Objective: To report the study protocol and baseline characteristics of a prospective cohort study to evaluate longitudinal recovery trajectories of patients recovering from COVID-19 who have visited a primary care allied health professional. Design: Report of the protocol and baseline characteristics for a prospective cohort study with a mixedmethods approach. Patients: Patients recovering from COVID-19 treated by primary care dietitians, exercise therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists and/or speech and language therapists in the Netherlands. Methods: The prospective study will measure primary outcome domains: participation, health-related quality of life, fatigue, physical functioning, and costs, at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Interviews, on the patients' experiences with allied healthcare, will be held with a subsample of patients and allied health professionals. Results: The cohort comprises 1,451 patients (57% female, mean age 49 (standard deviation 13) years). Preliminary results for the study cohort show that 974 (67%) of the participants reported mild/moderate severity symptoms during the infection period and patients reported severe restrictions in activities of daily living compared with previous research in other patient populations. Both quantitative and qualitative, will provide insight into the recovery of patients who are treated by allied health professionals. Conclusion: In conclusion, this will be the first comprehensive study to longitudinally evaluate the recovery trajectories and related costs of patients recovering from COVID-19 who are treated by allied health professionals in the Netherlands. This study will provide evidence for the optimal strategy to treat patients recovering from COVID-19 infection, including which patients benefit, and to what extent, from treatment, and which factors might impact their recovery course over time. The preliminary results of this study demonstrated the severity of restrictions and complaints at the start of therapy are substantial.
Objective: To report the study protocol and baseline characteristics of a prospective cohort study to evaluate longitudinal recovery trajectories of patients recovering from COVID-19 who have visited a primary care allied health professional. Design: Report of the protocol and baseline characteristics for a prospective cohort study with a mixed-methods approach. Patients: Patients recovering from COVID-19 treated by primary care dietitians, exercise therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists and/or speech and language therapists in the Netherlands. Methods: The prospective study will measure primary outcome domains: participation, health-related quality of life, fatigue, physical functioning, and costs, at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Interviews, on the patients’ experiences with allied healthcare, will be held with a subsample of patients and allied health professionals. Results: The cohort comprises 1,451 patients (57% female, mean age 49 (standard deviation 13) years). Preliminary results for the study cohort show that 974 (67%) of the participants reported mild/moderate severity symptoms during the infection period and patients reported severe restrictions in activities of daily living compared with previous research in other patient populations. Both quantitative and qualitative, will provide insight into the recovery of patients who are treated by allied health professionals. Conclusion: In conclusion, this will be the first comprehensive study to longitudinally evaluate the recovery trajectories and related costs of patients recovering from COVID-19 who are treated by allied health professionals in the Netherlands. This study will provide evidence for the optimal strategy to treat patients recovering from COVID-19 infection, including which patients benefit, and to what extent, from treatment, and which factors might impact their recovery course over time. The preliminary results of this study demonstrated the severity of restrictions and complaints at the start of therapy are substantial.
Background: Determining what constitutes an excellent allied health care professional (AHCP) is important, since this is what will guide the development of curricula for training future physical therapists, oral hygienists, speech therapists, diagnostic radiographers, and dietitians. This also determines the quality of care.Aim: To describe perspectives of AHCPs on which characteristics are commonly associated with an excellent AHCP.Methods: AHCPs’ perspectives were derived from three focus group discussions. Twenty-one health care professionals participated. The final analysis of the focus group discussions produced eight domains, in which content validity was obtained through a Delphi panel survey of 27 contributing experts.Results: According to the survey, a combination of the following characteristics defines an excellent AHCP: (1) cognizance, to obtain and to apply knowledge in a broad multidisciplinary health care field; (2) cooperativity, to effectively work with others in a multidisciplinary con¬text; (3) communicative, to communicate effectively at different levels in complex situations; (4) initiative, to initiate new ideas, to act proactively, and to follow them through; (5) innovative, to devise new ideas and to implement alternatives beyond current practices; (6) introspective, to self-examine and to reflect; (7) broad perspective, to capture the big picture; and (8) evidence-driven, to find and to use scientific evidence to guide one’s decisions.Conclusion: The AHCPs perspectives can be used as a reference for personal improvement for supervisors and professionals in clinical practice and for educational purposes. These perspectives may serve as a guide against which talented students can evaluate themselves.
“In Nederland overleden in 2010 ongeveer 136.000 mensen, waarvan 108.500 (ca. 80%) niet onverwacht. Bij deze laatste groep is palliatieve zorg aan de orde. Hiervan was 80% ouder dan 65 jaar. In de toekomst zal dit aantal door de dubbele vergrijzing sterk toenemen. Van de mensen die in 2008 overleden aan een chronische ziekte stierf 34% thuis (IKNL, Algemene principes van palliatieve zorg)”. 84% van de Nederlandse bevolking prefereert thuis te sterven (Gomes, 2012).Palliatieve zorg helpt bij het voorkomen en verlichten van gezondheidgerelateerd lijden door vroege identificatie, juiste beoordeling en behandeling van pijn en andere problemen (WHO, 2020). Bij thuiswonende kankerpatiënten in de Nederlandse eerstelijnszorg geeft 72% aan pijn te ervaren, van wie 25% ondraaglijke pijn (Ruijs, 2012). Meer dan een kwart van de oudere volwassen patiënten ervaart pijn in de laatste 2 jaar van hun leven, waarbij de prevalentie toeneemt van 23% in 24 maanden voorafgaand aan het overlijden tot 55% in de laatste levensmaand (Smith, 2010). Tijdens de laatste levensweek meldt 25% van de palliatieve patiënten pijn te ervaren, ondanks het voorschrijven van opioïden (Klint, 2019). Onverlichte pijn is een veelvoorkomend probleem bij patiënten die sterven aan kanker en aan niet-kwaadaardige chronische ziekten. De leeropdracht Kortdurende zorg en interprofessionele samenwerking bij kwetsbare ouderen is onderdeel van het lectoraat Healthy Ageing, Allied Healthcare and Nursing. De insteek binnen de wijkverpleging van ZuidOostZorg is om, waar mogelijk, de kwetsbare ouderen kortdurend te ondersteunen en te werken aan reablement. In de laatste levensfase zijn de kortdurende doelen en acties gericht op het bieden van kwaliteit van leven, waarin een intensieve samenwerking is met o.a. huisartsen. Dit kan bijvoorbeeld zijn op het gebied van het in kaart brengen van de laatste levenswensen (proactieve zorgplanning), bieden van symptoommanagement en zorg voor naasten.
