| 1. |
- Rosengren, Kristina, 1963-
(författare)
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Hälso- och sjukvårdsorganisation i förändring : Från distanserat till delat ledarskap
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Syfte: Avhandlingen syftar till att följa upp, beskriva samt generera tentativ teori om pågående förändringsprocesser inom hälso- och sjukvården på såväl makronivå genom studier av sjukhusfusioner som mikronivå genom studier av delat ledarskap. Metod: ”Sjukhusfusioner” beskriver två genomförda sjukhussammanslagningar utifrån en kvalitativ ansats, Grounded Theory med intervjuer av vårdpersonal (I, II). ”Delat ledarskap” utgår från en förändrad ledarskapsmodell på en intensivvårdsavdelning med intervjuer (III-IV) samt frågeformulär (V) som datainsamlingsmetod. Vårdpersonalens uppfattningar av ledarskap redovisas genom en fenomenografisk ansats (III). Vidare beskrivs två avdelningschefers upplevelser av att ha arbetat i ett delat ledarskap genom Grounded Theory (IV). I den sista delstudien (V) används en kvantitativ metod i form av ett frågeformulär. En del av dessa frågor ingår i instrumentet QPSNordic som belyser vårdpersonalens åsikter om arbete, ledarskap och delat ledarskap. Resultat: Vårdpersonalen uttryckte behov av delaktighet och balans mellan olika behov och krav i ett förändringsarbete. Ledarskapets betydelse lyftes fram som en framgångsfaktor för att utveckla hälso- och sjukvårdsorganisationer i förändring. Vårdpersonalens idealbild av sjuksköterskans ledarskap utgjordes av en chef som var närvarande och tillgänglig i den dagliga verksamheten. Begreppet stödjande tvåsamhet lyftes fram som kärnan i delat ledarskap. Stödjande tvåsamhet, en tillitsfull relation mellan avdelningscheferna, bidrog till en god arbetsmiljö då ansvar och befogenheter delades av aktuellt ledarpar. Vårdpersonalen hade en positiv syn på sitt arbete och ledarskapet. De ansåg att det delade ledarskapet ökade avdelningschefernas möjligheter att vara engagerade och tillgängliga i det dagliga arbetet. Konklusion: Resultatet har bildat underlag för två empiriskt grundade modeller; engagerat ledarskap och stödjande tvåsamhet. Engagerat ledarskap utgår från begreppen delaktighet och stöd i en vårdande kultur. Stödjande tvåsamhet bygger på en gemensam värdegrund och olikheter i kompetens hos ledarparet som ligger till grund för utveckling av en tillitsfull relation. Vidare har teorin om det caritativa ledarskapet vidareutvecklats genom begreppet stödjande tvåsamhet som belyser relationen chef till chef i en vårdande kultur.
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| 2. |
- Berggren, Elisabeth
(författare)
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Identity construction and memory after Subarachnoid Haemorrhage : Patients' accounts and relatives' and patients' statements in relation to memory tests
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: A Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is a complex pathophysiological event and most patients have, before the onset, felt completely well. Being stricken by a SAH is a dramatic event, often followed by unconsciousness and memory problems. This may influence the adjustment to daily life. Supporting patients and relatives in nursing care therefore requires knowledge concerning patients' experience of the onset of the SAH event, and knowledge concerning patients' memory after a SAH.Aim: The general aim of this thesis was to study patients' experiences and reconstruction of the onset of, and events surrounding, a SAH and to study patients' and relatives' experience of patients' memory ability, in a long-term perspective.Specific aims:(I) The aim of this study was to analyse people's accounts of SAH, and to describe how they initiate and create meaning for the onset and events surrounding the SAH. The specific questions were : (i) What is highlighted in the accounts of SAH? (II) How is the illness reconstructed? (iii) How is meaning created through communicative interaction with others about SAH?(II) The aim was to describe memory after a SAH from the perspective of relatives and patients in two cohorts. In this study, the researchers also aimed to evaluate the application of relatives' statements as a tool in nursing care and rehabilitation, in order to support the patients. This was achieved by comparing: (i) Relatives' statements with patients' statements and (ii) Relatives' and patients' statements with the patients' memory test results.Methods: Both an inductive and a deductive approach were used. Nine open interviews were carried out in home settings, 1 year and 7 months (ranging 14-24 months) after the patients' onset and discourse analysis was used to interpret the data (I). Eleven relatives and 11 patients, 11 years and 15 relatives and 15 patients, 6 years after the onset participated in two studies. Interview questions and memory tests were used to collect data. Fischer's exact test was used for the statistical analysis (II).Findings:Patient with experience of a SAH were able to judge their own memory for what happened when they became ill. Both conscious irrational and rational actions were expressed in relation to experienced sensations. Critical events related to SAH were "existential insights" and "time as waiting and time as structuring meaning". The reconstruction of the illness event may be interpreted as an identity ceating process. The process of meaning-making is both a matter of understanding SAH as a pathological event, and a social and communicative matter, where the SAH is constructed into a meaningful life history, in order to make life complete (I). Memory problems were common according to relatives' and patients' statements and from memory test results. There was correspondence between relatives' and patients' statements regarding the patients' memory in general and long-term memory. Patients judged their own memory ability better than relatives, compared with results on memory tests. Both relatives and patients underestimated older patients' memory ability and underrated younger patients' memory problems, when compared with results on memory tests. Relatives stated that some patients had meta-memory problems (II). The episodic memory seemed to be well preserved, both concerning the onset (I) and in the long-term perspective (II).Conclusions: The reconstruction of the illness is a tool in nursing for understanding the patient's self-positioning and identity-construction. (I) Relatives' and patients' statements regarding patients' memory can also be used as tools in nursing care. However, the results showed: meta-memory problems (relatives' statements); that patients' judged their own memory ability better than relatives in comparison with results on memory tests. Consequently, memory tests and formalized dialogues, between the patient, the relative and a professional are required in order to prevent complications in the patient's mutual family relationships. However, professionals must assume that patients can judge their own memory (II). Dialogues between the patient, the relative and a professional, with focus on how to manage daily life in patients' home context, due to the patient's experience of the onset of the SAH and possible memory problems after the SAH, will probably improve the mutual family relationship in a positive way (I,II).
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| 3. |
- Carlén, Kristina
(författare)
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Predictors of mental health in adolescents - with a salutogenic perspective
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Mental health in adolescence is an increasing public health concern. Over half of all mental disorders debut by 14 years of age and remain largely untreated up to adulthood, which underlines the importance of early detection. Mental health is a complex concept that consists of both mental well-being and mental ill-health (including mental health problems and mental disorders). However, the development of mental health during the transition period from childhood to adulthood is dependent on the coping strategies used to meet everyday stressors. Therefore, the framework is salutogenic, looking at the world from a resource perspective to promote mental well-being. However, finding predictors also include identifying risk factors of mental ill-health.The overall aim of the thesis was to investigate predictors of mental health in adolescents from a longitudinal perspective. The Finnish Family Competence (FFC) study was used with adolescents at 15 years of age and their parents, with a follow-up at 18 years of age. Also, Swedish data material was used, The Longitudinal Research on Development In Adolescence (LoRDIA) with adolescents at 12-13 years and a follow-up at 17 years. In sub-studies I, II, and III the outcome was a probable mental health diagnosis determined by a standardised Development and Well-being Assessment (DAWBA) interview. In sub-study IV the outcome was perceived mental health status (MHS).The results showed that a strong sense of coherence was associated with a decreased risk for subsequent mental disorders (sub-study I) and that self-esteem was negatively associated with future mental well-being (sub[1]study IV). Further, low levels of mental health problems reported by the adolescents (sub-study II) or by their parents (sub-study III) were related to a decreased risk for subsequent mental disorders. There was a gender aspect that affected the results and which showed girls as having more internal mental health problems or mental disorders. Other factors indicating an increased risk of mental ill-health were parental low age at childbirth and socioeconomic factors such as the mother’s low educational level, father’s blue-collar profession, and a poor economic situation in the family.The results from this thesis underline the importance of having a salutogenic approach when dealing with mental health in adolescence to identify coping resources for stressors in Antonovsky’s ‘River of Life’. The school might be an arena for creating interventions with a resource perspective for strengthening a sense of coherence and self-esteem, and for alleviating perceived mental health problems.
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| 4. |
- Linddahl, Iréne
(författare)
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Validity and Reliability of the Instrument DOA : A Dialogue about Working Ability
- 2007
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis was to examine the construct validity and the reliability of the instrument DOA; Dialogue about working ability. The theoretical foundation for DOA is the Model of Human Occupation. The instrument is divided into two sections; client self-assessment and professional assessment focusing on the individual’s working ability. The assessments are followed by a dialogue to distinguish goals for the return to-work process based on the client’s own preferences. In line with the theoretical base, the concept ‘work’ refers to both paid work and other productive activities related to work. In Study I, 21 professionals and 126 clients participated from three clinics in Sweden. All clients were involved as outpatients in psychiatric work rehabilitation in county councils or community services. The results from the Rasch analysis test indicated that items are well separated from each other and generally work together in five unidimensional continuums with the objective to measure abilities related to work. Twenty-nine of 34 items showed goodness-of-fit statistics, which means acceptable infit MnSq values from >0.6 to <1.4 in association with Z values from –2 to 2, and that the five misfit items have to be revised. Thirty-four outpatient clients and 14 professionals from four clinics within psychiatric work rehabilitation in Sweden participated in Study II. Two reliability aspects were studied: test-retest and inter rater reliability. The statistical analyses used were Spearman Rank Correlation test and Percentage of agreement (PA). Generally, the Spearman Rank Correlation test showed acceptable significant correlations between test retest since a greater part of items correlated “moderate to good” (r = 0.51 – 0.75). In the inter raters´ test PA was good, ranging from 93.1 % to 96.5 %, which is well above the acceptable criteria of 80 %. There were no significance differences between the raters. The study has shown that one item has to revised. The findings verify that DOA has potential as a means of making valid and reliable assessments of working ability, as described by the Model of Human Occupation, out of both clients´ and occupational therapists´ perspective.
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| 5. |
- Lundin, Anette
(författare)
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Rättfärdigade prioriteringar : en kvalitativ analys av hur personal i äldreomsorgen hanterar motstridiga verksamhetslogiker
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation aims at contributing to social scientific knowledge about prevailing prioritizations in eldercarepractice by looking at an economic and a caring logic, and how these logics are overlapping, contradictory or comein conflict with each other. A more concrete aim is to understand how the personnel describe their work with orfor balance between the logics and their justifications prioritizations made in the care of older persons. The researchquestion is: How do personnel and care unit manager at a public nursing home understand and handle the twologics that govern care work for facilitating wellbeing of the residents. The aim and research question led to threesub-aims: 1) to analyze the personnel’s experiences of and meaning making about the care work they carry out, 2)to illuminate and problematize the two logics above, and 3)to analyze how the personnel justify their prioritizationsin prevailing context, and how their accountability have an effect on their professional identities.Empirical material was gathered through 13 individual interviews with care personnel and their care unitmanager at a public nursing home in Sweden. These interviews were complemented by a group interview. Thematerial was analyzed by the use of three methods: phenomenology (Paper I and II), reflexive analysis (Paper III),and a positioning analysis (Paper IV). Paper I found that the personnel understands the residents’ well-being asbeing characterized by feeling of being existentially touched. This essence is constituted by feeling freedom ofchoice, pleasure, and closeness to someone or something. In Paper II, the work for facilitating this kind of wellbeingwas characterized by three ambiguities: (i) freedom of choice for the older persons vs. institutionalconstraints, (ii) the residents' need for activation vs. wanting not to be activated, and (iii) the residents' need forroutine vs. the eldercarers' not being able to know what the residents need. Paper III showed that the care unitmanager created a hybrid of the two logics (economy is care and vice versa) and that the personnel oppose thishybrid. The opposition is shaped as the personnel divides their work in care and “those other things”. Thesefindings showed how interaction between the logics expresses itself in practice and that it is the personnel who hasto handle contradictions between the logics in their everyday care work. The positioning analysis in Paper IV hadthree levels. The first level showed how the carers align with their peers and that they find the organizationalframe, within which they have agency, changed due to increased workload. This change led to an order of priorities.The second level showed that the carers relate to three aspects when making accounts: the care itself, the olderpersons, and the media. The third level showed that the carers share a view of administration, cleaning, servingmeals, and filling up supplies, as not being parts of caring.The dissertation’s theoretical framework focused on theories on logics, accountability, and professionalidentity. The conclusion is that both logics are needed in order to facilitate the well-being of the older persons. Therelationships between the two logics are not always clear and if their contradictions are not illuminated, there is arisk for a care practice that does not facilitate the well-being of their residents. An important theoreticalcontribution is that logics of activities should be understood vertically (form political, through management, anddown to the level of practice) instead of horizontally. The practical implications emphasize the importance ofsupporting the personnel’s professional identity on the one hand, and discussing the logics on the other. Byunderstanding differences between definitions on management-level and practice level, a homogeneity can bereached.
