Desiree Beaujean

• Teammanager at Wageningen University & Research

Poultry meat is an important source of foodborne infections. Safe food-handling could lower the number of infections. Since 2001, a label containing safe food-handling instructions is required on the retail packages of raw poultry in the Netherlands. The aim was to determine the impact of this label on risk perception and food-handling behavior. A...

Background: The Ebola outbreak in West-Africa triggered risk communication activities to promote adequate preventive behaviour in the Netherlands. Our study investigated the level of knowledge, perceptions, and media use regarding Ebola. Methods: In December 2014, an online questionnaire was administered to the Dutch population (n = 526) and Hea...

Background Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common reported tick-borne infection in Europe, and involves transmission of Borrelia by ticks. As long as a vaccine is not available and effective measures for controlling tick populations are insufficient, LB control is focused on preventive measures to avoid tick bites. To inform citizens about the ri...

Despite improvements in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, Lyme borreliosis (LB) is still the most common tick-borne infection in Europe and North America. As long as there are no effective measures to control tick populations in nature and there is no vaccine, we have to primarily rely on information provision and communication to prevent tick b...

Background Lyme disease or Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne disease both in the United States and Europe. Children, in particular, are at high risk of contracting LB. Since child-specific educational tools on ticks, tick bites and LB are lacking, we developed an online educational video game. In this study, we compared the effect...

Background: Lyme disease (LD) has become the most common vector borne illness in the Northern hemisphere. Prevention relies predominantly on fostering protective behaviors (e.g., avoiding tick areas, using protective clothing and repellent, and doing routine tick checks post-exposure). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness...

There is increased concern about the upward incidence of Lyme Borreliosis (LB) in Europe, the United States, Asia, and Northern Africa. However, effective measures to control tick populations or vaccines for LB are not yet available. Therefore, behavioral measures including avoidance of areas inhabited by ticks, performing routine body checks, usin...

The public plays an important role in controlling the spread of a virus by adopting preventive measures. This systematic literature review aimed to gain insight into public perceptions and behavioral responses to the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, with a focus on trends over time and regional differences. We screened 5498 articles and identified...

Tick bites and tick-borne infections are an increasingly large problem. There is a wide range of precautions that citizens can take, but compliance is low. Mobile technology can offer a solution here, as they allow citizens to access health information in context. In this article, we discuss the development of requirements for a mobile app to suppo...

A relatively high percentage of the workforce has lower literacy levels, which means that these employees have problems understanding written text. We have designed a brochure for a specific occupational group: landscape workers, people who work in urban and rural green spaces. This group bears a high risk of tick bites and, therefore, of contracti...

Kennen, kunnen en willen zijn nodig om de intentie van zorgverleners zo hoog te krijgen dat zij ook daadwerkelijk gaan handelen volgens een nieuwe richtlijn. Het werken volgens richtlijnen vereist kennis, kunde en motivatie in combinatie met weldoordacht en genuanceerd toepassen van de aanbevelingen in de praktijk waardoor maatwerk ontstaat voor de...

Over the past years, Q fever has become a major public health problem in the Netherlands, with a peak of 2,357 human cases in 2009. In the first instance, Q fever was mainly a local problem of one province with a high density of large dairy goat farms, but in 2009 an alarming increase of Q fever cases was observed in adjacent provinces. The aim of...

Food-borne Salmonella infections are a worldwide concern. During a large-scale outbreak, it is important that the public follows preventive advice. To increase compliance, insight in how the public gathers its knowledge and which factors determine whether or not an individual complies with preventive advice is crucial. In 2012, contaminated salmon...

Due and colleagues provide an insightful overview of tick bite prevention and tick removal.1 However, we would like to raise three matters related to prevention. Firstly, preventive strategies include avoidance of tick infested areas, use of protective clothing (such as wearing long sleeved shirts and long trousers), routine body checks for …

Tekenradar.nl is een webplatform voor onderzoek naar teken en tekenoverdraagbare aandoeningen zoals de ziekte van Lyme. Het RIVM en Wageningen University hebben de website in 2012 gezamenlijk opgericht. Tekenradar.nl geeft informatie over tekenbeten en de ziekte van Lyme en een actuele voorspelling van de tekenactiviteit. Mensen kunnen hun tekenbee...

