| 1. |
- Nilsson Blom, Marcus, 1980-
(författare)
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Opioidberoende : en studie om beroendevården och det sociala sammanhangets betydelse
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Opioid dependence is highly associated with health problems relating to physical health (infectious diseases) as well as mental health (depression, anxiety, antisocial behavior). In addition, research has found an association between use of opioids and increased risk of premature death as a consequence of overdose or other circumstances, such as suicide. Furthermore, opioid dependent individuals experience a high level of social exclusion and problems with relationships, housing, income and livelihood. Overall, there is a connection between opioid dependence and physical, psychological and social vulnerability as well as premature death.The importance of social cohesion has rarely been the focus in research on opioid dependence. Therefore, there is a need to further explore whether differences in outcomes (medication assisted treatment, mortality and co-morbidity) in addition to individual characteristics, can be derived from social aspects of the opioid dependent individual’s life.The overall aim of the dissertation is to examine individual and social factors among individuals who are dependent on opioids and how they are associated with outcomes relating to: a) medication assisted treatment; and b) mortality and co-morbidity.This dissertation is based on data from four different registers. The first and second sub-studies use ASI data. The third uses DOK data from the National Board of Institutions (SiS) and the Death Registry (National Board of Health and Welfare). The fourth study is based on both DOKdata and data from the national patient registry (National Board of Health and Welfare).Overall, this dissertation confirms the understanding of opioid dependence as associated with a high level of vulnerability. This dissertation shows that opioid dependence is characterized by extensive care efforts, low levels of employment, and a high level of mental health and comorbidity.This dissertation shows that the characteristics related to the social network (parenting, work and education) are of significance for being in treatment, but also remaining in care (medication assisted treatment), which in turn promotes the individual's health and long-term health development. In that, this dissertation shows that for individuals dependent on opioids, there is an association between being part of a social network and favorable health development.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Lisa
(författare)
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Problematisk opioidanvändning : om opioidrelaterade dödsfall och LARO i södra Sverige
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Problematic opioid use constitutes an extensive global problem. Correspondingly, opioid-related mortality is high and has increased in several Western countries, including Sweden, during the 2000s. In Sweden, the most effective treatment method, opioid substitution treatment (OST), was for a long time limited with respect to the number of patients. The treatment was also characterized by strict rules and conducted in a high-threshold manner, which has meant that it has not been fully appealing to people with problematic opioid use. Therefore, in Skåne County in southern Sweden, patient choice of treatment provider was introduced for OST in 2014 with the intention to increase the number of treatment places and strengthen patient empowerment. The overall aims of this thesis are (1) to investigate opioid-related deaths in Skåne with a focus on contact with care-providing authorities and in relation to increased access to OST, and (2) to examine patients’ and clinic managers’ attitudes towards the introduction of the patient choice reform for OST and their views of the reform's objectives of increased accessibility to OST and strengthening patients' empowerment and influence over their treatment.The four papers in this thesis are based on two research projects with various empiric material. Paper I and II are based on data on opioid overdose deaths from a period of two years before and two years following the introduction of the patient choice reform. Forensic data regarding the presence of various substances and which opioid caused the death, as well as demographic data and information on contact with care-providing authorities (health care, social services, and the Prison and Probation Service), were collected. Paper I examines clinical background and contact with care-providing authorities of opioid-related fatalities, as well as differences with regard to which opioid caused the death. Paper II examines the possible impact of the intervention on the development of opioid-related deaths in the region. National mortality data were also used in this study to investigate the development in Skåne compared to the rest of Sweden. The second research project focused on stakeholders’ views on the implementation of the patient choice reform. Paper III includes interviews with 33 OST patients, and paper IV consists of interviews with the managers of all OST clinics in Skåne. The results from paper I show that of the 180 deceased in opioid overdose included in the study, almost 90 per cent had been in contact with one of the examined care-providing authorities during the year prior to death. Few differences appeared with regard to which opioid contributed to the death. Paper II indicates that there has been no significant change in opioid-related deaths in Skåne after the patient choice reform and increased access to OST. An analysis on national mortality data however showed a significant yearly decrease in drug-related deaths in Skåne compared to other Swedish counties in the years following the reform (2015–2017). No change was noted in deaths related to methadone or buprenorphine in Skåne. The proportion of deaths among patients in OST increased after the introduction of the reform. The third paper indicates that patients in OST in Skåne have gained increased empowerment and influence over their treatment since the patient choice reform was introduced. Patients especially appreciated the knowledge that they could make an exit and change clinics if they so wished, even if they so far had chosen not to. In paper IV, the clinic managers were largely positive to the trend towards increased influence for patients over their treatment situation. They were more critical of the fact that there was no major differentiation between treatment providers, and that the competition that arose after the patient choice reform mainly was related to prescribing benzodiazepines.Conclusions drawn from the papers in this thesis include that patient choice of treatment provider can be viewed as a means of empowerment for patients in OST, which was regarded as positive by both patients and treatment providers. The limitations of such a system for providing OST that emerged were lack of diversity between clinics and that the competition between treatment providers largely comprised of differing views on the prescription of benzodiazepines. Further, improved access to low-threshold OST in Skåne was not associated with an increased overdose death-rate. The result that people who died from opioid overdose to a very large extent are known to society’s care-providing authorities suggests that there are considerable opportunities to reach people with problematic opioid use for therapeutic and harm reducing measures such as low-threshold OST and take-home naloxone.
