WITHDRAWN: Dynamic exercise therapy for treating rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the musculoskeletal system. Inflammation of the joints and tendons results in pain, swelling and restricted movement, eventually leading to radiological changes and deformities. Exercise therapy is considered to be an important cornerstone of the treatment of RA in all stages of the disease.

Quality management systems and clinical outcomes in Dutch nursing homes.

The objective of the article is to explore the impact quality management systems and quality assurance activities in nursing homes have on clinical outcomes. The results are based on a cross-sectional study in 65 Dutch nursing homes. The management of the nursing homes as well as the residents (N = 12,377) participated in the study.

Human-to-human transmission of avian influenza A/H7N7, The Netherlands, 2003.

An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus subtype H7N7 began in poultry farms in the Netherlands in 2003. Virus infection was detected by RT-PCR in 86 poultry workers and three household contacts of PCR-positive poultry workers, mainly associated with conjunctivitis. To determine the magnitude of and risk factors for human-to-human transmission of influenza A/H7N7 in the Netherlands, a retrospective cohort study among household members of infected poultry workers was undertaken.

Educating patient educators: enhancing instructional effectiveness in physical therapy for low back pain patients.

The objective of this research project was to study the effectiveness of a training program for the enhancement of patient education skills in physical therapy. In this paper the improvement of five of these skills is tested. These skills are aimed at a better monitoring of adherence problems during the treatment and at enhancing self-efficacy of the patient after treatment.

Communication patterns of primary care physicians in the United States and the Netherlands.

Background: While international comparisons of medical practice have noted differences in length of visit, few studies have addressed the dynamics of visit exchange.

Objectives: To compare the communication of Dutch and U.S.

Effectiveness of exercise in patients with osteoarthritis of hip or knee: nine months' follow up.

Objective: To determine whether the effects of an exercise programme in patients with osteoarthritis of hip or knee are sustained at six and nine months' follow up.

Methods: A randomised, single blind, clinical trial was conducted in a primary care setting. Patients with osteoarthritis of hip or knee (ACR criteria) were selected.

Continuity of care for patients on a waiting list for institutional long-term care.

The aim of this study was to examine patients' satisfaction with continuity of care while on a waiting list for residential care or nursing home care. Two hundred and seventy-eight patients participated in the study, all living in the community setting of two cities in the Netherlands. These patients were positively assessed and on a waiting list for admission in a nursing home or a residential home.

Workload, capacity for coping and psychological and physical outcomes amongst home helps in the Netherlands.

Owing to many developments and changes in home care in the Netherlands, a national study was carried out. One of the aims was to examine the differences between the six categories of home help in the Netherlands regarding workload, pressure of work and capacity for coping. A total of 474 home helps from six categories participated in the study.

A job profile of home helps in the Netherlands.

Owing to many developments and changes in home care in the Netherlands, a national study on home help services was carried out. One of the aims was to examine the job content of the six new categories of home help, the differences in their work and the correspondence of daily practice with formal job descriptions. Six home help categories were examined: alpha helps; A home helps; B caring helps; C and D carers; and specialized E carers - self-registration forms and weekly reports were used for data-collection.

Feeling at home in nursing homes.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine determinants of feeling at home and in particular the privacy in nursing homes in The Netherlands. The first question was to what extent nursing homes differed in the degree residents feel at home and experience privacy. The second question was whether feeling at home is related to privacy in the nursing homes.

Social democratic government and spatial distribution of health care facilities. The case of hospital beds in Germany.

Background: In this paper, the hypothesis that the spatial distribution of hospital beds is more even in countries with socialist or social democratic governments than in countries with conservative or Christian democratic governments was tested. To avoid the confounding influences of historical and institutional differences between countries, we used the Federal Republic of Germany as a case study. The German federal states have their own governments who play an important role in creating structures for the planning of hospital facilities.

Quality of care from the patients' perspective: from theoretical concept to a new measuring instrument.

INTRODUCTION: Patient views on quality of care are of paramount importance with respect to the implementation of quality assurance (QA) and improvement (QI) programmes. However, the relevance of patient satisfaction studies is often questioned because of conceptual and methodological problems. Here, it is our belief that a different strategy is necessary.

Content and outcomes of Dutch nurse clinics for children with asthma.

Dutch specialist asthma nurses run extramural and transmural nurse clinics for children with asthma. Extramural clinics are run under the responsibility and in the premises of a home care organization. Transmural clinics are run in an outpatient clinic in close collaboration and joint responsibility between home care organizations and hospitals.

