Publications by authors named "Laat S"

Global health photography has historically been commissioned and, therefore, dominated by the gaze of Western photographers on assignments in the Global South. This is changing as part of international calls to decolonise global health and stimulate 'empowerment', spawning a growing initiative to hire local photographers. This article, based on interviews with global health photographers, reflects on this paradigm shift.

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After often gruelling journeys, some refugees arrive at secure locations with severe injury or illness. Others find themselves shortly thereafter facing a life-limiting health condition. Palliative care has been the focus of recent research, and of academic and aid sector dialogue.

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Background: Recently, global health has been confronting its visual culture, historically modulated by colonialism, racism and abusive representation. There have been international calls to promote ethicality of visual practices. However, despite this focus on the history and the institutional use of global health images, little is known about how in practice contemporary images are created in communities, and how consent to be in photographs is obtained.

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Access to palliative care, and more specifically the alleviation of avoidable physical and psychosocial suffering is increasingly recognized as a necessary component of humanitarian response. Palliative approaches to care can meet the needs of patients for whom curative treatment may not be the aim, not just at the very end of life but alleviation of suffering more broadly. In the past several years many organizations and sectoral initiatives have taken steps to develop guidance and policies to support integration of palliative care.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on the role of a Youth Health Care nurse as a coordinating professional in a new program aimed at addressing childhood overweight and obesity, involving a collaborative approach with families and other professionals.
  • - In-depth interviews with eight families and online questionnaires from 38 families revealed that both parents and children felt supported by the nurse, valuing the personal connection and broad perspective offered, although contact frequency was sometimes low.
  • - While participants appreciated the nurse's approach, the study highlights the need for improved collaboration and follow-up within this integrated care model to enhance the effectiveness of the program.
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Objective: There is growing recognition of the importance of increasing preparedness for and the provision of palliative care in humanitarian crises. The primary objective of this review is to interpret the existing literature on culture and palliative care to query the recommendation that humanitarian healthcare providers, teams, and organizations integrate palliative care into their practice in ways that are attentive to and respectful of cultural differences.

Methods: A critical interpretive synthesis was applied to a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA framework.

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Background: This case analysis describes dilemmas and challenges of ethical partnering encountered in the process of conducting a research study that explored moral and practical dimensions of palliative care in humanitarian crisis settings. Two contexts are the focus of this case analysis: Jordan, an acute conflict-induced refugee situation, and Rwanda, a protracted conflict-induced refugee setting. The study's main goal was to better understand ways humanitarian organizations and health care providers might best support ethically and contextually appropriate palliative care in humanitarian contexts.

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With no cure and a high mortality rate, Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks require preparedness for the provision of end-of-life palliative care. This qualitative study is part of a larger project on palliative care in humanitarian contexts. Its goal was to document and deepen understanding of experiences and expectations related to end-of-life palliative care for patients infected with Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West African Ebola treatment centres (ETCs) during the 2013-2016 epidemic.

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Background: Humanitarian non-governmental organizations provide assistance to communities affected by war, disaster and epidemic. A primary focus of healthcare provision by these organizations is saving lives; however, curative care will not be sufficient, appropriate, or available for some patients. In these instances, palliative care approaches to ease suffering and promote dignity are needed.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores how both genetic and environmental factors, particularly maternal influences, contribute to problem behavior in children.
  • The research involved 1,154 children, analyzing polygenic risk scores from genome-wide studies on psychiatric disorders to assess their link to maternal risks and behavioral issues.
  • Findings suggest a correlation between genetic predispositions (especially related to schizophrenia) and early environmental risks, indicating that both factors may interact to increase the likelihood of problem behaviors in children.
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Background: Children with overweight often do not receive appropriate integrated care. An innovative integrated network approach of preventive care for overweight children aged 4-12 years old has been developed and implemented in four neighbourhoods of 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. This new approach focusses on self-management of the family and is based on the principles of stepped and matched care.

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  • Socioeconomically disadvantaged children tend to experience more psychosocial problems, with this study focusing on how maternal education and depressive symptoms during pregnancy and early childhood are linked to these issues.
  • The research included 3,410 children and used questionnaires to assess both child psychosocial problems and maternal depressive symptoms.
  • Findings revealed that children of low-educated mothers had significantly worse psychosocial outcomes, and maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy accounted for a notable portion of the negative impact, highlighting the need for early intervention.
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During the last 100 years, the Hubrecht Institute evolved from a small laboratory aimed at providing research material to the scientific community to a modern, fully equipped research institute with state-of-the-art infrastructure, performing research at the highest standard. The past 100 years have been eventful for the Hubrecht Institute with many glorious moments, but also threats to be shut down on several occasions. Here, we will briefly review the rich history of the Hubrecht Institute.

