventable AEs. Extrapolated to a national level, AEs cost more than €300 million, which was 1.3 % of the national hospital care budget. Patients with hospital-acquired infections had a statistically significant longer length of stay compared to the reference group (patients with AEs on the cardiovascular system). Conclusions This study showed that AEs lead to substantial excess length of stay and increased costs. Special attention should be paid to patients with AEs due to an hospital-acquired infection.

Contains fulltext : 153445.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) BACKGROUND: To support the management of multimorbid patients in primary care, evidence is needed on prevalent multimorbidity patterns. OBJECTIVE: To identify the common and distinctive multimorbidity patterns. METHODS: Clinical data of 120480 patients (>/=55 years) were extracted from 158 general practices in 2002-11. Prevalence rates of multimorbidity were analyzed (overall, and for 24 chronic diseases), adjusted for practice, number of diseases and patients' registration period; differentiated between patients 55-69 and >/=70 years. To investigate multimorbidity patterns, prevalence ratios (prevalence rate index-disease group divided by that in the non-index-disease group) were calculated for patients with heart failure, diabetes mellitus, migraine or dementia. RESULTS: Multiple membership multilevel models showed that the overall adjusted multimorbidity rate was 86% in patients with >/=1 chronic condition, varying from 70% (migraine) to 98% (heart failure), 38% had >/=4 chronic diseases. In patients 55-69 years, 83% had multimorbidity. Numerous significant prevalence ratios were found for disease patterns in heart failure patients, ranging from 1.2 to 7.7, highest ratio for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-cardiac dysrhythmia. For diabetes mellitus, dementia or migraine patients highest ratios were for heart failure-visual disorder (2.1), heart failure-depression (3.9) and depression-back/neck disorder (2.1), respectively (all P-values

This paper analyses the relationship between individual and neighbourhood characteristics and the use of benzodiazepines within a Dutch city. It is hypothesized that the proportion of users is lower in more socially integrated and less deprived neighbourhoods. Hypotheses have been tested by using multi-level analysis to distinguish between composition and context effects. Age and gender have a clear relation to the use of benzodiazepines and neighbourhood differences in the proportion of users are partly the effect of population composition by age and gender. The proportion of users is higher in neighbourhoods with a higher percentage of one-parent families, with a lower percentage of social rented housing and with a larger number of rooms per person. The strength of the relation between age and use is influenced by neighbourhood characteristics. Neighbourhood variation in the amount used only depends on population composition.

Background Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a common cause of acute renal failure in hospital patients. To prevent CIN, identification and hydration of high-risk patients is important. Prevention of CIN by hydration of high-risk patients was one of the themes to be implemented in the Dutch Hospital Patient Safety Program. This study investigates to what extent high-risk patients are identified and hydrated before contrast administration. Hospital-related and admission-related factors associated with the hydration of high-risk patients are identified. Methods The adherence to the guideline concerning identification and hydration of high-risk patients for CIN was evaluated retrospectively in 4297 patient records between November 2011 and December 2012. A multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between hospital-related and patient-related factors and hydration. Results The mean percentage patients with a known estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate before contrast administration was 96.4%. The mean percentage high-risk patients for CIN was 14.6%. The mean percentage high-risk patients hydrated before contrast administration was 68.5% and was constant over time. Differences between individual hospitals explained 19% of the variation in hydration. The estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate value and admission department were statistically significantly associated with the execution of hydration. Conclusion The identification of high-risk patients was almost 100%, but the subsequent step in the prevention of CIN is less performed, as only two third of the high-risk patients were hydrated before contrast administration. Large variation between individual hospitals confirmed the difference in hospitals in correctly applying the guideline for preventing CIN.

