Search

This study investigates the relationship between culture and life satisfaction and investigates if and how work ethic influences this relationship. Based on the Protestants Work Ethic of Weber (1905) and research of Oishi et al. (1999), it can be assumed that work ethic has a mediating or moderating role in the relationship between culture and life satisfaction. Data from people in the Netherlands and Poland whom participated in the European Values Study (EVS) (2022) were used (N=3,690). The items of the EVS about life satisfaction and work ethic were used to analyze the relationship. Results showed that there is a relationship between culture and life satisfaction, showing that people in the Netherlands are more satisfied with life than people in Poland. Besides, results showed a partial mediation effect of work ethic in this relationship. People in Poland have a higher work ethic than people in the Netherlands and this positively influences their life satisfaction. It can be concluded that for people in Poland work is more important and it contributes to their life satisfaction, but nevertheless people in the Netherlands have a higher life satisfaction after all. This indicates that there are other influential factors for people in the Netherlands that explains the difference in life satisfaction. So, there seems to be differences across cultures in factors contributing to life satisfaction. However, due to the measurement of the concepts culture and work ethic the results should be interpreted with some caution. To further investigate this relationship it is recommended to replicate this study and improve the measurements used.

Background: Due to the ageing population, increasing care demands, and personnel shortages, eHealth questionnaire and chat tools are increasingly used in primary care. However, there is limited research on the impact of these tools on behaviour of healthcare professionals (HCPs). Objective: This study aimed to examine the impacts of eHealth questionnaire and chat tools on the behaviour of primary care HCPs compared to traditional phone or in-person consultations. Methods: This qualitative study involved eight semi-structured interviews at two general practices in the Netherlands with assistants, general practitioners, and a clinical nurse specialist. Interviews were transcribed verbatim using a digital tool and analysed using Thematic Analysis and the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation – Behaviour (COM-B) model, which explains behaviour through three conditions: capability, opportunity, and motivation. Additionally, fifty eHealth chat conversations between an assistant and patient were observed. Results: The environmental context and work tasks (physical opportunities) are enhanced by the questionnaires and photos, enabling safer and more complete evaluations, potentially saving patients visits. This positively influences beliefs in quality care provision (reflective motivations) as HCPs are motivated by providing quality care, which in turn boosts job-satisfaction (automatic motivations). However, the lack of integration between different digital systems negatively affects physical opportunities and work efficiency (capabilities). Assessing eHealth's enhancement of capabilities was challenging due to varied outcomes and differing views on whether task-switching and typing versus speaking are beneficial. The evolving communication dynamic between HCPs and patients has altered HCP’s role (social opportunities), resulting in less personal and more distant interactions. Which negatively impacts job-satisfaction as HCPs express concerns over reduced personal, non-digit

Subjective-wellbeing (SWB) levels in Amsterdam are declining more rapidly than nationally, which has been associated to the high population of people with a migration background in Amsterdam, as this group on average has a lower SWB. SWB is also strongly effected by employment status. Therefore this study focuses on the effect of social assistance receipt compared to income through employment and the moderating role of migration background on SWB in Amsterdam. Utilizing data from the ‘Staat van de Stad 2022’ survey of O&S (research department of the municipality of Amsterdam) this study performed logistic regression analyses to examine these relationships with N = 2,345. The results suggest that the SWB of social assistance recipients is significantly lower than of respondents that have income through employment. Additionally, this relationship is moderated by migration background, with first-generation migrants showing lower odds of low SWB compared to respondents without a migration background and second-generation migrants in social assistance. Methodologically, the strengths of the research include the stratified and weighted sample that ensures the representativeness of the Amsterdam population of the sample. This study's main limitations are the inability to verify the representativeness of the sample due to lack of CBS data access, categorizing SWB as a dichotomous variable and the reliance on a single overall happiness question to measure SWB. The insights from this study can inform policies that are aimed at improving SWB of Amsterdam citizens about SWB disparities in Amsterdam. Future research should explore distinctions in country or areas of origin of migration backgrounds and perform in-depth qualitative research to learn more about how citizens experience their wellbeing and how the relationship between social assistance receipt, migration background and SWB is embedded.

