Katrien G Luijkx

Tilburg University | UVT · "Tranzo" Scientific Center for Care and Welfare

Our aim was to examine the co-design process of two educational programs based on scientific research, to investigate which factors influenced the co-design processes and which lessons we learned. Participatory qualitative research on multiple cases was conducted with representatives of the university, healthcare education (university of applied sc...

Background and objectives COVID-19 disproportionally affects older adults living in nursing homes. The purpose of this review was to explore and map the scientific literature on the health impact of COVID-19 and related restrictive measures during the first and second wave among nursing home residents. A specific focus was placed on health data col...

Background Municipalities have been trying to involve citizens as citizen participation is thought to improve municipalities’ accountability, the quality of services, and to align policies and services to communities’ needs. This study examined citizens’ participation preferences in policymaking by investigating their health policy priorities, expe...

During the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, restrictive measures (e.g., prohibiting physical visits and group activities) were introduced in nursing homes to protect older residents. Although the importance of social contacts and social activities to fulfill social needs and avoid loneliness is known, these were challenged during the pandemic. This...

Background and objective: Person centered care (PCC) has become the gold standard for providing care in nursing homes (NHs). Therefore, it is important for healthcare professionals in NHs to learn PCC-skills and to be supported to learn about- and improve the quality of PCC they provide. At this moment an instrument to support healthcare profession...

Background and objective: Practically trained (student) caregivers (further: caregivers) make up the majority of care staff in nursing homes (NHs). To keep up with the fast-changing healthcare environment and ensure a high quality of care, it is important to know how to stimulate continuous work-based learning (WBL) among this group. The purpose of...

Background and objectives Residential care facilities (RCFs) strive to enhance autonomy for people with dementia and to enhance informal care provision, although this is difficult. This study explored how RCF staff can enhance autonomy and improve informal care by looking at the influence of interactions (contact and approachability between residen...

Objectives: The Person-centered Care (PCC) philosophy emphasizes close care relationships to enable care professionals to recognize the needs of nursing home residents with dementia. This study explored how care professionals make sense of resident behavior with regard to intimacy and sexuality. Methods: 26 nursing home care professionals (15 Nurse...

Light therapy for older persons with dementia is often administered with light boxes, even though indoor ambient light may more comfortably support the diverse lighting needs of this population. Our objective is to investigate the influence of indoor daylight and lighting on the health of older adults with dementia living in long-term care faciliti...

Although technology has the potential to promote aging in place among community-living older adults with dementia, the use remains scarce. In this literature study we provide an overview of perspectives (i.e., needs, wishes, attitudes, possibilities, and difficulties) of different stakeholders on technology use in the care for community-living olde...

Samenvatting Technologie kan langer thuis wonen van ouderen met dementie bevorderen. Toch blijft het gebruik van technologie beperkt. In dit literatuuronderzoek geven we een overzicht van de perspectieven van verschillende stakeholders op het gebruik van technologie bij thuiswonende ouderen met dementie. Perspectieven omvatten behoeften, wensen, at...

Wat kunnen we leren uit de literatuur van andere rampen of crisissituaties? Auteurs: Leonieke van Boekel, Annerieke Stoop, Katrien G. Luijkx Samenvatting De ouderenzorg is hard getroffen door COVID-19 infecties. Het doel van deze rapid review is om te begrijpen wat we kunnen leren van andere crisissen of rampen wereldwijd, om de zorg voor ouderen i...

Objectives: Residential care facility (RCF) residents with dementia are highly dependent on care. This can influence their experience of intimacy and sexuality. The perspective of residents and their spouses with regard to love, intimacy, and sexuality were explored and analyzed. Methods: The study was designed using the IPA methodology. Eight in-d...

Social networks are sources of support and contribute to the well‐being of older adults who are ageing in place. As social networks change, especially when accompanied by health decline, older adults’ sources of support change and their well‐being is challenged. Previous studies predominantly used quantitative measures to examine how older adults’...

Background: Geriatric rehabilitation care (GRC) is short-term and multidisciplinary rehabilitation care for older vulnerable clients. Studies were conducted about its effects. However, elements that influence the quality of GRC have not been studied previously. Methods: In this study realist evaluation is used to find out which are the mechanism...

