Hilde de Vocht

Saxion University of Applied Sciences · School of Health

Background Approximately 60–70% of breast cancer survivors experience sexuality problems resulting from treatment. This study investigated information and communication preferences with professionals on the topic intimacy and sexuality of women diagnosed with breast cancer. Methods Members of the Dutch Breast Cancer Patient Association were survey...

Background: The ability of older adults to carry out activities of daily living and to adapt and to manage their own life decreases due to deterioration of their physical and cognitive condition. Nurses and other health care professionals should support the self-management ability of older adults to prevent activities of daily living dependence an...

Many long-term ostomates are 'out-of-sight' of healthcare, and it is unknown how ostomates deal with ostomy-related problems and how these problems affect their quality of life (QOL). The aim is to examine patient-related studies describing ostomy-related problems and their impact on the perceived QOL of long-term colostomates. The electronic datab...

Background: The aim was to assess the impact of a one-to-one 30-min individualized interaction per day on the behavior and quality of life of care-dependent residents with dementia. Methods: In a pre-/post-test study, 15 care-dependent residents with dementia (mean age 88.8 years, 86.7% women) were included. Resident behavior was measured using...

Background Knowledge about characteristics explaining low level of physical activity in late-life depression is needed to develop specific interventions aimed at improving physical health in depressed people above the age of 60. Methods This cross-sectional study used data from the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons (NESDO), a longit...

Bespreking van: Hildegarde Maria de Vocht, Sexuality and intimacy in cancer and palliative care in the Netherlands: A hermeneutic study. Thesis. Birmingham City University, Birmingham,UK, 2011. 136 pagina’s . Downloaden op: http://tinyurl.com/8y9xkxo . Dit artikel is het resultaat van een schriftelijke en mondelinge dialoog over het proefschrift va...

Cancer often has a profound and enduring impact on sexuality, affecting both patients and their partners. Most healthcare professionals in cancer and palliative care are struggling to address intimate issues with the patients in their care. Study 1: An Australian study using semi-structured interviews and documentary data analysis. Study 2: Buildin...

Heideggerian researchers recognize that people and their worlds are coconstructed; people make sense of their world from within it, not detached from it. The presence of one’s partner in a joint interview will therefore influence the experience of participants, and will also influence the descriptions they provide. In this article, we present a ref...

The recently published End of Life Care Strategy in the UK encourages people to talk openly about death and dying (Department of Health, 2008). The idea should not only be applicable to palliative care settings, but to other healthcare environments and the public sector. It is through talking that attitudes may shift and dismantle the taboo around...

Re: Shaw S, Meek F (2007) Thinking about nursing practice and culture: syringe drivers. Int J Palliat Nurs 13(10): 490–3.

To demonstrate the link between intuition and cognitive as well as physiological processes as a way of helping to explain how intuition plays a part in complex decision-making. Over the years, numerous debates and discussions have raged about how intuition contributes to the making of complex clinical decisions. Intuition continues to be poorly und...

This commentary evaluates the motives of health professionals' opposition to the legislation of assisted dying. We argue that there are no rational or justifiable grounds for such opposition in the case of patients who are suffering unbearably and whose request to be helped to die is competent, enduring and voluntary. We then engage in plausible sp...

This commentary evaluates the motives of health professionals’ opposition to the legislation of assisted dying. We argue that there are no rational or justifiable grounds for such opposition in the case of patients who are suffering unbearably and whose request to be helped to die is competent, enduring and voluntary. We then engage in plausible sp...

There is currently no consensus about what the notion of death anxiety means. This commentary explores the complexity of death anxiety, asserts the distinction between anxiety and fear, and attempts a definition that encompasses the many facets associated with the term.

In the December issue (Vol 11(12): 643–5), Brian Nyatanga posed some interesting ideas about fear of death and the rational basis for this fear.