| 1. |
- Jemberie, Wossenseged Birhane, 1985-
(författare)
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Alcohol and aging : a multimethod study on heterogeneity and multidimensionality
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background and Objectives: With an ageing population, the number of older persons with substance use problems, particularly problematic alcohol use, is increasing. Despite growing recognition of the negative consequences of problematic alcohol use on older persons, there is a dearth of knowledge about the alcohol use profiles and the dimensionality of alcohol problems in older people. Moreover, little is known about older persons’ experiences and perspectives on alcohol use in relation to their ageing and their personal goals regarding treatment and recovery. This thesis aimed to (i) describe the characteristics of older persons who accessed municipal substance use treatment and care services (addiction services) and to investigate their future hospitalization; (ii) examine the heterogeneity and multidimensionality of problematic alcohol use among older persons; and (iii) to shed light on the experiences and perspectives of older persons regarding ageing, alcohol problems and recovery.Methods: For studies I-III, municipal Addiction Severity Index (ASI) assessment data (between 2003 and 2017) from adults aged 50 years and older were used to select the study samples. Generalized linear regression models investigated hospitalization related outcomes among 3624 older persons in Study-I. In Study-II, a latent class analysis was applied on ASI data from 1747 individuals with alcohol problems. Study-III linked the ASI data from Study-II to hospital discharge and mortality data forming time-to-repeated-event dataset; Andersen-Gill regression model with a robust variance estimator was used for the analysis. Study-IV applied qualitative content analysis on interview data from ten older persons recruited from a specialist outpatient clinic for alcohol treatment. Results: Nearly three-fourth of older persons assessed for substance use severity at municipal addiction services were later hospitalized (Study-I). Individuals diagnosed with substance use disorders, psychiatric or dual diagnoses had more cumulative hospitalized days, higher rates of hospital readmissions, and shorter time to first admission following an initial ASI assessment at municipal addiction services (Study-I). Five distinct groups of older persons with comparable alcohol problem severity but with variation in onset age, psychiatric comorbidities, polysubstance use, social support and gender composition were identified (Study-II). The five groups varied in risks of repeated hospitalizations due to substance use and psychiatric disorders (Study-III). Older persons experienced their ageing and alcohol use having a dynamic interplay (Study-IV). They needed to constantly negotiate with their environment to maintain a positive ageing trajectory. They perceived moderate alcohol use fosters healthy ageing, but over time, experienced their alcohol use as unsustainable and a threat to their pursuit of healthy ageing. Stigma and ambivalence delayed treatment seeking (Study-IV). They accessed treatment programs which respected their preferences and autonomy, engaged them in goal setting and strengthened their agency. After reducing their alcohol use, positive changes in their biopsychosocial functioning encouraged them to continue their recovery journey even in the presence of setbacks (Study-IV).Conclusion: Most older persons who access municipal addiction services are hospitalized repeatedly. Many older persons with alcohol problems live with medical and psychiatric comorbidities suggesting multiple care needs from health and social care services. Incorporating older persons’ desire for healthy ageing into alcohol treatment plan can facilitate treatment engagement and recovery. Many older persons aim to moderate their alcohol consumption. Clinicians can deliver person-centered care for older persons, by considering their heterogeneity in treatment goals, biopsychosocial functioning, and available resources. A multidimensional identification of alcohol use profiles could improve treatment by establishing the variation in alcohol problems among older treatment seekers. Older persons stay engaged in alcohol treatment programs which value their experiences and expertise, incorporate their personal treatment and life goals, respect their autonomy and agency, and involve them as active participants. Sensitizing service providers on old age substance use problems could provide multiple points of contact for screening of older persons and earlier referral to treatment. A streamlined data sharing within and between health and social care services fosters timely and equitable care and facilitates an integrated and person-centered care across the continuum.
