| 1. |
- Elmberger, Eva, et al.
(author)
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Being a mother with cancer : achieving a sense of balance in the transition process
- 2008
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In: Cancer Nursing. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 31:1, s. 58-66
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- For women with cancer and with children living at home, the demands of being a good mother while undergoing treatments and recovering from illness have been described as a difficult life process. The aim of this study was to further examine the transition process with focus on women's experience of their responsibility toward their children. Interviews from 2 previous studies investigating the transition process of women with cancer were gathered and were subjected to a qualitative secondary analysis, an analytic expansion of the transition process. The 3 phases in the transition process were used in an interpretive description: ending an earlier life situation, in-between, and new beginning. A main theme that integrated these phases was constructed: "the desire to manage ones responsibility as a parent," within the context of mothering. The women expressed moral concern about not being able to function as "good" mothers yet attempted to find a balance between experiences of exhaustion and other experiences that made it difficult to maintain their responsibility as parents. All of the women included in this study expressed the need for professional support to help them endure treatment procedures as well as to sustain their moral responsibility as good mothers.
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| 2. |
- Erdner, Anette, 1946-, et al.
(author)
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Basic attitudes toward life expressed by persons with long-term mental illness living in a Swedish community
- 2012
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In: Issues in Mental Health Nursing. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0161-2840 .- 1096-4673. ; 33:6, s. 387-393
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous research has shown that persons with long-term mental illness who require prolonged treatment and social support wish to, yet find it difficult to, find meaning or quality in life. A descriptive qualitative design using self-photography and in-depth interviews was used for data collection. The aim of this study was to explore basic attitudes to life as expressed by nine persons with long-term mental illness living in the community. The findings provide insight into the values of relationships, work, and the home for persons with long-term mental illness and indicate that they are cognizant of social norms yet have difficulty integrating these in their daily lives. The study also illuminates the informants' difficulties in creating satisfying and supporting relationships with others.
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| 3. |
- Erdner, Anette, 1946-
(author)
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Berättelser om ensamhetens vardag hos människor med psykiska funktionshinder
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This dissertation deals with people with mental illness that currently live in their own accommodation in the community. Common to all mentally ill people is their serious difficulties in carrying out activities and meeting needs in important areas of life. Terms such as "normalisation" and "integration" into the community of this group were important words full of promise at the time the psychiatric reform was carried out. However, there is some strong evidence that the psychiatric reform has not been completely successful. Despite the knowledge that loneliness and social isolation commonly occur among people with mental illness, there is little research that describes how mentally ill people themselves experience their life situation. The overall aim of the dissertation was to gain deeper understanding of the life situation of peop with mental illness via their own narratives on how their day-to-day life appears to them, ar through this gain knowledge of the type of support needed for them to live a satisfactory life. Various data acquisition methods were applied. Study I involved in-depth interview of two men and two women on their daily life. Data acquisition in Study II was via participant observations, an activity unit for people with mental illness. Photographs were used for Studies III and IV Eight informants were issued with disposable cameras and asked to take approximately 10 pictures of objects, situations and/or individuals. These photographs were then used as a basis for follow-up interviews. Results from Study I showed that informants were aware both of their illness and their psychosocial disadvantages, and that they had insight into what was required of them to influence their situation, while simultaneously having insight into their poor ability to tak initiatives. Informants in Study II experienced themselves as unwelcome, vulnerable and marginalised individuals with little hope of a change in existence, resulting in anxiety over the future. They felt trust was lacking in relation to other people and experienced themselves as not accepted in the company of others or by society. Study III provided description of informants occupied with themselves and their existence. The informants tell of a form of spirituality giving them a sense of peace and tranquillity, but which only exists for them at the beginning and end ol life. Animals are more loyal than people and make no demands, but are however, according to the informants, in a position of dependence on humans. Possessions are of significance to the informants, meaning they see their possessions as part of themselves. In Study IV informants related how they would like their future to appear. They also told what having an identity meant to them, how identity is formed in individuals, what having a mental illness and feeling good means. The informants showed a longing to be seen, but at the same time not wanting to be seen. Finding a meaning with life was important since it could end at any moment.In summary, the findings point to an existential loneliness that consists of a life pattern consisting of an interaction between the impact of the mental illness and the identity as a mentally ill person feelings of marginalisation and abandonment. Experiencing that life has a meaning, possibility o social exchange and a sense of control seem to be important for the persons with mental illness in this study. Consequently, it can be inferred that if the care of people with mental illness pays attention to the dimensions of existential loneliness persons with mental illness may be helped to experience that life has a meaning despite their disability.
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| 4. |
- Erdner, Anette, et al.
