1.
Olsson-Tall, Maivor, et al.
(author)
The Impact of Repeated Assessments by Patients and Professionals: A 4-Year Follow-Up of a Population With Schizophrenia
2019
In: Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. - : SAGE Publications. - 1078-3903 .- 1532-5725. ; 25:3, s. 189-199
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
The needs of people with schizophrenia are great, and having extensive knowledge of this patient group is crucial for providing the right support. The aim of this study was to investigate, over 4 years, the importance of repeated assessments by patients with schizophrenia and by professionals. Data were collected from evidence-based assessment scales, interviews, and visual self-assessment scales. The data processing used descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analyses. The results showed that the relationships between several of the patients’ self-rating assessments were stronger at the 4-year follow-up than at baseline. In parallel, the concordance rate between patient assessments and case manager assessments increased. The conclusions drawn are that through repeated assessments the patients’ ability to assess their own situation improved over time and that case managers became better at understanding their patients’ situation. This, in turn, provides a safer basis for assessments and further treatment interventions, which may lead to more patients achieving remission, which can lead to less risk for hospitalization and too early death.
2.
Maneschiöld, Per-Ola, et al.
(author)
Nursing assistant's perceptions of the good work environment in municipal elderly care in Sweden –a focus group study
2021
In: Journal of health organization and management. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1477-7266 .- 1758-7247. ; 35:9, s. 163-177
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate aspects related to difficulty to retain nursing assistants at nursing homes in Sweden related to perceived work environment characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: To reveal aspects related to difficulty to retain nursing assistants, the paper uses the BIKVA model, sense of coherence and New Public Management (NPM). In total, three focus groups with nursing assistants at three nursing homes are interviewed with corresponding individual interviews with their senior managers and users. The purpose is to analyze the situation from the affected group of nursing assistants. The focus of this study is how nursing assistants discuss related to recruit and retain nursing assistants at nursing homes and elderly care and the response from senior management related to those aspects. Findings: The main conclusions are that nursing assistants consider their job as meaningful, but limited latitude and direct involvement in managing their daily tasks in a continuous communication with management affect negatively. Furthermore and combined with wage levels, aspects related to scheduling, working hours, shift work, split shifts and understaffing generate a burdensome and stressful environment affecting the possibility to retain staff in a negative direction. Originality/value: The research uses a new approach utilizing the BIKVA model, sense of coherence and NPM. The study shows that central in retaining nursing assistants at nursing homes relates to aspects such as wages, staffing, shift work and split shifts and continuous communication between nursing assistants and management. © 2021, Per-Ola Maneschiöld and Diana Lucaci-Maneschiöld.
3.
Grim, Katarina, et al.
(author)
Development- and usability testing of a web-based decision support for users and health professionals in psychiatric services
2017
In: Psychiatric rehabilitation journal. - Washington, DC : American Psychological Association (APA). - 1095-158X .- 1559-3126. ; 40:3, s. 293-302
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Objective: Shared decision making (SMD) related to treatment and rehabilitation is considered a central component in recovery-oriented practice. Although decision aids are regarded as an essential component for successfully implementing SDM, these aids are often lacking within psychiatric services. The aim of this study was to use a participatory design to facilitate the development of a user-generated, web-based decision aid for individuals receiving psychiatric services. The results of this effort as well as the lessons learned during the development and usability processes are reported. Method: The participatory design included 4 iterative cycles of development. Various qualitative methods for data collection were used with potential end users participating as informants in focus group and individual interviews and as usability and pilot testers. Results: Interviewing and testing identified usability problems that then led to refinements and making the subsequent prototypes increasingly user-friendly and relevant. In each phase of the process, feedback from potential end-users provided guidance in developing the formation of the web-based decision aid that strengthens the position of users by integrating access to information regarding alternative supports, interactivity between staff and users, and user preferences as a continual focus in the tool. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: This web-based decision aid has the potential to strengthen service users’ experience of self-efficacy and control as well as provide staff access to user knowledge and preferences. Studies employing participatory models focusing on usability have potential to significantly contribute to the development and implementation of tools that reflect user perspectives.
4.
Grim, Katarina, 1971-, et al.
(author)
Legitimizing user knowledge in mental health services : Epistemic (in)justice and barriers to knowledge integration
2022
In: Frontiers in Psychiatry. - Lausanne : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-0640. ; 13
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Including the voices and knowledge of service users is essential for developing recovery-oriented and evidence-based mental health services. Recent studies have however, suggested that challenges remain to the legitimization of user knowledge in practice. To further explore such challenges, a co-production study was conducted by a team of researchers and representatives from user organizations in Sweden. The aim of the study was to explore the barriers and facilitators to the legitimacy of user knowledge, as a central factor in sustainably implementing user influence in mental health practice. A series of workshops, with representatives of mental health services and user organizations were conducted by the research team to explore these issues. The analysis built on the theoretical framework of epistemic injustice, and the underlying aspects, testimonial, hermeneutic and participation-based injustice, were utilized as a framework for a deductive analysis. Results suggest that this is a useful model for exploring the complex dynamics related to the legitimacy of user knowledge in mental health systems. The analysis suggests that the legitimacy of user knowledge is related to the representativeness of the knowledge base, the systematic formulation of this knowledge inapplicable methods, access to resources and positions within the mental health system and participation in the process of integrating this knowledge-base in mental health contexts. Legitimizing user knowledge in practice additionally challenges mental health systems to support readiness for change in working environments and to address the power and role issues that these changes involve. Copyright © 2022 Grim, Näslund, Allaskog, Andersson, Argentzell, Broström, Jenneteg, Jansson, Schön, Svedberg, Svensson, Wåhlstedt and Rosenberg.