Background: This study investigates the impact of digital health literacy on the relationship between eHealth usage and perceived health status among individuals aged 65 and older in Europe. The aging population, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020), presents both challenges and opportunities for healthcare systems globally. The increasing adoption of eHealth technologies highlights the need to understand how digital health literacy influences health outcomes in this demographic. Research Question: To what extent does digital health literacy influence the relationship between eHealth usage and perceived health status, both as a mediator and as a moderator within the elderly population? Methods: The research utilizes a cross-sectional survey design with data from the Flash Eurobarometer 404 (European Citizens' Digital Health Literacy) survey. The study employs the PROCESS macro for mediation and moderation analyses, controlling for age and gender. Results: The findings reveal a slight negative direct association between eHealth usage and perceived health status, indicating that increased eHealth usage alone does not improve perceived health outcomes. However, digital health literacy significantly mediates this relationship, showing that higher digital health literacy enhances perceived health outcomes. Conclusions: The study concludes that improving digital health literacy is crucial for optimizing the benefits of eHealth interventions among the elderly. These results advocate for targeted educational and policy measures to support elderly individuals in effectively navigating digital healthcare landscapes, ultimately enhancing their health outcomes.

In this paper, we examine the role of Dutch identity and home country identity in the chances of being employed for refugees in the Netherlands. Numerous refugees in the Netherlands are currently facing challenges with securing their employment. This research sheds a new light on possible factors that influence employment among refuees, since the specific relation between host country identity and employment and the enhancing effect of home country identity has not yet been thoroughly researched. The following research questions have been asked: ‘To what extent does the strength of the Dutch identity of refugees influence the chances of being employed in the Netherlands?’ and ‘To what extent does the strength of home-country identity reinforce the effect of Dutch identity on the chances of being employed in the Netherlands?’. Using several theories originating from the sociological and psychological field, we studied whether Dutch identity could increase the chances of being employed by enhancing motivation, resilience, social inclusion, and access to opportunities. Furthermore, we investigated whether home country identity increases the effect of Dutch identity on chances of being employed, by enhancing the well-being and employment prospects of a refugee. To do so, the SIM 2020 (Survey Integration Minorities) is used, which aims to present the current state of minority group integration in the Netherlands, including responses from various minority groups and native groups (N=224). After performing binary logistic regression analysis, we could conclude that a stronger Dutch identity enlarges the chances of being employed for refugees in the Netherlands and that home country identity increases this effect. Furthermore, belonging to an older agegroup decreases the effects of Dutch identity and home country identity. Conclusively, stimulating both attaining Dutch identity while maintaining one’s home country identity is important for increasing refugees’ chances on be

All youth deserve the chance to take advantage of their rights. However, youth with a disability often experience poverty and socioeconomic exclusion, especially in low-income countries such as Kenya and Rwanda. The Liliane Foundation’s livelihood-centred initiative called the Work and Respect Project aims to teach youth living with a disability the skills and a trade to gain a livelihood and to make their community more understanding and inclusive of disability needs. This study used Pawson and Tilley’s (2004) Realist Evaluation to investigate how the intervention would interact with Kenya and Rwanda’s context, mechanisms, and proposed outcomes. Therefore, this study poses the following research question: Does the Work and Respect Project produce the desired outcome of livelihood improvement among youth with disability and disability inclusivity in Kenya and Rwanda? Further, do they change the existing mechanisms to do so? This study called for a content analysis of qualitative data in the form of reports, information sheets, letters, and qualitative monitoring and evaluation data collected by the LF. This thesis used a coding technique to answer the research questions. Codes were predefined and stemmed from concepts from RE, namely context, mechanisms, and outcomes. After this, the second coding round was inductive thematic coding from the first rounds of coding. The analysis used three predetermined codes and produced twelve thematic codes. Both societies exclude youth with disabilities, specifically socio-economically and educationally, primarily due to negative cultural perceptions of PWD. The activities implemented by the Work and Respect Project aimed to change these perceptions but differed specifically to fit in the context towards inclusive societies and empower the youth. After applying realist evaluation, the program theory concludes that the Work and Respect Project can change the context and influence mechanisms to create better, more inclusive societi

