[Functioning of the acute psychiatric emergency chain in Amsterdam-Amstelland during the COVID-19 pandemic]. / Functioneren van acute crisisketen psychiatrie in Amsterdam-Amstelland tijdens de coronapandemie.

BACKGROUND: At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were fears that a higher proportion of patients with a psychiatric disorder would find themselves in crisis due to the threat of COVID-19 and the impact of the restrictions. If the emergency mental health department would become blocked this could work through to emergency rooms (ER). Acute psychiatry is also assessed at the ER due to lack of space in the emergency mental health department, this is called ‘overflow’. There already was the fear that the virus would flood the hospitals with SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. The emergency mental health department and hospitals agreed that the psychiatric assessments and admissions would take place at the mental health departments as much as possible. AIM: To describe and evaluate the use of measures taken and set up facilities in Amsterdam-Amstelland to minimize psychiatric assessments in the emergency room during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, to present how psychiatric assessments and admissions were conducted safely if there was suspicion or infection with SARS-CoV-2. METHOD: Use of acute psychiatric crisis monitor, the minutes of regional acute care counsel and literature. RESULTS: People with a psychiatric crisis were rarely suspected to be infected with SARS-CoV-2. There was always
sufficient capacity in COVID-19 wards in the mental health department. During the lockdown, we managed to
minimize overflow from the mental health emergency department to emergency rooms. Conclusion During the COVID-19 pandemic effective collaboration between healthcare partners was achieved in Amsterdam-Amstelland, so that psychiatric assessments and admissions with (suspected) COVID-19 could be conducted safely. Interventions to relieve the emergency room from overflow during lockdown were effective.

Validity of police contacts as a performance indicator for the public mental health care system in Amsterdam: an open cohort study.

PURPOSE: The Public Mental Health Care (PMHC) system is a network of public services and care- and support institutions financed from public funds. Performance indicators based on the registration of police contacts could be a reliable and useful source of information for the stakeholders of the PMHC system to monitor performance. This study aimed to provide evidence on the validity of using police contacts as a performance indicator to assess the continuity of care in the PMHC system. METHODS: Data on services received, police contacts and detention periods of 1928 people that entered the PMHC system in the city of Amsterdam were collected over a period of 51 months. Continuity of care was defined as receiving more than 90 days of uninterrupted service. The associations between police contacts and continuity were analyzed with multilevel Poisson and multivariate linear regression modeling. RESULTS: Clients had on average 2.12 police contacts per person-year. Clients with police contacts were younger, more often single, male, and more often diagnosed with psychiatric or substance abuse disorders than clients without police contacts. Incidence rates of police contacts were significantly lower for clients receiving continuous care than for clients receiving discontinuous care. The number of police contacts of clients receiving PMHC coordination per month was found to be a significant predictor of the percentage of clients in continuous care. CONCLUSION: The number of police contacts of clients can be used as a performance indicator for an urban PMHC system to evaluate the continuity of care in the PMHC system.

[Depression and anxiety in Turkish and Moroccan minorities in the Netherlands: prevalence, symptoms, risk factors and protective factors A systematic review]. / Depressie en angst bij Turkse en Marokkaanse minderheidsgroepen in Nederland: prevalentie, symptomen, risico- en beschermende factoren in de algemene bevolking Een systematische review.

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The association between ethnic background and characteristics of first mental health treatment for psychotic disorders in the Netherlands between 2001 and 2005.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that ethnic minority status of patients is associated with specific psychotic disorder treatment characteristics. METHODS: Longitudinal data (2001-2005) were extracted from a nationwide psychiatric case register in the Netherlands. The sample consisted of 30,655 episodes of mental health treatment for 23,122 patients with psychotic disorders. Information was available about waiting time and treatment duration, source of referral, occurrence of crisis contacts, admittance to clinical care and compulsory admissions. In addition, information was available about ethnicity (based on country of birth), gender, age and marital status. Results were calculated for ethnic and gender groups separately. In addition, a number of multivariate regression analyses were conducted to correct for differences in age and marital status. RESULTS: There was substantial variation between ethnic minority and gender groups in relation to the treatment characteristics. Compared with a Dutch ethnic background, ethnic minority background was generally associated with less waiting time, and more police referrals, crisis contacts, admittance to clinical care and compulsory admission, but shorter treatment duration. Characteristics appeared to be least favorable in episodes that involved male patients with Antillean and Surinamese backgrounds, whereas episodes were quite similar for ethnic Dutch and Turkish patients. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristics of mental health treatment for psychosis in the Netherlands are different for ethnic minority patient groups than for patients with an ethnic Dutch background. However, there were substantial differences between ethnic minority groups.