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| 6. |
- Mårtensson, Sophie
(författare)
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Bridging the gap between caring theory and nursing practice : Learning experiences of undergraduate nursing students in a caring behavior course
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Healthcare providers are obligated to practice with scientific knowledge in order to deliver high quality and safe care based on patients’ needs. Despite this obligation, complaints from care recipients and their significant others regarding healthcare providers’ lack of compassion and competent care in their professional encounters have increased. In the discipline of nursing, theoretical structures of caring, conceptualized as behaviors, have been established as the heart and core value of guidance in all nursing practice. In nursing education, however, caring has tended to be taught as an intangible aspect of nursing practice, described as hidden curricula, thus, focus more on developing knowledge and psychomotor skills instead of learning caring behaviors. Studies that examine how undergraduate nursing students can learn caring behaviors explicitly are rare. Thus, a stronger emphasis on the learning of caring in the context of a caring behavior course that uses a variety of learning didactics is needed. Without adequate theoretical structures for caring-based observational behavioral instruments assessing verbal and non-verbal caring and non-caring behaviors, there is little evidence to help develop the learning of caring behaviors.Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to study how a caring behavior course in undergraduate nursing education influenced students’ learning of caring behaviors.Method: This thesis was conducted among undergraduate nursing students at a university in Sweden. The participants attended a 7.5-credit (five-week) Caring Behavior Course (the CBC) in semester four during spring and fall 2018 and spring 2019. The CBC was facilitated through a student-centered learning approach intertwined into reflective practice with the learning didactics of narrative pedagogy and simulation; it comprised six voluntary lectures, five mandatory seminars, and two mandatory caring behavior simulation days and examinations. All data were collected from the students participating in the CBC. Two of the four scientific papers constituting this thesis had a qualitative design based on focus group interviews (paper I) and individual written reflections (paper II). Analyses was conducted using qualitative content analysis. One paper had an instrument development design to develop and test an observational behavioral instrument based on Swanson’s Theory of Caring (paper III). Lastly, one paper had a quantitative observational design using the CBCS on video-recorded observational behavioral data collected in the CBC (paper IV). Analyses was conducted using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed rank test (paper IV).Results: The undergraduate nursing students’ participation in the CBC influenced their learning of caring behaviors. It deepened their understanding and knowledge of caring. The students became aware that learning caring is a task that requires effort because the meaning of caring encompasses nurses’ active engagement in practicing caring behaviors. These findings are also supported through the observational behavioral instrument, through the developed Caring Behavior Coding Scheme based on Swanson’s Theory of Caring; it was found that participation in the CBC influenced the undergraduate nursing students verbal and non-verbal caring and non-caring behaviors.Conclusions: This thesis demonstrated that bridging the gap between caring theory and nursing practice in the CBC using a variety of learning didactics influenced undergraduate nursing students’ learning of caring behaviors. The results contributed to strengthening the knowledge that caring and learning are parallel processes in the undergraduate nursing students’ development into becoming compassionate and competent caring nurses, with the intended outcome of patient healing and well-being.
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| 7. |
- Widäng, Ingrid
(författare)
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Patients' Conceptions of Integrity within Health Care Illuminated from a Gender and a Personal Space Boundary Perspective
- 2007
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aims of this licentiate thesis were to explore and describe female and male patients’ conceptions of integrity within health care and to illuminate the conceptions from a gender as well as a personal space boundary perspective. A qualitative design with a phenomenographic approach was used. The participants, 17 male (Study I) and 15 female patients (Study II), all of whom had undergone medical or surgical care, were strategically selected and interviewed. The identified conceptions were also analysed from a gender as well as a personal space boundary perspective. Three description categories emerged among the male patients (Study I); self-respect, dignity and confidence, while maintaining the self, dignity and confidence were the description categories found among the female patients (Study II). Male patients’ description of self-respect and female patients’ description of maintaining the self were for the most part similar although there were some differences. The conceptions revealed that integrity involves having the courage to set boundaries and having control over the private sphere, one’s self and one’s situation. While the male patients emphasised selfbelief and being alone, their female counterparts stressed that preserving one’s identity was essential in order to maintain the self. Dignity concerned being respected, and the male patients also described dignity as being seen as a trustworthy and whole person, while the women described it as not being exposed. Both male and female patients described confidence, which was related to handling patient information in a confidential way, trusting the professional caregivers, participating as well as balancing or changing the boundaries of integrity if necessary. The male patients also described confidence as being free. The personal space boundary perspective was useful for explaining the process of respecting the self by opening or closing outgoing and incoming boundaries around the self. The patients had to consider who, when and to what degree others should have access to their personal spaces. The way in which the professional caregivers interacted with the patient influenced the openness of the boundaries.
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| 8. |
- Algurén, Beatrix
(författare)
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Functioning after stroke : An application of the International Classification of Functioning,Disability and Health (ICF)
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Objective. The overall aim of this thesis was to evaluate the biopsychosocial consequences after stroke and test the validity of the ICF Core Sets for Stroke during one year post-stroke. Material and Methods. Studies I, II and III were based on data from a prospective cohort study with 120 stroke survivors who were recruited at admission to stroke units in western Sweden and were followed-up at six weeks, three months and one year after stroke event. Repeated assessments were done through face-to-face interviews consisting of a battery of questions based on the Stroke ICF Core Set (59 categories of Body Functions, 59 of Activities and Participation and 37 of Environmental Factors) and several questionnaires (EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), Stroke Impact Scale (SIS), Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 (SF-36), Self administered Comorbidity Questionnaire (SCQ), information on health care and social services utilization and spouse support). Study IV was based on data from the multi-center cross-sectional validation study of the Stroke ICF Core Set with 757 stroke survivors from China, Germany, Italy and Sweden. Results. Study I: A total of 28 of 59 ICF categories of Body Functions and a total of 41 of 59 categories of Activities and Participation were significant problems for stroke survivors at six weeks and three months. These categories showed a good discriminative ability to distinguish between independent (≤ 2 on modified Ranking Scale (mRS)) and dependent (> 2 on mRS) stroke survivors. Study II: Most stroke survivors felt satisfied with their stroke care and rehabilitation during three months post-stroke. Frequently perceived environmental facilitators could be documented with eleven of 37 ICF categories of Environmental Factors. Only physical geography, such as hills, was a common perceived barrier. Study III: Independent factors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) varied over time. Almost all variance in HRQoL was explained by categories within Body Functions and within Activities and Participation during the first three months, while at one year only half of the variance could be explained by categories within either Body Functions or Environmental Factors. Problems with personal and energy functions, as well as limited recreational activities, were recurringly associated with poorer HRQoL. Study IV: It was possible to integrate ICF categories of Body Functions and Structures, Activities and Participation into a cross-cultural measurement with good reliability providing summary scores of the overall functioning of stroke survivors. However, the five-point ICF qualifier scale was not consistently applicable. Conclusions. The results of the present thesis showed that the ICF,particularly the ICF Core Set for Stroke, was a valid and practical tool for documenting the multi-faceted biopsychosocial problems and consequences after stroke structured with one common terminology throughout the long chain of care and rehabilitation. The opportunity to integrate ICF categories of Body Functions and Structures, Activities and Participation into a measurement provides new possibilities for monitoring, following-up and comparing overall functioning after stroke.
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| 9. |
- Almborg, Ann-Helene
(författare)
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Perceived Participation in Discharge Planning and Health Related Quality of Life after Stroke
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the patients’ and their relatives’ perceived participation in discharge planning after stroke and the patients’ health-related quality of life, depressive symptoms, performance of personal daily activities and social activities in connection with discharge. Another aim was to evaluate the psychometric assumptions of the SF-36 for Swedish stroke patients.Prospective, descriptive and cross-sectional designs were used to study all patients with stroke admitted to the stroke unit at a hospital in southern Sweden from October 1, 2003 to November 30, 2005 each with one close relative. The total sample consisted of 188 patients (mean age=74.0 years) and 152 relatives (mean age=60.1 years). Data were collected during interviews, 2-3 weeks after discharge.The results showed that less depressive symptoms, more outdoor activities and performance of interests are important variables that related to higher HRQoL. SF-36 functions well as a measure of health related quality of life in Swedish stroke patients, but the two summary scales have shortcomings. Compared to a Swedish normal population, scores on all scales/components of the SF-36 were lower among stroke patients especially in the middle-aged group. Most of the patients perceived that they received information, but fewer perceived participation in the planning of medical treatment and needs of care/service/rehabilitation and goal setting. The relatives perceived that they need more information and they perceived low participation in goal setting and needs assessment. The professionals seem to lack effective practices for involving patients and their relatives to perceive participation in discharge planning. It is essential to develop and to implement methods for discharge planning, including sharing information, needs assessment with goal setting that facilitate patients’ and relatives’ perceived participation. The results suggest that ICF can be used in goal setting and needs assessment in discharge planning after acute stroke.
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| 10. |
- Anastassaki-Köhler, Alkisti
(författare)
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On temporomandibular disorders : Time trends, associated factors, treatment need and treatment outcome
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the last few decades, and especially during the 1990s, an increase in musculoskeletal pain conditions and stress-related ill-health has been observed in Sweden. At the same time, an improvement in the oral health of the population has been noted. The overall aim of this thesis was to acquire knowledge relating to possible time trends for the presence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in the population. A further objective was to study factors that possibly influence the presence of these disorders and the outcome of their treatment.Studies I–III are based on a series of repeated cross-sectional population-based investigations. Three independent samples of 130 individuals in the age groups of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 years were randomly selected from the inhabitants of the city of Jonkoping, Sweden in 1983, 1993 and 2003. The total participation rate was 21%, 22% and 29% respectively. The participants were examined using a questionnaire, interview and a clinical examination of the stomatognathic system regarding the presence of symptoms and signs indicative of TMD. Study IV is a retrospective survey of a clinical sample of patients referred to and treated at the Department of Stomatognathic Physiology, The Institute for Postgraduate Dental Education, Jonkoping, in 1995–2002. The overall frequencies of symptoms and the rates for some clinical signs and consequently of an estimated treatment need in adults increased during the study period. In 2003, the prevalence of frequent headache in 20-year-olds, mainly females, had markedly increased. The reports of bruxism among adults increased from 1983 to 2003. Awareness of bruxism and self-perceived health impairment were associated with TMD symptoms and signs. A favourable treatment outcome was observed for the majority of patients with common TMD sub-diagnoses and no strong predictors of treatment outcome were found.In conclusion, the results suggest some time trends towards an increased prevalence in the overall symptoms and some signs indicative of TMD in the Swedish adult population during the time period 1983–2003. A profound understanding of the social determinants of health is recommended when planning public health resources.
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| 11. |
- Andersson, Bodil T.
(författare)
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Radiographers’ Professional Competence : Development of a context-specific instrument
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aims: The overall aim of this thesis was to explore and describe radiographers‟ professional competence based on patients‟ and radiographers‟ experiences and to develop a context-specific instrument to assess the level and frequency of use of radiographers‟ professional competence.Methods: The design was inductive and deductive. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. The data collection methods comprised interviews (Studies I-II) and questionnaires (Studies III-IV). The subjects were patients in study I and radiographers in studies II-IV. In study I, 17 patients were interviewed about their experiences of the encounter during radiographic examinations and treatment. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. In study II, 14 radiographers were interviewed to identify radiographers‟ areas of competence. The critical incident technique was chosen to analyse the interviews. Studies III and IV were based on a national cross-sectional survey of 406 randomly selected radiographers. Study III consisted of two phases; designing the Radiographer Competence Scale (RCS) and evaluation of its psychometric properties. A 42-item questionnaire was developed and validated by a pilot test (n=16) resulting in the addition of 12 items. Thus the final RCS comprised a 54-item questionnaire, which after psychometric tests was reduced to 28 items. In study IV, the 28-item questionnaire served as data. The level of competencies was rated on a 10-point scale, while their use was rated on a six-point scale.Results: In study I, the female patients‟ comprehensive understanding was expressed as feelings of vulnerability. The encounters were described as empowering, empathetic, mechanical and neglectful, depending on the radiographers‟ skills and attitudes. Study II revealed two main areas of professional competence, direct patient-related and indirect patient-related. The first focused on competencies in the care provided in close proximity to the patient and the second on competencies used in the activities of the surrounding environment. Each of the two main areas was divided into four categories and 31 sub-categories that either facilitated or hindered good nursing care. In study III the analysis condensed the 54-item questionnaire in two steps, firstly by removing 12 items and secondly a further 14 items, resulting in the final 28-item RCS questionnaire. Several factor analyses were performed and a two factor-solution emerged, labelled; “Nurse initiated care” and “Technical and radiographic processes”. The psychometric tests had good construct validity and homogeneity. The result of study IV demonstrated that most competencies in the RCS received high ratings both in terms of level and frequency of use. Competencies e.g. „Adequately informing the patient‟, „Adapting the examination to the patient‟s prerequisites and needs‟ and „Producing accurate and correct images‟ were rated the highest while „Identifying and encountering the patient in a state of shock‟ and „Participating in quality improvement regarding patient safety and care‟ received the lowest ratings. The total score of each of the two dimensions had a low but significant correlation with age and years in present position. The competence level correlated with age and years in present position in both dimensions but not with the use of competencies in the “Nurse initiated care” dimension.Conclusion: This thesis has shown that professional competence is important in the encounter between patient and radiographer. It has also demonstrated that radiographers‟ self-rated professional competence is based on nursing, technological and radiographic knowledge. From a radiographer‟s perspective, „Nurse initiated care‟ and „Technical and Radiographic processes‟ are two core dimensions of Radiographer Competence Scale. The 28-item questionnaire regarding level and frequency of use of competence is feasible to use to measure radiographers‟ professional competence.