Introduction: It is important to understand the potential positive and negative consequences of COVID-19 measures. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of changes in informal childcare time on parents' well-being, with a focus on gender. It was hypothesized that increased childcare time would negatively impact mental health, moderated by gender. Methods: This study merged three datasets from the LISS panel, encompassing comprehensive information on childcare time, mental health, gender, and other relevant factors. Data were analyzed with multiple linear regression and the PROCESS tool. Results: Contrary to expectations, changes in childcare time did not significantly influence parents' mental health. Gender did not moderate the relationship between childcare time and mental health. However, parents' mental health in 2019 appeared to influence their mental well-being in 2020, indicating pre-existing conditions were important during the pandemic. Discussion: The study revealed that mothers increased their time in childcare more than fathers, aligning with previous research. However, contrary to expectations, these changes in childcare time did not significantly influence parents' mental health. Moreover, gender did not moderate the relationship between childcare time and mental health as hypothesized. Notably, the study demonstrated that parents' mental health prior to the pandemic significantly influenced their mental health during the lockdown. This finding emphasizes the importance of considering pre-existing mental health conditions when addressing the well-being of parents during crisis situations. Conclusion: Overall, this study adds valuable insights to the existing literature, challenging preconceived notions about the relationship between childcare, gender, and mental health. By considering the complexities of these factors, policymakers can create informed policies that prioritize the mental health of parents and promote a more equi

The rise of non-standard jobs in Europe is believed to subject a growing amount of employees to increasing job and social insecurity, which in turn can harm their health. The European Union addresses this issue through adult education programs, but their overall effectiveness remains uncertain. This research examined the impact of labour market flexibility, in the form of the proportion of temporary employment and employment protection, on cognitive and affective perceived job insecurity. It also investigated whether adult education participation (AEP) moderates this relationship. Utilising a cross-country multilevel regression analysis with data from 16 European Member states (N =9226), it was found that a higher proportion of temporary employment predicts higher cognitive perceived job insecurity, but did not predict higher affective perceived job insecurity. Employment protection did not predict either form of perceived job insecurity. No evidence of moderation through AEP was found, although AEP independently predicted lower cognitive and affective perceived job insecurity. This aligns with existing literature suggesting a Matthew's effect in adult learning programmes and questioning its current ability to protect vulnerable employees on the labour market. It is recommended to improve data collection on the topic, do further research on the relationship between both cognitive and affective perceived job insecurity and employee health, and investigate what barriers vulnerable people on the labour market experience in participating in adult education and how they can be motivated and enabled to do so. With this additional research, policy-making can be informed in order to achieve labour markets that can maintain flexible while also offering sufficient protection against social insecurity to their employees, ultimately leading to improved health outcomes.

This quantitative study aimed to investigate (1) the impact of marital status on individuals' self- assessed health in the Netherlands and (2) whether there are gender differences in this relationship. Additionally, the study explored the potential role of (3) educational attainment and (4) labour-force participation in explaining potential gender differences. Data, “ESS round 10 - 2020. Democracy, Digital social contacts”, from 1470 Dutch citizens collected through face-to- face interviews were analyzed using multiple regression. The findings indicate (1) that being married or in a registered partnership does not influence self-assessed health, and (2) there is no difference between men and women in terms of marital status and self-assessed health. Furthermore, (3) educational attainment and (4) labour-force participation cannot provide an indication of any explanation for the difference between men and women in the association between marital status and self-assessed health because no gender difference was discovered. However, after controlling for the impact of labour-force participation, the results show that marital status does have an impact on self-assessed health. Further research is suggested for understanding the impact of paid employment within this relationship.

The COVID-19 pandemic raises important challenges for solidarity and social justice. Not all social groups are equally affected by the COVID-19 virus, or the measures taken to curb its’ spread. In this chapter, we discuss how social groups differ in the risks they face during the pandemic and outline the most important factors that contribute to these inequalities. Notably, socio-economically disadvantaged groups run higher risks of contracting the virus and are, on average, more negatively impacted by COVID-19 counter measures. Subsequently, we introduce two important societal challenges posed by the pandemic – intergenerational and global solidarity respectively – and discuss the social justice questions these challenges evoke. How societies rise to these new challenges for solidarity and social justice will be crucial for our future.