(author)
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Caregivers’ difficulties in activating long-term mental illness patients with low self-esteem
- 2012
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In: Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. - - : Wiley. - 1351-0126 .- 1365-2850. ; 19:2, s. 140-145
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of the study was to describe psychiatric caregivers’ perceptions of self-esteem and activities for patients with long-term mental illness. The study design used a qualitative approach, based on an open lifeworld perspective. A total of 13 caregivers at four psychiatric hospital units in a large Swedish city were interviewed about their views on patients’ physical activity and/or other pastimes, as well as their self-esteem and its bearing on the patients’ well-being. According to the caregivers, it is up to the patients themselves to decide what they wish to occupy themselves with. In the same time the caregivers’ opinions are that patients have difficulties to occupy themselves.The caregivers believe that patients’ disability is based in a lack of self-esteem, commitment and capacity to realize their wishes. The caregivers in this study argue that activities are valuable for self-esteem and physical health of people with long-term mental illness. The caregivers consider that it is the patient’s responsibility to initiate their needs of activities. This means that the caregivers do not use their knowledge about the importance of activities for the patient’s health.Search terms: activity, caregivers, mental illness.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Erdner, Anette, et al.
(author)
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Photography as a method of data collection : helping people with long-term mental illness to convey their life world.
- 2011
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In: Perspectives in psychiatric care. - : Hindawi Limited. - 0031-5990 .- 1744-6163. ; 47:3, s. 145-50
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to describe a method to help patients with long-term mental illness describe their life situations--their "life worlds"--through photography. CONCLUSIONS: Photographs and interviews are useful for data collection. The positive effect of this method is allowing informants who have long-term mental illnesses to express their perceptions. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Nurses can use photography in conjunction with interviews to ascertain the life worlds of their patients.
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| 7. |
- Erdner, Anette, et al.
(author)
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Physical activities and their importance to the health of people with severe mental illness in Sweden
- 2012
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In: Issues in Mental Health Nursing. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0161-2840 .- 1096-4673. ; 33:10, s. 676-679
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is well known that people with severe mental illness often suffer from constant fatigue, insomnia, and somatic complaints that are too often overlooked. In addition, these persons die earlier in life than others in the population. The purpose of this study was to investigate patients' descriptions of activities and the importance of these activities for their health. Eight persons living in their own home were interviewed about both their views about exercise and their exercising activities. Two themes emerged: Getting Control over One's Life and The Need for Contact with Family & Friends. All of the informants were aware of the importance of physical activity to feel good. The informants described three different forms of activities: daily activities in the home, activities in a rehabilitation centre, and various forms of jogging. These different forms of activity were important to the informants since they reduced their anxiety and stress.
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| 8. |
- Erdner, Anette, et al.
(author)
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Social and existential alienation experienced by people with long-term mental illness
- 2005
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. - : Wiley. - 0283-9318 .- 1471-6712. ; 19:4, s. 373-380
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to explore how people suffering from long-term mental illness and who live in the community experience their daily lives. The study was based on an ethnographic framework involving participant observations with 23 individuals from two rehabilitation centres and interviews with six women and two men. The observational notes and interviews were recorded, transcribed into the data and analysed based on the phases of hermeneutic interpretation. The process consisted of identifying tentative interpretations that highlighted various impediments that prevent people with long-term mental illness from having an active life. The impediments can also be interpreted as a form of alienation, an interpersonal phenomenon and a consequence due to of the lack of social acceptance towards mental illness. The participants expressed concern about the future and lack of hope. Viewing themselves as being ‘odd’ is not a symptom of mental illness, but rather evidence of experiencing existential and social alienation not only as a consequence of other people's reactions but also their own negative attitudes towards mental illness and effects of their cognitive dysfunction.
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| 9. |
- Erdner, Anette, 1946-, et al.
(author)
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Varying views of life among people with long-term mental illness
- 2009
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In: Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. - : Wiley. - 1351-0126 .- 1365-2850. ; 16:1, s. 54-60
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to explore views of life among people with long-term mental illnesses. The participants' possible cognitive inability to express such views dictated a research design that was both fit for purpose and respectful of their integrity. The study, based on an ethnographic framework, involved photographs and interviews with five women and three men. The participants were the photographers, as well as the authors of their own narratives, and the photographs served as a starting point for the interviews. The interview material was analysed in terms of the phases of interpretation. Four main themes were identified: 'thoughts about God and the meaning of life and death', 'the meaning of relationships with others', 'how animals give meaning to life without demands' and 'the symbolic bearing of objects on life'. These four themes represent key existential issues among people with long-term mental illnesses, but they lack confidants to share or discuss these matters with.
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| 10. |
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