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| 2. |
- Grahn, Robert, 1972-
(författare)
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Treatment repeaters : re-entry in care for clients with substance use disorder within the Swedish addiction treatment system
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- According to the regulations contained in the Social Services Act (SFS 2001:453), Swedish social services have a legal responsibility to provide support, care, and treatment for individuals with substance use problems. This law mandate those who are responsible to provide treatment to motivate drug users to actively seek treatment on a voluntary basis, ensuring an end to their dependence on drugs. Studies have shown that although the treatment system largely focuses on promoting abstinence, about two-thirds of client’s relapse into substance use within one year after completing treatment. This dissertation focuses broadly on clients who repeatedly enter and use treatment for substance use disorders in the Swedish addiction treatment system. The aim of this thesis is to examine and identify the population groups who are repeated treatment users of the Swedish treatment system for substance use disorder, including both the voluntary treatment and compulsory care. This thesis was based on three national level databases. The results showed that clients with a higher degree of problems and problems in different areas of life also had an increased risk of having treatment for substance use disorder repeatedly. Clients who were older, men, reported more years of polydrug and alcohol use to intoxication, reported more compulsory care episodes for substance use, had ever been charged with crime, had ever been in inpatient mental health treatment, and had a higher ASI mental health symptom composite score, were significantly more likely to report more voluntary addiction treatment episodes. The strongest significant association with the number of treatment episodes was the number of compulsory treatment episodes for alcohol and drugs. Individuals who experienced prior compulsory care including mandatory treatment through LVU (law (1990:52)), been in prison, and had children mandated to out-of-home care, were more likely to have two or more entries in the compulsory care system for substance use disorder. In addition, this analysis showed that 59% of clients mandated to compulsory care dropped-out during their compulsory care episode, and that younger clients were significantly more likely to drop-out. Those who drop-out were significantly more likely to experience negative outcomes, i.e. additional sentence to compulsory care and higher risk of mortality. A hierarchal logistic regression model also identified that individuals with riskier childhood conditions were more likely to have had repeated entries to compulsory care for substance use disorder. The indirect effects showed that a family history of substance use disorder and psychiatric problems are both associated with higher probability of institutional care as a child i.e. LVU, and that in turn, mandated childhood institutional care is related to repeated compulsory care intakes as an adult. Individuals who use treatment for substance use disorder repeatedly have a higher degree of problems i.e. an exposed and problematic group of individuals characterized by problem in several different areas of life. Growing up in a home environment with unfavorable conditions, mandated care before the age of 18 (LVU), compulsory care for substance use disorder as an adult, children taken into out-of-home care, and crime are the factors that are primarily associated with repeated treatment for substance use. A change in the view of treatment for clients in need of repeated use of treatment seems important, and access to adapted continuous care efforts are crucial to counteract the risk of relapse after a treatment episode of voluntary or compulsory care. Further, it seems important to motivate the client to complete the compulsory care without any deviation, since this seems to have positive effects on their substance use disorder.
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| 3. |
- Sundqvist, Johanna, 1978-
(författare)
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Forced repatriation of unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children : towards an interagency model
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction Not all children seeking asylum without parents or other relatives are entitled to residence permits. In the last few years, more than one in four unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children have been forced to repatriate, either to their home country or to a transit country. Mostly the children refuse to leave the country voluntarily, and it becomes a forced repatriation. Five actors collaborate in the Swedish child forced repatriation process: social workers, staff at care homes, police officers, Swedish Migration Board officers and legal guardians. When a child is forced to repatriate, the Swedish workers involved must consider two different demands. The first demand requires dignified repatriation, which is incorporated from the European Union’s (EU’s) Return Directive into Swedish Aliens Act. The second demand requires that the repatriation process be conducted efficiently, which means that a higher number of repatriation cases must be processed. The fact that the same professionals have different and seemingly contradictory requirements places high demands on the involved collaborators. Two professionals have a legal responsibility for the children until the last minute before they leave Sweden: social workers and police officers. That makes them key actors in forced repatriation, as they carry most of the responsibility in the process. Further, they often work with children who are afraid what will happen when they return to their home country and often express their fear through powerful emotions. Being responsible and obliged to carry out the government’s decision, despite forcing children to leave a safe country, may evoke negative emotional and mental stress for the professionals involved in forced repatriation. Aim The overall aim of this study is to explore and analyse forced repatriation workers’ collaboration and perceived mental health, with special focus on social workers and police officers in the Swedish context.Materials and methods The study combines a qualitative and quantitative research design in order to shed light at both a deep and general level on forced repatriation. In qualitative substudy I, a qualitative case study methodology was used in one municipality in a middle-sized city in Sweden. The municipality had a contract regarding the reception of unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children iv with the Swedish Migration Board. The municipality in focus has a population of more than 100,000 inhabitants. The city in which the data were collected has developed a refugee reception system where unaccompanied asylumseeking refugee children are resettled and await a final decision regarding their permit applications. This situation made it possible to recruit participants who had worked with unaccompanied refugee children without a permit. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 20 social workers, staff at care homes, police officers, Swedish Migration Board officers and legal guardians. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data. In quantitative substudies II, III and IV, a national survey of social workers (n = 380) and police officers (n = 714), with and without experience of forced repatriation, was conducted. The questionnaires included sociodemographic characteristics, the Swedish Demand-Control Questionnaire, Interview Schedule for Social Interaction, Ways of Coping Questionnaire and the 12- item General Mental Health Questionnaire. Factor analysis, correlational analysis, and univariate and multivariable regression models were used to analyse the data.Results The qualitative results in substudy I showed low levels of collaboration among the actors (social workers, staff at care homes, police officers, Swedish Migration Board officers and legal guardians) and the use of different strategies to manage their work tasks. Some of them used a teamwork pattern, showing an understanding of the different roles in forced repatriation, and were willing to compromise for the sake of collaboration. Others tended to isolate themselves from interaction and acted on the basis of personal preference, and some tended to behave sensitively, withdraw and become passive observers rather than active partners in the forced repatriation. The quantitative results in substudy II showed that poorer mental health was associated with working with unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children among social workers but not among police officers. Psychological job demand was a significant predictor for mental health among social workers, while psychological job demand, decision latitude and marital status were predictors among police officers. Substudy III showed that both social workers and police officers reported relatively high access to social support. Furthermore, police officers working in forced repatriation with low levels of satisfaction with social interaction and close emotional support increased the odds of psychological disturbances. In substudy IV, social workers used more escape avoidance, distancing and positive-reappraisal coping, whereas police officers used more planful problem solving and self-controlling coping. Additionally, social workers with experience in forced repatriation used more planful problem solving than those without experience.Conclusions In order to create the most dignified forced repatriation, based on human dignity, for unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children and with healthy actors, a forced repatriation system needs: overall statutory national guidance, interagency collaboration, actors working within a teamworking pattern, forced repatriation workers with reasonable job demands and decision latitude, with a high level of social support and adaptive coping strategies. The point of departure for an interagency model is that it is impossible to change the circumstances of the asylum process, but it is possible to make the system more functional and better adapted to both the children’s needs and those of the professionals who are set to handle the children. A centre for unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children, consisting of all actors involved in the children’s asylum process sitting under the same roof, at the governmental level (Swedish Migration Board, the police authority) and municipality level (social services, board of legal guardians), can meet all requirements.
