The impact of health literacy on beliefs about medication in a Dutch medication-using population.

Purpose: Medication beliefs are likely contingent on aspects of health literacy: knowledge, motivation, and competences to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information. An association between medication beliefs and health literacy is expected as they both influence self-management. The aim of this study was to examine the association between health literacy and the beliefs about overuse and harmful effects of medication and to examine modifying effects of age, gender, and number of medications on this association.

Medication self-management support for people with diabetes and low health literacy: A needs assessment.

Introduction: An adequate level of health literacy is regarded as a prerequisite for adequate medication self-management. Low health literacy skills are relatively more common in people with Diabetes Mellitus type 2. The aim of this study was to explore the needs regarding medication self-management of people with type 2 diabetes and low (functional, communicative and critical) health literacy, and their preferences for medication self-management support.

Methods for Involving People Living with Dementia and Their Informal Carers as Co-Developers of Technological Solutions.

This paper reports on the research methods used in five different projects aimed at supporting people living with dementia in their everyday lives and activities of daily living. In all five projects, people living with dementia and their informal carers were involved. Applied methods ranged from passive involvement in the form of observations to very active involvement consisting of consultation rounds and think-aloud sessions.

Evidence on the effectiveness of health literacy interventions in the EU: a systematic review.

Background: In the last decade, the attention for health literacy has increased in the European Union. This is due to three main reasons. First, reviews have shown that inadequate health literacy is associated with worse health outcomes, higher health care use and expenditure.

The efficacy of Life Review Therapy combined with Memory Specificity Training (LRT-MST) targeting cancer patients in palliative care: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention combining Life Review Therapy (LRT) and Memory Specificity Training (MST) (LRT-MST) to improve ego-integrity and despair among cancer patients in palliative care.

Methods: In this multicentre randomized controlled trial, cancer patients in palliative care were randomized to the intervention group (LRT-MST; n = 55) or waiting-list control group (n = 52). LRT-MST is a 4-session home-based psychological intervention that aims to retrieve specific positive memories, to re-evaluate life events and to reconstruct the story of a patient's life, including the diagnosis of incurable cancer.

How trained volunteers can improve the quality of hospital care for older patients. A qualitative evaluation within the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP).

The aim of this study was to investigate, using a mixed-methods design, the added value of a trained Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) volunteer to the quality of hospital care in the Netherlands. The trained volunteers daily stimulate older patients, at risk of a delirium, to eat, to drink, and to exercise, and they provide walking assistance and cognitive stimulation. This study showed that each group appreciated the extra attention and service from the volunteers.

Differences in health care utilisation between elderly from ethnic minorities and ethnic Dutch elderly.

Introduction: In the Netherlands, as in other Western countries, ethnic minority elderly are more often in poorer health than the indigenous population. The expectation is that this health disadvantage results in more frequent use of health care services.

Methods: We studied registered data on the proportion of health care receivers, frequency of use, and health care costs collected by a major Dutch health insurance company in 2010.

Community health worker interventions to improve access to health care services for older adults from ethnic minorities: a systematic review.

Background: The health status of older adults belonging to ethnic minorities in Western countries is an important public issue because their health is often less favourable than that of older adults from the majority population. In addition, the number of older adults belonging to ethnic minorities is increasing rapidly in Western countries. The introduction of community health workers (CHWs) has proven to be successful in addressing health disparities among ethnic minorities; however, an overview of CHW's benefits for older adults is absent in the literature.

Ethnicity does not account for differences in the health-related quality of life of Turkish, Moroccan, and Moluccan elderly in the Netherlands.

Background: Data on how different groups of elderly immigrants perceive health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is scarce and research on the influence of ethnicity on HRQOL across ethnic groups is missing. Measuring HRQOL may help to detect cross-cultural differences and to decide whether ethnic-specific health and prevention programmes are required to improve HRQOL. We investigated differences in HRQOL among three elderly immigrant populations with a special focus on the contribution of ethnicity, in addition to other well-known determinants, to HRQOL.

[Frailty, disability and multi-morbidity: the relationship with quality of life and healthcare costs in elderly people].

Objective: To assess the independent and combined impact of frailty, multi-morbidity, and activities of daily living (ADL) limitations on self-reported quality of life and healthcare costs in elderly people.

Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive study.

Method: Data came from The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Minimum DataSet (TOPICS-MDS), a pooled dataset with information from 41 projects across the Netherlands from the Dutch national care for the Elderly programme.

The development of the Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum DataSet (TOPICS-MDS): a large-scale data sharing initiative.