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States and Europe. The incidence is 13.4 per 100,000 inhabitants in the United States and more than 300 per 100,000 inhabitants in Europe. Children are at highest risk of LB. In the Netherlands in 2007, the incidence of tick bites in children between 10-14 years varied from 7...

Many public health campaigns use a one-size-fits-all strategy to achieve their desired effect. Public health campaigns for tick bites and Lyme disease (LD) in many countries convey all relevant preventive measures to all members of the public. Although preventing tick bites (eg, by wearing protective clothing or using repellants) and checking for t...

Dit artikel is een bewerking van de ‘Richtlijn Hoofdluis van de Landelijke Coördinatie Infectieziektebestrijding’, onderdeel van het RIVM (www.rivm.nl/Onderwerpen/Onderwerpen/L/LCI_Richtlijnen) en ‘Hoofdluis: hoofd- en bijzaken’ (Beaujean DJ, Slok EN, Braks MA) en ‘LCI-richtlijn hoofdluis herzien (een samenvatting)’ (Beaujean DJ), beide gepubliceer...

Background Lyme disease (LD) is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States and in Europe. The aim of this study was to examine knowledge, perceived risk, feelings of anxiety, and behavioral responses of the general public in relation to tick bites and LD in the Netherlands. Methods From a representative Internet panel a random sample...

Background Smartphones and tablet computers have become an integral part of our lives. One of their key features is the possibility of installing third-party apps. These apps can be very helpful for improving health and healthcare. However, medical professionals and citizens are currently being overloaded with health apps. Consequently, they will h...

Web 2.0 media (eg, Facebook, Wikipedia) are considered very valuable for communicating with citizens in times of crisis. However, in the case of infectious disease outbreaks, their value has not been determined empirically. In order to be able to take full advantage of Web 2.0 media in such a situation, the link between these media, citizens' infor...

This study examines patient's reasons for accepting Q fever vaccination, including risk perception, feelings of doubt, social influence, information-seeking behavior, preventive measures taken, and perceptions regarding received information and governmental action. Data was obtained from exit interviews conducted after Q fever vaccination, between...

Personas, lively descriptions of distinctive user groups for a technology, have the potential to be a useful tool for designing useful and usable eHealth services. In this paper we discuss the role of personas in a holistic design approach for eHealth: the CeHRes roadmap. We show, using the case of a mobile tick and Lyme tool, how one can develop p...

Infestation with head lice (Pediculosis capitis) is a widespread nuisance. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and Environment recommends combing possibly in combination with pediculicides. The current study aims to determine the levels of permethrin resistance of head lice in The Netherlands using both molecular tests and bioassays to d...

During the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, parents in the Netherlands were recommended to vaccinate healthy children between six months and five years of age. The aim of this study was to examine reasons for (non-)acceptance, risk perception, feelings of doubt and regret, influence of the social network, and information-seeking behavior of parent...

Contracting Q fever during pregnancy carries a risk of developing obstetric complications. The aim of this study was to gain insight into pregnant women's decisions regarding participation in a future Q fever screening and treatment program. Pregnant women (N = 148) in Q fever high-risk areas in The Netherlands were recruited via midwives' practice...

During the course of an influenza pandemic, governments know relatively little about the possibly changing influence of government trust, risk perception, and receipt of information on the public's intention to adopt protective measures or on the acceptance of vaccination. This study aims to identify and describe possible changes in and factors ass...

Description of events during the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic per time period. This description provides an overview of the dates of the sixteen telephone surveys. A more thorough description of the classification of the three time periods is given, related to important events during the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic.

Survey questions. These survey questions were used across the sixteen telephone surveys and were used for data-analysis.

Survey questions 'Risk perception and behavioural responses of the general public during the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in the Netherlands'. This questionnaire was used across the three survey rounds.

Research into risk perception and behavioural responses in case of emerging infectious diseases is still relatively new. The aim of this study was to examine perceptions and behaviours of the general public during the early phase of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in the Netherlands. Two cross-sectional and one follow-up online survey (survey 1, 30...

To gain insight into how the Dutch general public viewed the risk during the course of the recent pandemic, into how many and which people took precautionary measures, and into the extent to which people trust the information provided by the government. Online survey, cross-sectional (the first two measurements) and follow-up investigations (the la...