Interventions for older people are often not evaluated and, if evaluated, are not proven successful. Based on a systematic literature review and two qualitative studies about the social needs of older people, an intervention has been developed, implemented, and evaluated. Important social needs that emerged from these studies are connectedness, mea...

Background The attitudes of care staff toward the sexuality of residents with dementia they care for is assumed to influence the residents’ expression of their sexuality in the way they want. This paper examines the effect of organizational factors, person-centered care, and the culture of the organization on the attitudes of care staff toward the...

Background and objectives: For people with dementia living in residential care facilities, maintaining autonomy and receiving informal care are important. The objective of this review is to understand how caregiving approaches and physical environment, including technologies contribute to the maintenance of autonomy and informal care provision for...

Social needs are important basic human needs. When social needs are not fulfilled, it can lead to mental and physical health problems. In an ageing society, meeting the social needs of older adults is important to sustain their wellbeing and quality of life. Social technology is used by younger people attempting to fulfil social needs. The aim of t...

Doelstelling: In Nederland maken steeds meer ouderen gebruik van internet. Eerder onderzoek richt zich vooral op de vraag waarom de ene oudere wel online gaat en de andere niet. Er is echter weinig onderzoek gedaan naar de doelen waarvoor ouderen internet gebruiken. Dit artikel wil het inzicht in de activiteiten van internettende ouderen vergroten:...

Background: The person-centered perspective of residential care facility (RCF) residents with dementia with regard to their intimate and sexual lives is largely neglected in research. Objective: We aim to provide methodological considerations and reflections on a performed qualitative study. Recommendations and a guide to study design are provid...

The past decades have been characterised by the growing prevalence of chronic diseases, the rising number of older and often multi-morbid patients, and changes in the definitions of health and illness. Many health systems have endorsed integrated care strategies as a means to approach the above challenges, as they are expected to lead to better out...

Background As for all individuals, the Internet is important in the everyday life of older adults. Research on older adults’ use of the Internet has merely focused on users versus nonusers and consequences of Internet use and nonuse. Older adults are a heterogeneous group, which may implicate that their use of the Internet is diverse as well. Older...

Aim: Technology is suggested to support ageing-in-place. For care- and technology professionals working with older persons it is important to know how to facilitate the use of technology by older persons. This paper presents the translation of the results of a field study into multilevel and multidisciplinary educational material. Method: During ho...

Health systems around the globe implement integrated care interventions to address the Triple Aim of simultaneously improving population health, patient experiences and cost-efficiency. However, the underlying definitions and concep-tualisations of integrated care often differ considerably, which makes uniform measurement and comparison difficult....

Social needs are important basic human needs. When social needs are not satisfied, this can lead to mental and physical health problems. With a growing population of older adults and the need for them to stay healthy and community-dwelling, satisfying social needs is important. The aim of this review is to give more insight into the social needs of...

The experiences and needs of spouses of residential care facility residents with dementia, regarding friendship, love, intimacy, and sexuality were explored. Understanding of how spouses make sense of their experiences was pursued. Semi-structured interviews were held with nine spouses of people with dementia, living in high intensive 24-hour care...

Background Many health systems have implemented integrated care as an alternative approach to health care delivery that is more appropriate for patients with complex, long-term needs. The objective of this article was to analyse the implementation of integrated care at a German geriatric hospital and explore whether the use of a “context-mechanisms...

Introduction: In this paper, we provide a detailed and explicit description of the processes and decisions underlying and shaping the emergent multimethod research design of our study on workforce changes in integrated chronic care. Theory and methods: The study was originally planned as mixed method research consisting of a pre- liminary literatur...

Stel je voor: je hebt 2 jaar lang onderzoek gedaan om te testen of een interventie bijdraagt aan verbeterde bloedsuikerwaarden bij diabetespatiënten. En wat blijkt: de interventie “werkt” niet. Moet je dan de interventie stopzetten? Liever niet. Liever probeer je te begrijpen waarom de interventie niet het gewenste effect had, om de interventie ver...

