Effect of an intervention aimed at reducing the risk of allergic respiratory disease in bakers: Change in flour dust and fungal alpha-amylase levels

Introduction: We evaluated the effect on exposure of an intervention programme, which focused on risk education and providing information on good work practices. This intervention programme was enrolled as part of a Dutch covenant in the flour processing industry (industrial bakeries, flour mills, ingredient producers). Methods: Data from...

Strategies for the prevention of MP3-induced hearing loss among adolescents: Expert opinions from a Delphi study

OBJECTIVE. To identify parties involved in the prevention of MP3-induced hearing loss among adolescents and potentially effective prevention strategies and interventions. METHODS. Thirty experts in fields such as scientific research, medical practice, community health professions, education, youth work, music entertainment, and enforcement...

EU policies in personalized medicine-related technologies

Against the background of a number of first drug-diagnostic co-products developed and introduce into the European market, European decision-makers feel impelled to react and position themselves in the field of personalized medicine. Their reactions cover a broad range, from the analysis of knowledge requirements for market approval to the need...

Evaluation of 280 000 cases in Dutch midwifery practices: A descriptive study

Objective: To assess the nature and outcome of intrapartum referrals from primary to secondary care within the Dutch obstetric system. Design: Descriptive study. Setting: Dutch midwifery database (LVR1), covering 95% of all midwifery care and 80% of all Dutch pregnancies (2001-03). Population: Low-risk women (280 097) under exclusive care of a...

Disability assessments: Effects of response mode and experience

Purpose. To what extent response mode and experience affect the assessment of disability was investigated. Method. An experiment was conducted in which 34 medical doctors (17 inexperienced and 15 experienced) were required to assess disability of a videotaped client. Participants either gave a probability assessment after each piece of...

Is paediatric assessment of motor development of very preterm and low-birthweight children appropriate?

Aim: To determine whether paediatricians that examine, in regular clinical practice, very preterm and very-low-birthweight children at 5 y of age detect neurological impairments and functional motor problems in these children. Methods: We compared a paediatric judgement, a standardized neurological examination (Touwen examination) and a...

The power of communication. Modifying behaviour: Effectively influencing nutrition patterns of patients

Every year 7000 people die from obesity and another 13 000 people die by wrong diets in The Netherlands. Part of this problem can be solved when the communication between general practitioners (GPs) and patients about nutrition and diets improves. There are four activities that can contribute greatly to the communication between GPs and their...

Selecting an indicator set for monitoring and evaluating perinatal health in Europe: Criteria, methods and results from the PERISTAT project

The PERISTAT project was charged with developing an indicator set for monitoring and describing perinatal health in Europe as part of the European Commission's Health Monitoring Programme, run by the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection (DG-SANCO), which is working towards the establishment of a comprehensive health monitoring...

Evaluatie en validatie van perinatale-sterfte-audit door terugkoppeling naar zorgverleners [Evaluation and validation of a perinatal death audit by means of feedback to the caregivers]

Objective. To evaluate a perinatal audit procedure by communicating the results to the caregivers (midwives and obstetricians) involved, in order to determine whether the audit led to specific suggestions for improving practice and whether evaluation of the panel assessments by caregivers leads to a different evaluation of the audit process....

Randomised clinical trial on the effect of the Dutch obstetric peer review system

The project 'Obstetric Peer Review Interventions' (Verloskundige Onderlinge Kwaliteitsspiegeling Interventies, VOKSINT) was set-up in The Netherlands in 1994. It provided annual comparison data (quality ranking, league tables) for secondary care obstetric departments adjusted for population differences, based on the data registered in the...