To study the health status and medical consumption of outpatients with active epilepsy in comparison with the general population.Descriptive population study (multi-stage random sample).Structured questionnaire.Thirty-nine epilepsy patients compared with a general population of 12,975.Epilepsy patients revealed poorer health, a higher mean complaint score (5.3 versus 3.7, P0.05), a higher score on the General Health Questionnaire (P0.05), a somewhat higher score on the bio-logical problem list (BIOPRO) (1.8 versus 1.4, P0.05), less active sports engagement (16% versus 39%, P0.01), more fatigue (46 vs 29%, P0.05), dizziness (33 vs 10%, P0.01), nervousness (28 vs 18%, P0.05), sleep disturbance (23 vs 15%, P0.05) and excitability (33 vs 15%, P0.01) when compared with the general population. The BIOPRO showed problems in epilepsy patients on specific items related to self-confidence (P0.001) Epileptic patients do not show more absence due to illness, from work, school or at home (15 vs 18%, P0.05) and/or more problems at work or in the family when compared with the general population. Almost half of epilepsy patients had consulted a specialist in the past 2 months (46 vs 23% of the general population, P0.001). Epilepsy patients consulted the family physician slightly more often than other responders (3.0 versus 2.3, P0.05) and contacted the family physician's assistant considerably more often (2.3 versus 0.7, P0.001). One-third of epilepsy patients consulted an alternative healer in the past 5 years versus 14% in the general population (P0.001).The study shows an excess of psychosocial problems and medical consumption in epilepsy patients, but not more absence from work or problems at work or in the family. Further development of a quality of life instrument specific to epilepsy is advised.

To improve the feasibility of shifting medical specialist to general practitioner (GP) services in patient-centred health care systems, it is important to know how this substitution is valued by patients. However, insight into patients' preferences is lacking.This study aims to fill this gap by assessing whether patients' preferences for substitution are related to the type of medical intervention.Questionnaires were sent to 1000 members of the Dutch Insurants Panel (potential patients). Panel members were asked about their preferences for and use of medical specialist and GP services regarding 11 medical interventions. Six hundred and ninety-four members (69%) responded. We used multilevel multinomial regression to analyse the data.Preferences were significantly related to medical intervention type. GP services were preferred for follow-up treatments (e.g. removing stitches) and non-complex invasive treatments (e.g. removal of lumps), and medical specialist services were preferred for complex invasive treatments (e.g. injection therapy for varicose veins), non-invasive treatments (e.g. start of insulin therapy) and diagnostic examinations (e.g. abdominal ultrasound). Age, effort required to visit a GP, perceived health status and previous treatment experiences also influenced preferences but did not confound the effects of medical intervention type.This study provides strong indications that patients' preferences for substitution are influenced by the type of medical intervention. Therefore it seems important that health policy makers, purchasers and practitioners take the preferences of (potential) patients into account.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A descriptive study on 118 MS patients in general practice, to describe the family physician's role in diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients. METHOD: Random sample of 103 general practices (161 family physicians) throughout The Netherlands with a total list of 335,000 patients. RESULTS: MS patients had on average 5.7 encounters with general practice in 3 months compared to 2.3 in all other patients (P < 0.001). Home visits counted for 38.7% of all family physician's encounters in MS patients compared to 16.6% in all other patients (P < 0.01). The average encounter lasted 12.9 minutes per MS patient compared to 7.8 in all other patients (P < 0.01). Counselling by the family physician took place in all new patients and in 53% of known patients. Follow-up appointments were made with all new patients and 65.9% of all MS patients. Fifteen patients (12.7%) were newly referred to a specialist and 28 patients (24%) were still treated by specialists. No medication was prescribed to almost 40% of patients. Vitamin B, benzodiazepines, laxatives, antibiotics for treatment of urinary tract infections and muscle relaxants are the most frequently prescribed drugs. The average dose of vitamin B complex was 1.94 times the defined daily dose. CONCLUSIONS: The family physician spends more time than average on MS patients, carries out more home visits and takes care of treatment of symptoms and complications of MS. Counselling and follow-up of patients takes an important place in family physician's management of MS. Vitamin B complex is being prescribed (too) frequently in a (too) high dose. (aut. ref.)

PurposeConsiderable variability in adherence over time exists. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent deviations from the prescribed regimen in type 2 diabetes patients can be explained by characteristics of the individual ‘medication intake moments’ and the patient.MethodsMedication intake of 104 non-adherent type 2 diabetes patients from 37 community pharmacies was electronically monitored for 6 months. The primary outcome measures were: (1) whether or not the intake occurred and (2) whether or not the intake occurred within the agreed-upon time period (correct timing). Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to account for the nested structure of the data.ResultsMedication intakes in the evening and during weekends and holidays were more likely to be incorrectly timed and also more likely to be completely missed. Irrespective of timing, most intakes occurred in the mornings of Monday through Thursday (96 %), and least intakes occurred on Saturday evening (82 %). Correctly timed intakes most often occurred on Monday and Tuesday mornings (61 %) in contrast to Sunday evenings (33 %). A patient’s medication regimen was significantly associated with adherence.ConclusionBased on our results, among patients who already have difficulties in taking their oral antidiabetic medication, interruptions in the daily routine negatively influence the intake of their medication. Professionals need to be aware of this variation in adherence within patients. As regular medication intake is important to maintain glycaemic control, healthcare professionals and patients should work together to find strategies that prevent deviations from the prescribed regimen at these problematic dosing times.Keywords: Medication adherence, Oral antidiabetics, Multilevel modelling, Electronic monitoring

