| 1. |
- Hansson, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of changes in life circumstances on subjective well-being in an adult population over a 3-year period
- 2008
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Ingår i: Public Health. - : Elsevier BV. - 0033-3506 .- 1476-5616. ; 122:12, s. 1392-1398
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES:Mental health problems are a major issue worldwide, and there is a need to further explore factors that may increase or decrease people's subjective well-being (SWB). The main aim of the present study was to extend knowledge concerning changes in cohabitation, social support or financial situation and their influence on SWB, after controlling for personality (i.e. neuroticism), in a 3-year follow-up of an adult population-based sample. The change in overall well-being was also studied during the 3- year interval.STUDY DESIGN:Longitudinal design.METHODS:A random sample of Swedish citizens, aged 20-64 years, residing in Stockholm County received a questionnaire by post, comprising items pertaining to demographics, personality, social support and SWB. All the respondents received a second questionnaire 3 years later. In total, 8324 subjects were included in the present study.RESULTS:The overall well-being of the study sample was relatively stable. Separate analyses of the three life circumstances indicated that, after controlling for personality, positive and negative changes in each sphere of life still affected SWB.CONCLUSIONS:Despite personality and the stability of SWB, these results indicate that changes in financial situation, social support and cohabitation influence SWB. It is important for society and the healthcare services to be aware that a negative change in any of these life circumstances may lead to decreased well-being for a period of at least 3 years.
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| 2. |
- Hansson, Anna
(författare)
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Subjective Well-being in an Adult Swedish Population : Findings from a Population-based Study
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This doctoral thesis examines various factors associated with subjective well-being (SWB) in an adult Swedish population, aged 20-64 years, using cross-sectional and longitudinal data. The thesis includes four studies based on the PART study, a current population-based study on mental health, work, and relations in Stockholm County, Sweden. Research has shown that there is a relationship between mental health problems such as depression and low well-being. It is therefore of great interest to investigate various factors associated with SWB in order to promote or increase mental health. We also examined if the well-being scale used in all studies could be used as a screening instrument for depression.The specific aim of Study I was to examine if age, gender, foreign background (i.e. not born in Sweden), cohabitation, education, financial strain, social support, childhood conditions and negative life events and their associations with SWB could be replicated in our data. In Study II we investigated strategies people chose to employ in order to improve or maintain their well-being and whether these were associated with SWB. Study III examined if changes in cohabiting, social support or the financial situation influenced SWB, after controlling for neuroticism at a 3-year follow-up. The change in the study sample’s SWB was also studied during the same time period. In Study IV the aim was to investigate whether the well-being scale, the (WHO) Ten Well-being index, could be used as a screening instrument for depression.Results from Study I showed that men had higher SWB than women, and that positive childhood conditions, cohabiting, greater age, sound financial situation, absence of negative life events, and support from friends were all positively associated with SWB. Social support had the strongest relationship. Together, these factors explained 20 % of the variance in SWB and the findings replicated earlier research. The strategies reported in Study II were physical exercise, physical health,engaging in pleasurable activities, relaxation, plan/set limits, social support, professional contacts, positive thinking, and work. Of these, social support, relaxation, physical exercise and physical health were associated with higher SWB. Social support showed the strongest association. In Study III changes in financial situation, social support, or cohabiting influenced SWB after controlling for neuroticism. The results also suggested that SWB was relatively stable over a period of three years. Preliminary findings from Study IV indicate that the (WHO) Ten Well-being index can work as a screening instrument for depression in populationbased samples.In summary, the findings suggest that demographics and psychosocial factors explain only a small part of the variance in SWB, replicating previous data. Certain self-care strategies are positively associated with SWB. In addition, changes in life circumstances influence SWB, even after controlling for neuroticism over a period of three years despite the stability of SWB. Furthermore, the preliminary findings indicate that the well-being scale can work as a screening instrument for depression in a population-based sample. The overall conclusion from the results of this thesis suggests that it is important for the health care services to be aware that negative life events/circumstances may affect people’s SWB over several years. Furthermore, selfhelp interventions might be important in order to maintain or increase SWB.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Hansson, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Well-being in an adult Swedish population
- 2005
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Ingår i: Social Indicators Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0303-8300 .- 1573-0921. ; 74:2, s. 313-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: The aim of this study was to see if earlier findings about factors associated with well-being could be replicated in a large population-based sample in Sweden. To the best of our knowledge, no research on well-being has been conducted on such a large population in a country, which by most standards is regarded as one of the most fortunate in the world. With its economic wealth and highly developed social welfare and health care system, Sweden is a country where the conditions for a high level of well-being would appear to be met. Methods: 10,441 randomly selected Swedish citizens, aged between 20 and 64 years, living in Stockholm County, completed a questionnaire covering issues such as demographics, social network and psychological well-being. The data were collected during the years 1998-2000. Results: Male gender, greater age, cohabiting, good childhood conditions, support from friends, sound financial situation and absence of negative life events were positively associated with well-being and explained 20% of the variance. Conclusion: The findings replicated earlier studies. Factors associated with well-being seem to remain the same, and are still explaining only a small part of the total variance, despite different measurements, time, sample sizes or country of origin. Therefore, research on well-being needs to take a new turn, by placing less focus on external factors and more focus on the internal factors, such as a person's personality and coping strategies
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| 5. |
- Hansson, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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What kind of self-care strategies do people report using and is there an association with well-being?