5.
Yewale, Priti, et al.
(author)
Studies on Biosmotrap : A multipurpose biological air purifier to minimize indoor and outdoor air pollution
2022
In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 357
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Air pollution is a serious health concern that affects many people across the globe. The major air pollutants are particulate matter, carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatics and free radicals which cause severe respiratory distress and infections. The existing air cleaning systems suffer from drawbacks of high cost and generation of secondary pollutants. A novel biological air filter “Biosmotrap” which is a laminate composite of sponge gourd and algae was developed. Biosmotrap placed in a carrier assembly on exhaust of vehicles, could remove carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from the vehicular emissions resulting in cleaner emissions. Biosmotrap decreased carbon monoxide from 1,423,992 μg/m3 to 76,756 μg/m3, nitric oxide from 71,128 μg/m3 to 9982 μg/m3, nitrogen dioxide from 565 μg/m3 to 188 μg/m3 and PM2.5 from 3200 μg/m3 to 60 μg/m3 from a polluting vehicle. Biosmotrap removed 60–80% of indoor pollutants from cigarette smoke and incense-stick smoke. Biosmotrap could protect the human cells from oxidative DNA damage induced by indoor air pollutants. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis plants exposed to air filtered through Biosmotrap were healthy as compared to the plants directly exposed to polluted air. Biosmotrap is an economic, efficient, eco-friendly filter that is superior to existing air filtration methods.
6.
Ahlzén, Rolf, 1950-
(author)
Why should physicians read? : Understanding clinical judgement and its relation to literary experience
2010
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Is literary experience of any practical relevance to the clinician? This is the overall question addressed by this investigation, which starts by tracing the historical roots of scientific medicine. These are found to be intimately linked to a form of rationality associated with the scientific revolution of the 17th century and with “modernity”. Medical practice, however, is dependent also on another form of rationality associated with what Stephen Toulmin calls “the epistemology of the biographical”. The very core of clinical medicine is shown to be the clinical encounter, an interpretive meeting where the illness experience is at the centre of attention. The physician can reach the goals of medicine only by developing clinical judgement. Clinical judgement is subjected to close analysis and is assumed to be intimately connected to the form of knowledge Aristotle called phronesis. In order to explore how literature – drama, novels, poetry – may be related to clinical judgement, a view of literature is presented that emphasizes literature as an invitation to the reader, to be met responsibly and responsively. Literature carries a potential for a widened experience, for a more nuanced perception of reality – and this potential is suggested to be ethically relevant to the practice of medicine. The “narrative rationality” of a literary text constitutes a complement to the rationality pervading scientific medicine. The final step in my analysis is a closer exploration of the potential of the literary text to contribute to the growth of clinical judgement, in relation to the challenges of everyday clinical work. Some of the conditions that may facilitate such growth are outlined, but it is also shown that full empirical evidence for the beneficial effects of reading on the clinician reader is beyond reach.
7.
Henoch, Ingela, 1956, et al.
(author)
Perception of quality of care : Comparison of the views of patients' with lung cancer and their family members
2012
In: Journal of Clinical Nursing. - Oxford : Wiley. - 0962-1067 .- 1365-2702. ; 21:3-4, s. 585-594
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Aims and objectives. To explore potential differences within dyads of patients with lung cancer and family members judgment of different aspects of quality of care and relationships between quality of care and personal and health-related characteristics. Background. High quality of care is important for acceptable quality of life in patients in palliative care. If patients are unable to participate in quality of care assessments or decision-making, family members might often act as proxies, despite the complicated nature of their own situation. Design. Cross-sectional survey design. Method. A patient and family member version of the abbreviated questionnaire Quality from Patients' Perspective, with additional items about perceived health and opinions about care, was mailed to members of the Swedish lung cancer Patient Organisation. Wilcoxon's signed rank test was used to identify potential differences within 51 patient-family member dyads' quality of care ratings. Relationships between Quality from Patients' Perspective dimensions and demographic and healthrelated variables were examined with Spearman's correlations. Results. Patient-family member dyads had high levels of agreement in ratings of perceived reality of quality of care. Family members generally rated the subjective importance of individual items higher than did the patient in the dyad, with significant difference in the dimension ` socio-cultural approach'. Older patients were found to rate the physical-technical conditions higher than younger patients, in relation to perceived reality but not subjective importance. Women family members were found to rate the subjective importance of medical-technical competence, identity-oriented approach and socio-cultural approach significantly higher than men did. Conclusions. Patients with lung cancer and their family members agree in ratings of the perceived reality, but they differ more in ratings of the subjective importance of quality of care. When patients are unable to communicate their preferences, family members' opinions could be used as proxies concerning concrete aspects of quality of care. Concerning more subjective aspects, family members' ratings should be interpreted with precaution, as it could diverge from patients' own opinion. Relevance to clinical practice. The perceptions of the importance of different aspects of quality of care were less related to health status than were judgments of quality of care received. This might suggest that the care patients received fulfilled neither the patients' nor family members' expectations, which is an important message to healthcare professionals and which would demand further exploration.