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| 3. |
- Holeksa, Julie
(författare)
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Varying drug policies and unequal access to harm reduction : Experiences, mobility, and risk management of people who use drugs
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sweden has a history of a restrictive drug policy, with a national policy focus on achieving a “drug free society.” This has led to a relatively slow development of “harm reduction” services, those services which aim to reduce risk and vulnerability for people who use drugs (PWUD), without requiring drug abstention. The harm reduction services which do exist are inequitably distributed across the country. In this context, this project aims to explore the attitudes of social work professionals (SWP) towards harm reduction, and the experiences of Swedish PWUD. The data consist of a survey of SWP (208 responses), interviews with PWUD in an area of limited harm reduction (11), and interviews with PWUD who had travelled to Denmark, a country with a less restrictive drug policy approach (17). Article I utilizes survey data to explore the perspectives of Swedish SWP regarding the philosophy of harm reduction and specific harm reduction initiatives. The study reveals a generally positive attitude towards harm reduction, albeit with significant geographical variances. There were low levels of support concerning the adoption of newer harm reduction strategies. Less positive attitudes and negativity regarding new interventions were significantly associated with SWP in areas with lesser exposure to harm reduction practices. Article II examines how PWUD in a small urban center handle the absence of local harm reduction services. The participants’ experiences are interpreted using the theoretical concept of “risk environment” which highlights how various environmental factors interact to produce risk of drug-related harm. Strategies ranged from traveling to external needle exchange programs, relying on unofficial secondary distribution, to risk behaviours such as stealing, reusing, or sharing injection equipment. Many were homeless, articulating a continuous struggle to find temporary shelter. They injected drugs in unsafe places, such as public toilets, increasing risk of overdose or infection. They also expressed 10 feeling stigmatized and excluded from society which compounded their stress, risk of disease transmission and overdose, and poor overall wellbeing. Article III explores the motivations behind the mobility of PWUD from Sweden to Denmark. The “risk environment” framework was used to contextualize decision-making and risks, based on the physical, social, policy, and economic environments. The study identifies harm reduction service availability, stigma, social networks, the drug scene, and policing practices, as key drivers for relocation. Despite the perceived benefits of moving, such as improved access to harm reduction services, participants also reported exposure to new risks, including violence, potential exclusion from a range of services, and exposure to new drugs. Article IV analyzes the reflections of PWUD on their experiences in Sweden and Denmark in the context of each nation’s drug policy. The analysis explored experiences of stigma and coupled these to concepts of identity and social exclusion. In daily interactions, participants felt ignored and dehumanized in Sweden’s zero-tolerance environment, whereas in Denmark, a country with a harm reduction approach, they felt visible and valued as individuals. This, combined with more developed services and a less punitive policing approach, led participants to feel included in society in Denmark. Contrasts between experiences in the two countries were also echoed in participants’ interactions with the healthcare system, relating to feeling controlled in Sweden, or being given autonomy and trust over their care in Denmark. Collectively, this thesis highlights the interplay between drug policies, care formats, policing practices, social interactions, the attitudes of SWP, and the lived experiences of PWUD. While overall positive, the attitudes towards care goals and interventions differ between different areas, among professionals who provide care to PWUD. PWUDs’ movement to and experiences in different settings can be used to offer an insight into their own policy preferences. The project demonstrates the role of constructions, and resulting drug policy, in how they influence PWUDs’ experiences of stigma and exclusion, and their risk environments.