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| 4. |
- Forouzan, Ameneh Setareh, 1967-
(författare)
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Assessing responsiveness in the mental health care system : the case of Tehran
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction: Understanding health service user perceptions of the quality of care is critical to developing measures to increase the utilisation of healthcare services. To relate patient experiences to a common set of standards, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the concept of health system responsiveness. This measures what happens during user’s interactions with the system, using a common scale, and requires that the user has had a specified encounter, which they evaluate. The concept of responsiveness has only been used in a very few studies previously to evaluate healthcare sub-systems, such as mental healthcare. Since the concept of responsiveness had not been previously applied to a middle income country, such as Iran, there is a need to investigate its applicability and to develop a valid instrument for evaluating health system performance. The aim of this study is to assess the responsiveness of the mental healthcare system in Tehran, the capital of Iran, in accordance with the WHO responsiveness concept.Methods: This thesis is a health system research, based on qualitative and quantitative methods. During the qualitative phase of the study, six focus group discussions were carried out in Tehran, from June to August 2010. In total, 74 participants, comprising 21 health providers and 53 users of the mental healthcare system, were interviewed. Interviews were analysed through content analysis. The coding was synchronised between the researchers through two discussion sessions to ensure the credibility of the findings. The results were then discussed with two senior researchers to strengthen plausibility. Responses were examined in relation to the eight domains of the WHO’s responsiveness model.In accordance with the WHO health system responsiveness questionnaire and the findings of the qualitative studies, a Farsi version of the Mental Health System Responsiveness Questionnaire (MHSRQ) was tailored to suit the mental healthcare system in Iran. This version was tested in a cross-sectional study at nine public mental health clinics in Tehran. A sample of 500 mental health services patients was recruited and subsequently completed the questionnaire. The item missing rate was used to check the feasibility, while the reliability of the scale was determined by assessing the Cronbach’s alpha and item total correlations. The factor structure of the questionnaire was investigated by performing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).To assess how the domains of responsiveness were performing in the mental healthcare system, I used the data collected during the second phase of the study. Utilising the same method used by the WHO for its responsiveness survey, we evaluated the responsiveness of outpatient mental healthcare, using a validated Farsi questionnaire.Results: There were many commonalities between the findings of my study and the eight domains of the WHO responsiveness model, although some variations were found. Effective care was a new domain generated from my findings. In addition, the domain of prompt attention was included in two newly labelled domains: attention and access to care. Participants could not differentiate autonomy from choice of healthcare provider, believing that free choice is part of autonomy. Therefore these domains were unified under the name of autonomy. The domains of quality of basic amenities, access to social support, dignity, and confidentiality were considered important for the responsiveness concept. Some differences regarding how these domains should be defined were observed, however.The results of the qualitative study were used to tailor a Farsi version of the MHSRQ. A satisfactory feasibility, as the item missing value was lower than 5.2%, was found. With the exception of the access domain, the reliability of the different domains in the questionnaire was within a desirable range. The factor loading showed an acceptable uni-dimensionality of the scale, despite the fact that the three items related to access did not perform well. The CFA also indicated good fit indices for the model (CFI = 0.99, GFI = 0.97, IFI = 0.99, AGFI = 0.97).The results of the mental healthcare system responsiveness survey showed that, on average, 47% of participants reported experiencing poor responsiveness. Among the responsiveness domains, confidentiality and dignity were the best performing factors, while autonomy, access to care and quality of basic amenities were the worst performing. Respondents who reported their social status as low were more likely to experience poor responsiveness overall. Autonomy, quality of basic amenities and clear communication were dimensions that performed poorly but were considered to be highly important by the study participants.Conclusion and implications: This is the first time that mental healthcare system responsiveness has been measured in Iran. Our results showed that the concept of responsiveness developed by the WHO is applicable to mental health services in this country. Dignity and confidentiality were domains which performed well, while the domains of autonomy, quality of basic amenities and access performed poorly. Any improvement in these poorly performing domains is dependent on resources. In addition, attention and access to care, which were rated high in importance and poor in performance, should be priority areas for intervention and the reengineering of referral systems and admission processes. The role of subjective social status in responsiveness should be further studied. These findings might help policymakers to better understand what is required for the improvement of mental health services.
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| 5. |
- 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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