Feron Socmed | Maastricht University, Faculty of Health Medicine and Life sciences (original) (raw)

Papers by Feron Socmed

Two dramatic incidents, namely two murders of young girls by their parents, stimulated Dutch poli... more Two dramatic incidents, namely two murders of young girls by their parents, stimulated Dutch policy makers to introduce an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tool in the field of youth care, called the child index. This tool is expected to enable professionals to perform early detection of ‘risks’ that might threaten children’s physical, cognitive, psychological, and social development, and communicate them in order to prevent future catastrophes. In this chapter we will conduct an empirical ethical analysis of the public justification of the child index and to that end we will make fruitful use of James F. Childress’ justificatory conditions. Our analysis shows that the public justification of the child index is rather problematic. Its most salient limitations include that it is heavily based on recent dramatic incidents, it is taking a topdown managerial perspective, and it does not involve relevant stakeholders. From the perspective of Childress, this innovation in public youth care lacks adequate public ethical justification. From the analysis of this case several lessons can be learned with respect to the public justification of future public health innovations.

Pediatric Neurology, 2005

Children and Youth Services Review, 2015

This article studies the construction of children at risk in the introduction process of a novel ... more This article studies the construction of children at risk in the introduction process of a novel ICT system in Dutch child welfare, the Child Index. This early warning electronic information system enables early reporting of children at risk to stimulate multidisciplinary collaboration among the different professionals involved with a particular child. We followed the introduction of the Child Index in practice. Our empirical analysis provides insight into the co-production of this ICT system and risk in child welfare practices. The analysis shows that the interaction between local and national, and disciplinary and organisational differences induces various constructions of risk, making the decision to signal and the act of signalling risk complex and the status of a signalled risk vague. Moreover, the analysis illustrates that the Child Index's goal of early signals for all children at risk does not fit professionals' daily practices and highlights the need to discuss whether the risk signalling ambitions of the Child Index are not a larger risk to children than the risks that are being targeted.

Preventive Medicine Reports, Mar 1, 2018

A 3600Child-profile, with theoretically ordered, integral child-information visualized in one ima... more A 3600Child-profile, with theoretically ordered, integral child-information visualized in one image, is designed by the Dutch preventive Child and Youth Health Care (CYHC). The introduction of this new data/information carrier gives an important incentive to enhance a transformation towards personalized health care for children and adolescents by supporting the complex medical thought process of CYHCmedical doctors (MD's). This information tool aims to effectively estimate child's functioning, detect emerging health problems and inform parents and caregivers.This pilot study evaluated aspects of inter- and intra-rater reliability and concurrent validity of the 3600Child-profile when used by MD's to estimate functioning and needed intervention of 4-year-old children. After the development process, in January 2015, 3600Child-profiles (n = 26) were assessed by MD's, in the Netherlands. Each MD assessed two Childprofiles twice and was matched to another MD receiving exactly the same two profiles. The paired scores and rater's scores of both time-points were compared. Rater's scores also were compared with the 26 reference tests scores.Reliability results showed Intraclass correlation coefficients between 0.71 and 0.82 (overall functioning), Cohen's kappa's between 0.61 and 0.80 (psychosocial functioning) and 0.46–0.47 (needed intervention). Validity results showed a Spearman's correlation coefficient of 0.78 (overall functioning), Cohen's kappa's of 0.43 and 0.77 (psychosocial functioning) and 0.52 (needed intervention).In conclusion, in some domains, acceptable results regarding reliability and validity are found for the visualization of integral childinformation used by CYHC-MD's to assess child-functioning after only a short training. The 3600Child-profile's value on tracking change in functioning and decision-making on intervention needs further exploration.

Journal of Attention Disorders

Objective: A new Dutch Child and Youth Act should reduce specialized mental health care for child... more Objective: A new Dutch Child and Youth Act should reduce specialized mental health care for children with symptoms of ADHD. Characteristics of children referred to a specialized ADHD clinic are explored to give direction to this intention. Method: Data of 261 children who underwent a multidisciplinary best practice evaluation (including rating scales, and demographic, psychological, and somatic findings) were analyzed. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to find predictive variables for the need of specialized mental health care. Results: Collected data were heterogeneous. (Sub)clinical total scores on the Teacher Report Form (TRF) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were predictive variables for specialized mental health care. Also children with divorced parents were more often referred to specialized care. Conclusion: (Sub)clinical scores on the CBCL and TRF increased the need for specialized care, but comprehensive assessment of every child with ADH...

