The effectiveness of worksite physical activity programs on physical activity, physical fitness, and health

Objective: To critically review the literature with respect to the effectiveness of worksite physical activity programs on physical activity, physical fitness, and health. Data Sources: A search for relevant English-written papers published between 1980 and 2000 was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Sportdiscus, CINAHL, and Psychlit. The key...

Effects of software programs stimulating regular breaks and exercises on work-related neck and upper-limb disorders

Objectives. This study evaluated the effects on work-related neck and upper-limb disorders among computer workers stimulated (by a software program) to take regular breaks and perform physical exercises. Possible effects on sick leave and productivity were studied as well. Methods. A randomized controlled design was used with cluster...

Assessment of fatigue in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: A psychometric analysis

Objectives. To investigate whether the single-item fatigue question of the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) are appropriate instruments to measure fatigue in ankylosing spondylitis (AS); to identify factors that influence fatigue in AS; and to assess how fatigue in all...

Employment in adults with congenital heart disease

Objective: To evaluate job participation, careerrelated problems, and actual job problems in adults with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) compared with adults with mild CHD and reference groups. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Patients were randomly selected from the archives of the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Leiden...

Lens aging in relation to nutritional determinants and possible risk factors for age-related cataract

Objective: To investigate whether nutritional factors and possible risk factors for cataract influence the lens optical density (LOD). Design: Three hundred seventy-six subjects, aged 18 to 75 years, were recruited. In a cross-sectional design, serum was analyzed for lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin C, α-tocopherol, and cholesterol levels. Adipose...

Neighbourhood socioeconomic context and self reported health and smoking: A secondary analysis of data on seven cities

Objective: Many studies have shown that poor health status and harmful heolth behaviour occur more frequently in deprived neighbourhoods. Most studies show modest associations between area level socioeconomic factors, the neighbourhood context, and health outcomes. However, estimates for the contextuol effects vary. It is unclear if this...

Measuring health status using the Health Utilities Index: Agreement between raters and between modalities of administration

The aim of this study was to evaluate interrater and intermodality agreement in assessing health status using the Health Utilities Index. A random sample from a Dutch cohort of 14-year-old Very Low Birth Weight children and their parents were invited to participate in a face-to-face (n = 150) or telephone (n = 150) interview. All 300...

The validity of self-reported use of health care across socioeconomic strata: A comparison of survey and registration data

Background. Socioeconomic differences in health and in use of health care are well known. Most data on socioeconomic differences in health care utilization are based on retrospective self-report in community surveys, but the evidence on the validity of self-reported utilization of health care across socioeconomic groups is limited. The aim of...

Factors that influence passive smoking in infancy: A study among mothers of newborn babies in The Netherlands

Background. The aim of this study was to assess the factors that influence smoking in the presence of the infant by mothers, partners, other family members, and friends. Methods. An observational study using questionnaires was performed with smoking and nonsmoking parents of babies between 1 and 14 months old attending Dutch well-baby clinics...

Assessment of dietary intake among Moroccan women and Surinam men

Objective. To establish a method for food consumption data collection in ethnic groups in the Netherlands. Methods. Two pilot studies have been carried out, one among Moroccan women and one among Surinam men. First, focus group discussions were held to obtain background information from members of the target population. For food consumption...

Cesar-therapie tijdelijk effectiever dan standaardbehandeling door de huisarts bij patiënten met chronische aspecifieke lage rugklachten: Gerandomiseerd, gecontroleerd en geblindeerd onderzoek met 1 jaar follow-up [Cesar therapy is temporarily more effective than a standard treatment from the general practitioner in patients with chronic aspecific lower back pain; randomized, controlled and blinded study with a I year follow-up]

Objective. To determine the effectiveness of a special form of exercise therapy ('Cesar therapy') on self reported recovery and improvement of posture amongst patients with chronic aspecific lower back pain. Design. Prospective randomized controlled and blinded investigation. Method. After informed consent had been obtained, patients with...

Self-reported physical disabilities in children in the Netherlands

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of self-reported physical disabilities in school children, through the Child Health Monitoring System. Methods: In 1992/1993, data were obtained in mainstream education (n = 5484), and in 1994/1995 in special education (n = 2622). The data were weighted to calculate estimates representative of the Dutch...

The relationship between leisure time, physical activities and musculoskeletal symptoms and disability in worker populations

Objectives: To assess the association between leisure time physical activity and musculoskeletal morbidity, as well as possible interactions with physical activity at work. Methods: A literature search was performed to collect all studies on musculoskeletal disorders in which physical activity was involved as a variable. Next, an analysis was...

Kwaliteit van leven bij kinderen met sikkelcelziekte in de regio Amsterdam [Quality of life of children with sickle cell disease in the Amsterdam area]

Objective. To determine the differences in quality of life between children with sickle cell disease and healthy immigrant children. Design. Descriptive, comparative. Method. The quality of life of children with sickle cell disease between 5 and 15 years old being treated in the Emma Children's Hospital AMC in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was...

Measuring disability, the agreement between self evaluation and observation of performance

Purpose: In 1981, eight countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) reached consensus about applying a similar disability questionnaire in their health surveys that was related to the ICIDH. In 1992 a revised version, the WHO-disability questionnaire, was recommended. In this paper the concurrent validity of 10 items of the questionnaire...

Measuring health-related quality of life in children: The development of the TACQOL parent form

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), conceptualized as patients' own evaluations of their health status, is an important criterion in evaluating health and health care and in the treatment of individual patients. Until now, few systematic attempts have been made to develop instruments to assess the HRQoL of children using such a...