Publicaties

Older patients, suffering from numerous diseases and taking multiple medications are the rule rather than the exception in primary care. A manifold of medical conditions are often associated with poor outcomes, and their multiple medications raise...

Considering many psychosocial health risk factors are interrelated, determining psychosocial health risk might benefit from a more person-centered perspective. This paper explores to what extent a psychosocial profile that combines potentially syn...

OBJECTIVES: To develop a framework to identify and classify interactions within and among treatments and conditions and to test this framework with guidelines on chronic heart failure (CHF) and its frequent comorbidity. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: T...

BACKGROUND: Frailty in older patients might influence treatment decisions. Frailty can be determined using a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), but this is time-consuming and expensive. Therefore we assessed the diagnostic value of four sho...

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature on the severity and risk factors for loneliness in adult cancer patients. METHODS: We systematically reviewed quantitative studies addressing loneliness in cancer patients. Exclusion criteria were...

Background: The 2014 updated Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) strategy added the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) as the fourth possible symptoms measure. The impact of the suggested tools for symptoms of ...

OBJECTIVE: To develop and internally validate a model that predicts the outcome of an intended vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) for a Western European population that can be used to personalise counselling for deliveries at term. DESIGN: Regis...

BACKGROUND: Multimorbidity, the co-occurrence of two or more chronic medical conditions within a single individual, is increasingly becoming part of daily care of general medical practice. Literature-based discovery may help to investigate the pat...

People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Treatment options are improving and may enhance prevention; however access for PWID may be poor. The availability in the literature of information on seven ma...

This study aims to determine the cardiac dysfunction prevalence, to investigate the relationship between the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) test and structural and functional echocardiographic parameters and to determine whether SPPB sc...

Atrial fibrillation is very common in people aged 65 or older. This condition increases the risk of death, congestive heart failure and thromboembolic conditions. Many patients with atrial fibrillation are asymptomatic and a cerebrovascular accide...

OBJECTIVE: New electronic devices offer an opportunity within routine primary care settings for improving the detection of atrial fibrillation (AF), which is a common cardiac arrhythmia and a modifiable risk factor for stroke. We aimed to assess t...

Multimorbidity is a health issue mostly dealt with in primary care practice. As a result of their generalist and patient-centered approach, long-lasting relationships with patients, and responsibility for continuity and coordination of care, famil...

In 2009, the Belgian National Institute of Health and Disability Insurance established a care trajectory (CT) for a subgroup of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (T2DM) based on Wagner's chronic care model. The goal of this CT is to optimise the q...

Despite huge public campaigns, there is still overconsumption of antibiotics in children with self-limiting diseases. Possible explanations may be the physicians' and parents' uncertainty about the gravity of the disease and inadequate communicati...

Acute illness is the most common presentation of children to ambulatory care. In contrast, serious infections are rare and often present at an early stage. To avoid complications or death, early recognition and adequate referral are essential. In ...

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of disability worldwide. Knee OA care is often suboptimal. A first necessary step in quality improvement is to gain a clear insight into usual care. The aim of the study was, therefore, to develop a...

This study reveals that most GPs still work fulltime in their practice, with limited help for administration and reception. Younger GPs, male GPs and soloists often work fulltime, with 100 to 150 patients per week. GPs considering to stop early, b...

The Belgian system for continuous professional development (CPD) was established in 1993. When comparing this system to the one in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Finland, it appears that the implications of CPD for individual doctors and ...

Scientific recommendations stipulate how to develop a system of continuous professional development (CPD). These include the application of tailored interventions originating in the individual's learning needs, the use of active learning methods b...