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| 12. |
- Arvidsson, Susann
(författare)
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Health promoting factors in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain or with rheumatic diseases: a descriptive and interventional study
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aim: The overall aim of this thesis with a salutogenic approach was to describe health promoting factors in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain and in people with rheumatic diseases, and to evaluate the effects of an intervention study with a self-care promoting PBL-program for people with rheumatic diseases having chronic musculoskeletal pain, sleep disturbances and/or fatigue. Methods: This thesis is comprised of four samples: a randomly selected sample from a Swedish general population (study I) and three different samples containing people with rheumatic diseases registered at a hospital for rheumatic diseases in the southwest of Sweden (studies II, III and IV). Study I had a longitudinal cohort design with an eight-year follow-up in a general population. There were 1109 participants without chronic pain and 700 participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Study II had a longitudinal cohort design with participants with rheumatic diseases (n=185) 12 months after rehabilitation at a hospital for rheumatic diseases. Study III had a descriptive qualitative design with a phenomenological approach based on a reflective life-world perspective. Twelve participants were interviewed about their experiences about health-promoting self-care. Study IV had a randomised controlled design with post-test six months after the one-year self-care promoting problem-based learning (PBL) program for people with rheumatic diseases. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group, 54 participants, or to the control group, 148 participants. Data in studies I, II and IV were analysed with statistics. In study III a Husserlian phenomenological approach based on a reflective life-world perspective was used in the data collection and analysis. Results: Study I: Although participants without chronic musculoskeletal pain reported better health-related quality of life (HRQL) than participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain, similar health factors were found to promote a better HRQL in the eight-year follow-up. The most important factors were feeling rested after sleep and having good sleep structure. Study II: The most important factors promoting better outcome in HRQL 12 months after rehabilitation in participants with rheumatic diseases were having a strong sense of coherence (SOC), feeling rested after sleep, having work capacity, and having good sleep structure. Study III: The meaning of health-promoting self-care as experienced by people with rheumatic diseases was that self-care takes place against a background of continual hope and belief to be able to influence health in positive ways. Self-care was a way of life and implied being ready to understand and respond to signals from the body. Three interrelated constituents elucidated the experiences: dialogue, power struggle and choice. Study IV: At the six month follow-up the participants in the experimental group had stronger empowerment after participation in the self-care promoting PBL-program compared with the control group which only got standard care for people with rheumatic diseases. There were no differences in HRQL, self-care ability, SOC, pain, quality of sleep or fatigue between the experimental group and the control group. The participants in the experimental group also stated that they had implemented lifestyle changes which they had not done without the PBL-program. Conclusion: The results of this thesis provide a valuable and useful insight in health promoting factors in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain and in people with rheumatic diseases, but also in that people with rheumatic diseases have benefit from taking part in patient education with a self-care promoting PBL-program. These results contribute to evidence supporting the introduction of a more salutogenic approach in rheumatology care and research.
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| 13. |
- Axelsson, Anna Karin
(författare)
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Children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities and their participation in family activities
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background. Families are essential parts of any community and throughout childhood one’s family serves as the central setting wherein opportunities for participation are offered. There is a lack of knowledge about participation of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) in family activities and how improved participation can be reached. Gathering such knowledge could enable an improvement in child functioning and wellbeing and also ease everyday life for families of a child with PIMD.Aim. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore participation seen as presence and engagement in family activities in children with PIMD and to find strategies that might facilitate this participation.Material and Methods. The research was cross-sectional and conducted with descriptive, explorative designs. First a quantitative, comparative design was used including questionnaire data from 60 families with a child with PIMD and 107 families with children with typical development (TD) (I, II). Following that, a qualitative, inductive design was used with data from individual interviews with parents of 11 children with PIMD and nine hired external personal assistants (III). Finally a mixed method design was conducted where collected quantitative data was combined with the qualitative data from the previous studies (IV).Results. It was found that children with PIMD participated less often, compared to children with TD, in a large number of family activities, however they participated more often in four physically less demanding activities. Children with PIMD also participated in a less diverse set of activities. Additionally, they overall had a lower level of engagement in the activities; however, both groups of children showed higher engagement in enjoyable, child-driven activities and lower engagement in routine activities. The motor ability of the child with PIMD was found to be the main child characteristic that affected their presence in the family activities negatively and child cognition was found to be the personal characteristic that affected their engagement in the activities. The child’s presence and engagement were influenced to a lesser extent by family socio-economic factors when compared to families with children with TD. Parents and hired external personal assistants described several strategies to be used to improve participation of the children with PIMD, such as by showing engagement in the activities oneself and by giving the child opportunities to influence the activities. The role of the hired external personal assistant, often considered as a family member for the child, was described as twofold: one supporting or reinforcing role in relation to the child and one balancing role in relation to the parents/the rest of the family, including reducing the experience of being burdened and showing sensitivity to family life and privacy. Conclusion. A child with PIMD affects the family’s functioning and the family’s functioning affects the child. Child and environmental factors can act as barriers that have the result that children with PIMD may experience fewer and less varied activities that can generate engaged interaction within family activities than children with TD do. Accordingly, an awareness and knowledge of facilitating strategies for improved participation in family activities is imperative. There needs to be someone in the child’s environment who sets the scene/stage and facilitates the activity so as to increase presence and engagement in proximal processes based on the child’s needs. The family, in turn, needs someone who can provide respite to obtain balance in the family system. External personal assistance includes these dual roles and is of importance in families with a child with PIMD.
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| 14. |
- Berggren, Elisabeth
(författare)
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Daily life after Subarachnoid Haemorrhage : Identity construction, patients' and relatives' statements about patients' memory, emotional status and activities of living
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis was to describe patients’ experience and reconstruction regarding the onset of, and events surrounding being struck by a Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (SAH), and to describe patients’ and relatives’ views of patients’ memory ability, emotional status and activities of living, in a long-term perspective.Methods: Both inductive and deductive approaches were used. Nine open interviews were carried out in home settings, in average 1 year and 7 seven months after the patients’ onset, and discourse analysis was used to interpret the data. Eleven relatives and 11 patients, 11 years after the onset, and 15 relatives and 15 patients, 6 years after the onset, participated in two studies. Interviews using a questionnaire with structured questions and memory tests were used to collect data. Fischer’s exact test and Z-scores were used for the statistical analysis.Results: Patients with experience of a SAH were able to judge their own memory for what happened when they became ill. The reconstruction of the illness event may be interpreted as an identity creating process. The process of meaning-making is both a matter of understanding SAH as a pathological event and a social and communicative matter, where the SAH is construed into a meaningful life history, in order to make life complete (I). Memory problems, changes in emotional status and problems with activities of living were common (II-IV). There was correspondence between relatives’ and patients’ statements regarding the patients’ memory in general and long-term memory. Patients judged their own memory ability better than relatives, compared with results on memory tests. Relatives stated that some patients had meta-memory problems (II). The episodic memory seemed to be well reserved, both concerning the onset and in the long-term perspective (I, II). There were more problems with social life than with P- and I-ADL (III), and social company habits had changed due to concentration difficulties, mental fatigue, and patients’ sensitivity to noisy environments and uncertainty (IV). Relatives rated the patients’ ability concerning activities of living and emotional status, and in a similar manner to patients’ statements (III-IV).Conclusions: The reconstruction of the illness event can be used as a tool in nursing for understanding the patient’s identity-construction. Relatives and patients stated the patients’ memory, emotional status and activities of living in a similar manner, and therefore both patients’ and relatives’ statements can be used as a tool in nursing care, in order to support the patient. However, the results showed: meta-memory problems (relatives’ statements) and that the patients’ judged their own memory ability better than relatives in comparison with results on memory tests. Nevertheless, there was a high degree of concordance between relatives’ and patients’ evaluations concerning patients´ memory ability, emotional status, emotional problems, social company habits and activities of living. Therefore both relatives’ and patients’ statements can be considered to be reliable. However, sometimes the patients and the relatives judge the patients’ memory differently. Consequently, memory tests and formalized dialogues between the patient, the relative and a professional might be required, in order to improve the mutual family relationship in a positive way. Professionals however, must first assume that patients can judge their own memory, emotional status and ability in daily life.
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| 15. |
- Bergsten, Ulrika, 1966-
(författare)
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Patients' and healthcare providers' experiences of the cause, management and interaction in the care of rheumatoid arthritis
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to explore and describe patients’ and healthcare providers’ experiences of the causes, management and interaction in the care of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Method: The thesis is based on four studies. Studies I and II contain data from an epidemiologic project involving patients who were recently diagnosed with RA. The patients answered an open-ended question about their conception of the cause of their RA (Study I). Qualitative data from 38 patients were analysed using the phenomenographic approach in order to identify variation in conceptions. The results of Study I formed the basis for categorizing the conceptions of 785 patients in the search for patterns of background factors (Study II). Study III aimed to explore how patients experienced their management of RA in everyday life. Data were collected by interviews with 16 patients and analysed according to Grounded Theory (GT). In study IV, the aim was to explore healthcare providers’ experiences of their interaction with patients’ management of RA. Data were collected by interviews with 18 providers representing different professions and analysed using GT. Findings: Patients’ conceptions of the cause of their RA revealed new aspects from the patient perspective that can complement pathogenetic models. Two descriptive categories emerged: consequences beyond personal control and overloaded circumstances, which included six categories of conceptions (Study I). The most common conceptions of the cause of RA were unexpected effects of events followed by work and family-related stress (Study II). Background factors that influenced the conceptions of the cause were age, sex and educational level. Patient management of RA involved using personal resources together with grasping for support from others in their striving for a good life. When linking these aspects together, four ways of management emerged: mastering, struggling, relying and being resigned (Study III). Healthcare providers’ experiences of their interaction with patients’ management shed light upon the important issue of delivering knowledge and advice. The providers’ attitudes constituted one cornerstone and patients’ responses the other. The providers reported that the interaction led to different outcomes: completed delivery, adjusted delivery and failed delivery. Conclusions: The findings contribute new knowledge from both patients’ and healthcare providers’ perspectives, which could be used to develop a more person-centred approach in rheumatology care. Person-centred care involves taking patients’ beliefs and values into account in addition to creating a trusting relationship between patient and provider. A successful person-centred approach requires an organisation that supports the person-centred framework.
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| 16. |
- Björkman, Berit
(författare)
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Children in the Radiology Department : a study of anxiety, pain, distress and verbal interaction
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation focuses on children’s experiences of going through an acute radiographic examination due to a suspected fracture. The findings from interviews with children aged 3-15 years showed anxiety, pain and distress to be a concern in conjunction with an examination (Paper I). These initial findings entailed empirical studies being undertaken in order to further study children’s pain and distress in conjunction with an examination (Paper II) as well as children’s anxiety, pain and distress related to the perception of care in the periradiographic process (Paper III). Finally, the verbal interaction between the child and radiographer during the examination was studied (Paper IV).The research was conducted through qualitative, quantitative and mixed method studies. The data collection methods comprised interviews (Paper I), children’s self-reports (Papers II and III), drawings (Paper III), questionnaire (Paper III) and video recordings (Papers I, II and IV). Altogether, 142 children (3-15 years) and 20 female radiographers participated in the studies.Children aged 5-15 years were observed and they completed selfreports on pain and distress. The children were also provided with an opportunity to express their perceptions of the peri-radiographic process and to make a drawing that was analysed with regard to their level of anxiety. Finally, the verbal interaction between the child and radiographer during the examination was analysed.Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the interviews and the written comments in the questionnaire (Papers I and III). The Child Drawing: Hospital Manual (CD:H) was used when analysing the children’s drawings (Paper III), and the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) was used when analysing the verbal interaction derived from the video recordings (Paper IV). Non-parametric statistics were applied when analysing the quantitative data (Papers II, III and IV). The findings showed that children aged 5-15 years reported pain on the Coloured Analogue Scale (CAS) and distress on the Facial Affective Scale (FAS) above levels at which treatment or further intervention is recommended. These findings corresponded to the observed pain behaviour measured on the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability Scale (FLACC) and anxiety expressed through drawings (CD:H). The children’s perception of the care being provided in the peri-radiographic process, was not related to the experience of anxiety, pain and distress however. The children were confident in the radiographers, who they perceived to be skilled in the task and sensitive to their needs. These findings are supported by the analysis of the verbal interaction (RIAS), which showed that the radiographer adjusted the communication when balancing the task-focused and socio-emotional interaction according to the child’s age.The findings point to the conclusion that children going through an acute radiographic examination should be assessed regarding the anxiety, pain and distress they experience. This is a prerequisite for the radiographer to provide care according to the child’s ability and preferences when interacting with children in the peri-radiographic process.
