Groenholland (Netherlands)

ObjectivesThere are substantial barriers to initiate advance care planning (ACP) for persons with chronic-progressive disease in primary care settings. Some challenges may be disease-specific, such as communicating in case of cognitive impairment. This study assessed and compared the initiation of ACP in primary care with persons with dementia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, organ failure and stroke.DesignLongitudinal study linking data from a database of Dutch general practices’ electronic health records with national administrative databases managed by Statistics Netherlands.Setting and participantsData from general practice records of 199 034 community-dwelling persons with chronic-progressive disease diagnosed between 2008 and 2016.Outcome measureIncidence rate ratio (IRR) of recorded ACP planning conversations per 1000 person-years in persons with a diagnosis of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, organ failure, cancer or stroke, compared with persons without the particular diagnosis. Poisson regression and competing risk analysis were performed, adjusted for age, gender, migration background, living situation, frailty index and income, also for disease subsamples.ResultsIn adjusted analyses, the rate of first ACP conversation for persons with organ failure was the lowest (IRR 0.70 (95% CI 0.68 to 0.73)). Persons with cancer had the highest rate (IRR 1.75 (95% CI 1.68 to 1.83)). Within the subsample of persons with organ failure, the subsample of persons with dementia and the subsample of stroke, a comorbid diagnosis of cancer increased the probability of ACP. Further, for those with organ failure or cancer, comorbid dementia decreased the probability of ACP.ConclusionsConsidering the complexity of initiating ACP for persons with organ failure or dementia, general practitioners should prioritise offering it to them and their family caregivers. Policy initiatives should stimulate the implementation of ACP for people with chronic-progressive disease.

Abstract The emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) represents a significant challenge for global healthcare systems. The Netherlands maintains one of the lowest antimicrobial resistance rates in the world, attributed to prudent antibiotic use and effective infection prevention and control policies in healthcare settings. This report presents an updated national guideline for the infection prevention and control of MDROs in hospitals, developed by the Dutch Collaborative Partnership for Infection Prevention Guidelines (SRI). Using a multidisciplinary approach and evidence-based frameworks such as AGREE-II and GRADE, the guideline addresses the definition of MDRO, risk assessment and recommendations for MDRO screening, isolation and infection prevention measures, source and contact tracing, discontinuation of isolation measures, and organization of care. It incorporates new evidence, and other aspects such as patient perspectives, sustainability, costs, and organizational factors, providing practical recommendations to mitigate MDRO transmission. This update aims to strengthen national infection control practices and sustain the Dutch low antimicrobial resistance levels.

Objectives Young-onset dementia (YOD) symptoms often first present in the workplace, resulting in work performance challenges and eventually loss of employment. This study aims to investigate the experiences, work values, and support needs of employees with YOD and their relatives. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the experiences, work values, and support needs of (former) employees with YOD and their relatives. Subsequently, separate focus group discussions were conducted for employees and relatives to review and prioritize interview findings. Inductive thematic analysis was applied to both datasets. Results A total of 15 interviews (six employees; nine relatives) and four focus group discussions (ten employees; six relatives) were conducted. Six themes emerged, with five revolving around the central theme: desire to work. The other themes represent essential contributing factors, including importance of receiving a YOD diagnosis; knowledge, awareness, and understanding regarding YOD; open communication, joint decision making, and collaboration; work adjustments, involvement, and support; phasing out work and future perspectives. Conclusion The findings highlight a strong desire to work post-YOD diagnosis, serving as a foundation for developing workplace support tools and guidance. This has the potential to help individuals with YOD preserve their self-confidence and identity while working within their capabilities.

Introduction:Advance care planning (ACP), one of the key domains of palliative care, enables individuals to define and discuss goals and preferences for future treatment and care with family and healthcare professionals. By exploring the views of people with dementia on quality of life now and in the future, including the end of life, care provisions can be tailored to their values. The perspectives of people with young-onset dementia (YOD), with a symptom onset before the age of 65, may differ from those of older people with dementia given the different life phase and family context. Qualitative research methods can be used to elicit the attitudes and beliefs to generate insight into their perspectives.Methods:Qualitive study, as part of the Care4Youngdem-study, using semi-structured interviews with a criterion-based purposive sample of community-dwelling people with YOD (n=10) and their (family) caregivers in the Netherlands. We adapted the interview guide based on discussion of the transcripts. Double coding of three interviews resulted in a codebook. The codes were subsequently analysed through thematic analysis.Results:Interviews took place between December 2019 and February 2022. The most prevalent dementia subtype was Alzheimer’s (n=7). Four overarching themes, based on 21 categories, were derived from the interviews: (1) connectedness with others, (2) sense of dignity, (3) acceptance versus no acceptance of the impact of dementia, (4) concerning oneself with the future versus not wishing to concern oneself with the future. Connectedness with others and a sense of dignity were deemed prerequisites for (future) quality of life but were affected by YOD. These themes overlapped in terms of axial codes. Ambiguities were seen in the attitude towards the impact of YOD and the preparation for the future. The degree of acceptance of YOD affected the orientation towards the future.Discussion:Family and professional caregivers should discuss with people with YOD how to maintain connectedness with others and a sense of dignity. Opposite ways of coping with the present and future were found. Professional caregivers should take personal coping styles into account when starting ACP conversations.