Introduction: In 2008, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport commissioned the National Care for the Elderly Programme. While numerous research projects in older persons' health care were to be conducted under this national agenda, the Programme further advocated the development of The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum DataSet (TOPICS-MDS) which would be integrated into all funded research protocols. In this context, we describe TOPICS data sharing initiative (www.

Twelve-year history of late-life depression and subsequent feelings to God.

Objectives: Growing evidence shows several possible relations between religiousness and late-life depression. Emotional aspects of religiousness such as facets of the perceived relationship with God can be crucial in this connection. The aim of the current study was to examine the association between the course of late-life depression and feelings about God and religious coping.

Design and methods of the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP), a multicomponent targeted intervention to prevent delirium in hospitalized older patients: efficacy and cost-effectiveness in Dutch health care.

Background: The Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) has been shown to be highly efficient and (cost-)effective in reducing delirium incidence in the USA. HELP provides multicomponent protocols targeted at specific risk factors for delirium and introduces a different view on care organization, with trained volunteers playing a pivotal role. The primary aim of this study is the quantification of the (cost-)effectiveness of HELP in the Dutch health care system.

Culturally sensitive care for elderly immigrants through ethnic community health workers: design and development of a community based intervention programme in the Netherlands.

Background: In Western countries, health and social welfare facilities are not easily accessible for elderly immigrants and their needs are suboptimally addressed. A transition is needed towards culturally sensitive services to overcome barriers to make cure and care accessible for elderly immigrants. We developed an intervention programme in which ethnic community health workers act as liaisons between immigrant elderly and local health care and social welfare services.

Exploring the expectations, needs and experiences of general practitioners and nurses towards a proactive and structured care programme for frail older patients: a mixed-methods study.

Aim: To report the expectations and experiences of general practitioners and practice nurses regarding the U-CARE programme, to gain a better understanding of the barriers and facilitators in providing proactive, structured care to frail older people and to determine whether implementation is feasible.

Background: Care for older patients with complex care needs in primary care is fragmented, reactive and time consuming. A structured, proactive care programme was developed to improve physical functioning and quality of life in frail older patients.

Personality predicts recurrence of late-life depression.

Objective: To examine the association of personality with recurrence of depression in later life.

Method: A subsample of 91 subjects from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA; baseline sample size n=3107; aged > or = 55 years) depressed at baseline, who had recovered in the course of three years (first follow-up cycle) was identified. 41 (45%) respondents experienced a recurrence during the subsequent six years.

Evidence for an association of the big five personality factors with recurrence of depressive symptoms in later life.

Objectives: Although it is well known that recurrence of late-life depression is very common, little is known about the characteristics of older people who are vulnerable for recurrence. In order to identify characteristics of those who are at risk, the present study aimed to investigate the strength of the associations of the big five personality factors with recurrence in later life. Secondly, we studied whether there are gender and age differences in the strength of these associations.

Actions taken to cope with depressed mood: the role of personality traits.

It is still largely unknown which actions people take to improve their mood when they feel they are getting depressed. Using the five-factor model of personality, we explore coping actions in a population of older adults in residential homes in relation to personality traits. A total of 350 non-cognitively impaired inhabitants of residential homes in the Netherlands participated in this study (mean age 85 years).

Mastery and neuroticism predict recovery of depression in later life.

Objective: The authors examined whether personality characteristics such as mastery, self-efficacy, and neuroticism predict the likelihood of recovery of depression among elderly in the community. It was hypothesized that these personality characteristics do predict recovery but that their effect is overwhelmed by the effect of deteriorations in physical health, cognitive decline, and loss of social resources. The second research question investigated whether these personality characteristics moderate the negative impact of the other prognostic factors on the chance of recovery.

When children of problem drinkers grow old: does the increased risk of mental disorders persist?

It is well established that children of problem drinkers have an increased risk of developing mental health problems, not only during childhood but also when they grow up into adolescents and adults. However, it has not been examined whether this risk is also present during the old age of these children. In this study, we examine the question whether this increased risk is present in inhabitants of eleven residential homes (mean age 85 years).

Personality and the onset of depression in late life.

Background: This study addresses the question whether personality is a predictor for becoming depressed in late life. We expect that personality traits are significantly associated with the onset of depression, but that the effect of personality is overwhelmed by the effect of health related variables. The second research question concerns whether the strength of this association is affected by the influence of age or age-related deteriorations in the other prognostic factors.

Stability and change of neuroticism in aging.

Data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were used to study the relationship between neuroticism and aging. At baseline, cross-sectional analyses of data from 2,117 respondents (aged 55-85 years, M = 70) showed no significant age differences. The magnitude of the 3- and 6-year stability coefficients was high, and 12% of the elderly participants showed a clinically relevant mean level change.