Cultural competence of dutch physician assistants: an observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Current cultural competence training needs were assessed as baseline measurement in Dutch physician assistant (PA) students and PA alumni that were not specifically trained in cultural competence. In particular, differences in cultural competency between PA students and PA alumni were assessed. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, observational cohort study knowledge, attitude, and skills and self-perceived overall cultural competence were assessed in Dutch PA students and alumni. Demographics, education and learning needs were collected. Total cultural competence domain scores as well as percentage of maximum scores were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 40 PA students and 96 alumni (female:75%; Dutch origin:97%) consented to participate. Cultural competence behavior was moderate in both groups. In contrast, general knowledge and exploration of patients' social context were insufficient, i.e., 53% and 34%, respectively. Self-perceived cultural competence was significantly higher in PA alumni (6.5 ± 1.3, mean ± SD) than in students (6.0 ± 1.3; P < 0.05). Low heterogeneity among PA students and educator exists. Seventy percent of the respondents considers cultural competence important and the majority expressed a need for cultural competence training. CONCLUSIONS: Dutch PA students and alumni have moderate overall cultural competence, but insufficient knowledge and exploring social context. Based on these outcomes the curriculum of the master of science program for physician assistant will be adapted.Emphasis should be made to increase the diversity of PA students to stimulate cross-cultural learning and developing a diverse PA workforce.

Cultural competency in dietetic diabetes care-A qualitative study of the dietician's perspective.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes type 2 is more prevalent in ethnic minorities in the Netherlands, and outcomes of health care in general are worse compared to other Dutch patients. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of dieticians and the knowledge, skills and attitudes they consider to be important for effective dietetic care in migrant patients. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were held with 12 dieticians, of various ages, ethnic backgrounds and experience. The interview guide was based on Seeleman's cultural competence model and the Dutch dietetic consultation model. Interviews were transcribed, coded and thematically analysed, revealing 7 main themes. RESULTS: Dieticians were uncertain whether their care fulfilled their migrant patients' needs. They experienced language differences as a major barrier for retrieving information and tailoring advice to the patient's needs. Furthermore, dieticians feel they lack cultural knowledge. An open and respectful attitude was considered important for effective care. The communication barrier hindered building a trusting relationship; however, few dieticians mentioned a need for communication training. They expressed a need for cultural competence training, specifically to acquire cultural knowledge. CONCLUSION: Dieticians struggle with providing dietetic care for migrant diabetes patients due to communication barriers and difficulty in building a trusting relationship. They are conscious of their lack of cultural knowledge, and acknowledge the need for an open and respectful attitude and essential communication skills in order to collect and convey information. They seem unaware of the impact of low (health) literacy. Cultural competence training is needed for effective dietetic care for migrants.

Association of Body Composition, Physical Functioning, and Protein Intake in Adult Patients With Mitochondrial Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Whether decreased physical functioning of patients with mitochondrial disease (MD) is related to altered body composition or low protein intake needs clarification at the background of the nutrition state. METHODS: In this 2-site cross-sectional study, MD patients were age-, body mass index (BMI)-, and gender-matched to controls. Body composition was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Physical functioning was measured by handgrip strength, 6-minute walking test, 30-second sit-to-stand test (30SCT), and 6-minute mastication test. Total daily protein intake was calculated by 3-day food records. Malnutrition was assessed by Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment and the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria and sarcopenia by the 2018 consensus. Data were analyzed using independent samples t-tests, Fisher exact test, and Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficients. RESULTS: Thirty-seven MD patients (42 ± 12 years, BMI: 23 ± 4 kg/m2 , 59% females) and 37 matched controls were included. Handgrip strength was moderate, inversely related to fat mass index in both MD patients and controls, whereas it correlated with fat-free mass index in controls solely. Protein intake was associated with muscle strength (handgrip strength and 30SCT) in MD patients but not in controls. Twenty-seven MD patients (73%) were malnourished, and 5 (14%) were classified as sarcopenic. CONCLUSIONS: Muscle strength is related to body composition and protein intake in MD patients. This, in combination with the high incidence of both malnutrition and sarcopenia, warrants individual nutrition assessment in MD patients.

Observing cultural competence of healthcare professionals: A systematic review of observational assessment instruments.