8.
Cronin, Séan, et al.
(author)
A Qualitative Analysis of the Needs and Experiences of Hospital-based Clinicians when Accessing Medical Imaging
2021
In: Journal of digital imaging. - : Springer Nature. - 0897-1889 .- 1618-727X. ; :34, s. 385-396
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
As digital imaging is now a common and essential tool in the clinical workflow, it is important to understand the experiences of clinicians with medical imaging systems in order to guide future development. The objective of this paper was to explore health professionals’ experiences, practices and preferences when using Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS), to identify shortcomings in the existing technology and inform future developments. Semi-structured interviews are reported with 35 hospital-based healthcare professionals (3 interns, 11 senior health officers, 6 specialist registrars, 6 con- sultants, 2 clinical specialists, 5 radiographers, 1 sonographer, 1 radiation safety officer). Data collection took place between February 2019 and December 2020 and all data are analyzed thematically. A majority of clinicians report using PACS fre- quently (6+ times per day), both through dedicated PACS workstations, and through general-purpose desktop computers. Most clinicians report using basic features of PACS to view imaging and reports, and also to compare current with previous imaging, noting that they rarely use more advanced features, such as measuring. Usability is seen as a problem, including issues related to data privacy. More sustained training would help clinicians gain more value from PACS, particularly less experienced users. While the majority of clinicians report being unconcerned about sterility when accessing digital imaging, clinicians were open to the possibility of touchless operation using voice, and the ability to execute multiple commands with a single voice command would be welcomed.
9.
Vikström, Pernilla, et al.
(author)
Atypical sensory processing pattern following median or ulnar nerve injury - A case-control study
2018
In: BMC Neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2377. ; 18:1
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Background: Due to brain plasticity a transection of a median or ulnar nerve results in profound changes in the somatosensory areas in the brain. The permanent sensory deprivation after a peripheral nerve injury might influence the interaction between all senses. The aim of the study was to investigate if a median and/or ulnar nerve injury gives rise to a changed sensory processing pattern. In addition we examined if age at injury, injured nerve or time since injury influence the sensory processing pattern. Methods: Fifty patients (40 men and 10 women, median age 43) operated due to a median and/or ulnar nerve injury were included. The patients completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile questionnaire, which includes a comprehensive characterization on how sensory information is processed and how an individual responds to multiple sensory modalities. AASP categorizes the results into four possible Quadrants of behavioral profiles (Q1-low registration, Q2-sensory seeking, Q3-sensory sensitivity and Q4-sensory avoiding). The results were compared to 209 healthy age and gender matched controls. Anova Matched Design was used for evaluation of differences between the patient group and the control group. Atypical sensory processing behavior was determined in relation to the normative distribution of the control group. Results: Significant difference was seen in Q1, low registration. 40% in the patient group scored atypically in this Quadrant compared to 16% of the controls. No correlation between atypical sensory processing pattern and age or time since injury was seen. Conclusion: A peripheral nerve injury entails altered sensory processing pattern with increased proportion of patients with low registration to sensory stimulus overall. Our results can guide us into more client centered rehabilitation strategies.
10.
Jouper, John, 1960-, et al.
(author)
Mindful Recovery : A Case Study of a Burned-Out Elite Shooter
2013
In: The Sport psychologist. - : Human Kinetics. - 0888-4781 .- 1543-2793. ; 27:1, s. 92-102
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Research on how to recover from athlete burnout is scarce. The current aim is therefore to describe an intervention with an elite shooter suffering from burnout, and the use of mindfulness and Qigong to reestablish sport functioning as well as general well-being. The participant used mindfulness and Qigong exercise on a daily basis. Exercise frequency, exercise time, concentration level and Qigong state were noted daily, and levels of stress, energy and primordial force were self-rated weekly for 20 weeks, and followed up after 30, 40 and 50 weeks. The participant recovered from burnout to a state of general well-being (energy and primordial force changed from weak to strong), and her ability to stay concentrated in a Qigong state changed from weak to strong. Her capacity to shoot high scores was reestablished, even if her shooting endurance was not fully recovered. Mindfulness and Qigong techniques may be useful in the prevention of and recovery from athlete burnout.