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| 17. |
- Boström, Martina
(författare)
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Trygghet - på vems villkor? Uppfattningar om och erfarenheter av trygghet hos äldre personer med behov av omsorg
- 2014
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Syftet med avhandlingen var att bidra till ökad förståelse av hur äldre personer med skiftande omsorgsbehov uppfattade och erfor trygghet, i ordinärt och särskilt boende.Avhandlingens två första studier baserades på material från fokusgruppintervjuer med totalt 45 äldre personer boende i seniorboende. Intervjuerna analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys (I, II). Den tredje studien bestod av en sekundäranalys av en brukarenkät till 350 äldre personer i ordinärt boende med hemtjänst och 145 äldre personer i särskilt boende. Materialet bearbetades med deskriptiv och analytisk statistik (III). I den fjärde studien följdes tre äldre personer, genom djupintervjuer och observationer under 12-16 veckor, vid flytt till särskilt boende och den första tiden på särskilt boende. Även detta material analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys (IV).Avhandlingens resultat visar bland annat att de trygghetslarm som de äldre hade erfarenhet av uppfattades som begränsande då larmets korta räckvidd gav orsak till minskad frihet, otrygghet, oro och rädsla (I). Övervakningsteknik, där den äldres person och position övervakas i större omfattning, ansågs inte som något problem att använda när omsorgsinsatserna ökade, så länge detta medförde ökad trygghet (II). Upplevd hälsa, relationstrygghet samt kunskap och kontroll var faktorer som var positivt relaterade till hur äldre personer med äldreomsorg uppfattade och erfor trygghet i vardagen, både i ordinärt och i särskilt boende (III). Flytt till särskilt boende som innebar att stegvis överlämna sitt livoch sin kontroll till omsorgspersonalen, ledde till en känsla av ökad säkerhet för de äldre personerna men inte nödvändigtvis till känsla av trygghet (IV).Resultatet tolkades i förhållande till Antonovskys salutogena teori där de tre koncepten meningsfullhet, hanterbarhet och begriplighet, tillsammans utgör grunden för känsla av sammanhang (KASAM).Sammanfattningsvis uppfattade och erfor äldre personer trygghet som så meningsfull att de kunde tänka sig att ge avkall på en del av sin frihet, integritet, självständighet och självbevarande för att uppnå den. De äldre personerna beskrev att resurser som personal och trygghetslarm stärkte tryggheten, men att hanterbarheten av dessa resurser kan stärkas ytterligare, i både ordinärt boende och särskilt boende. Resultaten visaratt äldre personers begriplighet av vardagen relaterar positivt till uppfattningar och erfarenheter av trygghet. Äldre personer saknar dock begriplighet avseende exempelvis trygghetslarm och nya rutiner, vilket får negativ inverkan på deras trygghet. Äldre personer bör ges större utrymme att själva beskriva trygghet utifrån sina unika villkor. För att stärka trygghet på äldre personers villkor, oavsett deras omsorgsbehov, bör således hanterbarheten, men framförallt begripligheten, stärkas.
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| 18. |
- Börjesson, Ulrika
(författare)
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Everyday Knowledge in Elder Care : An Ethnographic Study of Care Work
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation is about how knowledge is constructed in interactions and what knowledge entails in practical social work. It is about how a collective can provide a foundation for the construction and development of knowledge through the interactions contextualized in this study on Swedish elder care, organized by the municipality. This study follows a research tradition that recognizes knowledge as socially constructed, and focuses on the practice of knowledge within an organizational context of care.This is an ethnographic study. The empirical material consists primarily of field notes from participant observations at two elder care units in a midsized city in Sweden. Moreover, the collected materials include national and municipal policy documents, local policy documents and guidelines, and notes from observations in staff meetings and interviews with care workers and managers. This thesis uses Institutional Ethnography as a departure point for analyzing the contextual factors for workers in elder care, mainly women, and the situational factors for acquiring knowledge.The overall aim of this dissertation was to explore knowledge in elder care practice by analyzing the construction and application of knowledge for and by staff in elder care. This sheds light to the Mystery of Knowledge in Elder Care Practice: Locally Enabled and Disabled.In order to pursue this aim, two questions were addressed in the study:1. How and what kind of knowledge is expressed and made visible in daily elder care practice?2. How is knowledge shared interactively in the context of elder care?The findings shed light to the situation for care workers in elder care and the conditions for using and gaining knowledge. This situation is problematic as the local conditions both enables and disables knowledge use and sharing of knowledge. Contributing challenging factors are lack of recognition and equal valuing of various forms of knowledge; the organizational cultures and a limiting reflective work to the individual.The main findings in this thesis are presented in three areas:- a way of understanding tacit knowledge, which refers to knowledge gained by care workers through working in elder care;- the connection between an organizational culture and the knowledge shared within the organizational culture;- reflective practice in elder care work and the imbalance between individual and collective reflectivity.These findings have implications for specific knowledge in social work practice and the need for education linked to this knowledge. Formal knowledge alone is insufficient for effective elder care practice; however, informal knowledge is also insufficient alone. Both are needed, and they should be linked to create synergy between the two types of knowledge.
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| 19. |
- Celsing Fåhraeus, Christina
(författare)
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Övervikt/fetma hos barn, ungdomar och unga vuxna i relation till vikt, viktutveckling och kariesförekomst.
- 2012
-
Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Fetma är en av världens snabbast växande sjukdomar och karies är fortfarande en vanlig sjukdom hos barn och ungdomar. Syftet med denna licentiatavhandling har varit att:beskriva frekvensen av övervikt och fetma från födseln till tjugo års ålder.analysera vikt och viktutvecklingen från födseln till vuxen ålder.undersöka prevalens av approximal karies hos femtonåringar i förhållande till deras åldersspecifika BMI (isoBMI).undersöka tidiga mellanmålsvanor och karies vid femton års ålder.I studien ingick 671 barn följda från 1 till 20 års ålder. Studien har en populationsbaserad longitudinell design och analyserna baserar sig på uppgifter från barnhälsovårds (BHV) -, skolhälsovårds (SHV)- och folktandvårdsjournaler (FTV) från fyra distrikt i Jönköpings kommun. Längd, vikt och födelsediagnoser är inhämtade från BHV- journaler. Från SHV journaler inhämtades längd och viktuppgifter vid 15 år och från FTV journaler inhämtades uppgifter om kariesförekomst vid 15 och 20 års ålder. Dessutom inhämtades data från intervjuer och frågeformulär, som samlats in då barnen var 1 och 3 år gamla. Studien visade att det finns ett samband mellan övervikt/fetma vid 20 års ålder och övervikt/fetma vid 5½ och 15 års ålder. Emellertid var 70 % av dem som hade övervikt/fetma vid 20 år normalviktiga vid 5½ år och 47 % av dem med övervikt/fetma var normalviktiga vid 15 års ålder.Studien visade också att tonåringar med övervikt och fetma hade en signifikant högre prevalens av approximal karies än de som var normalviktiga. Vidare påvisades ett samband mellan förtäring av kariesriskprodukter vid 1 och 3 år och kariesförekomst vid 15 år. Det framkom inget samband mellan födelsevikt och senare övervikt/fetma vid 20 års ålder. Studien visade inte heller något tydligt mönster av viktutvecklingen från tidig barndom till ung vuxen. Ett barn kunde t ex ha övervikt vid ett mättillfälle för att vid nästa mättillfälle vara normalviktig och sedan överviktig igen. Framtida preventionsprogram för att förebygga både fetma och karies bör samordnas mellan de olika hälsoprofessionerna. Med tanke på att minst hälften av individer som utvecklar övervikt/ fetma till 20 års ålder rekryterades efter 15 års ålder bör denna tonårsgrupp ges särskild uppmärksamhet och nya former för prevention och behandling behöver utvecklas. För barn i förskoleåldern bör primär prevention riktas till hela populationen.
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| 20. |
- Dahl, Anna, 1975-
(författare)
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Body mass index, cognitive ability, and dementia : prospective associations and methodological issues in late life
- 2009
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aims of the present study were to investigate the association between overweight and cognitive ability and dementia, and to evaluate the usefulness of self-reported body mass index (BMI) in late life and various data sources commonly used in epidemiological studies to identify persons with dementia. Data were drawn from three population-based studies: the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA), Aging in Women and Men: A Longitudinal Study of Gender Differences in Health Behaviour and Health among Elderly (the Gender Study), and the Finnish Lieto Study. In Study I, the agreement between self-reported and measured BMI over time was evaluated among 774 men and women, ages 40 to 88 years at baseline (mean age 63.9) participating in both the questionnaire phase and in-person testing of SATSA. Latent growth curve (LGC) modeling showed a small but significant increase between self-reported and measured BMI (0.02 kg/m2/y) over time, which would probably not affect the results if self-reported BMI were used as a continuous variable in longitudinal research. In Study II, the agreement between dementia diagnoses from various sources and dementia diagnoses set at a consensus conference was evaluated. Among the 498 elderly people ages 70 to 81 at baseline (mean age 74.5) enrolled in the Gender Study, 87 were diagnosed with dementia during an eight-year period. Review of medical records and nurse evaluations yielded the highest sensitivity (0.83 and 0.80, respectively) and a high specificity (0.98 and 0.96), indicating that these sources might be good proxies of dementia, while data extraction from the Swedish Inpatient Discharge Registry underestimated the prevalence of dementia (sensitivity 0.26). In Study III, the association between being overweight in midlife and cognitive ability in late life was examined in SATSA. The 781 participants ages 25 to 63 at baseline (mean age 41.6) in 1963 or 1973 self-reported their height and weight. From 1986 until 2002, they were assessed five times using a cognitive test battery. LGC models showed that people with higher midlife BMI scores had significantly lower cognitive ability and a significantly steeper decline than their thinner counterparts, an association that persisted when those who developed dementia during the study period were excluded from the analysis. This finding indicates that being overweight might affect cognitive ability independently of dementia. In Study IV, the association between BMI and dementia risk in older persons was described among 605 persons without dementia and ages 65 to 92 at baseline (mean age 70.8) in the Lieto Study. Among these, 86 persons were diagnosed with dementia during eight years of follow-up. Cox regression analyses indicated that for each unit increase in BMI score, the risk of dementia decreased 8% (hazard ratio = 0.92, 95% confidence interval = 0.87–0.97) and the association remained significant when individuals who developed dementia during the first four years of follow-up were excluded from the analyses. This result suggests that low BMI scores are present almost a decade before clinical dementia onset.
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| 21. |
- Darcy, Laura
(författare)
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The everyday life of young children through their cancer trajectory
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The young child’s experiences of living with cancer are crucial to providing evidence based care. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore and describe experiences of health and functioning in the everyday life of young children with cancer, over a three year period from diagnosis, to provide insights and suggestions to improve evidence based care.The first and second papers in the series of four for this thesis used a qualitative content analysis to describe the child’s experiences shortly after diagnosis and six and 12 months later. The third paper used mixed methods to identify a comprehensive set of ICF-CY codes describing everyday health and functioning in the life of the young child with cancer. The fourth paper used the identified comprehensive set of ICF-CY codes to follow changes in everyday health and functioning over the study’s entire three year period from diagnosis.Entry into the health-illness transition was characterised by trauma and isolation. Health and functioning in everyday life was utterly changed and physical difficulties were at their peak. The passage through transition was characterised by an active striving on the part of the child to make a normal everyday life of the cancer experience. Difficulties affecting health and functioning in everyday life decreased and changed during the trajectory, though feelings of loneliness prevailed. A new period of stability in the child’s post treatment life was seen from two years after diagnosis and onwards, with (re)-entry to preschool/school and other social activities. However, an increase in difficulties with personal interactions with others and access to, and support from healthcare professionals was seen. Variances were seen within individual children’s’ trajectories.In summary it can be stated that the everyday life of young children with cancer changes over time and health care services are not always in phase with these changes. Young children living with cancer want to be participatory in their care and to have access to their parents as protectors.They need access to and ongoing contact with peers and preschool. Although physical difficulties in living an everyday life with cancer reduce over time, new difficulties emerge as the child post cancer treatment re-enters society. A structured follow-up throughout the cancer trajectory and not just during active treatment is necessary. A child-centered philosophy of care would guide the child towards attainment of health and well-being.Both the child’s own perspective and a child’s perspective as described by adults caring for them should be seen on a continuum, rather than as opposites. This view could help ensure that young children become visible and are listened to as valuable contributors to care planning. Knowledge of health-illness transition can be useful in illustrating everyday health and functioning through long term illness trajectories.
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| 22. |
- Einarson, Susanne, 1958-
(författare)
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Oral health-related quality ofl ife in an adult population
- 2009
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim: The overall aim of this licentiate thesis was to describe and analyze oral health-related quality of life measured with OHIP-14. The thesis comprises two studies, each with a specific aim. Study I: To describe oral health-related quality of life measured with OHIP-14 in an Swedish adult population Study II: To study the relationship between oral health-related quality of life, measured with OHIP-14, and subjective as well as objective dry mouth conditions in fragile old people. Furthermore, the aim was to study the reliability and validity of a new instrument (VAS) to measure dry mouth Material and methods: Study I comprised a stratified random sample of 519 individuals 20-80 years of age. In Study II, 41 randomly selected fragile old people, residents at three different community care centers, participated. In both studies, the questionnaire OHIP-14 was used for measurement of oral health-related quality of life. The participants in Study II answered a questionnaire for subjectively experienced dry mouth (VAS). For objective dry mouth measurements, saliva was absorbed into a preweighted cotton roll. Results: In Study I, 21% of the respondents stated that they had no oral problems that had a negative impact on their well-being. In Study II, the corresponding figure was 71%. In study I the mean value for OHIP-14 was 6.4 (SD=7.1) for the entire population; 5.9 (SD=7.1) for men and 6.8 (SD=7.2) for women in. Subjects, who frequently experienced problems related to oral health, with scores ranging from 16 to 41 points, accounted for 10% of the study group. In Study II, significant associations were identified between both objectively measured respective subjectively experienced dry mouth and oral health-related quality of life. The validity of the VAS instrument was good for subjective mouth dryness, but poor for objectively measured dry mouth in fragile old people. Conclusion: From Study I it can be concluded that, in this Swedish population, a number of individuals, both young and old, experience oral problems that have a negative impact on their well-being. From Study II, the conclusion is that dry mouth (both objective and subjective) is significantly associated with poorer oral health-related quality of life, underlining the value of monitoring dry mouth conditions in the care of fraigile old people.
