| 1. |
- Alsén, Pia, 1956-, et al.
(författare)
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Living with incomprehensible fatigue after recent myocardial infarction.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of advanced nursing. - : Wiley. - 1365-2648 .- 0309-2402. ; 64:5, s. 459-68
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIM: This paper is a report of a study of what fatigue means to patients with recent myocardial infarction (MI) and how they manage to deal with the consequences of this symptom. BACKGROUND: After MI, fatigue is a frequent and distressing symptom. In nursing practice and in everyday conversations, the term 'tiredness' has a broad meaning that is often used synonymously with fatigue. Fatigue may be defined as a state along an adaptation continuum with tiredness and exhaustion as distinct states at the ends of the continuum. METHOD: In accordance with a constructivist grounded theory method, 19 patients were interviewed four months after having a MI. The informants were chosen from a larger sample of patients admitted to a coronary care unit during the period October 2005 to September 2006. FINDINGS: Living with incomprehensible fatigue was identified as the central theme, which described what fatigue meant to patients 4 months after their MI and how they handled it. The core category was labelled incomprehensible fatigue. Two of the categories refer to consequences: being restricted and feeling defeated and one category describes management: fumbling coping strategies. Finally, one category concerns the outcome: moderate relief of fatigue. CONCLUSION: Nursing interventions could focus on identifying and reducing stressors as well as on increasing patients' ability to cope with stressors. Further research should focus on identifying stressors and useful coping strategies after MI, knowledge that could be used to prevent aggravation of fatigue.
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| 2. |
- Alsén, Pia, 1956-, et al.
(författare)
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Patients' illness perception four months after a myocardial infarction.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Nursing. - : Wiley. - 0962-1067 .- 1365-2702. ; 17:5A, s. 25-33
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore patients' illness perception of myocardial infarction four months after a myocardial infarction. BACKGROUND: An important task for research on recovery from myocardial infarction is to understand the factors that influence an individual's adherence to secondary preventive strategies. Perceptual, cognitive and motivational factors have been found to influence adherence to a secondary preventive regimen. METHOD: Twenty-five patients were interviewed four months after a myocardial infarction. In accordance with grounded theory methodology, data collection and analysis were carried out simultaneously. RESULTS: The findings can be understood in light of two core categories: 'trust in oneself ' vs. 'trust in others'; belief in one's own efforts to control the illness; and 'illness reasoning', lines of thought about illness identity. In searching for relationships, six categories describing variation in illness perceptions of a myocardial infarction emerged: (i) 'sign of a chronic condition - feasible to influence'; (ii) 'sign of a chronic condition - uncontrollable'; (iii) 'acute event that can recur - feasible to influence'; (iv) 'acute event that can recur - uncontrollable'; (v) 'unthinkable acute event'; and (vi) 'non-recurring acute event'. CONCLUSION: The more reflective patients perceived the heart attack as a sign of a chronic condition; they also devoted time for reasoning about the possible causes of their illness. This is in contrast to patients who were less reflective and viewed their myocardial infarction as an acute event, which they avoided thinking about. The findings contribute to our understanding of variation in illness perceptions. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The examination of how individuals perceive myocardial infarction may help health-care professionals individualize secondary preventive strategies, thereby improving adherence to health-care regimens. Nurse-patient discussions could begin with identification of the patient's variations of reflectiveness concerning his/her illness.
