| 1. |
- Ekman, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Cost analysis of informal care : estimates from a national cross-sectional survey in Sweden
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMC Health Services Research. - : BioMed Central. - 1472-6963. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundOver the past decades, informal care has increased in most OECD-countries. Informal care is costly to caregivers and to society in the form of lost income and direct costs of providing care. Existing evidence suggests that providing informal care affects caregivers' overall health. However, estimates of the social costs of informal care based on national data on individuals are currently scarce.ObjectiveThis study contributes to the existing evidence on the costs of informal care by estimating the direct and indirect costs to caregivers using a purposive national household survey from Sweden.MethodsAdopting a bottom-up, prevalence approach, the direct and indirect costs are estimated using the survey data and the value of working time and leisure time from existing sources.ResultsThe results suggest that around 15% of the adult population of Sweden provide informal care and that such care costs around SEK 152 billion per year (around 3% of GDP; USD 16,3 billion; EUR 14,5 billion), or SEK 128000 per caregiver. Around 55% of costs are in the form of income loss to caregivers. The largest cost items are reduced work hours and direct costs of providing informal care. Replacing informal caregivers with professional care providers would be costly at around SEK 193,6 billion per year.ConclusionsFindings indicate that, even in a country with a relatively generous welfare system, significant resources are allocated toward providing informal care. The costing analysis suggests that effective support initiatives to ease the burden of informal caregivers may be cost-effective.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Ekman, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on primary care utilization : evidence from Sweden using national register data
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMC Research Notes. - : BioMed Central. - 1756-0500. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective To analyze changes in primary care utilization as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Swedish national register data from 2019 to 2020 on utilization of services were used to compare overall utilization levels and across types of contacts and patient groups. A specific objective was to assess the extent to which remote types of patient consultations were able to compensate for any observed fall in on-site visits. Data were stratified by sex and age to investigate any demographic pattern.Results Findings show significant reductions in overall utilization of services as the pandemic occurred in the first quarter of 2020. On-site visits fell during the first wave of the pandemic and rebounded thereafter. Patients over 65 years of age appear to have reduced utilization to a larger extent compared with younger groups. Simultaneously, remote contacts increased from around 12% before the pandemic to 17% of the total number of consultations. However, the net effect of changes in service utilization suggests an overall reduction of around 12 percent in the number of primary care consultations as a result of the pandemic. No differences between men and women were observed. Further research will continue to monitor changes in primary care utilization as the pandemic continues.
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| 4. |
- Ekman, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Skala upp den befintliga digitala vården i Sverige
- 2020
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Ingår i: Dagens Medicin. - Stockholm : Bonnier. - 1104-7488.
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Ge Socialstyrelsen ett nationellt uppdrag att beställa och ersätta vårdgivare av digital vård, föreslår en grupp forskare med anledning av covid-19.
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| 5. |
- Ekman, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainable and equitable provision of wheelchairs in low- and middle-income countries : an economic assessment of the models for wheelchair provision in Tajikistan
- 2021
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Ingår i: Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1748-3107 .- 1748-3115. ; 16:8, s. 865-870
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Reaching universal coverage of assistive technologies remains a challenge in many low- and middle-income countries. Tajikistan has recently adopted several policies and national strategies to strengthen the rights of people with disabilities and improve the provision of assistive products. However, Tajikistan faces a number of challenges, including ensuring sustainable funding for the provision of wheelchairs in the medium and long term. Methods: This study presents the results of a recent analysis of the economic aspects of the provision of wheelchairs in Tajikistan to inform policy making in other low- and middle-income countries. The study draws on several sources of information, including local cost data, consultations with national and international experts and stakeholders, and reviews of the existing evidence. Results: Countries are advised to adopt an incremental approach to wheelchair provision. In the short term, countries may wish to import wheelchairs to move towards universal coverage. In the medium-to-long term, countries may wish to invest in national capacities for local production. Conclusion: Countries will need to continue implementing strategies to ensure universal access to wheelchairs without the risk of financial hardship for users, regardless of the approach to provision that has been chosen.Implication for Rehabilitation Reaching universal coverage of assistive technologies remains a challenge in many low- and middle-income countries. Countries are advised to adopt an incremental approach to wheelchair provision. The model of wheelchair importation may be a realistic model over the short- to medium-term for many LMICs countries to ensure effective and equitable provision of wheelchairs. In this article, we identify that sufficient funding needs to be allocated to the provision of wheelchairs regardless of the model of provision.