Purpose More and more seniors are using computers and smartphones on a regular basis 1. However, research shows that many seniors are only using a small number of the apps available to them, in contrast to younger adults 2. The current study aims to explore reasons for this selective use of apps by seniors.. Method A longitudinal qualitative field...

Objective: To develop a model for the comprehensive evaluation of integrated care interventions that provides insights into when, why and how successful outcomes can be achieved. Methods: A preliminary model was developed based on the Context + Mechanism = Outcome Model and further developed based on its application to a literature review, two case...

Background: There is a growing interest in empowering older adults to age in place by deploying various types of technology (ie, eHealth, ambient assisted living technology, smart home technology, and gerontechnology). However, initiatives aimed at implementing these technologies are complicated by the fact that multiple stakeholder groups are invo...

Background: Integrated care interventions for chronic conditions can lead to improved outcomes, but it is not clear when and why this is the case. This study aims to answer the following two research questions: First, what are the context, mechanisms and outcomes of integrated care for people with type 2 diabetes? Second, what are the relationship...

ABSTRACT Care cooperatives: Experiences from three perspectives Dutch civil society is changing: the costs of healthcare and welfare are on the rise while, at the same time, government spending on these sectors is decreasing. Especially in rural areas, many citizens are now confronted with a decline in the supply of care and welfare facilities. Som...

Introduction: While integrated care for diabetes mellitus type 2 has achieved good results in terms of intermediate clinical and process outcomes, the evidence-based knowledge on its implementation is scarce, and insights generalisable to other settings therefore remain limited. Objective: This study protocol provides a description of the design an...

Rationale, aims and objectives: The delivery of integrated care is a priority in many countries' efforts to improve health outcomes for people at risk of or with diabetes. This study aims to provide an overview of the different types of integrated care interventions for type 2 diabetes and to report their outcomes. Methods: A systematic literatu...

Despite its potential, the acceptance of technology to support the ability to live independently in one’s own home, also called aging in place, is not optimal. Family members may play a key role in technology acceptance by older adults; however, it is not well understood why and how they exert influence. Based on open interviews with 53 community-d...

Background: Even though previous research has demonstrated improved outcomes of integrated care initiatives, it is not clear why and when integrated care works. This study aims to contribute to filling this knowledge gap by examining the implementation of integrated care for type 2 diabetes by two Dutch care groups. Methods: An embedded single case...

Purpose – Despite the current focus on demand-based care, little is known about what clients consider important when they have a request for formal long-term care services. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Questions about the access process to care services were added to the “Senior Barometer”, a Dutch web-based...

Most older adults prefer to age in place, and supporting older adults to remain in their own homes and communities is also favored by policy makers. Technology can play a role in staying independent, active and healthy. However, the use of technology varies considerably among older adults. Previous research indicates that current models of technolo...

Introduction: Previous research has shown that integrated care can lead to improved processes and patient outcomes. However, this is not always the case and there is a lack of evidence regarding the reasons why and in which cases integrated care works. This study contributes to filling this knowledge gap by examining the implementation of integrate...

Introduction: In discussing the importance of the relationship between what is being studied and how this is studied, various researchers have called for an increased focus on examining the implementation process of integrated care interventions and its relationship to the outcomes achieved instead of a narrow focus on outcomes only. Therefore, thi...

Background: Considering people with dementia, increasing cognitive, physical, and environmental impairments can impede the capacity to express and experience intimacy and sexuality. When a move to a residential (nursing) home becomes inevitable, increasing dependency can influence this even more. The aim of the review is to provide a structured ov...

Technology has the potential to support the independence of community-dwelling older adults, but it can also make their lives more complicated. What makes older adults buy or acquire technology? And what drives or impedes their use of technology? These questions need to be answered in order to successfully implement technology to support aging in p...

We conduct case research in a particular service context, i.e. the sector for elderly care, in order to explore characteristics of interfaces and the role they play in service customization. Even though the study of modularity in areas other than goods production is increasing, little is known about interfaces outside the context of modular goods....

Purpose To provide an overview of factors influencing the acceptance of electronic technologies that support aging in place by community-dwelling older adults. Since technology acceptance factors fluctuate over time, a distinction was made between factors in the pre-implementation stage and factors in the post-implementation stage. Methods A syste...