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Introduction: Preseptal (periorbital) and orbital cellulitis are potentially catastrophic infections near the eye. Preseptal cellulitis is far more common, and although classically reported to be associated with dacrocystitis, sinusitis/upper respiratory infection, trauma/surgery, or infection from contiguous areas, it can also be associated with insect bites. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of insect bite-associated preseptal cellulitis and to compare clinical findings and outcomes of these patients with those having other causes for the condition.

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Introduction: Prospective informed consent is required for most research involving human participants; however, this is impracticable under some circumstances. The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS) outlines the requirements for research involving human participants in Canada. The need for an exception to consent (deferred consent) is recognised and endorsed in the TCPS for research in individual medical emergencies; however, little is known about substitute decision-maker (SDM) experiences.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examined the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and psychosocial issues in both preterm (born at an average of 34 weeks) and term-born children at ages 5-6, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
  • - Results showed that preterm-born children had higher SDQ scores, indicating more psychosocial problems, particularly among mothers with higher education and income levels.
  • - The findings suggest that low maternal education and inadequate income are significant factors affecting psychosocial development, with no additional negative impact from preterm birth for children in low SES families.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and psychosocial issues in both preterm and term-born children, focusing on data from 217 preterm children and 4,336 term children.
  • Findings showed preterm children had a higher average score in psychosocial difficulties reported by mothers, with 16.1% of mothers of preterm children citing significant issues compared to 10.1% for term children.
  • It concluded that lower maternal education and income were more strongly associated with psychosocial problems than preterm birth status alone, highlighting the critical impact of low SES on child development.
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Unlabelled: Introduction Health care workers (HCWs) who participate in humanitarian aid work experience a range of ethical challenges in providing care and assistance to communities affected by war, disaster, or extreme poverty. Although there is increasing discussion of ethics in humanitarian health care practice and policy, there are very few resources available for humanitarian workers seeking ethical guidance in the field. To address this knowledge gap, a Humanitarian Health Ethics Analysis Tool (HHEAT) was developed and tested as an action-oriented resource to support humanitarian workers in ethical decision making.

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This study aimed to explore Dutch students' attitudes toward deaf, blind, paralyzed or intellectually disabled persons and to determine whether age, self-esteem, gender, religion and familiarity with a disabled person have a significant effect on these attitudes. The attitudes of 200 high school and 144 university students were determined with two questionnaires, the CATCH and MAS. Only the CATCH was applicable with all four disabled groups.

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We report 2 children with a history of epilepsy in whom valproic acid (VPA) withdrawal was identified as a potential cause of hallucinations. After a restart of VPA, the hallucinations disappeared. We suggest mechanisms for the occurrence of the hallucinations and a possible control of a predisposition to hallucinations by VPA.

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Background: Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are increasingly offered to patients for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death. Candidates for ICD receive ICD-related patient education material when they make decisions to consent or decline a primary prevention ICD. Printed patient education material directed at ICD candidates has not been the focus of direct appraisal.

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Background: Patients are offered implantable defibrillators (ICDs) for the prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, patients' decision-making process (DMP) of whether or not to accept an ICD has not been explored. We asked patients about their decision making when offered an ICD.

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Increasing numbers of cardiovascular patients are receiving implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD). This report examines patients' perspectives on related end-of-life issues. Using a grounded theory approach, audiotaped, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 30 participants from two ICD referral centres in southwestern Ontario (24 who accepted an ICD and 6 who declined).

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Background: Increased availability of genetic testing is changing the primary care role in cancer genetics. The perspective of primary care physicians (PCPs) regarding their role in support of genetic testing has been explored, but little is known about the expectations of patients or the PCP role once genetic test results are received.

Methods: Two sets of open-ended semi-structured interviews were completed with patients (N=25) in a cancer genetic programme in Ontario, Canada, within 4 months of receiving genetic test results and 1 year later; written reports of test results were collected.

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Background: Research ethicists have recently declared a new ethical imperative: that researchers should communicate the results of research to participants. For some analysts, the obligation is restricted to the communication of the general findings or conclusions of the study. However, other analysts extend the obligation to the disclosure of individual research results, especially where these results are perceived to have clinical relevance.

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