Healthcare professionals' perceptions on barriers and facilitators to DMARD use in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are the cornerstone of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment. However, the full benefits of DMARDs are often not realized because many patients are sub-optimally adherent to their medication. In order to optimize adherence, it is essential that healthcare professionals (HCPs) understand patients' barriers and facilitators for medication use.

Continuity of care experienced by patients in a multi-institutional pancreatic care network: a pilot study.

Background: Over the past decades, health care services for pancreatic surgery were reorganized. Volume norms were applied with the result that only a limited number of expert centers perform pancreatic surgery. As a result of this centralization of pancreatic surgery, the patient journey of patients with pancreatic tumors has become multi-institutional.

Ranking facilitators and barriers of medication adherence by patients with inflammatory arthritis: a maximum difference scaling exercise.

Introduction: Facilitators and barriers of adherence to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have been identified by patients with inflammatory arthritis earlier. However, the relative importance from the patients' perspective of these factors is unknown. Knowledge on this ranking might guide the development of interventions and may facilitate targeted communication on adherence.

Referral to cancer genetic counseling: do migrant status and patients' educational background matter?

Participation rates in cancer genetic counseling differ among populations, as patients with a lower educational background and migrant patients seem to have poorer access to it. We conducted a study to determine the present-day educational level and migrant status of counselees referred to cancer genetic counseling. We assessed personal characteristics and demographics of 731 newly referred counselees.

Breast cancer genetic counseling among Dutch patients from Turkish and Moroccan descent: participation determinants and perspectives of patients and healthcare professionals.

Lower participation rates in cancer genetic counseling are observed among different ethnic minorities. The goal of our study is to gain insight into determinants of Turkish and Moroccan patients' participation in breast cancer genetic counseling and DNA testing, from the point of view of healthcare professionals and patients. Questionnaire-based telephone interviews about awareness, perceptions, and reasons for (non-) participation in cancer genetic counseling were conducted with 78 Dutch breast cancer patients from Turkish and Moroccan descent.

How do medical specialists value their own intercultural communication behaviour? A reflective practice study.

Background: Intercultural communication behaviour of doctors with patients requires specific intercultural communication skills, which do not seem structurally implemented in medical education. It is unclear what motivates doctors to apply intercultural communication skills. We investigated how purposefully medical specialists think they practise intercultural communication and how they reflect on their own communication behaviour.

Migrant breast cancer patients and their participation in genetic counseling: results from a registry-based study.

Certain ethnic groups seem to have less access to cancer genetic counseling. Our study was to investigate the participation in cancer genetic counseling among migrant breast cancer patients of Turkish and Moroccan origin. Hospital medical records of Turkish and Moroccan and of a comparative group of non-Turkish/Moroccan newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were studied.

Communication at an online infertility expert forum: provider responses to patients' emotional and informational cues.

Online patient-provider communication has become increasingly popular in fertility care. However, it is not known to what extent patients express cues or concerns and how providers respond. In this study, we investigated cues and responses that occur in online patient-provider communication at an infertility-specific expert forum.

Relationship between medication beliefs, self-reported and refill adherence, and symptoms in patients with asthma using inhaled corticosteroids.

Background: Beliefs play a crucial role in medication adherence. Interestingly, the relationship between beliefs and adherence varies when different adherence measures are used. How adherence, in turn, is related to asthma symptoms is still unclear.

The influence of dispositional optimism on post-visit anxiety and risk perception accuracy among breast cancer genetic counselees.

Objective: Much is unknown about the influence of dispositional optimism and affective communication on genetic counselling outcomes. This study investigated the influence of counselees' optimism on the counselees' risk perception accuracy and anxiety, while taking into account the affective communication during the first consultation for breast cancer genetic counselling.

Methods: Counselees completed questionnaires measuring optimism, anxiety and the perceived risk that hereditary breast cancer runs in the family before, and anxiety and perceived risk after the first consultation.

Encounters between medical specialists and patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms; influences of communication on patient outcomes and use of health care: a literature overview.

Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) burden patients and health services due to large quantities of consultations and medical interventions. The aim of this study is to determine which elements of communication in non-psychiatric specialist MUPS care influence health outcomes. Systematic search in PubMed, PsycINFO and Embase.

[Shared Medical Appointments: experiences of patients and care givers].

Objective: To examine the characteristics of patients participating in a shared medical appointment (SMA); to what extent SMAs fulfil patients' needs; to evaluate if patients are better informed after an SMA and how they evaluate meeting other patients at an SMA, and how health professionals experience SMAs.

Design: Descriptive.

Method: Fourteen multidisciplinary teams participated in the study.

Cancer genetic counseling: communication and counselees' post-visit satisfaction, cognitions, anxiety, and needs fulfillment.

