Publications by authors named "Martien Muller"
Aim: To gain insight in the way nursing home residents experience personal dignity and the factors that preserve or undermine it.
Background: Nursing home residents are exposed to diverse factors which may be associated with the loss of personal dignity. To help them maintain their dignity, it is important to investigate this concept from the residents' perspective.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore if and how spiritual needs are assessed and if spiritual care is provided to Dutch nursing home residents, including residents suffering from dementia, and if and how caregivers communicate and collaborate regarding the residents' spiritual needs.
Design: Two researchers conducted an ethnographic participatory study in a Dutch nursing home between April 2010 and June 2011, on a psychogeriatric unit (mostly dementia) and a somatic unit for residents suffering from physical disabilities. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify patterns and trends and to interpret the data.
Although spiritual caregiving is a key domain of palliative care, it lacks a clear definition, which impedes both caregiving and research in this domain. The aim of this study was to conceptualize spirituality by identifying dimensions, based on instruments measuring spirituality in end-of-life populations. A systematic literature review was conducted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The clinical impact of risk score use in end-of-life settings is unknown, with reports limited to technical properties.
Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study to evaluate clinical impact of a validated mortality risk score aimed at informing prognosis and supporting clinicians in decision-making in dementia patients with pneumonia. We performed a trial (n = 69) with physician-reported outcomes referring to the score's aims.
Background: The End-of-Life in Dementia (EOLD) scales comprise the most specific set of instruments developed for evaluations of patients' end of life by their families. It is not known whether the EOLD scales are useful for cross-national comparisons.
Methods: We used a mortality follow-back design in multi-center studies in the Netherlands (pilot study 2005-2007) and the U.
Introduction And Method: Recognition and treatment of depression is a quality indicator for nursing homes. Nurses and nursing assistants are in a particularly good position to recognize depression in long-term care. How well do nurses and nursing assistants recognize depression, compared with a DSM-IV diagnosis of depression? To answer this question a critical review of relevant literature in PubMed searches was performed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDoctors in the United Kingdom can accompany their patients every step of the way, up until the last. The law stops them helping their patients take the final step, even if that is the patient's fervent wish. Next month's debate in the House of Lords could begin the process of changing the law.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To study the effect of depression (high levels of depressive symptoms) on social engagement.
Design And Methods: In 65 nursing homes in the Netherlands, 562 newly admitted residents were assessed at admission. Social engagement was measured with the MDS Index of Social Engagement.
A guideline was developed to support decision-making about whether or not to treat pneumonia curatively in psychogeriatric (demented) nursing home patients. This guideline was developed as a 'checklist of considerations', primarily of the ethical and legal aspects of decision-making. Nursing home physicians used and evaluated the list.
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