Background Greater understanding of the variance in the number of consultations per dietetic treatment will increase the transparency of dietetic healthcare. Substantial inter-practitioner variation may suggest a potential to increase efficiency and improve quality. It is not known whether inter-practitioner variation also exists in the field of dietetics. Therefore, the aims of this study are to examine inter-practitioner variation in the number of consultations per treatment and the case-mix factors that explain this variation. Methods For this observational study, data were used from the National Information Service for Allied Health Care (LiPZ). LiPZ is a Dutch registration network of allied health care professionals, including dietitians working in primary healthcare. Data were used from 6,496 patients who underwent dietetic treatment between 2006 and 2009, treated by 27 dietitians working in solo practices located throughout the Netherlands. Data collection was based on the long-term computerized registration of healthcare-related information on patients, reimbursement, treatment and health problems, using a regular software program for reimbursement. Poisson multilevel regression analyses were used to model the number of consultations and to account for the clustered structure of the data. Results After adjusting for case-mix, seven percent of the total variation in consultation sessions was due to dietitians. The mean number of consultations per treatment was 4.9 and ranged from 2.3–10.1 between dietitians. Demographic characteristics, patients’ initiative and patients’ health problems explained 28% of the inter-practitioner variation. Certain groups of patients used significantly more dietetic healthcare compared to others, i.e. older patients, females, the native Dutch, patients with a history of dietetic healthcare, patients who started the treatment on their own initiative, patients with multiple diagnoses, overweight, or binge eating disorder. Conclusions Considerable variation in number of consultations per dietetic treatment is due to dietitians. Some of this inter-practitioner variation was reduced after adjusting for case-mix. Further research is necessary to study the relation between inter-practitioner variation and the effectiveness and quality of dietetic treatment.

Background Previous research shows a positive link between the amount of green area in one9s residential neighbourhood and self-reported health. However, little research has been done on the quality of the green area, as well as on quantity and quality of smaller natural elements in the streetscape. This study investigates the link between the objectively assessed quantity and quality of (1) green areas and (2) streetscape greenery on the one hand and three self-reported health indicators on the other. Methods 80 Dutch urban neighbourhoods were selected, varying in the amount of nearby green area per dwelling, as determined by Geographic Information System analysis. The quality of green areas, as well as the quantity and quality of streetscape greenery, was assessed by observers using an audit tool. Residents of each neighbourhood were asked to complete a questionnaire on their own health (N=1641). In multilevel regression analyses, we examined the relationship between greenspace indicators and three health indicators, controlling for socio-demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Results Both indicators for the quantity of greenspace were positively related to all three health indicators. Quantity and quality indicators were substantially correlated in the case of streetscape greenery. Nevertheless, the quality indicators tended to have added predictive value for the health indicators, given that the quantity information was already included in the model. Conclusions The quantity and also the quality of greenspace in one9s neighbourhood seem relevant with regard to health. Furthermore, streetscape greenery is at least as strongly related to self-reported health as green areas.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate outcomes of breast cancer genetic counseling in women with and without breast cancer. METHODS Seventy-seven first-time attendees (n=44 affected) completed questionnaires assessing cognitions (risk accuracy, knowledge, perceived personal control [PPC]) and distress (state anxiety [STAI], cancer-related stress reactions [IES]) from immediately before to immediately and six months after completing counseling. Data were analyzed using multilevel repeated measures and trend analyses. RESULTS In affected counselees, mean cognitions did not significantly differ over time, anxiety significantly decreased, and IES levels were increased immediately post-counseling. In unaffected counselees, cognitions significantly improved over time except for knowledge. Distress levels showed similar patterns as in affected women. Improvements in cognitions and distress were significantly smaller in affected versus unaffected women. CONCLUSION Overall, counseling educates women about breast cancer risk and alleviates their anxiety. Importantly, benefits gained at immediate follow-up seem maintained over time. PRACTICE IMPLICATION Affected women seem to benefit less from counseling. Counselors may need to devote more effort into educating these women and addressing their anxieties. Future studies should confirm the unexpected finding that cancer-related distress increased immediately post-counseling.