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| 23. |
- Ericsson, Iréne
(författare)
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Välbefinnande och demens : Aspekter på välbefinnande hos äldre personer med måttlig till svår demens
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Personer som lever med demenssjukdom såväl som mentalt friska människor behöver uppleva välbefinnande. Ett viktigt mål i vården och omsorgen av personer med demens är därför att hitta vägar för att försöka främja välbefinnande hos personen. Avhandlingens övergripande syfte varatt utveckla kunskap om aspekter av betydelse för att äldre personer med måttlig till svår demens ska uppleva välbefinnande. Avhandlingen baseras på empiriskt material från fyra delstudier. Den första delstudien, I(etnografi) genererade fältanteckningar från 31 observationstillfällen samt nio kvalitativa intervjuer med vårdgivare, så kallade kontaktmän till personen med demens. Delstudie II(testutveckling/tvärsnittsstudie) utgjordes av 336 testprotokoll som bearbetades statistiskt. Materialet i delstudie III (reformulerad grundad teori) innefattade 18 kvalitativa intervjuer med personer med demens samt 18 observationsprotokoll från observation av icke-verbalt språk. Den sista delstudien (IV) (konstruktivistisk grundad teori) bestod av fältanteckningar från 24 videoinspelningar av Egentids-situationer och 24 kvalitativa intervjuer med personer med demens samt åtta kvalitativa intervjuer med vårdgivare. Resultatet från avhandlingens studier visar att de kognitivt friska personerna som finns i personens närhet har en avgörande betydelse för upplevelsen av välbefinnande hos personer med måttlig till svår demens. För att interaktion ska vara önskvärd och ge välbefinnande måste den mentalt friska parten ha kunskap och insikt om att det finns en större medvetenhet hos personen med måttlig till svår demens än vad det omedelbara intrycket av förmågor ger. Om denna insikt saknas finns risk att interaktionen kan leda till kränkning i stället för välbefinnande. Det är förmodligen av betydelse att ha kunskap om och försöka fånga personens kvarvarande förmågor istället för att fokusera på brister. Kunskap om kvarvarande förmågor och till exempel överinlärda förmågor som fångas i anpassade test kan bidra till en mer positiv syn på personen och innebära att kvarvarande förmågor bättre tas tillvara, vilket kan bidra till välbefinnande. Personen med måttlig till svår demens kan kommunicera ett välbefinnande men det kräver lyssnarens förmåga och förmåga att tolka. Det kan också kräva en del praktiska ansträngningar med hänsyn till personens kognitiva nedsättningar som till exempel hjälpmedel i form av bilder och ting. Förmodligen ger interaktion som leder till en relation alltid en upplevelse av välbefinnande. Tid är en avgörande faktor för att upprätta relationer som ger välbefinnande hos personer med måttlig till svår demens. Det är därför viktigt att i vården avsätta tillräcklig tid, som vid till exempel Egentid, för att upprätta relationer och därigenom främja välbefinnande.
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| 24. |
- Ernsth Bravell, Marie
(författare)
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Care Trajectories in the Oldest Old
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis demonstrates relations among health, social network, ADL and patterns of care in the oldest old guided by a resource theoretical model. The analyzed data are based on two studies: the Nona study, a longitudinal study of 157 individuals aged 86 to 94 years, and the H70 study, a longitudinal study of 964 individuals aged 70 at baseline. Data were collected by interviews and to some extent in the H70 study, medical exams and medical records. The results demonstrate that perceived resources seem to affect patterns of care to a higher extent than the more objective resources in the sample of the oldest old. On the other hand, sociodemographic variables such as gender, marital status and SES, in addition to the more objective resources of having children nearby and the number of symptoms of illness predicted institutionalization during a subsequent 30-year period from the age of 70. The proportion of elderly persons’ institutionalization was further significantly higher than that generally found in cross-sectional studies. ADL was one of the strongest predictors for both use of formal care and institutionalization in both samples, indicating an effective targeting of the formal care system in Sweden. The care at end of life in the oldest old is challenged by the problems with progressive declines in ADL and health, which makes it hard to fit in the dying oldest old in the palliative care system. There is a need to increase the knowledge and the possibility for care staff to support and encourage social network factors and for decision-making staff to consider factors beyond ADL.
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| 25. |
- Fristedt, Sofi
(författare)
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Occupational participation through community mobility among older men and women
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of the present thesis was to explore and characterise occupational participation and community mobility from an occupational perspective of health and well-being, and to elucidate potential barriers and facilitators for occupational participation and community mobility in older men and women.In Study I, questionnaires were sent to a sample of older citizens (75+) in three Swedish mid-sized municipalities. This survey focused on actual and preferred travel opportunities and was returned by 957 persons (response rate 46%). Although older people appreciated the existing travel opportunities, there was evidence of restricted community mobility for some sub-groups of older people, due to various perceived barriers. More efforts must be put into accessibility improvements including usability from the perspective of older people.In Study II nine focus group interviews with a total of 42 participants (20 men) were conducted, focusing on older peoples’ motives for, and experiences of, community mobility and occupational participation outside the home. The main category “Continuing mobility and occupational participation outside the home in old age is an act of negotiation” summarised the findings. This main category was abstracted from the generic categories “Occupational means and goals”, “Occupational and mobility adaptation” and “Occupational barriers and facilitators”, and their subcategories. Community mobility was identified as an important occupation that in itself also facilitated occupational participation outside the home. Individual community mobility seemed to be influenced by, for example, age and gender, as well as habits acquired over time. Furthermore, community mobility was negatively affected not only by physical barriers, but also by social and attitudinal barriers in the public environment.Study III identified and described older people’s viewpoints on community mobility and occupational participation in older age through a Q-methodology study conducted with 36 participants, including men and women, both drivers and non-drivers. Three viewpoints were found and assigned content-descriptive denominations; viz.: “Prefer being mobile by car”, “Prefer being mobile by public transport” and “Prefer flexible mobility”. Unfortunately, the existing demand-responsive Special Transportation Systems was not considered an attractive enough alternative by any of the participants. Thus, intermediate community mobility options are needed for those who no longer can drive or use public transport. InStudy IV factors associated with community mobility, and decreased community mobility over time, for older men and women were described. Data were based on the Gender study “Aging in men and women: a longitudinal study of gender differences in health behaviour and health among elderly” and collected through surveys in 1994 and 2007. The base-line sample consisted of 605 twin-pairs, i.e., 1,210 individuals, aged 69-88, and the follow-up of 357 individuals (165 men and 192 women), aged 83-97. This surveycovered health and health-related issues including community mobility and occupational participation. Continuing community mobility was cross-sectionally (at follow-up) and prospectively (from baseline to follow-up) associated with better self-reported subjective health rather than self-reported health conditions for both men and women. For men, community mobility was also cross-sectionally associated with few or non-existant depressive symptoms, while reduced community mobility was prospectively associated with higher age for women. Consequently, interventions aiming to enable community mobility must move beyond interventions directed towards health conditions and instead target subjective health and well-being.
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| 26. |
- Gimbler Berglund, Ingalill
(författare)
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Nurse anaesthetist's interactions and assessment of children's anxiety
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Forty to sixty percent of all children having surgery experience preoperative anxiety. Preoperative anxiety is a risk factor for negative behavioural changes postoperative. It is of importance to find strategies in the interaction with the child to reduce anxiety. The overall aim was to describe CRNA's interaction with the child in relation to anxiety during anaesthesia induction and to describe the translation process of m-YPAS into Swedish and the testing of the psychometric properties in a Swedish context. In paper I an explorative qualitative approach with CIT was used and 32 CRNAs were interviewed. Experiences described were about the organisation which included effect of information, teamwork and time. Other experiences were grouped around interrelations such as, communication, meeting both anxious and calm children and experiences of use of physical restraint. Actions taken to reduce anxiety were optimizing the situation, as acting according to the situation, it could mean altering routines, though always without jeopardizing the safety of the child, preparing ahead and using distraction. Creating interpersonal interaction such as, creating contact, participation and using collaboration with the child, parents and colleagues. In paper II m-YPAS was translated into Swedish using cross cultural back translation. The psychometric properties of m-YPAS were tested in two phases. In phase I 52 children were assessed in real time by two SRNAs and one CRNA using m-YPAS and NAS. In phase II 98 video films of children were assessed by experienced CRNAs in the same way as in phase I. The psychometric properties of m-YPAS were good. Conclusion: In the interaction between CRNAs and the child, being flexible and sensitive to the child, taking the role of the child, and acting according to the need of the child were cornerstones in reducing preoperative anxiety and avoiding use of physical restraint. The m-YPAS can be used as an educational tool to enhance the anaesthetist's ability to interpret the child's anxiety. The m-YPAS is a valid and reliable assessment instrument to examine the efficiency of interventions and compare the result of research between cultures.
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| 27. |
- Godfrey, Marjorie M.
(författare)
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Improvement Capability at the Front Lines of Healthcare : Helping through Leading and Coaching
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- SUMMARY This thesis addresses improvement capability at the front lines of healthcare with a focus on interprofessional health care improvement teams who provide care and improve care. The overall aim is to explore high performing clinical microsystems and evaluate interventions to cultivate health care improvement capabilities of frontline interprofessional teams.Methods Descriptive and evaluative study designs were employed in the five studies which comprise this thesis. A total of 495 interprofessional health care providers from a variety of health care contexts in the United States (Study I, II, III & IV) and Sweden (Study V) participated in the studies. The mixed methods research included qualitative observation, interviews, focus groups and surveys analyzed with qualitative manifest content analysis. The quantitative data were analyzed with statistics appropriate for non-parametric data.Findings Study I and II describe how leaders who understand health care improvement can create conditions for interprofessional teams to provide care and simultaneously improve care. Study III evaluates adapted clinical microsystem processes and tools successfully adapted in two different hospitals. Frontline staff reported that they needed help to balance providing care and improving care. Study IV and V explored and tested team coaching to help interprofessional teams to increase their improvement capabilities within improvement collaboratives. The participants perceived team coaching mostly positively and identified supportive coaching actions. In Study V an intervention with “The Team Coaching Model” was tested in Sweden and showed increased acquisition of improvement knowledge in the intervention teams compared to teams who did not receive the coaching model.Conclusions The thesis findings show leaders can help cultivate health care improvement capability by designing structures, processes and outcomes of their organizational systems to support health care improvement activities, setting clear improvement expectations of all staff, developing the knowledge of every staff member in the microsystem to know their operational processes and systems to promote action learning in their daily work, and providing help with team coaching using a Team Coaching Model.
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| 28. |
- Golsäter, Marie
(författare)
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Hälsosamtal som metod att främja barns och ungdomars hälsa : en utmanande uppgift
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis was to explore and describe health dialogues from pupils’ and nurses’ perspectives as well as the verbal interaction between them, in the context of a structured health and lifestyle tool.Seventy-four pupils and 23 school nurses participated in focus group interviews, and further 14 nurses participated in individual interviews. To explore the verbal interaction, 24 health dialogues with pupils and school nurses were recorded using a video camera. The data from the interviews were subjected to qualitative content analysis and the verbal interactions were analysed using the paediatric version of the Roter Interaction Analysis System.Health dialogues based on the pupil’s own situation were described as a process that provided them opportunities to influence their own health. Prerequisites for a pupil-centered health dialogue were that the pupils were prepared, felt respected and like active participants, and that their own experiences were in focus. How the nurses acted was crucial to the pupils’ experience of and possibility to benefit from of the health dialogue based on their own needs and wishes. A health and lifestyle tool could support the dialogue by constituting a structure, open up for discussion and contribute to an understanding of the individual’s situation. The tool could also facilitate the transmittal of health information on an individual as well as a group level. In terms of utterances in the dialogues, the school nurses were the ones who talked the most. The pupils most frequently gave information about their lifestyle and agreed with the nurses. The nurses asked questions and provided information about lifestyle, and checked that they had understood the pupils. Just over a third of the nurses’ verbal interaction approaches were aimed to make the pupil more active and participatory in the dialogues.In conclusion, the health dialogues were described as an opportunity to gain knowledge about and insight into health and lifestyle, but a pupil-centered dialogue was considered crucial. The challenge is to adapt the health dialogue based on each pupil’s needs and wishes, and a health and lifestyle tool could contribute structure and support the dialogue.
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| 29. |
- Hagiwara, Magnus
(författare)
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Development and Evaluation of a Computerised Decision Support System for use in pre-hospital care
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of the thesis was to develop and evaluate a Computerised Decision Support System (CDSS) for use in pre-hospital care.The thesis was guided by a theoretical framework for developing and evaluating a complex intervention. The four studies used different designs and methods. The first study was a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. The second and the last studies had experimental and quasi-experimental designs, where the CDSS was evaluated in a simulation setting and in a clinical setting. The third study included in the thesis had a qualitative case study design.The main findings from the studies in the thesis were that there is a weak evidence base for the use of CDSS in pre-hospital care. No studies have previously evaluated the effect of CDSS in pre-hospital care. Due to the context, pre-hospital care is dependent on protocol-based care to be able to deliver safe, high-quality care. The physical format of the current paper based guidelines and protocols are the main obstacle to their use. There is a request for guidelines and protocols in an electronic format among both clinicians and leaders of the ambulance organisations. The use of CDSS in the pre-hospital setting has a positive effect on compliance with pre-hospital guidelines. The largest effect is in the primary survey and in the anamnesis of the patient. The CDSS also increases the amount of information collected in the basic pre-hospital assessment process. The evaluated CDSS had a limited effect on on-the-scene time.The developed and evaluated CDSS has the ability to increase pre-hospital patient safety by reducing the risks of cognitive bias. Standardising the assessment process, enabling explicit decision support in the form of checklists, assessment rules, differential diagnosis lists and rule out worst-case scenario strategies, reduces the risk of premature closure in the assessment of the pre-hospital patient.