Background: Many studies have researched the incidence of overqualification of immigrants in comparison with natives, but only a few focus on the differences between immigrant groups.Overqualification between immigrant groups is important to research because immigrants are not a homogenous group and they differ in characteristics. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the different explanatory theories: transferability of human capital, adaptation process, abilities and discrimination between immigrant groups on the incidence of overqualification. Methods: Survey data from the Survey Integratie Minderheden (SIM) was used for this study (N =935) . Binary logistic regression models were created to examine the association between immigrant group and the interactions of immigrant group with years spent on the Dutch labour market, Dutch language abilities and discrimination with the likelihood of not being correctly matched to their job, being overqualified, being underqualified and being educated for something else. Results: The results show that the main effect of immigrant group and the interaction of immigrant group with years spent on the Dutch labour market and with Dutch reading abilities on the likelihood of overqualification are not significant. The interaction of immigrant group with Dutch speaking (Wald=15.234, df=4, p=.004) and writing abilities (Wald=15.239, df=4, p=.004) and with discrimination (Wald=23.474, df=4, p<.001) on the likelihood of overqualification is significant. Conclusion: The incidence of overqualification for immigrant groups is affected by Dutch speaking and writing abilities and by discrimination. Further research is recommended to investigate these significances with a better fit database.

Introduction: This study sheds light on the relationship between the online exposure to photos and videos and the impact on adolescent boys' body image. The concept body image is investigated, as there is uncertainty in existing literature. The results of this study are compared to that of adolescent girls, as gender is recognized as an important factor in body image development (Muth & Cash, 2006). Methods: The data used for this study comes from the longitudinal DiYo project. The sample for this study consisted of 1,886 participants. The data obtained were analyzed through a quantitative research method. Results: Duration of Instagram and Snapchat use was found to be a significant negative predictor on adolescent boys' thoughts about their bodies. Furthermore, duration of Instagram and Snapchat use was not found to be a significant predictor of how adolescent boys felt about their bodies. Additionally, adolescent boys' thoughts and feelings about body image were found to be significantly related. Finally, regardless of whether you are an adolescent boy, or an adolescent girl was found to have an impact on the relationship between the duration of Instagram and Snapchat use and how adolescents think and feel about their bodies. Conclusion: The influence of using Snapchat and Instagram is negative, but weak, when it comes to adolescent boys' body image. Given the weak influence, in further research it would be interesting to see what other external factors can influence a negative body image of adolescent boys. Regardless of whether you are an adolescent boy or girl, the relationship between the use of Snapchat and Instagram and the body image of adolescent boys and girls remains weak. Based on this weak relationship, further research is recommended.

Introduction: Education stimulates social mobility from students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. In contemporary society, due to social policies, people are given the opportunity to follow an education, which is less determined by someone’s socioeconomic background. As a result, more and more people are highly educated, leading into an opportunity trap (Fishman, Ludgate & Tutak, 2017). As a consequence, it remains unanswered whether education is a means of stimulating social mobility. In this study, the contribution of education on the change of someone’s socioeconomic status (SES) will be examined. Bourdieu’s concepts of capital (i.e., cultural, social and economic) will be used as an indication of SES. Resulting in the following question: To what extent does education contribute to the differences in obtaining future cultural, social and economic capital? Methods: The data used for this study comes from the LISS panel and the sample for this study consisted of 261 participants. A quantitative research method is used to analyse the data. Results: It is indicated that education does not show an interaction effect on the relationship of relative change from someone’s starting capital towards someone’s ending capital. Starting capital, however, does show a significant result in the relative increase of that capital. Discussion: Although, no effects of education on capital change were found, this study did show that your starting capital is an important factor in capital development. It appears that when you start with relatively more capital, you also end up with relatively more capital compared to others. This research has shown that there are mutual differences in the possession of capital and that these differences continue to exist later on. This applies for social and economic capital, but not for cultural capital.