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| 3. |
- Axelsson, Malin, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Personality, adherence, asthma control and health-related quality of life in young adult asthmatics
- 2009
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Ingår i: Respiratory Medicine. - : Elsevier. - 0954-6111 .- 1532-3064. ; 103:7, s. 1033-1040
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundStriving for improved adherence and asthma control is of vital concern in today's asthma management. Several influential factors have been identified, but the importance of personality traits has been insufficiently explored. The aim was first to determine whether personality traits in young adult asthmatics are related to asthma control and health-related quality of life (HRQL), and second to examine the influences of personality traits on adherence to regular asthma medication treatment.MethodsYoung adult asthmatics, 22 years of age (n = 268) completed questionnaires. Statistical analyses were performed.ResultsThe personality traits Negative Affectivity and Impulsivity correlated negatively with asthma control, whereas in women Hedonic Capacity correlated positively with asthma control. Negative Affectivity, Impulsivity, Hedonic Capacity, Alexithymia and asthma control predicted the mental dimension of HRQL. Asthma control and physical activity predicted the physical dimension of HRQL. Among respondents with regular asthma medication (n = 109), Impulsivity correlated negatively with adherence. In men, Antagonism and Alexithymia were associated with low adherence. Additionally, Alexithymia, Hedonic Capacity and Negative Affectivity showed non-linear relationships with adherence, meaning that initially increased scores on these personality traits scales were associated with increased adherence but higher scores did not increase adherence. Respondents who were prescribed a single inhaler combining ICS and LABA reported higher adherence than those with monotherapies.ConclusionThese data suggest that personality can influence how asthma patients adhere to asthma medication treatment, and report their control and HRQL. Tools determining personality traits may be useful in the future in individualizing management of asthma patients.
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| 4. |
- Bergquist, Magnus, 1960, et al.
(författare)
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Practising Peer Review in Organizations: a Qualifier for Knowledge Dissemination and Legitimization
- 2001
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Ingår i: Journal of Information Technology. - London : SAGE Publications. ; 16:2, s. 99-112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A key issue in many organizations is how to disseminate information in an effective way and, more importantly, how to make use of this information in order to create new knowledge. One way of addressing this problem is to focus on how information is socially transformed into knowledge. This includes how knowledge is handled in practice and how the knowledge produced is qualiŽ ed as being something worth knowing and acting upon. Two well-established practices for doing this are the refereeing system and the peer review process. These are used in scientiŽ c communities as a means of validating and legitimating knowledge, for example by reviewing journal papers before publishing or project proposals before granting funds, etc. This paper argues that peer review is a useful concept when looking at knowledge creation and legitimization in organizations. The social meaning of peer review is to legitimize new knowledge by organizationally sanctioning it and thereby creating a platform for collective sense making. This paper uses an example from a Ž eld study in a pharmaceutical company in order to illustrate this argument. The study took place in a quality support department where the quality of health care products and processes was assessed. The organization had a need for fast and reliable updating of information that could in uence how the production process of pharmaceuticals should be carried out. In order to cope with these problems the department established an ‘evaluation loop’, which shared several characteristics with the peer review process.
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| 5. |
- Berlin, Johan, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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The 20-minute team : a critical case study from the emergency room
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. - : Wiley. - 1356-1294 .- 1365-2753. ; 14:4, s. 569-576
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rationale: In this article, the difference between team and group is tested empirically. The research question posed is How are teams formed? Three theoretical concepts that distinguish groups from teams are presented: sequentiality, parallelism and synchronicity. The presumption is that groups cooperate sequentially and teams synchronously, while parallel cooperation is a transition between group and team. Methods: To answer the question, a longitudinal case study has been made of a trauma team at a university hospital. Data have been collected through interviews and direct observations. Altogether the work of the trauma team has been studied for a period of 5 years (2002–2006). Results: The results indicate that two factors are of central importance for the creation of a team. The first is related to its management and the other to the forms of cooperation. To allow for a team to act rapidly and to reduce friction between different members, clear leadership is required. Conclusions: The studied team developed cooperation with synchronous elements but never attained a level that corresponds to idealized conceptions of teams. This is used as a basis for challenging ideas that teams are harmonious and free from conflicts and that cooperation takes place without friction.
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| 6. |
- Berlin, Johan, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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The 90 Second Collaboration - A critical study of collaboration exercises at extensive accident sites
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management. - : Wiley. - 0966-0879 .- 1468-5973. ; 16:4, s. 177-185
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, a critical examination of collaboration, focusing on the alternatives, is carried out. The study is based on empirical data from four inter-organizational exercises involving ambulance police and fire departments. We studied collaboration between the three organizations, from the arrival of the first units, until the mission was completed. It was found that collaboration was practiced to a relatively small degree, and that it primarily took place due to understaffing. In summary, the different organizational phenomena are sorted on a scale of stability vs. change. The result of the study shows that the organizations observed strive for stability, preferring repeated and well-known behaviour.
