Effectiveness of an Interactive Website Aimed at Empowerment of Disability Benefit Claimants: Results of a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an interactive website aimed at empowerment of disability claimants, prior to the assessment of disability by an insurance physician. Methods A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Claimants applying for a work disability pension after being sick-listed for 104 weeks, were randomized into either an intervention group or control group. Participants who were randomized into the intervention group were able to logon to the website www.wiagesprek.nl, which mainly consisted of five interactive modules aimed at increasing knowledge, self-awareness, expectations, self-efficacy, and active participation. Participants from the control group were directed to a ‘sham’ website with commonly available information only. The primary outcome was empowerment. Secondary outcomes included coping, knowledge, claimant satisfaction, perceived justice, and physician satisfaction. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, 2 days before the disability assessment, as well as 1 day after, 6 weeks, and 4 months after the disability assessment. Results Claimants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 123) or a control group (n = 119). The intervention had no significant short- and long-term effects on empowerment, but the intervention increased claimants’ knowledge significantly compared to the control group. Claimant satisfaction with the disability assessment interview and claimant perceived justice on the outcome of the assessment were lower in the intervention group (statistically not significant). Furthermore, the intervention had a significant negative effect on claimants perceived procedural justice. Conclusion Although knowledge increased significantly, the intervention www.wiagesprek.nl was not successful in reaching its primary target, that is, to increase levels of empowerment among disability claimants, prior to the assessment of disability

Process evaluation of a web-based intervention aimed at empowerment of disability benefit claimants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this process evaluation study was to gain insight into the reach, compliance, appreciation, usage barriers, and users' perceived effectiveness of a web-based intervention <url>http://www.wiagesprek.nl</url>. This intervention was aimed at empowerment of disability claimants, prior to the assessment of disability by an insurance physician.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Reach was determined by registering claimants exposed to the study's invitation brochures, and by comparing trial participant characteristics with non-participants and nationwide claimant data. Compliance was registered by analyzing weblogs, which were automatically collected during the period of the trial. This made it possible to analyze individual use of the intervention. Appreciation, usage barriers, and users' perceived effectiveness were assessed using an online questionnaire that was sent to participants from the intervention group, 6 weeks after enrolment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only 9% of the target population enrolled in the internet program. Because of selective enrolment, more females, higher educated claimants, and less ethnical minorities were reached. Compliance was ambiguous: out of the 123 participants randomized into the intervention group, a significant proportion (33%) did not use the intervention at all, while, at the same time, many participants (32%) used the intervention for more than two hours (i.e. in approximately two weeks). Overall satisfaction with the intervention was good. Claimants perceived the intervention most effective in increasing knowledge, while also a fair amount of users perceived the intervention effective in gaining right expectations or being able to communicate better with their physician.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The uptake of the intervention <url>http://www.wiagesprek.nl</url> was disappointing. Specifically, the poor reach and compliance of the intervention resulted in a small proportion of the target population using the intervention as intended. Improvements in the implementation process are desirable to increase the reach and compliance and, thereby possibly, the impact of the intervention.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><a href="http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=1414">NTR-1414</a></p

Personality characteristics in adolescence predict long-term changes in body fatness

Five personality characteristics were assessed in 312 adolescent boys and girls, and investigated in relation to the change in body fat percentage over 22 years of follow up. Boys with low levels of Social Inadequacy and girls with high levels of Recalcitrance showed relatively large gains in body fat percentage. © 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) Diagnosed by MRI-Guided Biopsy among BRCA1/BRCA2 Mutation Carriers

Background. While BRCA1/BRCA2 pathogenic sequence variants (PSVs) clearly confer an increased risk for invasive breast cancer, the extent to which these mutant alleles increase DCIS risk is less clear. Objective. To assess the rate of detection over a 5-year period, and MRI imaging features of pure noncalcified DCIS in a cohort of Israeli BRCA1/BRCA2 PSV carriers attending a high-risk clinic from 2015 to 2020. Materials and Methods. All female BRCA1/BRCA2 PSV-carriers followed at the Meirav High-risk clinic from 2015 to 2020 were eligible if they underwent semiannual breast imaging (MRI/mammography) and MRI-guided biopsy-proven pure DCIS. Clinical data, pathology information, and imaging characteristics were retrieved from the computerized archiving system. Results. 18/121 (15.2%) participating BRCA1 PSV carriers and 8/81 (10.1%) BRCA2 PSV-carriers who underwent MRI-guided biopsy were diagnosed with DCIS. The median age of BRCA1 carriers and BRCA2 carriers was 49.8 years and 60.6 years, respectively (p=0.55). Negative estrogen-receptor tumors were diagnosed in 13/18 (72%) BRCA1 and 2/8 (25%) BRCA2 PSV carriers (p<0.05). Thirteen (13/18–72%) BRCA1 carriers had intermediate to high-grade or high-grade DCIS compared with 4/8 (50%) of BRCA2 carriers (p=0.03). Over the 5-year study period, 29/1100 (2.6%) BRCA1/BRCA2 PSV carriers were diagnosed with DCIS seen on MRI only. Conclusion. MRI-detected noncalcified DCIS is more frequent in BRCA1 PSV carriers compared with BRCA2 carriers, unlike the BRCA2 predominance in mammography-detected calcified DCIS. BRCA1-related DCIS is diagnosed earlier, more likely to be estrogen receptor-negative and of higher grade compared with BRCA2-related DCIS. Future prospective studies should validate these results and assess the actual impact they might have on clinical management of BRCA PSV carriers