Little is known about the inclusion of migrants with disabilities in society and it has been acknowledged that this group is currently at risk of not obtaining the necessary assistance in the receiving country. Considering the relevance of the education system in enhancing inclusion in society, this research addressed this gap by focusing on migrant parents’ access to preschool services for their children with disabilities in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Data are collected by conducting qualitative interviews in 2021 with four parents residing in Arnhem as well as twelve professionals employed in Arnhem in enabling and supporting parents’ access to the concerned services. Based on theoretical exploration, the interviews focused on the factors that expectantly influenced parents’ access to preschool services. Parents appeared to experience several hurdles in accessing the concerned services, on the micro-, meso- and macro-level of influence. This referred to hurdles related to finances as well as language proficiency, limited social networks, cultural disparities and difficulties of navigating new systems. In the interrelatedness of these barriers, limited skills in the receiving country’s language appeared to be the foundation of the difficulties, which seemed to negatively influence parents’ information position and the extent of their social networks. This, in turn, determined in conjunction with the nature of parents’ social networks – the potential possession of negative social capital as well as the educational level of their ties – and norms about addressing disabilities parents’ access to preschool services for their children with disabilities.

Background: In 2015 the procurement of services in the social support act became the responsibility of the Dutch municipalities. New mechanisms were introduced, like client level competition and, dialogue in the procurement. The influence of these mechanisms on the number and size of suppliers, contract duration, client satisfaction and how these are interrelated is researched. Methods: Quantitative data from all municipalities (n = 253) is used and data from ten specific municipalities (n= 10). First, the larger sample is analysed using quantitative methods followed by cluster analysis for the ten specific municipalities. Results: The results show that client satisfaction increased between 2020 and 2017. Next, dialogue-based procurement leads to longer contracts and higher client satisfaction and the number of suppliers has increased while their size has decreased. The cluster analysis indicates that this effect is strongest in smaller municipalities with shorter contract duration. In the larger municipalities, only the number of suppliers grew. Discussion: The results and literature show that a dialogue-based method leads to longer contracts and better quality of care. The client satisfaction increased between 2017 and 2020. This was unexpected but, larger municipalities had a higher score than smaller ones, which is in line with the literature. Finally, client level competition caused a large increase in the number of suppliers and a decrease in size which is also related to the size of the municipality and contract duration. Conclusions: If municipalities take the size of their municipality into account and work together with suppliers this leads to longer contract duration and higher client satisfaction. The shift in the number and size of the suppliers also shows the opportunities municipalities have to control the supply of services. This could have an impact on the quality of care and administrative load for municipalities.

Although interprofessional practice or ‘integrated care’ is seen as a priority for health care and social care professionals, there are still a great many barriers that hamper the success of interprofessional collaboration. The present research assessed the extent to which local interprofessional practice around the facilitation of informal care was influenced by three ‘relational factors’ (clarity about professional roles, shared goals, and effective communication) and by two structural characteristics of the collaboration (formality of the collaboration and the specific professions included). These conditions are empirically related to outcomes of interprofessional collaboration. Existing data were analysed, collected by two Dutch Knowledge centres with expertise in Long Term Care (Vilans) and Social Care (Movisie) to evaluate their joint Programme ‘In for Informal Care’ which aims to improve local collaboration around informal care. Data consisted of 20 evaluative interviews and surveys among 180 health care and social care professionals who participated in the programme. The analysis confirms the importance of the three relational factors for collaboration around informal care. Currently, these three conditions are not fully met, and activities of the participants were aimed at meeting these necessary conditions. In addition, no formal collaboration exists between relevant professionals and coordination of activities is often challenging. Coordination is influenced by relational factors as well as the structural characteristics of the collaboration. The results provide insight into the necessary conditions for successful collaboration and into some important facilitators and barriers. Deliberate action of municipalities and organizations in Health and Social care is needed to explicate and negotiate professional roles and shared aims among professionals, to discuss any threats to professional identity imposed by the new demands, to create the condition