Objective: To determine the reaction of the general public on the information regarding the Mexican flu. Design: Online panel interview. Method: From April 30 to May 4 2009, 572 people filled out an online questionnaire. Results and conclusion: 88% of the respondents had sufficient general knowledge about the Mexican flu. This information wa...

Anamnestic incidences of four patients have highlighted the potential risk ofexposure to rabies. The first patient was a 30-year-old woman who rescued a bat from the mouth of her dog; it bit her on the right wrist. In the Netherlands, bats may be infected with the Lyssa virus. The Preparedness and Response Unit (PRU) of the Centre for Infectious Di...

In 2003 in the Netherlands, a new methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain emerged that could not be typed with Sma1 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (NT-MRSA). The association of NT-MRSA in humans with a reservoir in animals was investigated. The frequency of NT-MRSA increased from 0% in 2002 to >21% after intensified surveillance...

It was recently observed that pig breeders in The Netherlands often carry methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus (MRSA). These MRSA strains are related to MRSA strains found in pigs. A case-control study showed that not only pig breeders but also cattle breeders are at risk of carrying MRSA. It is advised to keep pig breeders, if they are admit...

Invasive pneumococcal disease in childhood causes meningitis, sepsis and pneumonia. Current pneumococcal vaccines are estimated to prevent 50% of Dutch pneumococcal meningitis and 40% of pneumococcal sepsis. In 2001, the Health Council of The Netherlands emphasised the importance of universal pneumococcal vaccination of small children. However, the...

In response to the report 'Immunisation against tetanus following injuries' from the Dutch Health Council, the Dutch College of General Practitioners, the National Coordinating Body for the Control of Infectious Diseases and The Netherlands Vaccine Institute have drawn up guidelines for tetanus prophylaxis in general practice. The number of situati...

Veel medisch specialisten maken zich zorgen omdat zij hun patiënten niet altijd de zorg kunnen leveren die zij volgens hun professionele normen noodzakelijk achten. In een inventariserende telefonische enquête naar meningen en ervaringen van medisch specialisten waren de meest genoemde situaties: te weinig tijd voor een patiënt tijdens consult, pat...

During a five year surveillance program of patients with communicable diseases nursed in isolation, we gathered information on 2880 patients who were nursed in isolation for 28 145 days, from January 1994 to December 1998. The mean number of patients nursed in isolation was 575.4 (range, 427-709) per year. On average 2.4% of patients admitted yearl...

We describe and compare the organization of infection control and some infection control practices in 10 hospitals in seven different European countries. Great differences were observed. By evaluating infection control and hygiene practices in different European centers, areas of prime importance for the development of a European infection control...

At the University Medical Center, Utrecht, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) patients are considered lifelong MRSA carriers and potentially contagious when readmitted. The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients who become MRSA carriers while in hospital remain colonized after discharge, and whether risk factors for...

Prospective surveillance of hospital-acquired infections was undertaken in the geriatric ward of the University Hospital, Utrecht, the Netherlands. The medical records of 300 patients were studied for the presence of nosocomial infections using the criteria defined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Data were collected...

Er is een inventariserende, telefonische enquête gehouden onder 255 medisch specialisten naar hun meningen over en ervaringen met probleemsituaties in de zorg. 70% van de medisch specialisten zegt dat ze de afgelopen twaalf maanden vaak of regelmatig situaties hebben meegemaakt waarin ze niet die zorg hebben kunnen leveren die ze wel hadden willen...

Acute probleemsituaties in de medisch-specialistische zorg worden grotendeels veroorzaakt door capaciteitsproblemen in de ziekenhuizen, waardoor patiënten niet direct kunnen worden opgenomen of geopereerd. Deze situaties geven een hoge psychische en sociale belasting voor patiënt en familie. Dat geldt vooral bij kanker en complicaties bij zwangersc...

Een groot deel van de medisch specialisten maakt zich zorgen, omdat zij hun patiënten niet altijd de zorg kunnen bieden die zij volgens hun persoonlijke professionele normen nodig achten. In een telefonische enquête zegt tweederde van hen dat het vaak (lees: wekelijks of dagelijks) voorkomt, dat er tijdens een consult te weinig tijd is voor een pat...