Functioning in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee deteriorates less rapidly than expected. During a period of three years functioning remains relatively stable. Individual patients show considerable differences. In particular comorbidity is an important prognostic factor for functional deterioration. This was stated by Gabriella van Dijk in her thesis ‘Course of limitations in activities in elderly patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee’, which she defended October 26th at the VU University in Amsterdam.

Belarus has a strong centralised health care system, with hardly any space for local developments, as a study by NIVEL, initiated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has shown. A more primary care-oriented system is in progress. The results have been published in a WHO-report.

Four out of every five nursing staff members in Dutch home care have applied physical restraints. Guidelines are necessary regarding what to do when a client is in danger of hurting him- or herself, researchers of NIVEL state in The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The extent to which medical specialists, nurses and other health care professionals adopt national quality norms, depends on the balance between quality measures at different levels and the leadership of hospital CEOs. This conclusion follows from the PhD study defended by Michel Dückers on the 9th of September at Utrecht University.