2018, Article / Letter to editor (PLoS One, iss. June 26, (2018), pp. 1-14)Referring patients from specialist mental-health services (provided by multiple healthcare service providers and aimed at relieving symptoms of mental illness) to less intensive care (provided by a nurse or psychologist in cooperation with a general practitioner and aimed at improving quality of life) is feasible from the perspective of patients, service providers, and mental-health services. However, it is unclear which patients are most suitable for referral to less intensive care. In this study, we used concept mapping to identify factors that might determine whether a referral from specialist mental services to less intensive care might be successful. Participants (N = 34) were recruited from different parts of the Netherlands and included general practitioners, peer workers, community mental-health nurses, and social workers from several services who were based in different neighborhoods. The participants generated 54 statements (31 after clean-up), which were sorted into five clusters and rated on their expected ability to predict successful referral. Ordered from highest to lowest on expected predictive value, the clusters of factors were: Patient characteristics, patients’ informal support system, patients’ social situation, organization of services, and service provider related factors. The ordering was the same for all of the service providers, except that general practitioners expected the organization of services to be the most predictive. The ordering of the clusters is mostly consistent with existing knowledge about recovery during mental healthcare. In order to further improve the number of successful referrals from specialist mental-health services to less intensive care, a prospective prediction study is needed.
2013, Article / Letter to editor (British Journal of Social Work, vol. 2013, iss. 43, (2013), pp. 1-18)The complexity of the daily practice of social workers in the Netherlands has increased, while the social appreciation for their work has decreased. Stakeholders involved in social work practice agreed that a masters programme for social workers could be an important step to improve the quality of social work and enhance the professionalisation of social workers. However, stakeholders disagreed considerably on the objectives of this new programme. Hence, there was no focus for the programme or for its evaluation. In order to assess the purpose and intended goals of the masters programme in social work, a retrospective plan evaluation was conducted, consisting of a document analysis and concept-mapping procedure with thirty-nine stakeholders. The study resulted in a consensus-based conceptual framework in which practice development is considered the key domain of the programme. Practice development seems to fit the open domain of social work and meets the various and often ambivalent demands on social workers and their profession. It is regarded as a method in which the social worker with a masters degree has a new role and position in the interplay between clients, stakeholders and professionals.
2012, Article / Letter to editor (International Journal of Nursing Studies, vol. 49, iss. 5, (2012), pp. 549-559)In psychiatric care professionals perceive some patients as ‘difficult’, especially patients with long-term non-psychotic disorders. For these patients few evidence-based treatments exist. An intervention program, Interpersonal Community Psychiatric Treatment (ICPT), was developed by the authors. It was evaluated with the aim to increase effective behaviours by both patients and community psychiatric nurses (CPNs). ICPT is one of very few intervention programs aimed at ‘difficult’ non-psychotic chronic patients. In this pilot study was found that it can be successfully carried out by CPNs, is generally experienced as acceptable and useful by patients and CPNs alike, and results in some significantly better effects on both process and outcome measures. In the main study, some alterations will be made to the instruction manual and training program. Also, the diagnostic interview may be briefer, and the characteristics and treatment integrity of CPNs will be included in measurements. Further controlled and randomized research is needed to test the effectiveness of the program in a larger group of patients.
2011, Article / Letter to editor (Sociale Psychiatrie, vol. 30, iss. 97, (2011), pp. 15-20)Onderzoek in het sociaal-psychiatrische werkveld vindt de laatste jaren maar beperkt plaats in Nederland. Er wordt weliswaar onderzoek gedaan naar in het buitenland ontwikkelde programmas, zoals ACT (Assertive Community Treatment), IRB (Integrale Rehabilitatie Benadering), IPS (Individual Placement & Support) e.d., maar dit betreft eigenlijk al ver doorontwikkelde methodieken met een specifieke focus. In de doorsnee sociaal-psychiatrische praktijk wordt meestal niet zulke specifieke en evidence-based zorg en behandeling geboden aan mensen met ernstige en langdurige psychiatrische problematiek in combinatie met allerlei psychosociale problemen. Juist in die praktijk zijn veel sociaal-psychiatrisch verpleegkundigen werkzaam, waarvan we op onderzoeksgebied weinig horen.