The guided use of an e-health tool to strengthen health literacy. A pilot study in a multicultural diabetes population in a primary care clinic in Brussels.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate whether the use of an e-health tool, guided by a healthcare provider, can improve health literacy (HL) in primary care.

Methods: We set up a longitudinal prospective cohort study in a primary care clinic in Brussels. Diabetes patients were invited to participate in two study consultations with a trained healthcare provider, in which an e-health tool was introduced.

Between Sympathy, Fascination, and Powerlessness. The Experiences of Health Professionals During the Medical Monitoring of a Hunger Strike Among Undocumented Migrants.

In 2014, a group of undocumented migrants started a hunger strike in Brussels. The medical monitoring was mainly done by young, committed health professionals with no prior experience of medical monitoring of people on hunger strike. Following the hunger strike, two focus groups were organized to assess the experiences of the health professionals during the medical monitoring of the hunger strike.

Evolution over 11 years of the characteristics of walk-in patients at the emergency department of a university hospital in Brussels.

Walk-in patients who do not require urgent treatment at an emergency department (ED) are a known and long-standing problem. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of walk-in patients visiting the ED over time. During four days in June 2012, all walk-in patients attending the ED of the University Hospital Brussels between 8 AM and 11 PM were recorded.

The Role of Physicians During Hunger Strikes of Undocumented Migrant Workers in a Non-Custodial Setting.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the living conditions of undocumented migrant workers in Belgium have deteriorated drastically. In Brussels, after various social actions, undocumented people began squatting and occupying public buildings to make their struggle visible to society. Desperate, some seized the possibility of a loophole in Belgian law that permits ill persons to have access to a temporary residence permit and started hunger striking.

Five Years Later: The Impact of a Hunger Strike on Undocumented Migrant Workers in Brussels.

Five years after a hunger strike of undocumented migrant workers, participants were interviewed to find out about the long term consequences and what the post-factum evaluation of their participation was. A longitudinal observational study was set up, interviewing 46 of the 100 ex-hunger strikers and combining quantitative and qualitative research. This grassroots study shows that one out of six did not derive any benefit from their participation.