Background Strengthening primary care is the focus of many countries, as national healthcare systems with a strong primary care sector tend to have lower healthcare costs. However, it is unknown to what extent general practitioners (GPs) that perform more services generate fewer hospital referrals. The objective of this study was to examine the association between the number of surgical interventions and hospital referrals. Methods Data were derived from electronic medical records of 48 practices that participated in the Netherlands Information Network of General Practice (LINH) in 2006-2007. For each care-episode of benign neoplasm skin/nevus, sebaceous cyst or laceration/cut it was determined whether the patient was referred to a medical specialist and/or minor surgery was performed. Multilevel multinomial regression analyses were used to determine the relation between minor surgery and hospital referrals on the level of the GP-practice. Results Referral rates differed between diagnoses, with 1.0% of referrals for a laceration/cut, 8.2% for a sebaceous cyst and 10.2% for benign neoplasm skin/nevus. The GP practices performed minor surgery for a laceration/cut in 8.9% (SD:14.6) of the care-episodes, for a benign neoplasm skin/nevus in 27.4% (SD:14.4) of cases and for a sebaceous cyst in 26.4% (SD:13.8). GP practices that performed more minor surgery interventions had a lower referral rate for patients with a laceration/cut (-0.38; 95%CI:-0.60- -0.11) and those with a sebaceous cyst (-0.42; 95%CI:-0.63- -0.16), but not for people with benign neoplasm skin/nevus (-0.26; 95%CI:-0.51-0.03). However, the absolute difference in referral rate appeared to be relevant only for sebaceous cysts. Conclusions The effects of minor surgery vary between diagnoses. Minor surgery in general practice appears to be a substitute for specialist medical care only in relation to sebaceous cysts. Measures to stimulate minor surgery for sebaceous cysts may induce substitution.

Background There is little evidence as to whether or not guideline concordant care in general practice results in better clinical outcomes for people with anxiety and depression. This study aims to determine possible associations between guideline concordant care and clinical outcomes in general practice patients with depression and anxiety, and identify patient and treatment characteristics associated with clinical improvement. Methods This study forms part of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). Adult patients, recruited in general practice (67 GPs), were interviewed to assess DSM-IV diagnoses during baseline assessment of NESDA, and also completed questionnaires measuring symptom severity, received care, socio-demographic variables and social support both at baseline and 12 months later. The definition of guideline adherence was based on an algorithm on care received. Information on guideline adherence was obtained from GP medical records. Results 721 patients with a current (6-month recency) anxiety or depressive disorder participated. While patients who received guideline concordant care (N = 281) suffered from more severe symptoms than patients who received non-guideline concordant care (N = 440), both groups showed equal improvement in their depressive or anxiety symptoms after 12 months. Patients who (still) had moderate or severe symptoms at follow-up, were more often unemployed, had smaller personal networks and more severe depressive symptoms at baseline than patients with mild symptoms at follow-up. The particular type of treatment followed made no difference to clinical outcomes. Conclusion The added value of guideline concordant care could not be demonstrated in this study. Symptom severity, employment status, social support and comorbidity of anxiety and depression all play a role in poor clinical outcomes.

Background Patients are increasingly expected to become active, critical consumers in healthcare. They can use comparative healthcare information presented on websites to make informed choices for healthcare providers. However, the use of this information has been limited so far. An obstacle can be that the information is not perceived as relevant by patients. Presenting only the most important quality indicators might improve the usefulness of this information. The aim of this study was to explore which quality indicators different subgroups of patients find important when choosing a hospital for total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods In this explorative, cross-sectional study, questionnaires were distributed to 265 patients who underwent or had to undergo THA/TKA. Participants were asked to rank the importance of three types of quality indicators: patient experience indicators, clinical performance indicators, and indicators about hospital services. We used random effects regression analyses to assess the relative importance of the indicators in different subgroups of patients. Results 110 patients (response rate 41.5%) who underwent or had to undergo THA/TKA participated. Conduct of doctors, the presence of procedures to prevent adverse effects of thrombosis and information about the specialist area of orthopaedists were the most important patient experience indicator, clinical performance indicator and indicator about hospital services, respectively. We found a few differences between patient subgroups in the importance attached to the quality indicators. Conclusions This study provides a first insight into which quality indicators patients find important when choosing a hospital for THA/TKA, and shows that subgroups of patients differ in the value they attach to these indicators. More extended research is needed to establish the indicators that should at least be presented in succinct overviews of comparative healthcare information for patients choosing a hospital for THA/TKA.