OBJECTIVE: Observational instruments are preferred for assessment of cultural competence. The aim of the current study is to identify observational instruments to assess cultural competence in healthcare providers and dieticians specifically and assess their psychometric properties. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted in Cinahl, Cochrane, EMBASE, PsycInfo, Pubmed, and Web of Science using search terms related to cultural competency and measurement properties. Methodological quality of the selected studies of observational cultural competence instruments in dieticians, other healthcare professionals and psychological counsellors and the measurement properties of instruments were assessed using the COSMIN checklist. RESULTS: From 11,913 articles, six articles on five instruments were selected. Instruments were targeted at health professionals and counsellors only, and designed for face-to-face communication (n = 4) or verbal responses to videotaped simulated interactions (n = 1). The instruments' content varied largely, with main focus on attitude, and little on knowledge and skills. The measurement properties were suboptimal. CONCLUSION: No observational instrument are available to evaluate cultural competence of dieticians. Studies on psychometric properties of instruments targeted at other health professionals lack methodological rigour. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Future work should focus on developing an instrument that encompasses both 'general' cultural competences necessary for all healthcare professionals and dietetic specific competences.

Development and application of a scoring system to rate malnutrition screening tools used in older adults in community and healthcare settings - A MaNuEL study.

RATIONALE: Many malnutrition screening tools are used to screen for risk of malnutrition in older adults. An aim of the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) 'A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life' (HDHL) MalNutrition in the ELderly Knowledge hub (MaNuEL) is to devise recommendations on the best tools to screen for risk of malnutrition in older adults in community and healthcare settings across Europe. The aim of this paper was to develop and apply a scoring system to rate malnutrition screening tools. METHODS: Using a targeted literature search strategy, 48 malnutrition screening tools used to screen for risk of malnutrition in older adults were identified across community, rehabilitation, residential care and hospital settings. Criteria to rate each tool were developed; these were based on published evidence and expert opinion. These criteria were translated into a scoring system. RESULTS: The scoring system had three equally weighted sections; validation, parameters and practicability, and was applied to all 48 tools. Overall, the highest scoring tools per setting for screening for risk of malnutrition in older adults were i) DETERMINE your health checklist for the community setting; ii) the Nutritional Form for the Elderly (NUFFE) for the rehabilitation setting; iii) the Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire-Residential Care (SNAQRC) for residential care and iv) both the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) and the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form Version 1 (MNA-SF-V1) for the hospital setting. CONCLUSION: Setting-specific tools are more appropriate for use with older adults. These findings will inform recommendations for the optimal screening of geriatric malnutrition across Europe.

Prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition risk in European older adults in community, residential and hospital settings, according to 22 malnutrition screening tools validated for use in adults ≥65 years: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses the prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition risk across different health-care settings in European older adults, using 22 malnutrition screening tools recently validated for use in older adults. Systematic searches were performed in six electronic databases (2006 through 2017). Included were studies which reported malnutrition risk in adults aged ≥65y in Europe. Frequency of high and moderate malnutrition risk for each malnutrition screening tool was collated. Meta-analyses of malnutrition risk using a random-effects model were performed where data from at least 10 study samples were available. Of 21,465 studies, 196 studies were available for data extraction, representing 223 study samples from 24 European countries and 583,972 older adults. Pooled prevalence rates of high malnutrition risk across all countries and malnutrition screening tools were 28.0% (n = 127 study samples), 17.5% (n = 30), and 8.5% (n = 32), for the hospital, residential care and community settings respectively. Using meta-regression, prevalence rates were higher in adults aged >80y (p < 0.0001), in women (p = 0.03) and in patients with one or multiple comorbidities (p < 0.0001). Prevalence rates differed by country, from 15.2% in Spain to 37.7% in Switzerland, and by screening tool, from 14.9% using MNA-SF to 40.6% using NRS-2002. In conclusion, the prevalence of high malnutrition risk in European older adults varies widely between countries and across health-care settings. Malnutrition risk is associated with older age, gender and presence of disease. As prevalence rates differ depending on the screening tool used, the use of one preferred malnutrition screening tool per setting is strongly recommended.