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| 30. |
- Harnett, Tove, 1979-
(författare)
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The Trivial Matters : Everyday power in Swedish elder care
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This is a study about fairly ordinary situations in elder care: how staff deal with older people’s influence, how staff talk about older people’s complaints, how family members talk about elder mistreatment, and how older people act in order to exert influence in a nursing home. However ordinary, these are situations where relational power is accentuated, accomplished and able to be empirically explored. The aim here is to analyze power and influence as social phenomena in elder care. More specifically, the aims are 1) to analyze the political and bureaucratic frame in which older people have formal “voice” options; 2) to analyze staff members’ “folk logic” as they respond to residents’ complaints in Swedish nursing homes; 3) to analyze how family members of care recipients define and sustain claims of elder mistreatment; and 4) to ethnographically depict how older people’s attempts at influence unfold in everyday interactions in a nursing home and how these attempts can be understood in the context of a “local routine culture.”Several kinds of empirical material have been used: 100 structured telephone interviews with local municipal officials, 13 qualitative interviews with nursing home staff, 21 interviews with family members of care recipients, and ethnographic data comprised of field notes and field-based interviews from five months of observation in a nursing home.The findings demonstrate the difficulties of turning policies about older people’s influence into practice. Yet, the main finding is not the “policy–practice gap” per se, but rather an understanding of how this gap is situationally shaped and maintained. The dissertation shows how the subtleties of actions and talk have powerful implications, and can constitute barriers to older people’s influence. Two examples are the “rhetoric of trivialization” and a “local routine culture”; both can easily and quite inconspicuously restrict older people’s autonomy and influence. A routine culture is a locally and situationally generated action repertoire and as such provides an understanding of how routines shape power relations in a nursing home. The findings also show how a rhetoric of trivialization can function as a power resource, through which older people’s and family members’ views are “made trivial” by the ways they are described and rhetorically treated by staff and local officials. Through the use of trivializing accounts, staff members legitimized their neglect of complaints and restrictions of older people’s influence. The study argues that by recognizing how older people’s influence is “made trivial,” we gain an understanding of how to accomplish just the opposite. Local routines and accountability practices have a strong inertia, but the findings indicate that if actors reframe influence and complaints, they may substantially affect power relations in elder care.
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| 31. |
- Högberg, Karin
(författare)
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Web-based counselling to patients with haematological diseases
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Patients with haematological diseases are entitled to supportive care. Considering organisational and technological development, support in the form of caring communication provided through the web is today a possible alternative. The aim of this thesis was to examine the usefulness and importance of a web-based counselling service to patients with haematological diseases. The basis for the thesis was a development project funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, which provided an opportunity to offer patients communication with a nurse through a web-based counselling service.Four studies were performed from a patient perspective. Study I had a cross-sectional design, measuring occurrence of anxiety and depression, and these variables’ associations to mastery, social support, and insomnia among patients with haematological diseases. Study II was a qualitative content analysis focusing on conditions for provision and use of the web-based counselling service. Study III used a qualitative hermeneutical approach to focus on patients’ experiences of using the counselling service. Study IV was a qualitative deductive analysis examining how communication within the web-based counselling service can be caring in accordance to caring theory.The results revealed that females of 30-49 years of age are vulnerable to experiencing anxiety. Low sense of mastery and support are associated with anxiety and/or depression. Being able to self-identify the need for support as well as appreciate the written medium are necessary conditions for the web-based counselling service to be used. The counselling service must also be part of a comprehensive range of supportive activities and web-based services to be useful. The main importance of the communication is that the patient’s influence on the communication is strengthened, and that the constant access to individual medical and caring assessment can imply a sense of safety. When patients share their innermost concerns and search for support, nursing compassion and competence can substantiate in explicit written responses.A conclusion is that there is a caring potential in communication within a web-based counselling service. To make this form of communication possible, nurses should take possession of and ensure that this medium for communication is offered to patients. Nurses should also increase their knowledge of caring communication in writing and how this possibly can impact patients.
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| 32. |
- Jacobsson, Brittmarie
(författare)
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On Oral Health in Young Individuals with a Focus on Sweden and Vietnam : A Cultural Perspective
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- AIM: The overall aim of this thesis was to study culture as an oral health determinant for dental caries and gingivitis in children living in Jönköping, Sweden, in relation to children living in Da Nang, Vietnam.MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 1993 and 2003, cross-sectional studies with clinical examinations and questionnaires were performed in Jönköping, Sweden, with a random sample of 130 children from each of four age groups; 3, 5, 10 and 15 years. The final study sample comprised 739 children, 154 (21%) with two foreign-born parents and 585 (79%) with two Swedish-born parents (Paper I). In 2000, all 15-year-olds (n=143) at one school in Jönköping, Sweden, were asked to participate in a questionnaire study connected to clinical data. The final sample comprised 117 individuals, 51 (44%) with foreign-born parents and 66 (56%) with Swedish-born parents (Paper II). In 2008, a cross-sectional study with clinical examinations and questionnaires was performed in Da Nang, Vietnam with 840 randomly selected children, 210 in each of four age groups; 3, 5, 10 and 15 years. The final sample comprised 745 individuals (Papers III and IV).RESULTS: In 2003, the mean number of decayed (initial and manifest) and filled tooth surfaces was significantly higher in all age groups in children with foreign-born parents compared with children with Swedish-born parents. The gap between children with foreign-born parents and Swedish-born parents increased over the ten-year period from 1993 to 2003. The odds ratio of dental caries development among 10- and 15-year-old children with foreign-born-parents was more than six times higher than for their counterparts with Swedish-born parents (Paper I). Fifteen-year-olds born in Sweden of foreignborn parents and those who had immigrated before one year of age had a caries prevalence similar to 15-year-olds with Swedish-born parents, whereas the caries prevalence in children who had immigrated to Sweden after 7 years of age was 2-3 times higher (Paper II). Among the 3- and 5-year-olds in Vietnam, 98% suffered from dental caries, compared with 91% of 10- and 15-year-olds (Paper IV). The distribution of the most frequent values of decayed and filled primary tooth surfaces (dfs) in 5-year-olds was 16–20, and of decayed and filled permanent tooth surfaces (DFS) in 15-year-olds was 1–5. The maximum dfs was 76–80, and significant numbers of children had dfs between 20 and 50. The percentage of tooth sites with plaque and gingivitis was higher for children in all age groups with foreign-born parents compared with children with Swedish-born parents, except among the 15-year-olds in 2003. In Vietnam, the prevalence of plaque and gingivitis was high in all age groups, especially in 10- and 15-year-olds. Fifteen-yearolds in Sweden with foreign-born parents had a higher intake of snack products between principal meals compared with 15-year-olds with Swedish-born parents (Paper II). In Sweden, most children in all age groups brushed their teeth themselves or with help from their parents twice or more than twice a day (Paper I). Among 3- and 5-year-olds in Vietnam, about half of the parents reported that their children brushed their teeth themselves or with help from parents twice or more than twice a day (Paper III). All 3-year-olds and 99% of 5-year-olds in Sweden brushed their teeth with fluoride toothpaste (Paper I). Among 15-year-olds in Sweden with foreign-born parents, 88% reported that they brushed their teeth with fluoride toothpaste at least twice a day compared with 98% of 15-year-olds with Swedish-born parents (Paper II). In Vietnam, 44–78% of the children used fluoride toothpaste for toothbrushing and 51% consumed sweets between principal meals at least once a day (Paper III). Sweetened milk was the most common source of this sugar intake for the 3- and 5-year-olds (Paper III).CONCLUSIONS: Culture is an important oral health determinant for dental caries and gingivitis in children. There is an urgent need to improve oral health care promotion and preventive programmes for children with foreign-born parents in Sweden, but also a great need for such programmes for children in Vietnam.
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| 33. |
- Jacobsson, Brittmarie
(författare)
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On oral health in young individuals with foreign and Swedish backgrounds
- 2011
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In Sweden, children and adolescents with two foreign-born parents constitute 17% of all children in the Swedish population.AIMS: The aims of this thesiswere to collect knowledge of the prevalence of gingivitis, caries and caries associated variables, in the 3-, 5-, 10- and 15-year age groups with two foreign born parents compared with their counterparts with Swedish-born parents in a ten-year perspective (Study I). To investigate the prevalence of caries and caries-associated variables in 15-year-olds in relation to foreign backgrounds and to examine differences in the prevalence of caries in adolescents with foreign backgrounds according to their length of residence in Sweden (StudyII).MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 1993 and 2003, cross-sectional studies with random samples of individuals in the age groups of 3, 5, 10 and 15 years were performed in Jönköping, Sweden. The oral health status of all individuals was examined clinically and radiographically. The children or their parents also answered a questionnaire about their attitudes to, and knowledge of, teeth and oral health care habits. The final study sample comprised 739 children and adolescents, 154 with two foreign-born parents (F cohort) and 585 with two Swedish-born parents (S cohort) (Study I). In Study II, all 15-year-olds(n=143) at one school in the city of Jönköping were asked to participate in the study. The final sample comprised 117 individuals, 51 with foreign-born parents and 66 with Swedish-born parents. All the individuals were interviewed using a structured questionnaire with visualisation e.g. food packages, sweets and snacks. Information about DFS was collected from case records at the Public Dental Service.RESULTS: In both 1993 and 2003, more 3- and 5-yearolds in the S cohort were caries free compared with the F cohort. In 1993, dfs was higher among 3- and 5-year-olds in the F cohort (p<0.01) compared with the S cohort. In 2003, dfs/DFS was statistically significantly higher in all age groups among children and adolescents in the F cohort compared with the S cohort. In 2003, the odds ratio of being exposed to dental caries among 10- and 15-year-olds in the F cohort, adjusted for gender and age, was more than six times higher (OR=6.3, 95% CI:2.51-15.61; p<0.001) compared with the S cohort (Study I). Fifteen-year-olds born in Sweden with foreign-born parents, or who had arrived before one year of age, had a caries prevalence similar to that of adolescents with Swedish-born parents, whereas children who had immigrated to Sweden after seven years of age had a caries prevalence that was two to three times higher (p <0.06) (Study II). Both in 1993 and 2003, the mean of the percentage of tooth sites with plaque and gingivitis was numerically higher in all age groups in individuals with foreign backgrounds compared with Swedish background, except between the 15-year-olds (Study I).CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in caries prevalence, in a ten-year perspective, was less among children and adolescents with foreign-born parents compared with children and adolescents with Swedish-born parents. In 2003, there was statistically significantly more caries in all age groups among children and adolescents with foreign-born parents compared with children and adolescents with Swedish-born parents. Children who immigrated to Sweden at age seven or later had a two to three times higher caries prevalence compared with their Swedish counterparts. The odds ratio for being exposed to dental caries was almost six times higher for 10- and 15-year olds with foreign-born parents compared with their Swedish counterparts. The intake of carbohydrate-rich food was higher among 15-year olds with foreign backgrounds compared to those with Swedish background. There is an obvious need to improve the promotion of oral health care programmes among children and adolescents with foreign-born parents.
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| 34. |
- Jansson, Inger
(författare)
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On the nature of work ability
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- ‘Work ability’ is a multidimensional concept with importance for both society and the individual. The overall aim of this thesis was to illuminate work ability from the perspective of individuals (Studies I, III), rehabilitation (Study II) and employers (Study IV). In Study I five focus-group interviews were conducted with a total of 16 former unemployed sickness absentee participants. The interviews focused on their experiences of the environmental impact on return to work. The participants expressed a changed self-image and life rhythm. A need for reorientation and support from professionals was stressed. Experiences of being stuck in a ‘time quarantine’, i.e. a long and destructive wait for support, were also revealed. Study II was a randomised controlled study evaluating the interventional capacity of problem-based method (PBM) groups regarding anxiety, depression and stress and work ability compared to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as a method within the Rehabilitation Guarantee. Effects were measured with psychometric instruments. The participants, 22 in the PBM group and 28 in the CBT group, were persons on sick leave because of common mental disorders. Within-group analysis showed significant lower degree of symptoms regarding anxiety and depression for both interventions. Between-group analysis showed significant lower degree of symptoms for CBT regarding anxiety, depression and stress. Within-group analysis of work ability showed significant improvement in one (out of five) subscales for the PBM group and in four for the CBT group. No significant between-group differences were found regarding work ability. In Study III, 16 participants were interviewed after completed interventions in Study II, eight from each intervention group. The interviews focused on their experiences from the interventions and the impact on their ability to work and perform other everyday activities. The interventions were experienced as having a positive impact on their ability to work and perform other everyday activities in a more sustainable way. Reflecting on behaviour and achieving limiting strategies were perceived as helpful in both interventions, although varying abilities to incorporate strategies were described. The findings support the use of active coping-developing interventions rather than passive treatments. Study IV included interviews with 12 employers and investigated their conceptions of ‘work ability’. In the results three domains were identified: ‘employees’ contributions to work ability’, ‘employers’ contributions to work ability’ and ‘circumstances with limited work ability’. Work ability was regarded as a tool in production and its output, production, was the main issue. The employees’ commitment could bridge other shortcomings. In summary, in the work rehabilitation process, different perspectives on work ability need to be considered in order to improve not only individual performance but also rehabilitation interventions, work-places and everyday circumstances. Clearly pronounced perspectives can contribute to better illustrating the dynamic within the relational and multifaceted concept of ‘work ability’. The ability to work can thus be enhanced through improving individual abilities, discovered through reorientation and created through support and adaptation.