Achtergrond: Fragiele ouderen lopen een verhoogd risico op negatieve gezondheidsuitkomsten, zoals een ziekenhuis- of verpleeghuisopname of vroegtijdige sterfte. De Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) is een gevalideerde vragenlijst voor het meten van fragiliteit bij zelfstandig wonende ouderen van 70 jaar en ouder. Doelen: Bepalen van de prevalentie v...

Background: Organizations that provide long-term care in the Netherlands are reconsidering the operational access to their services. Principles of operations management, such as front/back office configurations, might improve the redesign ofoperational access. Once a client gains entrance to the organization, direct interaction between client and c...

Various behavioral issues are at stake in the health care sector, for example, the current strong plea for more demand-based care provision as opposed to traditional supply-driven approaches. Healthcare organizations are increasingly in need of systems and approaches that allow them to be more responsive to the needs and desires of their clients. T...

It is expected that demand-based care provision better fits the needs of individual clients and will therefore be more adequate. Therefore, demand-based care has been embraced by governments and care organisations in search of solutions to ensure enough adequate care for needy people in the future. The use of segmentations and segments has been pro...

Purpose: Although frailty was originally a medical concept, nowadays more and more researchers are convinced of its multidimensional nature, including a psychological and social domain of frailty as well as a physical domain. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the prediction of quality of life by physical frailty component...

Until now, there is no consensus about variations in governance roles. This consensus is necessary to enable researchers to examine how network are governed well. In this article, the governance roles are considered to be clusters of consistent choices on a top-down versus bottom-up continuum, regarding nine governance activities. Our results revea...

Aims and objectives: To provide insight into family caregiver perspectives on social relations within the 'caregiving triangle' between family caregiver, professional caregiver and elderly resident with dementia. Results were compared between traditional versus small-scale long-term care settings in the Netherlands and Belgium. Background: Resid...

To examine whether client experiences measured with the Consumer Quality Index (CQ-index or CQI) questionnaires are used in Dutch nursing homes and homes for the elderly for quality improvement. Information was gathered through face-to-face interviews with day-to-day workers, quality managers and middle and senior management representatives on the...

Local public networks can be governed in many different ways. Among scholars as well as among practitioners, there is some debate about the best approach. Based on literature, this article examines the relationship between local public network governance roles, contingency factors, and network performance in a theoretically informed way. Governance...

The aim of this study was to provide an insight into burnout and mental health problems of professional caregivers working in traditional and small-scale long term care settings for elderly residents with dementia in the Netherlands and Belgium. This study was part of a larger study investigating similarities and differences between traditional and...

Every two years, long-term care organizations for the elderly are obliged to evaluate and publish the experiences of residents, representatives of psychogeriatric patients, and/or assisted-living clients with regard to quality of care. Our hypotheses are that publication of this quality information leads to improved performance, and that organizati...

Figures of the mail questionnaire for representatives and assistend-living clients. Per indicator, the average score of the first measurement (t0) and the change score (t1 - t0) of the two different mail questionnaires are displayed.

 To assess the predictive validity of frailty and its domains (physical, psychological, and social), as measured by the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI), for the adverse outcomes disability, health care utilization, and quality of life.   The predictive validity of the TFI was tested in a representative sample of 484 community-dwelling persons aged...

This paper is a report of a study conducted to test three hypotheses derived from an integral conceptual model of frailty.   The integral model of frailty describes the pathway from life-course determinants to frailty to adverse outcomes. The model assumes that life-course determinants and the three domains of frailty (physical, psychological, soci...

Legislation demands the establishment of client councils in Dutch nursing homes and residential care facilities. The members of those councils are residents or their representatives. Client councils have the right to participate in the strategic management of long-term care facilities. More specifically, they need to be consulted regarding organisa...

The present paper aims to advance theory on front/back office design for operational access to care and related service provision to independently living elderly. Based on literature on front/back office configurations and access to care we developed a theoretical framework. The empirical research comprised a multiple case study based on this frame...

The increase in the number of people with dementia will lead to greater demand for residential care. Currently, large nursing homes are trying to transform their traditional care for residents with dementia to a more home-like approach, by developing small-scale living facilities. It is often assumed that small-scale living will improve the quality...