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Background: Metabolic health in people with obesity is determined by body composition. In this st... more Background: Metabolic health in people with obesity is determined by body composition. In this study, we examined the influence of a combined strength exercise and motivational programme-embedded in the school curriculum-on adolescents body composition and daily physical activity. Methods: A total of 695 adolescents (11-15y) from nine Dutch secondary schools participated in a one year cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT). In the intervention schools, physical education teachers were instructed to spend 15-30 min of all physical education lessons (2× per week) on strength exercises. Monthly motivational lessons were given to stimulate students to be more physically active. Control schools followed their usual curriculum. The primary outcome measure was body composition assessed by the deuterium dilution technique. Daily physical activity and sedentary behaviour measured by accelerometry served as a secondary outcome. Results: After 1 year, a 1.6% fat mass difference was found in favour of the intervention group (p = .007). This reflected a 0.9 kg difference in fat free mass (intervention>control; p = .041) and 0.7 kg difference in fat mass (intervention<control; p = .054). Daily physical activity decreased from baseline to posttest in both groups, but less so in the intervention group (p = .049). After 1 year, a difference of 0.4% was found for moderate to vigorous physical activities in favour of the intervention group (p = .046). No differences in sedentary behaviour, or light physical activity were found between groups. Conclusion: In 11-15 year olds, the combination of strength exercises plus motivational lessons contributed to an improvement in body composition and a smaller decrease in physical activity level.

Frontiers in Psychology

Research on the impact of music interventions has indicated positive effects on a variety of skil... more Research on the impact of music interventions has indicated positive effects on a variety of skills. These findings suggest musical interventions may have further potential to support educational processes and development of children. This paper reviews the latest evidence on the effect of musical interventions on the development of primary school-aged children. Four electronic databases were searched from January 2010 through June 2016 using music, music instruction, music education, music lesson, music training, development, child, student, and pupil as key words for the search. Two reviewers independently evaluated the studies to determine whether they met the stated inclusion criteria. Studies were compared on study setup, methodological quality, intervention components, outcome variables, and efficacy. A review of these selected studies (n = 46) suggestive beneficial effects of music intervention on development of children, although clear conclusions cannot be drawn. Possible influencing factors that might contribute to the outcome of intervention are reviewed and recommendations for further research are made.

BioMed Research International

An adequate approach to sickness absence can reduce school dropout which is a major problem in In... more An adequate approach to sickness absence can reduce school dropout which is a major problem in Intermediate Vocational Education (IVE). This practice-based study explores the sickness absence reasons and factors influencing reporting the sickness, from a student’s perspective. Semistructured interviews were held until saturation. Data were collected and analysed by a multidisciplinary research team including youth health care physicians working with IVE students. The results show that, according to the students, reasons for sickness reporting were health-related or related to problems at home or in school. Students view their sickness absence as necessity, as asking for understanding, or as pardonable. Their views depended on (1) the perception of medical legitimacy, (2) feeling able to take their own responsibility, (3) feeling being taken seriously at school, and (4) the perception that the sickness reporting procedure at school is anonymous and easy. In conclusion, reporting sick...

BMC Public Health, 2016

General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public port... more General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.-Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research-You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain-You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright, please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.

Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 2016

Stroke affects the entire family system. Failure to meet the needs of caregivers leads to physica... more Stroke affects the entire family system. Failure to meet the needs of caregivers leads to physical and mental overburdening. Stroke caregivers may benefit from professional support. The literature reviews have shown that there is still no clarity concerning the most appropriate set-up of a support programme. In Germany, there is no stroke caregiver support programme that operates throughout the course of rehabilitation. The aim was to develop a complex intervention programme for stroke caregivers in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. A naturalistic enquiry approach, using a mixed-methods design, was applied. Within one overarching qualitative study, three separate, explorative, inductive, qualitative substudies were conducted: (i) seven explorative interviews with experienced stroke caregivers, (ii) six semi-structured interviews with professionals working within stroke rehabilitation and (iii) seventeen participant observations with focus on professional-caregiver interactions. Regional stroke units, rehabilitation centres, outpatient services and the home environment of caregivers were included. By means of a four-step qualitative content analysis, all three data sets were coded, categorised and subsequently condensed into subthemes, clustered into main themes, and finally translated into &amp;#39;Conceptual Building Blocks&amp;#39; of the programme. The need for a personalised, holistic and multicomponent caregiver support programme emerged from all three substudies. Fourteen themes were condensed from the subthemes. Caregivers should be approached directly after stroke using outreach counselling. Support should be provided by a specially trained focal person across the entire patient&amp;#39;s rehabilitation trajectory. The newly developed support programme consists of five flexible &amp;#39;Conceptual Building Blocks&amp;#39;: Content, Human Resources, Personalised Approach, Timing and Setting. Through a qualitative mixed-methods design, an in-depth contextual understanding of stroke caregiver needs within the rehabilitative support system was reached. This allowed the development of a context tailored comprehensive caregiver support programme consisting of five &amp;#39;Conceptual Building Blocks&amp;#39;.

