Projects
Communication about the end of life in nursing homes: a cluster randomised controlled trial Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Communication about the end of life in nursing homes: a cluster randomised controlled trial. KU Leuven
Despite growing recognition of the importance of sexual expression among older people, nursing home residents’ sexual activity remains a widely ignored aspect of their physical, psychological and relational wellbeing. Residents are often infantilized which makes it hard for their surroundings to contemplate them as sexual beings. This ambiguous attitude toward later-life sexuality is further reinforced by the numerous ageist myths and ...
Sexuality at the end of life: experiences and needs of terminally ill patients and their partner, and the role of the health care providers Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Paediatric care at the end of life: a population-based analysis using quality indicators Ghent University
Each year about 6 in every 100.000 children (aged 1-17) die of a life-threatening condition. Partly
as a result of the specific value appointed to a child’ life, treatment for these children is often
focused on cure and life prolongation until the last stages of life, even when no longer warranted
or beneficial, having an important influence on the child’ quality of life. Population-based
research ...
Relieving suffering at the end of life: a study in three European countries Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Terminal sedation (using sedating drugs to take away the patient's perception of severe symptoms) is increasingly being used as a last resort end-of-life treatment. It is heavily criticized for its resemblance to euthanasia. Its clinical characteristics are poorly understood. Large variations in the frequency of terminal sedation throughout Europe indicate that its use is not only determined by the severity of the patients' ...
Treatment trajectory, costs and quality of care in last months of life of cancer patients in Flanders, 1996-2009 Ghent University
A. There are four main research questions:
1. Which treatments, including pharmacotherapy, do cancer patients receive during their last three months
of life (Study part 1)?
2. What are the characteristics of the care trajectory of cancer patients during their last three months of life
(where did they stay, transfers, length of stay in each setting, place of death) (Study part 1)?
3. Which are the direct and indirect ...
Redesigning end-of-life care for patients with congenital heart disease by scrutinizing trajectories toward death and evaluating curative and palliative care in the last year of life KU Leuven
Healthcare spending has never been higher and is expected to continue to rise in all parts of the world over the next few years. One solution to reducing healthcare costs is to reduce avoidable healthcare use, which is healthcare use that could have been avoided by proper prevention, precautions or timely referrals. Avoidable healthcare use is common, unfortunately. To gain a good understanding of this concept, a detailed review of the ...
The integration of untargeted fingerprinting and targeted multi-response kinetics for accelerated shelf life testing of shelf-stable foods. KU Leuven
Shelf-stable processed foods can be preserved at room temperature for a very long time (usually more than two years). Conducting a complete shelf-life test over the whole estimated validity of a shelf-stable product is extremely time- and resource-consuming. To overcome this issue, food scientists often conduct accelerated shelf-life tests, typically exposing the product to elevated storage temperatures. For this purpose, an ‘a priori’ ...
Development and evaluation of a self-regulation-based eHealth and mHealth intervention to promote physical activity: testing under controlled and real life conditions Ghent University
Interventions focusing on the promotion of healthy behaviours play a major role in reducing
diseases and illnesses. Studies have shown that computer-tailored interventions can be effective in
changing health behaviour. These interventions allow a personalized approach by making use of
interactive technologies(e.g. Internet). Although a large number of people can be reached through
Internet, the percentage of individuals ...