The Italian building stock consists of buildings mainly constructed until the mid-20th century using pre-industrial construction techniques. These buildings require energy refurbishment that takes into account the preservation of their architectural heritage. In this view, this work studies an innovative integrated modelling and simulation framework consisting of the implementation of Historical Building Information Modeling (HBIM) for the energy retrofit of historical buildings with renewable geothermal HVAC system. To this aim, the field case study is part of a medieval complex in Central Italy (Perugia), as representative ancient rural offshore architecture in the European countryside. The system involves of a ground source heat pump, a water tank for thermal-energy storage connected to a low-temperature radiant system, and an air-handling unit. The building heating energy performance, typically influenced by thermal inertia in historical buildings, when coupled to the novel HVAC system, is comparatively assessed against a traditional scenario implementing a natural-gas boiler, and made inter-operative within the HBIM ad hoc platform. Results show that the innovative renewable energy system provides relevant benefits while preserving minor visual and architectural impact within the historical complex, and also in terms of both energy saving, CO2 emissions offset, and operation costs compared to the traditional existing system. The integrated HBIM approach may effectively drive the path toward regeneration and re-functioning of heritage in Europe.

Background : Prevalence of disability depends on when a person becomes disabled (disability incidence) and when he or she dies (mortality). Multistate projection models can take into account both underlying processes of disability prevalence. The application of these models, however, is often hampered by high data requirements. Objective : This paper describes a generic estimation procedure for calculating disability incidence rates and mortality rates by disability status from data on disability prevalence and overall mortality. The procedure allows for the addition of risk factors. Methods: We estimate disability incidence rates from disability prevalence and mortality rates by disability status using prevalence data on disability from SHARE and mortality data from Eurostat and the Rotterdam Study of Health (ERGO). We use these rates to project future trends of ADL-disability prevalence among the elderly in the Netherlands for the period 2008-2040 using the multistate projection model LIPRO. Results : This paper shows that even in the case of limited data, multistate projection models can be applied to project trends in disability prevalence. In a scenario that assumes constant disability incidence rates, disability prevalence among the elderly will increase even though the mortality rates of disabled persons exceed those of non-disabled people. In a scenario that assumes declining incidence rates at the same pace as declining mortality rates, disability prevalence will be significantly lower. This latter scenario results in an almost similar decline in disability prevalence as the scenario assuming a strong reduction of age-specific obesity among the elderly. One conclusion, therefore, could be that the prevalence of obesity should be seriously reduced to reach a strong reduction of disability incidence. Conclusions : The strength of this method to calculate disability incidence-rates based on disability prevalence-rates is that the relationship between changes in mortality and changes in disability is taken into account, and that the effects of risk factors can be estimated. The improved transparency of the projections, the generic nature of the model and the applicability to all (European) countries with disability prevalence data make it a useful instrument for making plausible projections of future patterns of disability prevalence based on disability incidence.

The main goal of palliative care is to improve quality of life by treating symptoms in patients with life-threatening illnesses. Most patients suffer from more than five severe comorbidities in the last 6 months of life. However, for patients receiving palliative care, interventions to prevent possible long-term complications of these comorbidities are no longer the primary aim of care. This paper aimed to review the literature regarding decision making about medication for comorbid disease at the end of life, defined as a life expectancy <3 months, and to formulate preliminary recommendations based on the existing literature. An integrative review approach was used. We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases. Papers were included if they had been published in the English language between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2013, with an abstract. Additional studies were identified by searching bibliographies. Factors to consider when systematically reviewing medications are the goals of care, remaining life expectancy, treatment targets, time until benefit, number needed to treat, number needed to harm, and adverse drug reactions. Existing research focuses particularly on the use of certain drug classes during end-of-life care, including statins, antihypertensive agents, anticoagulants, antihyperglycaemic agents and antibiotics. Based on the results of this review, we made preliminary recommendations for these medication groups. Medication that does not benefit the patient in any way should be avoided. The aim of medication at the end of life should be symptom control. There is a need for prospective trials to give further insight into the decision-making process of medication management at the end of life.

This paper presents a 2d localization system for UHF RFID tags. By measuring the phase between the transmitted continuous wave and received backscatter from the tag at different frequencies, it is possible to estimate the distance between the reader and tag. By determining distance estimates to three antennas it is possible to determine a location of a tag with the help of trilateration. The location of the antennas has to be known and any error in distance measurement influences the location estimate. Mainly to overcome the expected impact of the environment on the distance estimate, we opt for the use of reference tags and the K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithm to derive a location. An experiment is done and results are compared with an KNN algorithm based on received signal strength. Furthermore some experiments are done to verify the use of phase measurements for the detection of stationary tags in a portal application.