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| 6. |
- Ekman Burgman, Linus, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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Should the Sludge Hit the Farm? : – How Chemo-Social Relations Affect Policy Efforts to Circulate Phosphorus in Sweden
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainable Production and Consumption. - : Elsevier. - 2352-5509. ; 27, s. 1488-1497
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article discerns why the substantial political efforts to increase circulation of nutrients in sewage sludge, and phosphorus in particular, have shown such meager results over the last twenty years in Sweden. We have analyzed stakeholders’ statements of opinions to four government-initiated inquiries, to decipher the chemo-social relations between stakeholders and phosphorus, and how these relations have transformed over time and made a difference in the policy process. In our analysis, we found five different relations: 1) a metabolic, 2) a purity, 3) a nutritional, 4) a marketable, and 5) a geopolitical. These relations connect actors, phosphorus and politics in different ways, and obstruct policymaking by creating tensions between political objectives, values and stakeholder positions. We observe how the extraction of phosphorus as a singular, marketable element to be sold for profit reasons on a global market, is increasingly favored in comparison to local eco-cycling of nutrients between farmers and consumers. We see this as a consequence of that the circular economy as a concept has replaced eco-cycle efforts in the Swedish policy debate. We conclude that if circular economy-initiatives are to be successfully implemented, they need to be informed by the current configuration of material flows that they wish to transform as well as the political implications of their efforts. So far, this has not been the case regarding sewage sludge in Sweden.
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| 7. |
- Falk Johansson, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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A comparison of spouse and non-spouse carers of people with dementia : a descriptive analysis of Swedish national survey data
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMC Geriatrics. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2318. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundBeing an informal carer of a person with dementia (PwD) can have a negative effect on the carer's health and quality of life, and spouse carers have been found to be especially vulnerable. Yet relatively little is known about the care provided and support received by spouse carers. This study compares spouse carers to other informal carers of PwDs regarding their care provision, the support received and the psychosocial impact of care.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of a stratified random sample of the Swedish population aged 18 or over. The questionnaire explored how much care the respondent provided, the support received, and the psychosocial impact of providing care. Of 30,009 people sampled, 11,168 (37.7%) responded, of whom 330 (2.95%) were informal carers of a PwD.ResultsIn comparison to non-spouse carers, spouse carers provided more care more frequently, did so with less support from family or the local authority, while more frequently experiencing negative impacts on their social life and psychological and physical health. Spouse carers also received more carer support and more frequently experienced a closeness in their relationship with the care-recipient.ConclusionsSpouse carers of PwD differed from non-spouse carers on virtually all aspects of their care situation. Policy and practice must be more sensitive to how the carer-care-recipient relationship shapes the experience of care, so that support is based on an understanding of the individual carer's actual needs and preferences rather than on preconceptions drawn from a generalised support model.
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| 8. |
- Frennert, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
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Lärdomar från en ”lyckad” implementering av en digital plattform i primärvården
- 2021
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- BakgrundAnvändandet av digitala plattformar ökar inom primärvården. Syftet med den här typen av digitala plattformar är att avståndet ska minska mellan vårdpersonal och patient i tid och rum, vården ska bli mer kontinuerlig och proaktiv samt att resurser allokeras till de delar av vården där de behövs bäst. För att syftet ska nås, behöver dessa plattformar inte bara vara funktionella och användbara, utan de behöver inlemmas i det dagliga arbetet. Tidigare forskning visar att många implementeringar inom primärvården fallerar (Granja, Janssen, & Johansen, 2018). Oftast förklaras den långsamma digitaliseringen inom vården som ett resultat av motstånd bland vårdpersonal och patienter på grund av avsaknad av digitala färdigheter och negativ attityd gentemot teknik (Ali, Zhou, Miller, & Ieromonachou, 2016). Förklaringen speglar ett reduktionistiskt synsätt som saknar förståelse för att implementering av digitala lösningar inom vården, inte är en linjär process utan en komplex process som påverkas av flera faktorer (tekniska, sociala, strukturella, historiska, ekonomiska och politiska), olika aktörer (vårdpersonal, patienter , anhöriga, ledning, politiker), utformningen av tekniska lösningar som ömsesidigt är relaterade och möjliggör viss typ av vård och arbetsförhållanden, samtidigt som de begränsar andra (Nilsen, 2020). SyfteSyftet med vår presentation är att beskriva de lärdomar vi dragit från vad som förefaller vara en framgångsrik implementering av en digital plattform på en vårdcentral. Via plattformen kan patienten digitalt ta kontakt med vårdcentralen och blir dirigerad till antingen fysiska eller digitala vårdmöten, beroende på patientens önskemål och medicinska behov. MetodMaterialet kommer från en pilotstudie och består av 12 semi-strukturerade intervjuer med vårdpersonal samt observationer under utbildningstillfällen av den digitala plattformen och på ett APT. Vårt teoretiska ramverk tar sin utgångspunkt i Normalisation Process Theory (NPT). NPT beskriver det arbete och samspel mellan olika aktörer som krävs, för att normalisera ett nytt arbetssätt och inbegriper fyra mekanismer: samstämmighet; kognitiv medverkan; kollektivt agerande och reflekterande monitorering (Carl May, 2013; C May & Finch, 2009).ResultatPilotstudien visar på en rad åtgärder som förefaller att ha säkerställt normalisering av den digital plattformen på den studerade vårdcentralen: att involvera och förankra idén om det nya arbetssättet/innovationen hos vårdpersonal redan innan implementeringen; att utbilda superanvändare som är villiga att driva implementeringen och villiga att kontinuerligt stötta kollegor i förändringsarbetet; att avsätta tid i schemat för vårdpersonal att utforska, lära sig och använda det nya arbetssättet; att ha regelbundna återkopplingsmöten, i vilka vårdpersonal kan diskutera och ventilera farhågor samt förväntningar.
