Atypical language is one of the most common developmental problems in early childhood. The estimated prevalence of children with atypical language development varies from 2% to 19%. Early identification of children with atypical language development is important in order to prevent the significant impact …

Objective To develop, implement and evaluate a personalized patient discharge letter (PPDL) to improve the quality of handoff communication from hospital to home. Design From the end of 2006–09 we conducted a quality improvement project; consisting of a before–after evaluation design, and a process evaluation. …

Background: Undernutrition is a common complication of disease and a major determinant of hospital stay outcome. Dutch hospitals are required to screen for undernutrition on the first day of admission. Objective: We sought to determine the prevalence of the screening score “undernourished” with the use …

BACKGROUND: Over 30 % of older patients experience hospitalization-associated disability (HAD) (i.e., loss of independence in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)) after an acute hospitalization. Despite its high prevalence, the mechanisms that underlie HAD remain elusive. This paper describes the protocol …

Objectives To identify distinct sets of disability trajectories in the year before and after a Medicare qualifying skilled nursing facility (Q-SNF) admission, evaluate the associations between the pre–and post–Q-SNF disability trajectories, and determine short-term outcomes (readmission, mortality). …

BACKGROUND: Most studies on multiple health risk behaviors among adolescents have cross-sectionally studied a limited number of health behaviors or determinants. PURPOSE: To examine the prevalence, longitudinal patterns and predictors of individual and multiple health risk behaviors among adolescents. …

Importance Older adults acutely hospitalized are at risk of disability. Trials on comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and transitional care present inconsistent results. Objective To test whether an intervention of systematic CGA, followed by the transitional care bridge program, improved activities …

Objective Although regular physical activity is an effective secondary prevention strategy for patients with a chronic disease, it is unclear whether patients change their daily physical activity after being diagnosed. Therefore, the aims of this study were to (1) describe changes in levels of physical …

Background To describe the prevalence of multimorbidity and to study the association between acute and chronic diseases in acutely hospitalized older patients Methods Prospective cohort study conducted between 2006 and 2008 in three teaching hospitals in the Netherlands. 639 patients aged 65 years and …