The perceived barriers and facilitators for chiropractic care in older adults with low back pain; insights from a qualitative exploration in a dutch context.

Background: Understanding care seeking behaviour is vital to enabling access to care. In the context of low back pain (LBP), chiropractors offer services to patients of all ages. Currently, geriatric sub-populations tend to be under-investigated, despite the disproportionate effects of LBP on older adults.

Experiences and perceptions of people with a severe mental illness and health care professionals of a one-year group-based lifestyle programme (SMILE).

Objective: This was to elucidate the experiences and perceptions of people with severe mental illness (SMI) and their health care professionals with the SMILE (Severe Mental Illness Lifestyle Evaluation) group-based lifestyle intervention. SMILE focuses primarily on promoting healthy diet, physical activity and weight loss.

Method: A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was conducted using purposive sampling.

Implementation of a lifestyle intervention for people with a severe mental illness (SMILE): a process evaluation.

Background: Several interventions have been developed to improve physical health and lifestyle behaviour of people with a severe mental illness (SMI). Recently, we conducted a pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial which evaluated the effects of the one-year Severe Mental Illness Lifestyle Evaluation (SMILE) lifestyle intervention compared with usual care in clients with SMI. The SMILE intervention is a 12-month group-based lifestyle intervention with a focus on increased physical activity and healthy food intake.

Feasibility study of a digitalized nurse practitioner-led intervention to improve medication adherence in type 2 diabetes patients in Dutch primary care.

Purpose: The purpose of this feasibility study was to improve and implement an intervention aimed at enhancing medication adherence in sub-optimally controlled and non-adherent type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients in primary care.

Methods: Four phases were completed: (1) context analysis, (2) collaboration protocol development, (3) digitalization, and (4) process evaluation. Two community pharmacies and seven general practices participated.

Methodological quality of front-of-pack labeling studies: a review plus identification of research challenges.

This review evaluates the methodological quality of current front-of-pack labeling research and discusses future research challenges. Peer-reviewed articles were identified using a computerized search of the databases PubMed and Web of Science (ISI) from 1990 to February 2011; reference lists from key published articles were used as well. The quality of the 31 included studies was assessed.

Quality indicators for palliative care: a systematic review.

Research has demonstrated a greater understanding of the needs of terminally ill patients and their families, but it also has been found that the palliative care is not optimal. Because of a lack of quality indicators in palliative care, the quality of the care is often not assessed. The aim of this systematic review was to give an overview of published quality indicators for palliative care in all patient groups and settings, to determine whether these quality indicators cover all domains of palliative care, to describe the different types of quality indicators, and to determine the methodological characteristics of the quality indicators.

Predicted survival vs. actual survival in terminally ill noncancer patients in Dutch nursing homes.

Studies on the prediction of survival have mainly focused on hospital and hospice patients suffering from cancer. The aim of this study was to describe the predicted vs. the actual survival in terminally ill, mainly noncancer patients in Dutch nursing homes (NHs).

The last two days of life of nursing home patients--a nationwide study on causes of death and burdensome symptoms in The Netherlands.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify the direct causes of death and to evaluate the presence of burdensome symptoms in the last two days of life of terminally ill nursing home (NH) patients.

Methods: Prospective study of patients with a maximum life-expectancy of six weeks in 16 nursing homes representative for The Netherlands (n = 463). Symptoms were measured after death in conscious patients with the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data-Set Palliative Care (RAI MDS-PC draft 1.

The last days of life of nursing home patients with and without dementia assessed with the palliative care outcome scale.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to assess the Palliative care Outcome Scale (POS) for terminally ill nursing home (NH) patients in the Netherlands.

Methods: A prospective observational study of patients with a life-expectancy of six weeks or less in 16 Dutch NHs. NH staff rated the patient characteristics and measured palliative care with the POS, including items on physical, psychosocial, informational, spiritual and practical aspects.

Symptoms, signs, problems, and diseases of terminally ill nursing home patients: a nationwide observational study in the Netherlands.

Background: Nursing homes (NHs) are less well studied than hospices or hospitals as a setting for terminal care. For more targeted palliative care, more information is needed about the patient characteristics, symptoms, direct causes and underlying diseases, and incidence of terminally ill NH patients. These aspects are examined in this study.