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| 4. |
- Monwell, Bodil
(författare)
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En dyster parentes – opiatregeln i svensk LARO-behandling 2010–2016
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Opioids are well documented to arouse euphoria, relieve pain, and to have a high dependency potential. Opioid dependence is a serious chronic condition with a high risk of extensive worsened health, relapse and premature death.Opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) is well researched and has strong scientific support. In Sweden, OMT over time was subjected to polarised and infected political debate and has been strictly regulated by the National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW). During 2010–2016 NBHW redefined the diagnostic concept of “opiate dependence” in the regulation SOSFS 2009:27. Dependence to only three opioids: heroin, opium or morphine, could give eligibility to OMT (here called the “opiate rule”). The purpose stated was to prevent those dependent to other opioides, e.g. buprenorphine,from receiving OMT. Applicants with severe opioid dependence were thereby divided into two subgroups: those with “opiate” dependence related to heroin, morphine or opium, and those with opioid dependence who lacked documentation in relation to the three opiates. The question is whether there were differences between these groups concerning problem severity or substance-related diagnostics that could justify differences in access to OMT?A population (n = 127) actualised for OMT during 2005-2011 in Jönköping County is studied regarding severity of problems, diagnostics and trajectories in and out of treatment. In order to provide precise drug use data, a cognitive tool for taking anamnestic information, called the Drug List, was developed.In Study I, using the Addiction Severity Index, the two groups were found to be quite similar in severity of health problems, social situation and drug problems, including overdoses and injections.In Study II, the Drug List was found to be superior to a traditional way of taking anamnestic data, more sensitive and giving more precise data, without taking more time. Validity was shown in relation to faked drugs.In Study III, using a structured diagnostic interview, ADDIS, with the Drug List, showed that both two groups qualified for severe opioid dependence, that opiates and other opioids had contributed equally to the development of opioid dependency, and that the two groups also had similar additional substance dependence problems.Study IV investigated how “the opiate rule” affected practice by interviewing representatives of OMT clinics as well as a representative of a users’ association. The regulation created dilemmas for clinics as well as for users. Users developed a strategy of getting "negative merits" for being eligible to OMT. Clinicians developed strategies to find ways “around” the regulation in order to admit patients in OMT.Study V followed those who had applied for OMT and found four trajectory subgroups – those denied OMT, those discharged, those readmitted, and those who remained in treatment. The study provides evidence for a more positive development being related to more involvment in OMT concerning health, social situation as well as substance use problems. Being denied or discharged is related to increased risks of a negative development.The thesis conclude that there was no support for dividing applicants according to “the opiate rule”. The purpose of top-down control using regulations, is to guarantee uniform and knowledge-based care. In this case the regulation had negative effects in these respects, increasing risks for the applicants, and lost credibility from the profession. The opiate rule in SOSFS 2009:27 is therefore a dismal parenthesis in the history of OMT in Sweden, and could be studied to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
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| 5. |
- Lundström, Ragnar, 1975-
(författare)
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Den kalkylerande medborgaren : Bidragsfusk i svensk välfärdsdebatt 1990-2010
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation analyses discourse on benefit fraud in Sweden between 1990 and 2010. First, it maps general trends in public discourse about benefit fraud. This is done through a content analysis of news reporting about benefit fraud in four Swedish newspapers. This part of the dissertation shows that the number of published news articles about benefit fraud have increased significantly since 1990. Particularly large numbers of articles were published during the middle of the 1990s, and between 2002 and 2006. Second, a qualitative discourse analysis of talk about benefit fraud in news texts, political debates and government reports is conducted. During periods of intense news coverage about fraud, reporting is often clearly marked by traits generally associated with moral panics; constructing the phenomenon as seemingly more common than it in reality is, constructing cheaters as a threat to the moral fiber of society, and also claiming the need for counter-measures. The qualitative analysis furthermore focuses on how the relation-ships between different subject positions are constructed in the collected material. This part of the analysis shows that fraud discourse in Sweden during the past twenty years have shifted from a dominant focus on alleged cheating among immigrants in the early 1990s, to claims of abuse within the sickness insurance program after 2002. The analysis also shows that benefit fraud is constructed as a political problem using neoliberal discursive strategies that [1] reduce welfare policies to financial costs, [2] constitute benefit claimants as individually responsible for their inability to support themselves through regular work, and [3] articulate the welfare state as an instrument for the moral regulation of citizens.
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| 6. |
- Moreno, Pablo, et al.
(författare)
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Galaxy-Kubernetes integration: scaling bioinformatics workflows in the cloud
- 2024
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Making reproducible, auditable and scalable data-processing analysis workflows is an important challenge in the field of bioinformatics. Recently, software containers and cloud computing introduced a novel solution to address these challenges. They simplify software installation, management and reproducibility by packaging tools and their dependencies. In this work we implemented a cloud provider agnostic and scalable container orchestration setup for the popular Galaxy workflow environment. This solution enables Galaxy to run on and offload jobs to most cloud providers (e.g. Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud or OpenStack, among others) through the Kubernetes container orchestrator.
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| 7. |
- Svensson, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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For Whom Do Unstructured Activities Matters? The Interaction Between Unstructured and Structured Activities in Delinquency and Cannabis Use : A National Self-Report Study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Crime and delinquency. - : Sage Publications. - 0011-1287 .- 1552-387X. ; 69:10, s. 2022-2045
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examines whether unstructured and structured activities interact in their association with delinquency and cannabis use. We hypothesize that unstructured activities are more strongly associated with delinquency and cannabis use for those who are less engaged in structured activities. Data are drawn from three nationally representative self-report studies conducted between 2005 and 2011 in Sweden, and include 19,644 adolescents. The results support the hypothesis that unstructured activities interact with structured activities in the association with delinquency and cannabis use. The association between unstructured activities and these outcomes is stronger for those with lower levels of structured activities. Sporting activities constitute the structured activity that most clearly interacts with unstructured activities in the association with delinquency and cannabis use.
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