Expectations and needs of patients with esophageal cancer during curative treatment regarding self-management, self-management support and eHealth: a qualitative study.

Purpose: Self-management is an essential component of the curative treatment trajectory of esophageal cancer patients. The aims of this study were to explore expectations and needs of esophageal cancer patients during curative treatment regarding self-management, relevant aspects of self-management in which they need additional support, and to explore their willingness to use eHealth.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with esophageal cancer patients, who had been treated with neoadjuvant chemo(radio)therapy followed by surgery, maximally 1 year after surgery.

Worry as Important "Feelers" in Clinical Anesthesia Practice: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Purpose: Worry is an intuitive sense that goes beyond logical reasoning and is valuable in situations where patients' conditions are rapidly changing or when objective data may not fully capture the complexity of a patient's situation. Nurse anesthetists' subjective reasons for worry are quite vague as they are valued inconsistently and not accurately expressed. This study aimed to identify factors playing a role in the emergence of worry during anesthesia practice to clarify its concept.

The impact of the catheter to vein ratio on peripheral intravenous cannulation success, a post-hoc analyses.

Background: Intravenous cannulation is usually the first procedure performed in modern healthcare, although establishing peripheral intravenous access is challenging in some patients. The impact of the ratio between venous diameter and the size of the inserted catheter (catheter to vein ratio, CVR) on the first attempt success rate can be of added value in clinical. This study tries to give insight into the consideration that must be made when selecting the target vein and the type of catheter, and proved the null hypothesis that an optimal CVR would not be associated with increased first attempt cannulation success.

The Modified A-DIVA Scale as a Predictive Tool for Prospective Identification of Adult Patients at Risk of a Difficult Intravenous Access: A Multicenter Validation Study.

Peripheral intravenous cannulation is the most common invasive hospital procedure but is associated with a high failure rate. This study aimed to improve the A-DIVA scale (Adult Difficult Intra Venous Access Scale) by external validation, to predict the likelihood of difficult intravenous access in adults. This multicenter study was carried out throughout five hospitals in the Netherlands.

Is it economically viable to employ the nurse practitioner in general practice?

Aims: This article provides insight into the potential economic viability of nurse practitioner employment in Dutch general practices.

Background: General practitioners face the challenging task of finding the most efficient and effective mix of professionals in general practice to accommodate future care demands within scarce health care budgets. To enable informed decision-making about skill mix issues, economic information is needed.

The value of nurse practitioners in Dutch general practices.

Background: Healthcare systems are faced with a changing and increasing demand for care. Against the background of the need to increase service capacity and to improve access to primary care, a project was initiated to introduce the nurse practitioner (NP) role into Dutch general practices.

Objective: To explore the value of the NP by describing NP roles and their concordance with the initial concepts of the NP training programme.

Economic evaluation of nurse practitioners versus GPs in treating common conditions.

Background: As studies evaluating substitution of care have revealed only limited evidence on cost-effectiveness, a trial was conducted to evaluate nurse practitioners as a first point of contact in Dutch general practices.

Aim: To estimate costs of GP versus nurse practitioner consultations from practice and societal perspectives.

Design Of Study: An economic evaluation was conducted alongside a randomised controlled trial between May and October 2006, wherein 12 nurse practitioners and 50 GPs working in 15 general practices (study practices) participated.

Nurse practitioners substituting for general practitioners: randomized controlled trial.

Aim: This paper is a report of a study conducted to evaluate process and outcomes of care provided to patients with common complaints by general practitioners or specially trained nurse practitioners as first point of contact.

Background: Studies in the United States of America and Great Britain show that substituting nurse practitioners for general practitioners results in higher patient satisfaction and higher quality of care. As the American and British healthcare system and settings differ from that in The Netherlands, a Dutch trial was conducted.

Critical appraisal of the literature on economic evaluations of substitution of skills between professionals: a systematic literature review.

Objective: Substitution of skills has been introduced to increase health service efficiency, but little evidence is available about its cost-effectiveness. This systematic review aims to identify economic evaluations of substitution between professionals, to assess the quality of the study methods applied and to value the results for decision making.

Methods: Publications between January 1996 and November 2006 were searched in Medline, Cochrane, Cinahl, database of Health Technology Assessments, EPOC and Embase.