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Presentation at the 6th European Conference for Social Work Research (ECSWR) 2016. As of September 2013, the Research Group Applied Research Methodology at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht helps researchers to optimise their research methods for practice-oriented research. This presentation introduces the main elements of a PhD study on methodology in the field of Social Work by one of the research group members. The preliminary results of another PhD study are presented as an example on how to involve citizens, in particular vulnerable target groups in a SW-research design (Wilma Numans: science practitioner at Tranzo/Tilburg University - The Academic Collaborative Center Social Work). After a general introduction of the research outlines, all participants will be invited to share ideas and engage in a plenary discussion regarding the context, purpose and methods of the intended study.

Presentation at the 6th European Conference for Social Work Research (ECSWR) 2016. As of September 2013, the Research Group Applied Research Methodology at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht helps researchers to optimise their research methods for practice-oriented research. This presentation introduces the main elements of a PhD study on methodology in the field of Social Work by one of the research group members. The preliminary results of another PhD study are presented as an example on how to involve citizens, in particular vulnerable target groups in a SW-research design (Wilma Numans: science practitioner at Tranzo/Tilburg University - The Academic Collaborative Center Social Work). After a general introduction of the research outlines, all participants will be invited to share ideas and engage in a plenary discussion regarding the context, purpose and methods of the intended study.

Falls are a major health problem in nursing home residents with dementia. In nursing homes one-third of all falls results in an injury. In order to take tailor-made preventive measures in time, the fall risk profile of each individual nursing home resident should be periodically evaluated. A systematic evaluation of fall risk should include an assessment of major contributing components, including an assessment of balance and gait, and the use of psychotropic drugs. The purpose of this study was a) to evaluate the feasibility and predictive validity of different assessment methods for balance and gait impairments in a population of nursing home residents with dementia with a specific view to predicting falls in the short term, i.e., three months, and b) to quantify the additive contribution of psychotropic drugs to fall risk in nursing home residents with dementia. Part one of this thesis describes how ambulatory nursing home residents with moderate to severe dementia participated in a prospective cohort study. This study showed that gait velocity is a feasible and valid predictor of a fall within three months. In part two of this thesis the additive contribution of psychotropic drugs to fall risk in nursing home residents with dementia is quantified. Daily drug use and daily falls were recorded over a two-year period. Fall risk increased already at low dosages of psychotropics; it increased further with dose increments, and with combinations of these drugs. There also was a significant dose-response relationship between the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the risk of an injurious fall. The risk increased further with the use of a SSRI in combination with a hypnotic or sedative. New treatment protocols might be needed that take into account the dose-response relationship between psychotropics and falls, and between SSRIs and injurious falls.