Daily hassles reported by Dutch multiple sclerosis patients.

There is growing evidence for the association between stress and relapse risk in multiple sclerosis (MS). The current study focuses on daily hassles, which by their chronic and accumulating nature can cause considerable psychosocial stress. The main aim was to investigate the frequency, associated distress and type of daily hassles encountered by Dutch MS patients from a large community-based sample.

The Patient Education Program for Huntington's Disease (PEP-HD).

The goal of the Patient Education Program for Huntington's disease is to improve quality of life for patients and caregivers, to educate and train them in order to develop coping strategies to deal with psychosocial stressors. The program was derived from a standardized evidence-based program for Parkinson's disease. This pilot study assessed the feasibility of the program in Huntington's disease.

Patient education in Parkinson's disease: Formative evaluation of a standardized programme in seven European countries.

Objective: To evaluate a newly developed education programme for Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.

Methods: The programme consisted of eight sessions and aimed at improving knowledge and skills related to self-monitoring, health promotion, stress management, depression, anxiety, social competence, and social support, all with special reference to PD. The programme was formatively evaluated in seven European countries (Spain, Finland, Italy, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Estonia, Germany) with 151 patients diagnosed with idiopathic PD.

A disease-specific psychosocial questionnaire for Parkinson's disease caregivers.

Objective: To evaluate the "Belastungsfragebogen Parkinson Angehörigen-kurzversion" (BELA-A-k), a questionnaire for measuring psychosocial problems and need for help in Parkinson's disease (PD) caregivers.

Methods: The "Belastungsfragebogen Parkinson Angehörigen-kurzversion" was translated into Dutch. It consists of 15 items with a "Bothered by" (Bb) and a "Need for Help" (NfH) score.

Psychosocial problems in Parkinson's disease: evaluation of a disease-specific questionnaire.

Our objective was to evaluate the BELA-P-k, a questionnaire for measuring psychosocial problems and need for help in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The Belastungsfragebogen Parkinson kurzversion (BELA-P-k) was translated from German into Dutch. It consists of 19 items distributed over four subscales: achievement capability/physical symptoms, fear/emotional functioning, social functioning and partner-bonding/family, with a "Bothered by" (Bb) and a "Need for Help" (NfH) score.