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| 35. |
- Johansson, Linda
(författare)
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Foodwork and meals in everyday life among persons with dementia and their partners
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis was to explore and describe foodwork and meals for older persons with dementia and their partners in ordinary homes.Descriptive and explorative designs were used in the four papers this thesis is based on. Longitudinal data, including older home-living unlike-sex twins, were analysed using descriptive and analytical statistics. An ethnographic approach was used to describe everyday life for persons with dementia. Interviews with partners and staff were analysed using thematic analysis and qualitative content analysis, respectively.The results revealed that, among home-living older persons, there is an association between a person’s cognitive ability and nutritional status; i.e. low cognitive ability leads to increased risk of malnutrition. For home-living persons with dementia and their partners, foodwork and meals sometimes changed, meaning that shopping, preparing food and eating as well as social interaction become complicated, which seemed to lead to transitions in roles, routines and relations. There was foodwork that the persons with dementia could perform, and participants expressed a desire that abilities and independence be preserved. However, support was sometimes needed, and it was emphasized that this was based on the person’s needs, wishes and problems.In conclusion, there is an association between decreased cognitive ability and increased risk of malnutrition. Furthermore, foodwork and meals affected both persons with dementia and their partners. Therefore, early intervention whereby both partners in a couple get individually adjusted support is of importance. Consequently, a person-centred care approach can be useful in arranging the support.
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| 36. |
- Josefsson, Eva
(författare)
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Immigrant background and orthodontic treatment need : Quantitative and qualitative studies in Swedish adolescents
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the last three decades there has been an increased influx of refugees and immigrants into Scandinavia. The overall aim of this thesis was primarily to improve our knowledge of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need, both normative and self-perceived, in adolescents of varying geographic origin. A further aim was to determine whether any differences with respect to perception of general appearance and psychosocial well-being were related to geographic origin.Papers I and II concerned self perceived and normative orthodontic treatment need. About 500 12-13 year-old subjects, stratified into different groups: A-Sweden, B-Eastern/Southeastern Europe, C-Asia and D-other countries, answered a questionnaire and underwent clinical examination by the author. In paper III the association between the two variables in papers I and II was investigated. Paper IV was a follow up study, at 18-19 years of age, of the relationship between geographic origin and prevalence of malocclusion, self-perceived treatment need, temporomandibular symptoms and psychosocial wellbeing. In Paper V a qualitative study of 19-20 year old subjects was conducted, to identify the strategies they had adopted to handle the issue of persisting poor dental aesthetics.The main findings were that at 12-13 years of age, immigrant subjects had a lower perceived orthodontic treatment need than subjects of Swedish background. Girls of Swedish background had the highest self perceived treatment need, whilst girls of non-Swedish background were most concerned that fixed appliance therapy would be painful. In a few of the clinical variables measured at 12-13 years of age, the Swedish group exhibited the greatest space deficiency and irregularity in both the maxillary and mandibular anterior segments and greater overjet, compared to the Eastern/Southeastern European and Asian groups. The clinical implications were negligible. The orthodontic treatment need according to “Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need - Dental HealthComponent” (IOTN-DHC) grades 4 and 5, ranged from 30 to 40 percent, without any inter-group differences. There were strong associations between subjects perceiving a need for orthodontic treatment and 6IOTN-DHC grades 4 and 5, anterior crossbite and avoiding smiling because they were self-conscious about their teeth. At the age of 18-19 years, the frequency of malocclusion was similar in all groups. Subjects of Asian origin had a higher self-perceived orthodontic treatment need than their Swedish counterparts and a higher frequency of headache than those of Eastern/Southeastern European origin. Psychological wellbeing was reduced in nearly one quarter of the sample, more frequently in girls than boys. No association was found between self-perceived orthodontic treatment need and psychological wellbeing.The theory “Being under the pressure of social norms” was generated in Paper V, and it can be applied to improve our understanding of young adults who have adjusted to living with poor dental aesthetics and also aid to identify those who are not as well-adjusted and would probably benefit from treatment. Undisclosed dental fear is an important barrier to acceptance of orthodontic treatment in early adolescence. Despite demographic changes due to immigration, no major change in the prevalence of malocclusion and normative orthodontic treatment need has been disclosed. This does not apply to adolescents and adults who immigrated at an older age.
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| 37. |
- Josephson, Iréne
(författare)
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Utrymme för deltagande : Beslutsprocesser i möten mellan patienter med ospecifika ländryggsbesvär och sjukgymnaster i primärvård
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hälso- och sjukvårdsmöten som föranleds av medicinskt ospecifika symptom innebär utmaningar för både patient och vårdprofessionell. Samtidigt erbjuder det ospecifika ett mer flexibelt utrymme för patienters aktiva deltagande i beslutsprocesser än vad som är fallet vid specifika hälsoproblem med ett begränsat antal vedertagna behandlingsalternativ. Syftet med forskningsprojektet var att undersöka utmaningar relaterade till utrymmet för patienters deltagande i beslutsprocesser avseende intervention. Avhandlingen baseras på fyra artiklar som undersöker erfarna sjukgymnasters föreställningar om, och interagerande i möten med patienter med ospecifika ländryggsbesvär.Forskningsprojektet genomfördes med explorativ empirisk ansats kombinerat med fokuserad etnografi. Det betyder att forskningen grundas på erfarenhetsbaserad kunskap som samlas in i naturligt förekommande verksamhet. Data samlades in via fokusgrupper med sjukgymnaster, samt via deltagande observationer av det första mötet mellan sjukgymnast och patient. Samtliga sammankomster videofilmades och transkriberades, och analyserades med fokus på beslutsprocesser avseende intervention.Forskningsprojektet resulterade i tre mönster: i) kontrasten mellan sjukgymnasternas förställningar om helhetsperspektiv i förhållande till det biomedicinska intresse som de utövade, ii) omvandlingen av patienternas resursorientering till biomedicinskt hälsoproblem, samt iii) överensstämmelse mellan sjukgymnasternas inställning till, och deras hantering av andra aktörer. Resultatet tyder på att sjukgymnasterna resonerade om element från flera systemnivåer men fattade beslut på sin egen systemnivå, det vill säga utifrån professionell metodik och teori. Det innebär att utrymmet för patienters aktiva deltagande i beslutsprocesser avseende intervention inte togs tillvara i den omfattning som var möjlig. Genom att vårdprofessionella utvecklar kommunikativa och interaktiva förmågor kan patienters resurser bättre tas tillvara i intervention, vilket indirekt kan leda till ökad nöjdhet och bättre funktionsförmåga.
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| 38. |
- Kvarnström, Susanne, 1958-
(författare)
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Collaboration in Health and Social Care : Service User Participation and Teamwork in Interprofessional Clinical Microsystems
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis addresses the relationship between citizens and the welfare state with a focus on the collaboration between service users and professionals in Swedish health and social care services. The overall aim of the thesis was to explore how professionals and service users experience collaboration in health and social care. Descriptive and interpretative study designs were employed in the four studies that comprise this thesis. A total of 87 persons participated in the four studies, including 22 service users and 65 front-line professionals. The research methods included focused group interviews, individual interviews and interactive participant reflection dialogues. The first study describes the discursive patterns in the front-line professionals’ constructions of ‘we the team’ which positions the service user as both a member and a non-member of the interprofessional team. The second study surfaces the difficulties of interprofessional teamwork as perceived by professionals. The third and the fourth studies explore how service users and professionals construct and perceive the concept of service user participation. The findings show that collaboration in terms of service user participation cannot only be understood as contract relationships between consumers and service providers. Service users and professionals perceive that there are several other ways to act as a citizen and for people to exercise human agency in relation to the welfare state. This thesis shows that the various conceptions of service user participation in interprofessional practice encompass dimensions that include themes of togetherness, understanding and interaction within the clinical microsystem. The findings of the four studies are discussed and used to create models that aim to conceptualise collaboration. These models can contribute to learning and improvement processes which facilitate the development of innovative service user-centered clinical microsystems in health and social care.
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| 39. |
- Larsson, Ingrid
(författare)
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Person-centred care in rheumatology nursing in patients undergoing biological therapy : An explorative and interventional study
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aim: The overall aim was to explore and evaluate rheumatology nursing from a person-centred care perspective in patients undergoing biological therapy.Methods: This thesis focuses on patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis (CIA) who were undergoing biological therapy at a rheumatology clinic in Sweden. Papers I and II had an explorative descriptive design with a phenomenographic approach. The 40 participants were interviewed about their dependence on or independence of a nurse for the administration of their infusions or injections. Paper III had a randomized controlled design involving 107 patients in the trial. The objective of the intervention was to replace every second monitoring visit at a rheumatologist-led clinic by a visit to a nurse-led rheumatology clinic, based on person-centred care. Paper IV had an explorative descriptive design with a qualitative content analysis approach. Interviews were conducted with 20 participants who attended the nurse-led rheumatology clinic.Findings: Dependence on a rheumatology nurse for administration of intravenous infusions was described as invigorating due to the regular contact with the nurse, which provided security and involvement (paper I). Independence of a nurse for subcutaneous injections was understood by the patients in different ways and was achieved by struggling to cope with injecting themselves, learning about and participating in drug treatment (paper II). Patients with stable CIA receiving biological therapy were monitored by a nurse-led rheumatology clinic without any difference in outcome when compared to monitoring carried out at a rheumatologist-led clinic, as measured by the Disease Activity Score 28. Replacing one of the two annual rheumatologist outpatient follow-up visits by a visit to a nurse-led clinic for the monitoring of biological therapy was found to be safe and effective (paper III). A nurse-led rheumatology clinic, based on person-centred care, added value to the follow-up care of patients with stable CIA undergoing biological therapy by providing a sense of security, familiarity and participation (paper IV).Conclusions: This thesis contributes a valuable insight into person-centred care as the core of rheumatology nursing in the area of biological therapy. The rheumatology nurse adds value to patient care when she/he gives patients an opportunity to talk about themselves as a person and allow their illness narrative to constitute a starting point for building collaboration, which encourages and empowers patients to be an active part in their biological therapy and become autonomous. A nurse who provides person-centred care and keeps the patients’ resources and needs in focus serves as an important guide during their healthcare journey.
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| 40. |
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| 41. |
- Ljusegren, Gunilla, 1947-
(författare)
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Nurses' competence in pain management in children
- 2011
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction: It is a well known fact that children suffer from pain due to treatment and procedures in health care and historically, their procedural pain due to medical treatment has been undertreated and under-recognized. Children’s understanding of pain and their ability to express their feelings depend on their stage of development and the nature and diversity of their prior pain experiences. The goal of pain management is to reduce pain, distress and anxiety, and the nurse is the key person to help and support the child in pain. Nurses’ professional competence form the foundation for pain management procedures, and there is a need to investigate whether the care and procedures nurses perform for children in pain lead to desired outcomes.Aim: The overall purpose was to describe nurses’ competence in pain management in children. The specific aims were to- identify and describe knowledge about and attitudes to pain and pain management- identify factors influencing pain management in children and- describe nurses’ experiences of caring for children in pain.Methods and material: Forty-two nurses participated in a survey on knowledge about and attitudes to pain management in children, and 21 nurses were interviewed about their experiences fromcaring for children in pain. All the data were analyzed using approved methods of analysis.Results: The results showed that the nurses had good knowledge about and positive attitudes to pain management in children. Collaboration with physicians was considered important in providing children with sufficient pain relief. Parents were regarded as a resource, and the nurses described communication with parents as important. The nurses’ own experience led to a better understanding of the children’s situation.The nurses stated that pain is a subjective experience and that if a child says he or she is in pain they should be believed. Pain was seen as a complex phenomenon, and the nurses had difficulty distinguishing between pain of different origins. In predictable situations, when the child had a clear medical diagnosis with physical pain and the child’s pain followed an expected pattern, the nurses trusted their knowledge and knew how to act. On the other hand, in unpredictable situations, when the child did not respond to the treatment despite all efforts, this created feelings of insufficiency, fear and abandonment, and even distrust.Conclusions: The conclusions of this thesis are that pain management in children is a challenge for clinical nurses in unpredictable situations. Professional competence in nursing deals with both personal abilities and the organization. Reflective practices and dialogues with colleagues would improve nurses’ work satisfaction, and guidelines and better routines would improve nurses’ pain management when caring for children.
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| 42. |
- Magnusson, Lina
(författare)
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Prosthetic and Orthotic Services in Developing Countries
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to generate further knowledge about prosthetic and orthotic services in developing countries. In particular, the thesis focused on patient mobility and satisfaction with prosthetic and orthotic devices, satisfaction with service delivery, and the views of staff regarding clinical practice and education.Methods: Questionnaires, including QUEST 2.0, were used to collect self-reported data from 83 patients in Malawi and 139 patients in Sierra Leone. In addition, 15 prosthetic/orthotic technicians in Sierra Leone and 15 prosthetists/orthotists in Pakistan were interviewed.Results: The majority of patients used their prosthetic or orthotic devices (90% in Malawi, and 86% in Sierra Leone), but half of the assistive devices in use needed repair. Approximately one third of patients reported pain when using their assistive device (40% in Malawi and 34% in Sierra Leone). Patients had difficulties, or could not walk at all, with their prosthetic and/or orthotic device in the following situations; uneven ground (41% in Malawi and 65% in Sierra Leone), up and down hills (78% in Malawi and 75% in Sierra Leone), on stairs (60% in Malawi and 66% in Sierra Leone). Patients were quite satisfied or very satisfied with their assistive device (mean 3.9 in Malawi and 3.7 in Sierra Leone out of 5) and the services provided (mean 4.4 in Malawi and 3.7 in Sierra Leone out of 5), (p<0.001), but reported many problems (418 comments made in Malawi and 886 in Sierra Leone). About half of the patients did not, or sometimes did not, have the ability to access services (71% in Malawi and 40% in Sierra Leone). In relation to mobility and service delivery, orthotic patients and patients using above-knee assistive devices in Malawi and Sierra Leone had the poorest results. In Sierra Leone, women had poorer results than men. The general condition of devices and the ability to walk on uneven ground and on stairs were associated with both satisfaction of assistive devices and service received. Professionals’ views of service delivery and related education resulted in four themes common to Sierra Leone and Pakistan: 1) Low awareness and prioritising of prosthetic and orthotic services; 2) Difficulty managing specific pathological conditions and problems with materials; 3) The need for further education and desire for professional development; 4) Desire for improvements in prosthetic and orthotic education. A further two themes were unique to Sierra Leone; 1) People with disabilities have low social status; 2) Limited access to prosthetic and orthotic services.Conclusion: High levels of satisfaction and mobility while using assistive devices were reported in Malawi and Sierra Leone, although patients experienced pain and difficulties when walking on challenging surfaces. Limitations to the effectiveness of assistive devices, poor comfort, and limited access to follow-up services and repairs were issues that needed to be addressed. Educating prosthetic and orthotic staff to a higher level was considered necessary in Sierra Leone. In Pakistan, prosthetic and orthotic education could be improved by modifying programme content, improving teachers’ knowledge, improving access to information, and addressing issues of gender equality.