Nutritional indicators for gastrointestinal symptoms in female runners: the 'Marikenloop study'.

OBJECTIVES: Among runners the reported prevalence of exercise-induced gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms is high (25%-83%). We aimed to investigate the prevalence of GI symptoms in women during a 5-10 km run in general and to explore the association between nutritional intakes and GI symptoms. SETTING: As part of the Marikenloop-study (a cohort study to identify predictor variables of running injuries), a cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed in interested runners of the '2013 Marikenloop'. PARTICIPANTS: 433 female runners filled in the questionnaire. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was the frequency of running-related GI symptoms during running in general and during the last (training) run. Furthermore, dietary intake was determined before and during this run. Secondary outcome measures were several demographic and anthropometric variables. RESULTS: During running in general, 40% of the participants suffered from GI symptoms and during their last run, 49%. The GI symptoms side ache, flatulence, urge to defecate and regurgitation and/or belching were most commonly reported. Lower age (OR=0.98, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.00), minor running experience (OR=3.1, 95% CI 1.7 to 5.7), higher body mass index (OR=1.1, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.2), consuming carbohydrate-containing drinks during running (OR=10.5, 95% CI 1.4 to 80.3) and experiencing GI symptoms during running in general OR=5.0, 95% CI 3.2 to 7.8) significantly contributed to GI symptoms during the last run in the logistic regression analysis. In contrast, time of eating and carbohydrate-containing drinks consumed prior to the run were not related to GI symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the current study confirms the high prevalence of GI symptoms in female runners. Several predictor variables contributed to the GI symptoms but more research is needed to specify the effects of prerunning eating and carbohydrate-containing drinks on GI symptoms during running. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Marikenloop study 2013: 50-50310-98-156 (ZonMw).

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study hepatic metabolism in diffuse liver diseases, diabetes and cancer.

This review provides an overview of the current state of the art of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in in vivo investigations of diffuse liver disease. So far, MRS of the human liver in vivo has mainly been used as a research tool rather than a clinical tool. The liver is particularly suitable for static and dynamic metabolic studies due to its high metabolic activity. Furthermore, its relatively superficial position allows excellent MRS localization, while its large volume allows detection of signals with relatively low intensity. This review describes the application of MRS to study the metabolic consequences of different conditions including diffuse and chronic liver diseases, congenital diseases, diabetes, and the presence of a distant malignancy on hepatic metabolism. In addition, future prospects of MRS are discussed. It is anticipated that future technical developments such as clinical MRS magnets with higher field strength (3 T) and improved delineation of multi-component signals such as phosphomonoester and phosphodiester using proton decoupling, especially if combined with price reductions for stable isotope tracers, will lead to intensified research into metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, hepato-biliary diseases, as well as non-metastatic liver metabolism in patients with a distant malignant tumor.

Adenosine triphosphate infusion increases liver energy status in advanced lung cancer patients: an in vivo 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

We recently observed inhibition of weight loss in patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer after intravenous infusion of ATP. Because liver ATP levels were found to be decreased in lung cancer patients with weight loss, the present 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) study was aimed at investigating whether ATP infusion restores liver energy status in these patients. Nine patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer (stage IIIB/IV) were studied 1 week before (baseline) and at 22 to 24 hours of continuous ATP infusion (37-75 microg/kg/min). Localized hepatic 31P MR spectra (repetition time 15 seconds), obtained in the overnight-fasted state, were analyzed for ATP and P(i) content. Ten healthy subjects (without ATP infusion) served as control. Liver ATP levels in lung cancer patients increased from 8.8 +/- 0.7% (relative to total MR-detectable phosphate; mean +/- SE) at baseline to 12.2 +/- 0.9% during ATP infusion (P <.05), i.e., a level similar to that in healthy subjects (11.9 +/- 0.9%). The increase in ATP level during ATP infusion was most prominent in patients with > or = 5% weight loss (baseline: 7.9 +/- 0.7%, during ATP infusion: 12.8 +/- 1.0%, P < 0.01). In conclusion, ATP infusion restores hepatic energy levels in patients with advanced lung cancer, especially in weight-losing patients. These changes may contribute to the previously reported beneficial effects of ATP infusion on the nutritional status of lung cancer patients.