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- Aglen, B., et al.
(författare)
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Self-help and self-help groups for people with long-lasting health problems or mental health difficulties in a Nordic context : A review
- 2011
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 39:8, s. 813-822
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: The aim of this review is to provide systematic knowledge of research from Nordic countries about the meaning of self-help and self-help groups when these are used as a concept or method addressing issues related to long-lasting health problems or mental health difficulties. Methods: Included were studies conducted in the Nordic countries that were published between January 1999 and September 2009. These studies investigated self-help and self-help groups addressing issues related to long-lasting health problems. Results: A total of 83 publications met the inclusion criteria. Four major characteristics of self-help were found to be present in the publications: self-help as an intrapsychological process, self-help as an interpsychological or group process, self-help as a coping, individual learning or empowerment process, and self-help as an alternative or complement to medical treatment. Of the 83 studies, 72 publications used a professional treatment perspective for studying self-help and 11 publications used a perspective derived from alternative or complementary therapies. Conclusions: The review shows that most of the research on self-help and self-help groups for people with long-lasting health problems or disability is conducted with an interest to improve the professional healthcare system. That is, the health-promotion strategy is mainly considered in the framework of treatment or care settings. This means that self-help in this context does not challenge the dominant biomedical health model. © 2011 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.
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| 3. |
- Loewenson, Rene, et al.
(författare)
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Globalisation and women's health in Sub-Saharan Africa : Would paying attention to women's occupational roles improve nutritional outcomes?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 38, s. 6-17
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: This paper explores, through a review of literature, the link between globalisation and nutritional outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the pathways of women's occupational roles on the food produced, consumed, and secured for households. Methods: Following a framework linking globalisation and health, we drew evidence from peer reviewed, cross-national or large scale studies, official sources, reviews, online scientific databases, and case studies, published between 1990 and 2009. Results: Publications cite improved technology, information, know how, normative commitments to and resources for human development, returns from access to investment in agriculture for low-income women producers, and urban employment opportunities reducing social discrimination and improving opportunities for household food security, particularly if access to these benefits is reinforced by national policy. However, many more publications cite negative consequences, including in falling national and local food self-sufficiency, livelihood and nutritional losses, widening inequalities, and in declining or insecure access to production inputs, markets, incomes, local foods, and healthcare. These effects are documented to increase time and resource burdens for women, with negative consequences for their own and their families' health and nutrition. Conclusions: The evidence suggests that globalisation-related economic and trade policies have, on balance, been associated with shifts in women's occupational roles and resources that contribute to documented poor nutritional outcomes in Africa. These trends call for public policies that address such positive and negative effects for women and for improved monitoring of such gender and socio-economic trends, especially at the household and community level, in the tracking of the Millennium Development Goals.
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| 4. |
- Ståhl, Ylva, et al.
(författare)
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Mapping of children's health and development data on population level using the classification system ICF-CY
- 2011
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 39, s. 51-57
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate if essential health and development data of all children in Sweden in the Child Health Service (CHS) and School Health Service (SHS) can be linked to the classification system International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health - Children and Youth (ICF-CY). Method: Lists of essential health terms, compiled by professionals from CHS and SHS, expected to be used in the national standardised records form the basis for the analysis in this study. The essential health terms have been linked to the codes of ICF-CY by using linking rules and a verification procedure. RESULTS: After exclusion of terms not directly describing children's health, a majority of the health terms could be linked into the ICF-CY with a high proportion of terms in body functions and a lower proportion in activity/participation and environment respectively. Some health terms had broad description and were linked to several ICF-CY codes. The precision of the health terms was at a medium level of detail. CONCLUSION: ICF-CY can be useful as a tool for documenting child health. It provides not only a code useful for statistical purposes but also a language useful for the CHS and SHS in their work on individual as well as population levels. It was noted that the health terms used by services mainly focused on health related to body function. This indicates that more focus is needed on health data related to child's functioning in everyday life situations.
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| 5. |
- van den Bosch, Matilda, et al.
(författare)
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Nature-assisted therapy: Systematic review of controlled and observational studies
- 2011
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 39, s. 371-388
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Nature's potentially positive effect on human health may serve as an important public health intervention. While several scientific studies have been performed on the subject, no systematic review of existing evidence has until date been established. Methods: This article is a systematic evaluation of available scientific evidence for nature-assisted therapy (NAT). With the design of a systematic review relevant data sources were scrutinised to retrieve studies meeting predefined inclusion criteria. The methodological quality of studies and abstracted data were assessed for intervention studies on NAT for a defined disease. The final inclusion of a study was decided by the authors together. Results: The included studies were heterogeneous for participant characteristics, intervention type, and methodological quality. Three meta-analyses, six studies of high evidence grade (four reporting significant improvement), and 29 studies of low to moderate evidence grade (26 reporting health improvements) were included. For the studies with high evidence grade, the results were generally positive, though somewhat ambiguous. Among the studies of moderate to low evidence grade, health improvements were reported in 26 cases out of 29. Conclusions: This review gives at hand that a rather small but reliable evidence base supports the effectiveness and appropriateness of NAT as a relevant resource for public health. Significant improvements were found for varied outcomes in diverse diagnoses, spanning from obesity to schizophrenia. Recommendations for specific areas of future research of the subject are provided.
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