Using storytelling methodology to identify barriers and facilitators of sustained physical activity in patients with a chronic disease: a qualitative study.

Objectives: To identify implicit and more profound barriers and facilitators and involving context elements to accomplish sustained physical activity (PA) in patients with a chronic disease. Understanding these barriers and facilitators may help develop future strategies to be used by healthcare professionals in primary care to support patients with a chronic disease to reach sustained PA.

Design And Methods: The qualitative, narrative research method storytelling was applied.

Effectiveness of a nationwide intervention to increase helmet use in Dutch skiers and snowboarders: an observational cohort study.

Objective: Helmet use in Dutch recreational skiers and snowboarders (DRSS) remains low. This study evaluated the effects of exposure to a nationwide intervention on relevant determinants of helmet use and helmet use in DRSS.

Methods: The intervention mapping protocol was used to develop an in-season intervention programme targeted at adult DRSS.

Effects of a lifestyle program in subjects with Impaired Fasting Glucose, a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background: The worldwide epidemic of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) underlines the need for diabetes prevention strategies. In this study the feasibility and effectiveness of a nurse led lifestyle program for subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is assessed.

Methods: A cluster randomized clinical trial in 26 primary care practices in the Netherlands included 366 participants older than 45 years with newly diagnosed IFG and motivated to change their lifestyle (intervention group, n = 197; usual care group, n = 169).

Mastery and perceived autonomy support are correlates of Dutch diabetes patients' self-management and quality of life.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the associations between type 2 diabetes patients' mastery and perceived autonomy support and their self-management skills and health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 3352 patients with type 2 diabetes. Key variables were assessed with validated questionnaires.

A cluster-randomized controlled trial to study the effectiveness of a protocol-based lifestyle program to prevent type 2 diabetes in people with impaired fasting glucose.

Background: Effective diabetes prevention strategies that can be implemented in daily practice, without huge amounts of money and a lot of personnel are needed. The Dutch Diabetes Federation developed a protocol for coaching people with impaired fasting glucose (IFG; according to WHO criteria: 6.1 to 6.

The effectiveness of a perinatal education programme on smoking, infant care, and psychosocial health for ethnic Turkish women.

Objective: antenatal programmes might be effective in preventing unhealthy lifestyles, poor maternal infant care practices, and poor psychosocial health in ethnic minority women, but there are few evidence-based interventions. For this reason an antenatal education programme, called 'Happy Mothers, Happy Babies' (HMHB) was systematically designed for ethnic Turkish women in the Netherlands.

Design: in a non-randomised trial Turkish women attending HMHB (HMHB group) were compared with those receiving care as usual (control group).

Process evaluation of a multiple risk factor perinatal programme for a hard-to-reach minority group.

Aim: This article is a report of an evaluation of a multiple risk factor perinatal programme tailored to ethnic Turkish women in the Netherlands.

Background: The programme was directed at multiple risk factors and aimed at improving maternal lifestyle, infant care practices and psychosocial health during pregnancy and after delivery. The programme was carried out by ethnic Turkish community health workers in collaboration with midwives and physiotherapists.

Maternal depressive symptoms in relation to perinatal mortality and morbidity: results from a large multiethnic cohort study.

Objective: To explore whether 1) maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy are associated with preterm birth (PTB), small for gestational age (SGA), a low Apgar score and child loss; 2) maternal smoking mediates the associations; and 3) the associations differ by ethnic background.

Methods: Pregnant women in Amsterdam were approached during their first prenatal visit to participate in the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study. They filled out a questionnaire covering sociodemographic data, life-style, and (psychosocial) health.

Acculturation and use of health care services by Turkish and Moroccan migrants: a cross-sectional population-based study.

Background: There is insufficient empirical evidence which shows if and how there is an interrelation between acculturation and health care utilisation. The present study seeks to establish this evidence within first generation Turkish and Moroccan migrants, two of the largest migrant groups in present-day Western Europe.

Methods: Data were derived from the Amsterdam Health Monitor 2004, and were complete for 358 Turkish and 288 Moroccan foreign-born migrants.

Ethnic health care advisors: a good strategy to improve the access to health care and social welfare services for ethnic minorities?

Empirical studies indicate that ethnic minorities have limited access to health care and welfare services compared with the host population. To improve this access, ethnic health care (HC) advisors were introduced in four districts in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. HC advisors work for all health care and welfare services and their main task is to provide information on health care and welfare to individuals and groups and refer individuals to services.

Disease control in general practice patients with asthma.

Objectives: To examine asthma control in conjunction with medication use in asthma patients from general practice. To determine features of patients with inadequately controlled asthma.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among 661 adult asthma patients recruited from general practice.

Severity distribution of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Dutch general practice.

The actual burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in terms of health care use and costs strongly depends on the distribution of disease severity. For the Netherlands, the distribution of diagnosed COPD was estimated by classifying all patients with a physician diagnosis of COPD from two different sources of general practitioners (GP)-data into mild (27%), moderate (55%), severe (15%) or very severe COPD (3%) based on their post-bronchodilator FEV1% predicted, according to the GOLD-guidelines. This distribution will most likely shift to the less severe stages when under-reporting and under-diagnosis are reduced.

Effectiveness of an education programme by a general practice assistant for asthma and COPD patients: results from a randomised controlled trial.

In this study a randomised controlled trial was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of an education programme for patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). All asthma and COPD patients using medication and experiencing pulmonary symptoms were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=139) or usual-care group (n=137). The intervention consisted of taylor-made education conducted by a general practice assistant and focussing on a patients' technical skills and coping with the disease.

Gender differences in health-related quality of life among asthma patients.

Objective: To identify and explain differences between men and women with asthma regarding health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among 967 asthma patients recruited from general practice. Data were collected by means of a pulmonary function assessment, a face-to-face interview, and a written questionnaire.