Little is known about the relation between communication during cancer genetic counseling and outcome. We assessed associations between counselor-counselee communication and counselee satisfaction, cognitions, anxiety, and fulfillment of major needs, corrected for pre-visit levels as appropriate. In total 171 consecutive new counselees, mainly referred for breast or colon cancer, received pre- and post-visit questionnaires assessing needs/fulfillment, knowledge, perceived control (PPC), anxiety (STAI), and satisfaction.

Nursing assistants' behaviour during morning care: effects of the implementation of snoezelen, integrated in 24-hour dementia care.

Aim: This paper reports an investigation of the effects of the implementation of snoezelen, or multisensory stimulation, on the quality of nursing assistants' behaviour during morning care.

Background: Nursing assistants in long-term dementia care are often unaware of the impact of their behaviour on patient functioning. Snoezelen is a psychosocial intervention that might improve the quality of caregiver behaviour by combining a person-centred approach with the integration of sensory stimuli.

The perceived personal control (PPC) questionnaire as an outcome of genetic counseling: reliability and validity of the instrument.

The perceived personal control (PPC) questionnaire was developed by Berkenstadt and colleagues as an outcome measure for the evaluation of the process of genetic counseling. The present study aimed to further assess the psychometric properties of a Dutch version of the instrument. Data were used from two samples.

The effects of the implementation of snoezelen on the quality of working life in psychogeriatric care.

Background: Dementia among nursing home residents is often accompanied by high care dependency and behavioral disturbances, resulting in an increased workload for the caregivers. Snoezelen, integrated into 24-hour dementia care, is an approach that might improve the quality of working life of dementia caregivers. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of integrated snoezelen on work-related outcomes (workload and psychological outcomes) of caregivers in psychogeriatric nursing homes.

Effects of snoezelen, integrated in 24 h dementia care, on nurse-patient communication during morning care.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of snoezelen, integrated in 24-hour care, on the communication of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and demented nursing home residents during morning care.

Methods: A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design was conducted, comparing sic psychogeriatric wards, that implemented snoezelen, to six control wards, that continued in giving usual care. Measurements were performed at baseline and 18 months after a training 'snoezelen for caregivers'.

Tailoring communication in cancer genetic counseling through individual video-supported feedback: a controlled pretest-posttest design.

Objectives: To assess the influence of a 1-day individual video-feedback training for cancer genetic counselors on the interaction during initial visits. Feedback was intended to help counselors make counselees' needs more explicit and increase counselors' sensitivity to these.

Methods: In total 158 counselees, mainly referred for breast or colon cancer and visiting 1 of 10 counselors, received a pre- and post-visit questionnaire assessing needs (fulfillment).

Initial cancer genetic counseling consultation: change in counselees' cognitions and anxiety, and association with addressing their needs and preferences.

The fulfillment of counselees' expectations in cancer genetic counseling and how this affects the outcome of counseling have received little attention so far. This study investigates how the initial consultation influences counselees' cognitions and anxiety, whether counselors address counselees' prior needs and preferences during the visit, and whether addressing needs is associated with a more positive outcome of the visit. One hundred twenty-eight affected and unaffected counselees from families with no known mutation, who were seen by one of fourteen counselors, participated.

Communication in cancer genetic counselling: does it reflect counselees' previsit needs and preferences?

This study sought to describe counsellor-counselee interaction during initial cancer genetic counselling consultations and to examine whether the communication reflects counselees' previsit needs. A total of 130 consecutive counselees, referred mainly for breast or colon cancer, completed a questionnaire before their first appointment at a genetic clinic. Their visit was videotaped.

Behavioral and mood effects of snoezelen integrated into 24-hour dementia care.

Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of snoezelen, integrated in 24-hour daily care, on the behavior and mood of demented nursing home residents.

Design: Quasiexperimental pre- and posttest design.

Setting: Twelve psychogeriatric wards of six nursing homes, spread over different parts of the Netherlands.

The implementation of snoezelen in psychogeriatric care: an evaluation through the eyes of caregivers.

Many intervention studies lack an investigation of the extent to which the intervention was implemented as intended, which makes outcome measures difficult to interpret. The aim of the present study was to gain insight into the implementation process of snoezelen in 24-h dementia care. The intervention in each of six experimental wards comprised training sessions in 'snoezelen for caregivers', evaluated using a questionnaire.

Cancer patients seeking a second surgical opinion: results of a study on motives, needs, and expectations.

Purpose: To explore the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of cancer patients seeking a second-opinion consultation and to analyze their second opinion-related motives, needs, and expectations.

Patients And Methods: In 212 consecutive patients seeking a second opinion at the Surgical Oncology Outpatient Clinic, satisfaction with the first specialist, motivation for the second opinion, need for information, preference for decision participation, and hope for and expectation of a different second opinion were assessed with a questionnaire.

Results: The mean age was 53 years.