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| 43. |
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| 44. |
- Nilsson, Stefan
(författare)
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Procedural and postoperative pain management in children : experiences, assessments and possibilities to reduce pain, distress and anxiety
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction Children’s visits to hospital are often connected with painfulexaminations and treatments. If these situations are associated withunsuccessful alleviation of pain, the children may develop distress, anxiety and even pain sensitization. Effective pain management including pharmacological treatment and coping methods that support the children when undergoing examinations or treatments could reduce these harmful effects. Distraction methods such as serious games and music medicine are techniques to deviate attention away from procedural or postoperative pain, and these may help children create positive experiences. There is a need to examine these interventions among children in hospital. Aim The overall purpose of this thesis was to investigate procedural and postoperative pain management among children in hospital. The specific aims were to describe a group of children’s experiences of pain in conjunction with procedural pain to validate an observational behavioural scale for procedural pain assessment in children aged 5-16 years to study pain intensity and distress among children using serious games and music medicine to describe children’s experiences of the use of serious games and music medicine. Methods Two hundred and twelve children who underwent a medical or surgical procedure at the Queen Silvia Children’s hospital in Gothenburg participated in one or two studies, and data were collected with assessment scales, vital signs and interviews. All the data were analyzed using approved methods of analysis. Results The results showed that the children emphasized nurses who were clinically competent and that they wanted to participate in decision making concerning distraction techniques as a complement to pharmacological treatment. An observational assessment scale, the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability (FLACC) scale, was avaluable tool for assessing procedural pain and complementing retrospective self-reported pain and distress. Distraction techniques were helpful coping strategies for the children, who also needed to feel secure in the pain management. In children undergoing needle related procedures, serious games reduced pain intensity, but only for those who liked the game, and the interviews showed increased wellbeing. Music medicine reduced morphine consumption and decreased the children’s distress when they underwent day surgery. Conclusions The conclusions of this thesis are that procedural pain can be evaluated using the FLACC scale, the children want to participate in decision-making on distraction techniques such as serious games or music medicine and these self-selected distraction techniques are also helpful coping strategies for the children.
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| 45. |
- Nygårdh, Annette
(författare)
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A quality improvement project on empowerment in chronic kidney care : an interactive research approach
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- One way of improving health care has been conceptualized as personcentred care. In person-centred care the concept of empowerment is crucial. This thesis aims was to explore the meaning of empowerment from the perspective of persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and their family members and to evaluate the outcomes of an improvement intervention (QI) for the persons with CKD. Furthermore, to explore the implementation of an QI for empowerment in the context of chronic kidney care from a professional perspective. The research was based on an interactive approach in which the findings relating to the experiences of empowerment by persons with CKD and their family members in chronic kidney care were used in developing the QI. The methods of data collection were both qualitative and quantitative. In all, 20 persons with CKD (Study I) and 12 family members (Study II) participated in the interviews. In the quasi-experimental evaluation of the QI, 25 individuals took part in the intervention group and 21 persons in the comparison group (Study III). Twelve healthcare professionals participated in the case study of the QI (Study IV). Empowerment in chronic kidney care for the persons with CKD was described in terms of creation of trust and learning through encounters. The family members of the persons with CKD described empowerment as having the strength to assume responsibility. The outcomes of the QI after 2 years showed significantly higher scores for individualized care in the intervention group than in the comparison group. The facilitators in the QI were the healthcare professionals' moving spirit and encouragement from involved persons. As a barrier, the healthcare professionals referred to the limitation of the organization. In conclusion, the individual’s perspective of empowerment is important, both for quality of care and as a facilitator for QI in chronic kidney care.
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| 46. |
- Pietilä, Sirpa
(författare)
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Tvillingskap genom livet : individualitet och relation i äldre tvillingars livsberättelser
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen var att utforska, beskriva och förstå upplevelser av tvillingskap utifrån äldre tvillingars livsberättelser. De 35 tvillingarna som ingår i denna avhandling var ett urval av deltagarna i två longitudinella studier av äldre tvillingar, SATSA (Swedish Adoption Twin Study of Aging) och Gender. Studiedesignen är kvalitativ och vid intervjuerna användes narrativ metod och berättelsematerialet analyserades med narrativ analys (studie I och II) och med kvalitativ, latent innehållsanalys (studie III och IV). Enligt tvillingarna i denna avhandling beskrevs tvillingskapet utifrån relationen med tvillingpartnern (I, III, IV) och ur ett identitetsperspektiv (II). Tvillingrelationer är unika men representerar också variationer. Tre slags relationsmönster identifierades, benämnda den närande, tärande och den ytliga relationen som baseras på kvalitativa aspekter (I). De olika typerna av relationer blev särskilt tydliga under viktiga skeden i livet, såsom vid ingående av äktenskap (III) och vid förlusten av tvillingpartnern (IV), vilket innebar att tvillingarna fick anpassa sig till ett mer individualiserat liv. I den närande och den ytliga tvillingrelationen upplevdes inte dessa livsförändringar som särskilt dramatiska, medan de för tvillingarna i den tärande relationen upplevdes som mer dramatiska. Från ett anknytningsteoriskt perspektiv förblev de äldre tvillingarna ankytningspersoner med oförändrade anknytningsmönster genom livet (I). Sammanbundet med den nära tvillingrelationen är hur tvillingar definerar sig själva, då tvillingskapet innebär att hantera både sin individuella identitet och tvillingidentiteten. Självbeskrivningarna med betoning av olikheter, ses mot bakgrund av hur tvillingarna upplevde att omgivningen uppfattade dem som en social enhet och tolkades som en vilja att betona sin individualitet i förhållande till tvillingpartnern och som ett budskap till omgivningen att vilja bli sedd som en egen individ (II). Sammanfattningsvis beskrevs tvillingskap av de flesta som en nära, berikande relation genom livet och för vissa mindre berikande beroende på vilken slags relation de hade till sin tvillingpartner. Parallellt pågick ett identitetsarbete att ta plats som en egen individ i tvillingrelationen och att hävda sin individualitet gentemot den övriga omgivningen i budskapet: ”Vi är inte så lika som ni tror”!
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| 47. |
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| 48. |
- Selander, Helena
(författare)
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Driving assessment and driving behaviour
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- IntroductionDriving is an important part of everyday life and represents independence. Activities, both productive and social, may be affected if a person can no longer drive. Older drivers, as a group, have a low crash rate. On the other hand, driving may be affected by medical conditions in this group, for example dementia or stroke, which often call into question a person’s fitness to drive. However, there are older drivers who may benefit from compensatory strategies to prevent driving cessation.AimThe aim of the thesis was to examine driving assessments methods, both off-and on-road tests, and if an intervention may improve driving behaviour for older adults.The specific aims were to:examine how occupational therapists (OTs) are involved in driving assessments in Sweden, what methods are used and how these assessments are performed;determine whether the commonly used cognitive test battery, the NorSDSA, could predict an on-road test results for stroke and cognitive deficits/dementia participants;investigate driving errors characteristic in older drivers without cognitive impairments and identify relationships between off-road and on-road tests results;investigate whether automatic transmission, compared with manual transmission, may improve driving behaviour of older and younger drivers.MethodsIn Study I, a questionnaire was sent to 154 geriatric, rehabilitation and neurological clinics and additionally directly to 19 OTs. In Study II, data consisted of test results from 195 clients who had completed a fitness to drive assessment. In Study III, 85 older volunteer drivers were assessed regarding their vision, cognition and driving behaviour. In Study IV, 31 older drivers and 32 younger drivers were assessed twice on the same fixed route; once in a car with manual transmission and once in a car with automatic transmission.ResultsDriving assessments were carried out by OTs in various manners and diverse methods were used. Most OTs used off-road tests; tests developed specifically for driving assessments or un-standardised activity assessments. Even though few off-road tests can predict driving performance, only 19 % of the OTs used on-road test. The off-road test NorSDSA could neither predict an outcome of an on-road test for stroke clients, nor for cognitive deficits/dementia clients. Some of the older volunteer drivers displayed questionable driving behaviour, although they were fit to drive and a total of 21 % failed the on-road test. Using automatic instead of manual transmission was shown to improve older, but not younger drivers’ driving behaviour.ConclusionsFor OTs in Sweden, driving assessments are challenging, since there are no specified guidelines regarding the appropriate assessment tools. Assessors often solely rely on cognitive test(s) when assessing their clients. NorSDSA should not be used as a stand-alone test when determining fitness to drive. The lack of guidelines can be problematic for OTs, but also for the clients, since there is a risk that they do not receive a valid and reliable assessment. To perform these kinds of assessments there is a need for specialised training. On-road assessments are seen as the gold standard but that standard needs to encompass driving problems or errors that are “normal” driving behaviours in older persons. To switch from manual to automatic transmission may be a way to assist older drivers to continue driving and maintain the quality of their transport mobility.
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| 49. |
- Sigurdardottir, Sigurveig
(författare)
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Patterns of care and support in old age
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study describes the situation for community living older people, 65 years of age and older in Iceland, analyzing their needs for care and services and how these needs are met. The study analyzes the relationship between the main providers of help and care, the formal caregivers and the informal carers. The study further depicts what kinds of care and support older informal caregivers provide and receive themselves and analyze what factors are related to providing care alone or in combination with other caregivers, informal and formal. The study also analyzes the relationship and mutual support between grandparents and grandchildren and whether there are gender differences in intergenerational relations and support. As little research has been conducted on informal care in Iceland, it is important to show the importance of the informal carers in the care paradigm. Two Icelandic studies were used for the descriptions and analysis. The main data source is the ICEOLD survey (Icelandic older people), based on a random representative national sample of 700 non-institutionalized persons in ages 65 – 79 years and 700 persons aged 80+. The final sample consists of 1,189 older persons to which an introduction letter was sent. They were contacted by phone a few days later and 782 persons, 341 men and 441 women, agreed to participate, giving a response rate of 66%. A study carried out among college students in Iceland, The Grammar School study, was also used to retrieve information on intergenerational relations between grandparents and grandchildren.The study indicates that older people in Iceland are receiving help and care from both informal and formal carers but informal help provided by family members seems to play a major role in supporting older people in their home. The great majority of the respondents with Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) limitations and Personal Activities of Daily Living (PADL) limitations received either informal or formal help but not both. The care and help provided is more often help with domestic tasks than with personal care. However, when the need increases the formal system steps in. It is not clear whether the informal care is a substitute for the formal one. As the formal help provided is rather sparse, it is suggested that when the need for personal care increases, the older person moves into a nursing home instead of increasing the formal care in the home. Women more often than men are the sole carers, and daughters are more important carers for older people than sons are.Older informal caregivers were alone in their caregiving in almost half of the cases and women more often than men. One third provided help with several tasks, such as help with errands and surveillance or keeping company in addition to ADL help. Older caregivers provide care even when they need help themselves.The results indicate that grandparents and grandchildren exchange more emotional than practical support. The emotional support provided and received by the generations is of great value. Gender influences the contact frequency between the generations, as women more often cultivate ties between grandparents and grandchildren.
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| 50. |
- Silén, Marit
(författare)
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Encountering ethical problems and moral distress as a nurse : Experiences, contributing factors and handling
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis was to explore and describe what nurses find ethically problematic and morally distressing in their work, the factors contributing to the arising of ethically problematic situations and the actions reported taken in order to handle them, thus creating an ethical climate.Descriptive as well as correlational and exploratory designs were employed in the four papers on which this thesis is based. A total of 283 nurses from 21 acute care wards at four Swedish hospitals participated. Interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and the critical incident technique, and questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive and non-parametric statistics.The nurses described ethical problems and moral distress related to decision making about life-sustaining treatment, but also when they experienced difficulties in preserving a patient’s integrity and when they could not give care that was necessary and safe. Inadequate communication between healthcare staff, the physicians’ ways of handling potentially ethically problematic situations and patients’ poor state of health, which hindered their participation in decisions concerning them, were some of the factors that could contribute to the rise of an ethically problematic situation. Among the actions described as being used to handle ethical problems and moral distress, some were explicitly stated to promote a positive ethical climate, i.e. a perceived positive handling of ethical issues. These were supporting each other in the working group, using policies and routines as help, giving care based on the needs of patients and their next of kin and daring to speak out, thus contributing to setting a standard for behavior. Having the need for explanations and information satisfied and working as a team also promoted a positive ethical climate.In conclusion, the professional role of being a nurse seems to be of importance not only when it comes to what situations are experienced as ethically problematic and morally distressing, but also concerning what factors may contribute to the rise of them. Perceiving a positive ethical climate may mediate these experiences.
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