The implementation of the functional task exercise programme for elderly people living at home.

Background: The Functional Task Exercise programme is an evidence-based exercise programme for elderly people living at home. It enhances physical capacity with sustainable effects. FTE is provided by physiotherapists and remedial therapists.

Preoperative home-based physical therapy versus usual care to improve functional health of frail older adults scheduled for elective total hip arthroplasty: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a home-based intensive exercise program to improve physical health of frail elderly patients scheduled for elective total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Design: Single-blind pilot randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Patients' homes and a general hospital in The Netherlands.

Reproducibility and validity of the Dutch translation of the de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI) used by physiotherapists in older patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis.

Objective: To examine the reproducibility, construct validity, and unidimensionality of the Dutch translation of the de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI), a performance-based measure of mobility for older patients.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Rehabilitation center (reproducibility study) and hospital (validity study).

Sedentary behavior in Dutch workers: differences between occupations and business sectors.

Background: Sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor for excess body weight and other health problems. There are no published data on sitting time at work, or how this is related to occupation and sector (branch of business). No published study has shown whether extended sitting at work is compensated for by sitting less during leisure time.

Overweight and obesity as predictors of absenteeism in the working population of the Netherlands.

Objective: To determine the relation between body mass index (BMI) and absenteeism.

Methods: Data were collected in a prospective cohort study (n = 1284). Multilevel analyses (linear mixed model with random intercept) with two levels (employee and company) were used to test whether BMI was related to duration and frequency of absenteeism and whether this relation was influenced by sports participation.

Rates and determinants of repeated participation in a web-based behavior change program for healthy body weight and healthy lifestyle.

Background: In recent years, many tailored lifestyle counseling programs have become available through the Internet. Previous research into such programs has shown selective enrollment of relatively healthy people. However, because of the known dose-response relationship between the intensity and frequency of counseling and the behavior change outcomes, selective retention may also be a concern.

Web-based tailored lifestyle programs: exploration of the target group's interests and implications for practice.

An important challenge in Web-based health promotion is to increase the reach of the target audience by taking the target groups' desires into consideration. Data from 505 members of a Dutch Internet panel (representative for Dutch Internet users) were used to asses the target group's interests and needs. 28% participated in Web-based tailored lifestyle programs, 57% expressed an interest in such programs, and 15% expressed no interest.

Interobserver reproducibility of the visual estimation of range of motion of the shoulder.

Objectives: To assess interobserver reproducibility (agreement and reliability) of visually estimated shoulder range of motion (ROM) and to study the influence of clinical characteristics on the reproducibility.

Design: Test-retest analyses.

Setting: Various health care settings in the Netherlands.

Inter-observer reproducibility of measurements of range of motion in patients with shoulder pain using a digital inclinometer.

Background: Reproducible measurements of the range of motion are an important prerequisite for the interpretation of study results. The digital inclinometer is considered to be a useful instrument because it is inexpensive and easy to use. No previous study assessed inter-observer reproducibility of range of motion measurements with a digital inclinometer by physical therapists in a large sample of patients.