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| 7. |
- Berndtsson, Ina, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term outcome after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis : function and health-related quality of life
- 2007
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Ingår i: Diseases of the Colon & Rectum. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0012-3706 .- 1530-0358. ; 50:10, s. 1545-52
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate long-term pouch function and health-related quality of life in a single, large cohort of patients with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis. METHODS: Data from 370 patients were included in the study. Thirty-nine patients (11 percent) did not have a functioning pouch (failures) but were included in the health-related quality of life analyses. Pouch function (Oresland score) and health-related quality of life (Short Form-36) were evaluated by postal questionnaires. A total of 88 percent of the patients with a functioning ileal pouch-anal anastomosis returned the questionnaires vs. 76 percent of the failures. Median follow-up time after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis was 15 years vs. 11 years after failure. An age-matched and gender-matched reference sample (n = 286) was randomly drawn from the Swedish Short Form-36 database. RESULTS: Median bowel frequency was six per 24 hours: 76 percent emptied the reservoir at night, 23 percent had urgency, 12 percent had evacuation difficulties, and 17 percent experienced soiling during the day. Fifty-two percent of the males and 32 percent of the females suffered from soiling at night. More than one-half of the patients had occasional perianal soreness, 6 percent considered the pouch to be a social handicap, and 94 percent were satisfied with their pouch. Patients with a functioning ileal pouch-anal anastomosis did not differ from the reference sample on any Short Form-36 domain, except for a reduced score in General Health (P = 0.02). Pouch function was positively correlated to health-related quality of life. Patients with pouch failure had reduced health-related quality of life in most domains. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' satisfaction is high and functional outcome is good after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. Poor pouch function affects health-related quality of life negatively. Patients with failure after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis are substantially limited in a variety of health-related quality of life domains.
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| 8. |
- Brink, Eva, 1952-
(författare)
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Adaptation Positions and Behavior Among Post–Myocardial Infarction Patients
- 2009
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Ingår i: Clinical Nursing Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 1054-7738 .- 1552-3799. ; 18:2, s. 119-135
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study explores myocardial infarction patients' experiences of adaptation to illness consequences after one year, focusing on experiences of “the self.” The study sample consisted of 19 respondents (10 women, 9 men) who have suffered a first-time myocardial infarction. They were interviewed 1 year after the acute heart attack. A constant comparative method for grounded theory provided the strategies used for data collection and analysis. Codes emerged and memos clarified theoretical reflections. The resulting model was able to illustrate possible mechanisms underlying two different behaviors: self-modifying and self-protecting behavior. Four different adaptation positions were identified: put up with current health, struggle for health, ignore illness , and struggle against illness. These categories were related to two core categories: self-agency and coping with illness consequences . This model may clarify the different adaptive behavior observed among post—myocardial infarction patients.
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| 9. |
- Brink, Eva, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
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Coping with myocardial infarction : Evaluation of a coping questionnaire
- 2009
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. - : Wiley. - 0283-9318 .- 1471-6712. ; 23:4, s. 792-800
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coping with myocardial infarction: evaluation of a coping questionnaire The negative effects of emotional distress on the recovery following myocardial infarction make it important to study coping strategies in this situation. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties and the validity of a 10 dimensions questionnaire labelled The General Coping Questionnaire (GCQ). The structure of the questionnaire was based on a previous interview study with 26 persons with different diseases. The 10 dimensions are called self-trust, problem-reducing actions, change of values, social trust, minimization, fatalism, resignation, protest, isolation and intrusion. The present study comprised 114 first-time myocardial infarction patients (37 women, 77 men). Five months after myocardial infarction, they answered questions about health-related quality of life, health complaints, sense of coherence and the GCQ. A multi-trait/multi-item analysis showed good item-scale convergent and discriminatory validity when the GCQ was reduced from 47 to 40 items. In conclusion, the results showed that the 40-item GCQ is a well-structured and reliable questionnaire for measuring coping strategies in myocardial infarction patients.
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| 10. |
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