| 1. |
- Martinez, Alejandro, et al.
(författare)
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Human access impacts biodiversity of microscopic animals in sandy beaches
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whereas most work to understand impacts of humans on biodiversity on coastal areas has focused on large, conspicuous organisms, we highlight effects of tourist access on the diversity of microscopic marine animals (meiofauna). We used a DNA metabarcoding approach with an iterative and phylogeny-based approach for the taxonomic assignment of meiofauna and relate diversity patterns to the numbers of tourists accessing sandy beaches on an otherwise un-impacted island National Park. Tourist frequentation, independently of differences in sediment granulometry, beach length, and other potential confounding factors, affected meiofaunal diversity in the shallow “swash” zone right at the mean water mark; the impacts declined with water depth (up to 2 m). The indicated negative effect on meiofauna may have a consequence on all the biota including the higher trophic levels. Thus, we claim that it is important to consider restricting access to beaches in touristic areas, in order to preserve biodiversity.
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| 2. |
- Barbabella, Francesco, Dr. 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Recruitment of Adolescent Young Carers to a Psychosocial Support Intervention Study in Six European Countries : Lessons Learned from the ME-WE Project
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 20:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Young carers provide a substantial amount of care to family members and support to friends, yet their situation has not been actively addressed in research and policy in many European countries or indeed globally. Awareness of their situation by professionals and among children and young carers themselves remains low overall. Thus, young carers remain a largely hidden group within society. This study reports and analyses the recruitment process in a multi-centre intervention study offering psychosocial support to adolescent young carers (AYCs) aged 15–17 years. A cluster-randomised controlled trial was designed, with recruitment taking place in Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom exploiting various channels, including partnerships with schools, health and social services and carers organisations. In total, 478 AYCs were recruited and, after screening failures, withdrawals and initial dropouts, 217 were enrolled and started the intervention. Challenges encountered in reaching, recruiting and retaining AYCs included low levels of awareness among AYCs, a low willingness to participate in study activities, uncertainty about the prevalence of AYCs, a limited school capacity to support the recruitment; COVID-19 spreading in 2020–2021 and related restrictions. Based on this experience, recommendations are put forward for how to better engage AYCs in research.
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| 3. |
- D’Amen, Barbara, et al.
(författare)
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Italian Adolescent Young Caregivers of Grandparents : Difficulties Experienced and Support Needed in Intergenerational Caregiving—Qualitative Findings from a European Union Funded Project
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 19:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The article aims to describe the experiences of 87 Italian adolescent young caregivers (AYCs) of grandparents (GrPs), with reference to the caregiving stress appraisal model (CSA) that provides a theoretical lens to explore the difficulties encountered and support needed in their caring role. Qualitative data were drawn from an online survey conducted within an EU Horizon 2020 funded project. An inductive thematic analysis was carried out, and the findings were critically interpreted within the conceptual framework of the CSA model. The analysis highlighted three categories of difficulties: material, communication and emotional/psychological. The most common material difficulty was the physical strain associated with moving “uncooperative” disabled older adults. The types of support needed concerned both emotional and material support. The study provides a deeper understanding of the under-studied experiences of AYCs of GrPs. Based on these findings, policies and support measures targeted at AYCs of GrPs should include early needs detection, emotional support and training on intergenerational caring in order to mitigate the stress drivers. Moreover, the study advances the conceptualisation of the CSA model by considering the above-mentioned aspects related to intergenerational caregiving
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| 4. |
- Fornasier, Marco, et al.
(författare)
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Surface-modified nanoerythrosomes for potential optical imaging diagnostics
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0021-9797. ; 582:Part A, s. 246-253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nanoerythrosomes (NERs), vesicle-like nanoparticles derived from red blood cells, represent a new and interesting vector for therapeutic molecules and imaging probes, mainly thanks to their high stability and excellent biocompatibility. Aiming to present a proof-of-concept of the use of NERs as diagnostic tools for in vitro/in vivo imaging purposes, we report here several functionalization routes to decorate the surfaces of NERs derived from bovine blood with two different fluorophores: 7-amino-4-methylcumarin and dibenzocyclooctinecyanine5.5. Notably, the fluorophores were cross-linked to the NERs surface with glutaraldehyde and, in the case of dibenzocyclooctinecyanine5.5, also using a click-chemistry route, termed strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition. The physicochemical characterization highlighted the high stability of the NERs derivatives in physiological conditions. Furthermore, the loading efficiency of the fluorophores on the NERs surface was evaluated using both UV–Vis spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy.
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| 5. |
- Hanson, Elizabeth, 1961-, et al.