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| 9. |
- Frennert, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
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Successful Implementation and Integration of a Digital Healthcare Platform Supporting Patient- and Workflow in a Swedish Primary Healthcare Center
- 2021
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Ingår i: ; , s. 33-34
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This abstract is based on a pilot study from an ongoing project focusing the implementation of a digital platform offering support for both the patient- and workflow at a primary healthcare center in Western Sweden. The overarching aim of the project is to follow the introduction and adaptation (normalization) of the platform in primary healthcare centers to study how digital support of the patient- and workflow affects the healthcare professionals (HCP) working routines and workload. Through the platform, patients can make contact with the primary healthcare center digitally instead of through phone calls. Communication can take place synchronously or asynchronously and patient meetings digitally (through chat or video) or physically. Through the platform patients are directed to different categories of HCPs, depending on symptoms. We will present the findings of how the organization and leadership was prepared for the introduction of the platform and how the HCPs are prepared, trained and affected by the implementation. The primary healthcare center’s motive for implementing the platform was to increase patient accessibility and experience, enhance resource utilization, and to decrease workload for HCPs (primarily the nurses).Past research shows that implementations of this type of digital platforms are a complex process, involving a wide range of actors who translate means, actions, and objectives into care practices in different ways (Damschroder et al., 2009) not always rendering the expected effects (Cajander, Larusdottir, & Hedström, 2020). Also, early research on digital implementations in healthcare has been accused of being rich in data but “information poor” (Nilsen, 2020). However, several theoretical tools to comprehend and illuminate implementation failures or successes have been developed (Damschroder et al., 2009; C May & Finch, 2009; C. R. May et al., 2011; Nilsen, 2020; Tabak, Khoong, Chambers, & Brownson, 2012). One such explanatory framework is the Normalization Process Theory (NPT) (C May & Finch, 2009). NPT identifies and explains important mechanisms that promote or inhibit an implementation process. It allows a systematic exploration of how and why (or not) a digital healthcare platform becomes normalized and sustained in healthcare practice. NPT “characterizes and explains implementation processes as interactions between ‘emergent expressions of agency (i.e., the things that people do to make something happen, and the ways that they work with different components of a complex intervention to do so); and as ‘dynamic elements of context’ (the social-structural and social-cognitive resources that people draw on to realize that agency)” (Carl May, 2013, p. 1). We use NPT and its constructs as an explanatory framework for analyzing the empirical findings from the pilot study. MethodMethods of inquiry included semi-structured interviews (N=12) and observations during training sessions with the HCPs (2), as well as at a formal workplace meeting (1). The interviews were conducted with four nurses, three doctors, two managers, one psychologist, and one rehabilitation coordinator from the same healthcare center. We also interviewed one of the main initiators and developers of the platform. NPT has inspired the framing of the interviews as well as the data analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that the digital platform has been successfully implemented and integrated into the everyday care routines at the primary healthcare center. In specific, it has positively affected the patient- and workflow as well as the HCP’s working conditions. The findings also point at the importance of preparation on the organizational and leadership level before platform implementation. In the presentation, we will elaborate further on how the platform becomes successfully embedded and integrated by using the NPT constructs of coherence, cognitive participation, collective actions, and reflexive monitoring as an analytical lens.
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| 10. |
- Grimby-Ekman, Anna, 1967, et al.
(författare)
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Pain intensity and pressure pain thresholds after a light dynamic physical load in patients with chronic neck-shoulder pain
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2474. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background To investigate the development of pain intensity and pressure pain thresholds during and 24 h after a light dynamic physical load among patients with chronic neck-shoulder pain. Methods Twenty-six patients with chronic neck-shoulder pain and 12 healthy controls were included. The participants arm-cycled on an ergometer. Effort was rated with the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale (RPE), and pain intensity with an numeric rating scale (NRS). Pressure pain thresholds were measured by an algometer. Participants started a pain diary 1 week before the physical exercise and continued until 1 week after. Pain intensity was assessed before, during and the following two evenings after arm-cycling. Pressure pain thresholds were assessed before, 15 min after, 105 min after and 24 h after. Results The chronic pain group showed increased pain intensity during, and the following two evenings after the arm cycling, and decreased pain thresholds immediately after the arm cycling involving painful regions. In the patient group there were no impact on pain thresholds in the neck the following day. Conclusions Patients with chronic neck-shoulder pain reported increased pain intensity during and in the evenings after a light dynamic load involving painful regions. In addition, they showed decreased pain thresholds close to the exercise, indicating mechanical hyperalgesia.
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