- 2005
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Ingår i: Social Indicators Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0303-8300 .- 1573-0921. ; 73:1, s. 133-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe what kind of self-care strategies people report using to improve or maintain their well-being. Furthermore, we also wanted to investigate whether reports of using self-care strategies were associated with well-being. Methods: A selected sample (n = 871), aged between 20 and 64 years, living in Stockholm County, answered an open-ended question about self-care strategies. Well-being was assessed using the WHO (Ten) well-being index. Results: Ten different categories were found. The most commonly reported self-care strategy was physical exercise, followed by social support and engaging in pleasurable activities. Physical exercise, social support, relaxation, and physical health were associated with a better well-being, social support being strongest correlated. Conclusion: The results suggest that reports of using certain self-care strategies are associated with a better well-being
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Oxelmark, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Group-based intervention program in inflammatory bowel disease patients : effects on quality of life
- 2007
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Ingår i: Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1078-0998 .- 1536-4844. ; 13:2, s. 182-90
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) have great impact on patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The aim of this study was to develop an integrated medical and psychological/ psychosocial group-based intervention program for IBD patients and to evaluate if such a program could influence the patients' HRQOL and coping abilities.METHODS: IBD patients in remission or with low disease activity were randomized to intervention or control groups. The intervention comprised nine weekly sessions, alternating lectures, and group therapy sessions. The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) and the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC) were used to measure HRQOL and coping ability at 0, 6, and 12 months. The intervention was evaluated by a visual analog scale (VAS) and written comments by a content analysis.RESULTS: In all, 24 patients were included in the intervention group and 20 in the control group. The mean IBDQ score showed no statistically significant differences before (173.9) or after the intervention at month 6 (175.7) or at month 12 (171.8), or when comparing intervention and controls at month 12. Similarly, there were no statistically significant differences in mean SOC before or after intervention or when comparing groups. The VAS and the content analysis showed that the intervention was well appreciated by the patients.CONCLUSIONS: The group-based intervention program was feasible and highly appreciated. There were no statistically significant differences in average IBDQ or SOC over time or in comparison with controls, although a significant increase was seen in patients with short disease duration.
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| 9. |
- Westerbotn, Margareta, et al.
(författare)
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A population-based study on well-being in the very old : the role of cardiovascular diseases and drugs
- 2005
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Ingår i: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics (Print). - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-4943 .- 1872-6976. ; 40:3, s. 287-297
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cardiovascular diseases constitute the most common health problems in very old people. Consequently, cardiovascular drugs are the medicines that are most frequently used by elderly subjects. Although many studies have examined the physiological effect and adverse reactions of these drugs, knowledge on their effect on emotional well-being is missing. The present study aims to examine the association between cardiovascular diseases and their medical treatment on the emotional well-being of very old people. We investigated a representative group of elderly subjects gathered from a population-based study (n=235). Participants were 84 years or older and cognitively intact (mini-mental state examination (MMSE) > or =24 points). Well-being was assessed with the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS), measuring different mood categories. Cardiovascular diseases were diagnosed following the International Classification of Diseases. In this population the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases was high (62%). Multivariate regression analysis showed that while being affected by a cardiovascular disease did not affect the emotional well-being of the subjects (PANAS-PA, p=0.171; PANAS-NA, p=0.209), the use of some cardiovascular drugs showed an association. Cardiac glycosides (p=0.006) and nitrates (p=0.008) were associated with increased negative feelings. Due to high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and use of cardiovascular medicines, this finding has relevance on the quality of life of elderly people. However, due to the nature of this study we cannot assess cause-effect relationship of this positive association. Therefore, the present findings suggest that there is a need for clinical studies in this increasing and limited studied age group.
