Collaboration for Developing and Sustaining Community Dementia-Friendly Initiatives: A Realist Evaluation.

Background: Dementia-friendly communities (DFCs) are seen as key to the inclusion and participation of people with dementia and carers. Dementia-friendly initiatives (DFIs) are important building blocks for the growth of DFCs. The collaboration between different stakeholders is a central aspect in developing and sustaining DFIs.

Medical device regulation: requirements for occupational therapists in The Netherlands who prescribe and manufacture custom-made devices.

Purpose: To interpret the Medical Device Regulation for occupational therapists in the Netherlands involved in prescribing and manufacturing custom-made assistive devices and to develop a roadmap for implementation.

Materials And Methods: Four online iterative co-design workshops were organized under supervision of a senior quality manager to assist in the interpretation of the MDR framework with a focus on custom-made assistive devices; and to assist the implementation by generating guidelines and forms. The workshops for seven participating occupational therapists had an interactive character with Q&A, small and homework assignments, and oral evaluations.

Acceptance of 3D Printing by Occupational Therapists: An Exploratory Survey Study.

Do-it-yourself (DiY) assistive technology gained attention in accessibility literature recently, especially in relation to the rise of digital fabrication technologies, such as 3D printing. Previously, small-scale studies showed that care professionals generally respond positively towards the idea of creating DiY assistive devices for their clients. However, several barriers and concerns may hinder care professionals' actual adoption of digital fabrication technologies.

Perceived added value of a decision support App for formal caregivers in community-based dementia care.

Aims And Objectives: To gain insight into the perceived added value of a decision support App for district nurses and case managers intended to support a problem assessment and the provision of advices on possible solutions to facilitate ageing in place of people with dementia, and to investigate how they would implement the App in daily practice.

Background: District nurses and case managers play an important role in facilitating ageing in place of people with dementia (PwD). Detecting practical problems preventing PwD from living at home and advising on possible solutions is complex and challenging tasks for nurses and case managers.

Roles, Strengths and Challenges of Using Robots in Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The aim of this research was to study roles, strengths and challenges of robot-mediated interventions using robot KASPAR for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twelve focus group sessions were organized in which 70 ASD care and/or education professionals participated. Six roles for KASPAR were identified: provoker, reinforcer, trainer, mediator, prompter, and diagnostic information provider.

Evaluation of a decision support app for nurses and case managers to facilitate aging in place of people with dementia. A randomized controlled laboratory experiment.

Detecting practical problems of persons with dementia (PwD) experience at home, and advising them on solutions to facilitate aging in place are complex and challenging tasks for nurses and case managers. In this two group randomized, controlled laboratory experiment, the efficacy of a decision support application aiming to increase nurses' and case managers' confidence in clinical judgment and decision-making was tested. The participants (N = 67) assessed a case of a PwD within the problem domains: self-reliance, safety and informal care, and provided suggestions for possible solutions.

Robot ZORA in rehabilitation and special education for children with severe physical disabilities: a pilot study.

The aim of this study was to explore the potential of ZORA robot-based interventions in rehabilitation and special education for children with severe physical disabilities. A two-centre explorative pilot study was carried out over a 2.5-month period involving children with severe physical disabilities with a developmental age ranging from 2 to 8 years.

How to Implement Robots in Interventions for Children with Autism? A Co-creation Study Involving People with Autism, Parents and Professionals.

The aim of this study was to gain insight into how robots can be practically implemented into current education and therapy interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This qualitative study included focus groups and co-creation sessions. 73 Participants (professionals and adults with ASD) took part in 13 focus groups to elicit requirements for robot assisted interventions.

Facilitating aging in place: A qualitative study of practical problems preventing people with dementia from living at home.

Although the majority of people with dementia wish to age in place, they are particularly susceptible to nursing home admission. Nurses can play an important role in detecting practical problems people with dementia and their informal caregivers are facing and in advising them on various ways to manage these problems at home. Six focus group interviews (n = 43) with formal and informal caregivers and experts in the field of assistive technology were conducted to gain insight into the most important practical problems preventing people with dementia from living at home.

Can the IROMEC robot support play in children with severe physical disabilities? A pilot study.

The aim of this study was to explore the application of the IROMEC (Interactive social RObotic Mediators as Companions) robot to support play for children with severe physical disabilities in rehabilitation and special education. Within a 2-month pilot study, physically disabled children with a developmental age between 2 and 8 years participated in sessions with the robot. A combination of qualitative and quantitative outcome measures was used to collect data on aspects of feasibility, usability, barriers for the child as well as the therapist and an indication of the effects on playfulness and the achievement of therapeutic and educational goals.

Mapping Robots to Therapy and Educational Objectives for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The aim of this study was to increase knowledge on therapy and educational objectives professionals work on with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to identify corresponding state of the art robots. Focus group sessions (n = 9) with ASD professionals (n = 53) from nine organisations were carried out to create an objectives overview, followed by a systematic literature study to identify state of the art robots matching these objectives. Professionals identified many ASD objectives (n = 74) in 9 different domains.

Robots and ICT to support play in children with severe physical disabilities: a systematic review.

Purpose: Play is an essential part of children's lives. Children with physical disabilities experience difficulties in play, especially those with severe physical disabilities. With the progress of innovative technology, the possibilities to support play are increasing.

Multidisciplinary Views on Applying Explicit and Implicit Motor Learning in Practice: An International Survey.

Background: A variety of options and techniques for causing implicit and explicit motor learning have been described in the literature. The aim of the current paper was to provide clearer guidance for practitioners on how to apply motor learning in practice by exploring experts' opinions and experiences, using the distinction between implicit and explicit motor learning as a conceptual departure point.

Methods: A survey was designed to collect and aggregate informed opinions and experiences from 40 international respondents who had demonstrable expertise related to motor learning in practice and/or research.

An overview of potential labor-saving and quality-improving innovations in long-term care for older people.

Objectives: Increasing demands in long-term care for older people and a decrease in workforce availability can be expected in the future. These developments challenge the sustainability and quality of long-term care for older people. To address these challenges, long-term care organizations are forced to innovate.

Literature review on monitoring technologies and their outcomes in independently living elderly people.

Purpose: To obtain insight into what kind of monitoring technologies exist to monitor activity in-home, what the characteristics and aims of applying these technologies are, what kind of research has been conducted on their effects and what kind of outcomes are reported.

Methods: A systematic document search was conducted within the scientific databases Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, PsycINFO and Cinahl, complemented by Google Scholar. Documents were included in this review if they reported on monitoring technologies that detect activities of daily living (ADL) or significant events, e.

Impact of chronic total occlusions on markers of reperfusion, infarct size, and long-term mortality: a substudy from the TAPAS-trial.

Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of a chronic total occlusion (CTO) in a non-infarct related coronary artery (IRA) on markers of reperfusion, infarct size, and long-term cardiac mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Background: A concurrent CTO in STEMI patients has been associated with impaired left ventricular function and outcome. However, the impact on markers of reperfusion is unknown.

Depressive complaints as a predictor of sickness absence among the working population.

Objective: To study the relationship between depressive complaints and sickness absence in the working population.

Methods: Data from a prospective epidemiological cohort (n = 3339) were used. Depressive complaints were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD-D) Scale.