Psychometric properties of an interviewer-administered version of the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10) among Dutch, Moroccan and Turkish respondents.

The Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10) is an instrument that is widely used to screen for mental disorders, but information is lacking on its psychometric qualities in non-Western samples. This study used a population-based sample (N = 725) to assess the reliability and validity of the K10 across ethnic groups in an urban area. The results were generally supportive of the K10 as a reliable and valid instrument to screen for anxiety and depression in all three groups. Cronbach's alpha was high (0.93) and the results indicated the existence of a solid single factor structure. Item bias in relation to ethnic background was minor. In each group, there was good criterion validity with respect to one-month DSM-IV diagnosis for depressive and/or anxiety disorder. The results nevertheless highlight the importance of cross-cultural validation, as we found different cut-off values for ethnic subgroups to obtain optimal sensitivity and specificity for detecting depressive and/or anxiety disorders.

Large outbreak of norovirus: the baker who should have known better.

INTRODUCTION: In January 2001, 231 persons from the staff of a department in The Netherlands fell sick with diarrhoea and vomiting after a buffet lunch, which was prepared and served at a restaurant. Eighteen restaurant employees also reported illness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To determine risk factors for illness a questionnaire was e-mailed to department staff and returned electronically. Employees from the restaurant and the bakery supplying the rolls were interviewed. Stool samples were collected from reported cases and from all the staff of the restaurant and the bakery supplying the rolls. Stools were tested for bacteria and noroviruses. RESULTS: Analyses of the questionnaires showed an increasing risk of illness with the number of rolls eaten (OR=2.0 95%CI=1.5-2.5). Investigations revealed the baker was suffering from gastroenteritis and had vomited in the bakery sink the day he prepared the rolls. However, he had cleaned up and washed his hands before continuing to work. Norovirus with an identical sequence was detected in the stool samples of ill persons from the department, and symptomatic employees from the restaurant and the bakery. CONCLUSION: Foodhandlers are unaware of the potential for transmission of norovirus. Use of electronically mailed questionnaires allowed rapid gathering and analysis of a large amount of data and subsequent identification of the source when detection of virus from the source (the baker) was still possible.

Costs of gastroenteritis in The Netherlands.

In order to target the most important cost components of gastroenteritis in The Netherlands and to indicate which change of policy yields the largest decrease in costs, the cost of illness of gastroenteritis and the number of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in the Dutch population in 1999 were determined. The costs of gastroenteritis were estimated using data mainly from a community-based cohort study. For calculating DALYs, data on the number of deaths due to gastroenteritis were used from Statistics Netherlands. On average, the costs for gastroenteritis were 77 Euro (euros) per case. For all patients in The Netherlands, the costs were estimated at 345 million euros (ranging between 252 and 531 million euros). Indirect costs made up 82% of this total. An estimate of costs for patients with campylobacter, salmonella or norovirus infections was, in total, 10-17% of the costs of gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis was associated with a loss of approximately 67,000 DALYs.

Laboratory surveillance of bacterial gastroenteric pathogens in The Netherlands, 1991-2001.

Results of the Dutch laboratory surveillance of bacterial gastroenteritis between 1991 and 2001 are presented and compared with recent findings in general practices and in the community. Between 1996 and 2000 the mean annual number of stools screened by sentinel laboratories was about 1000 samples/100,000 inhabitants, which is 4% of the estimated annual incidence of gastroenteritis in the Dutch population. Campylobacter (36/100,000 inhabitants) and salmonella (24/100,000 inhabitants) were the main pathogens isolated. Since 1996, the incidence of laboratory confirmed salmonellosis decreased by 30%, predominantly among young children. The incidence of campylobacter was highest in urban areas and Salmonella Enteritidis emerged as the predominant serotype in urban areas. Between 1991 and 2001, multi-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 emerged to comprise up to 15% of all salmonella isolates in 2001. Reported rates of Shigella spp. and Yersinia spp. varied little, with average annual incidences of 3.2 and 1.2 cases/100,000 inhabitants, respectively. Escherichia coli O157 (90% STEC) was scarcely found (0.26/100,000).