(författare)
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Research and Innovation for and with Adolescent Young Carers to Influence Policy and Practice—The European Union Funded “ME-WE” Project
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 19:16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Young carers are children and adolescents who provide care to other family members or friends, taking over responsibilities that are usually associated with adulthood. There is emerging but still scarce knowledge worldwide about the phenomenon of young carers and the impact of a caring role on their health, social and personal development spheres. This paper provides an overview of the main results from the ME-WE project, which is the first European research and innovation project dedicated to adolescent young carers (AYCs) (15–17 years). The project methods relied on three main activities: (1) a systematization of knowledge (by means of a survey to AYCs, country case studies, Delphi study, literature review); (2) the co-design, implementation and evaluation of a primary prevention intervention addressing AYCs’ mental health (by means of Blended Learning Networks and a clinical trial in six European countries); (3) the implementation of knowledge translation actions for dissemination, awareness, advocacy and lobbying (by means of national and international stakeholder networks, as well as traditional and new media). Project results substantially contributed to a better understanding of AYCs’ conditions, needs and preferences, defined tailored support intervention (resilient to COVID-19 related restrictions), and significant improvements in national and European policies for AYCs.
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| 6. |
- Herman Nap, Henk, et al.
(författare)
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D3.1 Consolidated strategy and theory report : ME-WE project deliverable
- 2018
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This deliverable presents the results from three activities to provide an in-depth systematic overview of successful strategies to improve Young Carers (YCs’) mental health and wellbeing. The results form a base for a consolidated strategy and theory for the ME-WE intervention and app to be further developed in WP4. A Delphi study gathered insights into the visibility, awareness, interventions and future needs of YCs in six European countries and on an international level. In addition, a systematic literature review, a general literature review, and social media analyses were carried out. Following these tasks, a rating, ranking and consolidation task was performed to iteratively build a dynamic ranked high impact list with national and international strategies and programmes that can serve as exemplars for the ME-WE intervention.
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| 7. |
- Lewis, Feylyn Mercedies, et al.
(författare)
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The first cross-national study of adolescent young carers aged 15–17 in six European countries
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Care and Caring. - : Policy Press. - 2397-8821 .- 2397-883X. ; 7:1, s. 6-32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For the first time, this article will provide a cross-national profile of adolescents who provide unpaid care to their ill or disabled family members in six European countries with varied levels of awareness, policy and service provision regarding adolescent young carers. Utilising an online survey, 2,099 adolescent young carers were identified in Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. This article focuses on the impact of unpaid care on their mental health, well-being, physical health and education. Their preferences for informal and formal support were also examined. These groundbreaking findings help promote a ‘rights’ approach to adolescent young carers, which can serve as a critical driver for supportive policy creation on both a country-specific and pan-European level.
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| 8. |
- Nap, Henk Herman, et al.
(författare)
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The awareness, visibility and support for young carers across Europe : a Delphi study
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC Health Services Research. - : BioMed Central. - 1472-6963. ; 20:1, s. 1-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundAcross Europe, young carers (YCs) and their need for support receive limited attention in the media, policy and empirical research, even though, similar to adult carers, they also provide care to ill family members. The Delphi study, a qualitative research methodology, which provides the focus for this article, had the overall aim of exploring existing successful strategies to support YCs. Compared to YCs, even less is known about adolescent young carers (AYCs), a group that is in a critical life transition phase. The study forms part of an EU Horizon 2020 funded research project on AYCs aged 15-17years old.MethodsA two-round Delphi study was conducted with 66 experts on YCs from 10 European countries. Topics included: (i) visibility and awareness-raising of YCs at local, regional, and national levels, (ii) current interventions to support YCs, and (iii) future strategies to support YCs.ResultsExperts reported a lack of visibility and awareness about YCs in general, and AYCs in particular. Although awareness is slowly increasing in most countries, with the UK ranked highest, experts acknowledged that it remains challenging to identify YCs in many countries. Furthermore, the level and type of support available for YCs differs, with most countries mainly offering support on a local level. Diverse views were expressed regarding future strategies to support YCs. Experts highlighted the importance of specific legislation to formalise the rights of YCs, and the issue of whether young people should be safeguarded from caregiving or if this should be considered part of regular family life. They also emphasised the relevance of available integrated support services for YCs, including schools, family, health and social care.ConclusionsIn most European countries, there is a lack of awareness and visibility on YCs. Identification of YCs is a crucial first step and there is need for a common definition of YCs, together with greater opportunities for young adults to identify themselves as YCs.
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| 9. |
- Santini, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Positive and Negative Impacts of Caring among Adolescents Caring for Grandparents : Results froman Online Survey in Six European Countries and Implications for Future Research, Policy and Practice
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 17:18, s. 1-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although up to 8% of European youngsters carry out high-intensity care for a family member,adolescent young carers (AYCs), especially those caring for their grandparents (GrPs), remain anunder-researched group. This study aimed at addressing the current knowledge gap by carrying outan online survey in Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.The analysis included a final sample of 817 AYCs aged 15–17 years old. AYCs of grandparents (GrPs)were compared to AYCs of other care recipients (OCRs), in order to identify any dierence in positiveand negative caregiving outcomes and exposure factors between the two groups. Linear or logisticregression models were built, and multivariate analyses were repeated, including a fixed eect onthe country variable. AYCs of GrPs experienced more positive caregiving outcomes than AYCs ofOCRs across all six countries. Being female or non-binary, and having a migration background,were associated with more negative outcomes, regardless of the relationship with the care recipient.Further research on intergenerational caregiving outcomes is recommended for shaping measuresand policies, which preserve the intergenerational emotional bonds, whilst protecting AYCs frominappropriate responsibilities, undermining their mental health and well-being.
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