Huisarts En Wetenschap, 2007

JGZ Tijdschrift voor jeugdgezondheidszorg, 2013

ABSTRACT Achtergrond en doelstellingBinnen de jeugdgezondheidszorg (JGZ) vormt de familieanamnese... more ABSTRACT Achtergrond en doelstellingBinnen de jeugdgezondheidszorg (JGZ) vormt de familieanamnese een belangrijk instrument voor de opsporing van kinderen met een risico op het ontwikkelen van multifactoriële aandoeningen. Op grond van de informatie uit de familieanamnese kan de jeugdarts gepersonaliseerde en preventieve strategieën toepassen. De American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) doet aanbevelingen voor de afname van de familieanamnese. Voor het gebruik van de familieanamnese door de JGZ bestaan echter op dit moment nog geen gevalideerde tools. In de toekomst kan de familieanamnese in de JGZ beter worden benut als de opinie van ouders over een familieanamnese bekend is. Het doel van deze studie is de opinie van ouders te inventariseren over het gebruik van de familieanamnese in de JGZ.MethodeEr zijn data verzameld met behulp van semigestructureerde interviews bij ouders van kinderen in de leeftijd van 0-4 jaar. De interviews betroffen: 1) de eigen ervaringen met familieanamnese, 2) kennis ov ...

PLOS ONE, 2016

Background Reducing school absenteeism benefits the health and educational opportunities of young... more Background Reducing school absenteeism benefits the health and educational opportunities of young people. The Dutch intervention Medical Advice for Sick-reported Students (abbreviated as MASS) was developed to address school absenteeism due to sickness reporting, also called medical absenteeism. This study is part of a research project on the effectiveness of MASS and explores factors that influence the implementation and dissemination of the intervention, from schools' perspectives. The research questions include reasons schools have to implement MASS, their experiences in the implementation of MASS and their views on what is needed to ensure sustainable implementation. Methods A qualitative research method was used. Semi-structured interviews were held with nine principals and eight special education needs coordinators, working in nine secondary schools that apply MASS. Inductive content analysis was carried out. Findings The main reasons for schools to address medical absenteeism were their concerns about students' well-being and future prospects and their wish to share these concerns with students' parents. Participants also mentioned the wish to raise the threshold for reporting sick. According to the participants, MASS makes it easier for teachers to enter into conversation PLOS ONE |

European Respiratory Journal, Sep 1, 2012

European Respiratory Journal, Sep 1, 2014

PLOS ONE, 2015

Background To answer the question of what bio-psychosocial determinants in infancy, early and mid... more Background To answer the question of what bio-psychosocial determinants in infancy, early and middle childhood, and adolescence predict school drop-out in young adulthood, we approached the complex process towards school dropout as a multidimensional, life-course phenomenon. The aim is to find signs of heightened risks of school dropout as early as possible which will eventually help public health workers in reducing these risks. Methods In a case-control design, we used data from both the Preventive Pediatric Primary Care (PPPC) files (that contain information from birth onwards) and additional questionnaires filled out by 529 youngsters, aged 18-23 years, and living in the Southeast of the Netherlands. We first conducted univariate logistic regression analyses with school-dropout as the dependent variable. Backward and forward stepwise analyses with the significant variables were done with variables pertaining to the 0 to 4 year period. Remaining significant variables were forced into the next model and subsequently variables pertaining to respectively the 4 to 8, 8 to 12 and 12 to 16 year period were introduced in a stepwise analysis. All analyses were cross-validated in an exploratory and confirmatory random half of the sample. Results One parent families and families with a non-Western background less often attended the health examinations of the PPPC and such less attendance was related to school dropout. The birth of a sibling (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.43-0.93) in infancy and self-efficacy (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.38-0.74) in adolescence decreased the odds of school dropout; externalizing behavior (OR 2.81, 95% CI 1.53-5.14) in middle childhood and (sickness) absence (OR 5.62, 95% CI 2.18-14.52) in adolescence increased the risks.

Personalized Medicine, 2015

Family history (FH) in Preventive Primary Pediatric Care is to identify children at risk for comp... more Family history (FH) in Preventive Primary Pediatric Care is to identify children at risk for complex diseases and provide personal preventive strategies. This study was to assess parents&amp;#39; opinion on FH collection. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Among issues addressed were: former experiences with FH, knowledge about FH, family definition and sharing information about FH. The importance of FH for participants depended on their knowledge, perceived family health status and former experiences. After insight into FH, parents shift to believing it to be important, but certain barriers exist in reporting FH. Parents suggest that the importance of FH should be more emphasized and more trusting relationship with Preventive Primary Pediatric Care should be invested in.