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| 10. |
- Westerbotn, Margareta
(författare)
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Drug Use Among the Very Old Living in Ordinary Households : Aspects on Well-being, Cognitive and Functional Ability
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: In Sweden today a major proportion of the population survive to old ages. To a large extent, the oldest old are capable of living longer in their own households; some of them are very healthy while others have multiple diagnoses or ailments caused by a normal ageing process. This means that many elderly persons receive their health care needs in their own home, and in the future this will be even more common. Drug use of the elderly is a complex field, and many drugs have side effects complicating the medical treatment and decreasing the quality of life. Aim: This thesis aims to explore and describe the medicine use and the medical situation of very old persons (¡Ý84 years) living in ordinary households, and to obtain knowledge of their views on the use of drugs.Methods: This thesis combines quantitative and qualitative research methods. The quantitative studies (Study I, II and III) were based on data from the Kungsholmen Project, a population based study of elderly people living in a district of the inner city of Stockholm, Sweden. Data collection of the present studies was carried out from the third follow-up 1997-1998. The qualitative data (Study IV) was obtained 2005 through in-depth interviews with 25 elderly men and women, aged 85-97 years, living in ordinary households in Stockholm, Sweden. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used for the interviews.Results: The findings in Study I demonstrated that cardiovascular diseases are very frequent in this population (62%). Heart failure (47%) and hypertension (37%) were the most common conditions; and diuretics (69%), nitrates (31%) and cardiac glycosides (30%) were the most commonly prescribed drugs. Multivariate regression analyses showed that while being affected by a CV disease did not affect the emotional well-being of the participants (PANAS-PA, p=0.171; PANAS-NA, p=0.209), the use of cardiac glycosides (p=0.006) and nitrates (p=0.008) was associated with increased negative feelings. Study II revealed that 88% of the population took medicines on a regular basis, and only 23% of them received help with the handling of their medicines. Using logistic regression models controlling for sociodemographic variables, cognitive and functional status, female gender (OR: 2.8; 95% CI: 1.2-6.5) was the only variable associated with regular use of medicines. The results also showed that older age and functional disability as measured by ADL, increased the risk of receiving help with medicines, while higher cognitive status decreased the odds of receiving help. Using multiple regression models, we found that the only factor related to not receiving help from a family member was that of living alone (OR:0.05; 95% CI: 0.006-0.4). Study III showed that the prevalence of pain among very old persons was 46%, and the prevalence of pain treatment was 71%. Results from logistic regression analysis using all variables in the model indicated that pain reporting was not associated with age, gender or living conditions, but decreased with decreasing cognitive status and with increasing functional disability. Furthermore, pain treatment was not associated with age, gender, living conditions, cognitive and functional status. The qualitative data in Study IV indicated that most of the participants managed their medicines by themselves and were very content with this. Those elderly who received help with their medicines were also very pleased with this help. The findings also revealed that the most important components for the elderly to be able to remain living in their homes and to handle their medicines by themselves, were to have good cognitive ability, to be independent and to get support with their medicines from a close person as a back-up.Conclusions: This study revealed that a large proportion of very old people (¡Ý84 years) were living in ordinary households and used medicines regularly. Being a woman and living alone were associated with receiving help with medicines from the community help services. Cognitive and functional ability were revealed to be significant factors in the management of medicines, but also to affect the pain reporting, and type of received pain treatment. Most of the older participants managed to handle their medicines by themselves, and were very pleased by doing this. However, most of them were concerned about the risk of losing their memory, as they are getting older, because they knew that they would not be able to manage themselves any more and therefore would have to move to an institution.
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