[Effect of competition-oriented reform in the Netherlands health care system on the relationship between primary care physicians, insurance groups and insured patients].

The German health care policy debate is affected by proposals demanding the introduction of competitive elements. Analysis of the effects of regulated competition in the Netherlands health care system shows that actual behavioural changes of the key actors of the system differ considerably from expected changes, although incentives within the system have been substantially changed. Sickness funds are not selectively linked with providers and insured patients do not change their insurance company very often.

Variation in home-birth rates between midwifery practices in The Netherlands.

Objective: To examine the reasons for the variation in home-birth rates between midwifery practices.

Method: Multi-level analysis of client and midwife associated, case-specific and structural factors in relation to 4420 planned and actual home or hospital births in 42 midwifery practices.

Findings: Women's choice of birth location and the occurrence of complications that lead to referral to specialist care before or during labour, were found to be the main determinants of the home-birth rate.

Introducing DRG-based financing in Hungary: a study into the relationship between supply of hospital beds and use of these beds under changing institutional circumstances.

Most hospital reforms carried out in Europe over the past few decades concern the supply of hospital beds and hospital financing systems. In Hungary, financing was not tied to hospital input or output until a Diagnosis-Related-Group system was introduced. This change provided an opportunity to study the effect of the new system, taking the supply of hospital beds into account.

The relation between quality of co-ordination of nursing care and quality of life in Dutch nursing homes.

Quality of life of nursing home residents is a critical consideration in international health care policies and health care decisions. Yet, there is little relevant research to support decisions about client-tailored and effective nursing care for this population. Because of the permanency of their stay, the care received affects the quality of daily life.

Physician reimbursement and the medical encounter: an observational study in Dutch pediatrics.

Pediatrician reimbursement is shifting from fee-for-service to a fixed salary. In the Netherlands, as physicians working on a fee-for-service basis have a financial interest in talking less and in carrying out more diagnostic tests and investigations, it may be questioned whether this will influence the structure and content of medical visits. With use of 302 videotaped outpatient encounters with either salaried or fee-for-service pediatricians, differences were examined in visit length, number of requests for diagnostic tests and investigations (laboratory test, endoscopy, and radiography), pediatrician-parent communication behaviors, and patient satisfaction.

Dutch transmural nurse clinics for chronic patients: a descriptive study.

'Transmural care' can be defined as patient-tailored care provided on the basis of close collaboration and joint responsibility between hospitals and home care organizations. One form of transmural care is transmural nurse clinics for chronically ill. This study describes 62 transmural nurse clinics in the Netherlands.

Gender-related differences in the organization and provision of services among general practitioners in Europe: a signal to health care planners.

Background: The number of women entering general practice is rising in many countries. Thus, gender differences in work situation preferences and practice activities are important for future planning.

Objectives: This article describes the differences between male and female general practitioners (GPs) in 32 European countries.

Evaluation of communication training programs in nursing care: a review of the literature.

An important aspect of nursing care is communication with patients. Nurses' major communication tasks are not only to inform the patient about his/her disease and treatment, but also to create a therapeutically effective relationship by assessing patients' concerns, showing understanding, empathy, and providing comfort and support. In this review, 14 studies, which focus on the evaluation of the effects of communication training programs for nurses, have been evaluated.

Doctor-patient communication in different European health care systems: relevance and performance from the patients' perspective.

Our aim is to investigate differences between European health care systems in the importance attached by patients to different aspects of doctor-patient communication and the GPs' performance of these aspects, both being from the patients' perspective. 3658 patients of 190 GPs in six European countries (Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland) completed pre- and post-visit questionnaires about relevance and performance of doctor-patient communication. Data were analyzed by variance analysis and by multilevel analysis.

Effects of video interaction analysis training on nurse-patient communication in the care of the elderly.

This paper describes an empirical evaluation of communication skills training for nurses in elderly care. The training programme was based on Video Interaction Analysis and aimed to improve nurses' communication skills such that they pay attention to patients' physical, social and emotional needs and support self care in elderly people. The effects of the training course were measured in an experimental and control group.

A comparative study of the financing, provision and quality of care in nursing homes. The approach of four European countries: Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.

A comparative study of the financing, provision and quality of care in nursing homes. The approach of four European countries: Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands As result of an increase in the numbers of frail elderly people, most European countries are facing problems with the financing and provision of services by nursing homes. At the same time, the expectations of quality of these services continue to rise.