Background: Many theories found a link between stress or exhaustion from work/care responsibilities and burnout, especially for mothers with (young) children. As women are increasingly expected to combine labor market participation with family care responsibilities, so-called “double shift” working is becoming the new standard. Research on accumulation of time spend on work/care (WCTA) is scarce, and so is the evidence on the direct link between WCTA and Maternal Burnout (MB). As Family-Friendly Policies (FFPs) are believed to lower stress-levels as a result of e.g., flexible work-time arrangements, it is interesting to investigate the link between WCTA and MB, and the possible moderating role of FFPs. Methods: Several existing datasets were used to investigate the various concepts (Roskam et al., 2017; OECD.Stats, n.d.). A sample of 4760 working mothers in a heterosexual relationship from 18 OECD countries (Mage = 37.71 SDage = 6.92) answered questions on time spend on work/care and parental burnout between 2017 and 2019. Several models were tested with SPSS using (multiple) linear regression analysis (MLR). Results: Results showed that WCTA and MB, and most of its components, were positively and significantly related, except for Emotional Distancing, which was negatively and significantly related (H1-2). Also, no evidence was found for moderation of FFPs (H3-4). When distinguishing between policy types, the model including familiarizing policies was significant and explained more variance in MB than the model including defamiliarizing policies. However, moderation effects were not significant (H5). Discussion: The results of this study are surprising as state provided FFPs seem unable to decrease burnout levels for mothers that are experience high combined work and care hours, although such FFPs are implemented to establish a balance between the two domains. More emphasis may therefore be put on employer benefits and arrangements in tackling future rates of burnou

This study aims to summarize the causes and mechanisms of Roma educational segregation in Hungary. Several European countries face similar challenges, but Hungary, according to estimates, has the largest Roma population in relation to its total population, making it a good example. Based on the case study, a systematic review was conducted on the given social issue from the time of the regime change to the present. According to this study, the reasons for the segregation of Roma pupils in the Hungarian educational system are primarily related to the characteristics of the Hungarian educational setting and its high level of social selectivity. Pressure to separate from schools, performance gaps between students from different backgrounds, and fragmented school networks drive social selection in the Hungarian education system. Social selection is also influenced by governance failures, parental aspirations, and too many formal selection points. To eradicate this phenomenon, policy recommendations would include rationalizing the school network and implementing accountability mechanisms.

Citizenship was the main vehicle through which urban authorities granted political and economic rights to their communities. This article estimates the size of the citizenry and citizenship rates for over 30 European towns and cities between 1550 and 1849. While the extent of citizenship varied between European regions and by city size, our estimates show that citizenship was more accessible than previously thought.

D2.1. provides further elaboration of the original research design and informs about ideas for the final Volume II of bEUcitizen. It is closely connected to task 1 of work package 2: specifying various concrete tasks for the different work packages and formulating overarching questions suitable to provide substantive cohesion and integration of the overall project. The elaboration of 10 crosscutting topics (to become chapters in the “horizontal” book, D2.3.) is a first step towards this goal. Discussing these cross-cutting topics is supposed to feed, infuse and inspire the work done in the different work packages and to build cross-cutting connections between them. Themes 1-10 merge into a valuable overview of the multi-faceted research on (EU) citizenship. They access the main issues of EU-citizenship and citizenship in general from different angles and different disciplines. Taken together these contributions help to identify barriers towards EU citizenship and ways to overcome them. Each Theme formulates questions how it might feed and be fed by further information and findings in the other work packages. D2.1. is mainly meant for internal use. Its functions are firstly to inform about preliminary ideas, eventual contributions to planned final results and secondly to make out some more of less specific guiding questions that connect the work done by the single researchers in every different work package to the project as a whole. This task implies a normative yardstick, a clear picture of what would be a "good" EU citizenship practice. Elaborating on such a normative yardstick is a meta-topic that cuts across the range of cross-cutting topics presented in this working paper.

Goal and Method: This study centers on full time employed informal caregivers. A Directed Content Analysis (DCA) is studied to ascertain the roles that awareness and/or self-identification as caregiver and work related care arrangements have in the manageability of combining work and care. Light is shed on the Role Theory, which states that combining differing roles, such as work and care will either lead to role strain or role accumulation. Furthermore, the relatively new caregiver identity theory is highlighted, which states that role incongruence causes stress. Furthermore the influence of the supervisor, the workplace culture and support from the personal network of the caregivers is considered. To do so, both informal caregivers and their supervisor are interviewed. In total twelve informal caregivers, five supervisors and two human resources managers were interviewed. Results: Role awareness is not a necessary condition for managing work and care as long as care provision is accepted as part of being a parent/partner/child. Informal caregivers that do not self-identify as a caregiver and those who do both experience role strain. In addition role accumulation is experienced by both groups. Role incongruence is experienced when caregivers are not comfortable with their care tasks or when their role as caregiver and partner/parent/child are in conflict. Most caregivers that participated in this research are not aware of their role and the work related care arrangements that are available in the workplace, though this is compensated by the awareness of their supervisors. The supervisors are aware of the presence of informal caregivers in the workplace and the possible problems they could run into. Their inviting and outreaching attitude ensures that informal caregivers are offered what they need in the workplace. Other important sources of support are colleagues, psychological support and services by professionals and organizations.

Over het bevorderen van de participatie van inwoners en sociale cohesie wordt de laatste jaren in zowel het maatschappelijke als wetenschappelijke debat veelvuldig gesproken. Enerzijds zou participatie van inwoners leiden tot meer sociale cohesie. Anderzijds zou sociale cohesie bijdragen aan het bevorderen van participatie. De beperkte hoeveelheid onderzoek naar het verband tussen participatie en sociale cohesie en de nieuwe maatschappelijke context waarin veel nadruk ligt op participatie van burgers maken het van belang om hier onderzoek naar te doen. Het doel van dit onderzoek was antwoord geven op de vraag of er een verband is en wat de richting hiervan is tussen economische-, beleids- en maatschappelijke participatie en sociale cohesie. Dit onderzoek is gedaan met een mixed-method methode. De hypothesen zijn getoetst met een point-biserial correlatie toets. Hieruit blijkt dat er alleen een verband is tussen maatschappelijke participatie en sociale cohesie (n= 169). De richting van dit verband is getracht te achterhalen met een focusgroep. Uit deze focusgroep blijkt dat maatschappelijke participatie ervoor zorgt dat mensen bewuster zijn van het gedrag van anderen. Het lijkt daarnaast zo te zijn dat sociale netwerken, sociale solidariteit en plaatsgebondenheid motiverende factoren zijn om maatschappelijk te participeren. Er zijn aanwijzingen dat er een virtueuze cirkel is tussen maatschappelijke participatie en sociale netwerken. Mensen gaan participeren dóór hun sociale netwerken, leren hierdoor meer mensen kennen waardoor ze meer gaan participeren. Een aanbeveling voor vervolgonderzoek is om onderzoek te doen naar het minimum aan sociale cohesie wat nodig is om participatie te stimuleren.

In het domein van zorg en ondersteuning zullen door bezuinigingen, de participatiegedachte en een groter beroep op de informele zorg, rollen van professionals, vrijwilligers en mantelzorgers veranderen en zal de samenwerking tussen de verschillende actoren worden beïnvloed. In dit kwalitatieve onderzoek is gekeken naar de invloed van veranderingen in samenwerking op machtsverhoudingen tussen formele en informele zorgverleners. Hierbij ligt de focus op professionals vanuit sociale wijkteams. De betaalbaarheid van de zorg en beschikbare tijd van de professionals, zijn belangrijke factoren die de verhoudingen tussen professional en informele zorgverlener beïnvloeden. Dit heeft onder andere invloed op de afhankelijkheidsrelatie en op hoe mantelzorgers en vrijwilligers samenwerking ervaren. Om machtsverhoudingen niet problematisch te laten zijn, is contact maken, erkenning, waardering, maar ook het loslaten en de ander toelaten van belang voor professionals.

This article aims to understand the evolution of health care governance in the Dutch hospital and home care sector. We pay particular attention to how institutionalized governance structures shape policy reform. Professionally-dominated governance structures are likely to continue to exist to some degree, even when new policy measures seek to introduce hierarchical control or market mechanisms in order to restrict professional autonomy. In contrast to the home care profession, the dominance of the medical profession with its high corporate power has been institutionalized into the governance structure, constraining actors’ choices in ways that only permit incremental changes in hospital care.