| 1. |
- Brännström, Margareta, 1957-
(författare)
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Ett liv i berg och dalbana : innebörder av att leva med svår kronisk hjärtsvikt i palliativ avancerad hemsjukvård utifrån patienters, närståendes och sjuksköterskors berättelser
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall purpose of this thesis is to illuminate meanings of living with severe chronic heart failure (CHF) in palliative advanced home care (PAHC) as disclosed through patients’, close relatives’ and nurses’ narratives. This thesis comprises four papers that illuminate the phenomenon from various perspectives and with different focus. In paper I four patients with severe CHF in PAHC were interviewed. In paper II three of their close relatives were interviewed. In paper III one man and his wife in PAHC were interviewed at 3-5 month intervals over a 4.5-years period. In paper IV 11 nurses in PAHC were interviewed. In all papers narrative interviews were conducted and the text was interpreted using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method. The result shows that meanings of living with severe CHF in PAHC is to be ‘knocking on death’s door’ yet surviving. This means never knowing what to expect of tomorrow as one suffers from a complex array of unpredictable, interwoven symptoms. The course of the illness forces sufferer to ride a symbolical ‘roller coaster’, an ongoing oscillation between ‘ups and downs’. Being offered a safety belt in the ‘roller coaster’ by the PAHC team means feelings of safety (I). Meanings of being a close relative of a person with severe CHF in PAHC is to be following the life- threatening ups and downs that the ill person goes through. It is like being a fellow passenger on the ‘roller coaster’ ride that is their loved one’s disease, with burdensome responsibility for easing the ‘downs’ and supporting the ‘ups’. This means being on primary call, always on standby to mediate security and pleasure. In the deepest downs it is also to call for the back-up call i.e. the PAHC team (II). Meanings of living the ‘ups and downs’ over time is being captive in a roller-coaster ride, side by side, with the ‘ups and downs’ caused by the illness. Living close to death is inescapable when recurrent periods of deepest ‘downs’ force one to face that one’s life together is coming to an end. The relationship between the spouses is severely tested but seems to withstand the strain and meaning is found in togetherness in life. Sharing the safety belt on the ‘roller coaster’, offered by the PAHC team, evokes feelings of security. However, the safety belt is adjusted to the man with severe CHF leaving the wife partly without comfort and at times uncertain, especially in the deepest ‘downs’ (III). Meanings of being a palliative nurse for patients with severe CHF in PAHC is being firmly rooted and guided by the values of palliative culture. Being a facilitator for the patient with CHF to live his/her everydaylife in the best way possible is difficult, challenging but overall positive. The nurses get into a tight corner when palliative culture values clash and do not correspond to nurses’ interpretation of what is good for the patient with severe CHF. There is a limit to nurses’ pliability to patients’ and close relatives’ will, as they are strongly convinced that resuscitation is not an option. Nurses have already made up their mind about that they do not perform heart- lung resuscitation (IV). The comprehensive understanding is that meanings of living with severe CHF in PAHC is being captive in a ‘roller-coaster’ life with varying periods between unpredictable improvement and deterioration of the body, for the rest of life. Living with the unpredictable, deteriorated body means to oscillate between enduring the suffering in ‘downs’ and enjoying life in ‘ups’ (I-III). Living with death so close over and over again i.e. being in a limit situation evokes feelings of uncertainty (I-IV) and confidence (I-III). Being positive dependent on PAHC facilitates a life as normal as possible in togetherness at home (I-IV). The comprehensive understanding of the four papers (I-IV) are discussed in the light of a theoretical framework from the German psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers thoughts about limit situation, the Danish philosopher K.E Lögstrup thoughts about the ethical demand, palliative theories and relevant empirical studies.
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| 2. |
- Hedman, Ragnhild, 1962-
(författare)
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Striving to be able and included : Expressions of sense of self in people with Alzheimer's disease
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- According to research applying a social constructionist perspective, the sense of self is not lost in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is, however, greatly influenced by the symptoms and by how they are treated by other people. Without support, it is difficult to preserve a positive sense of self, when living with progressing cognitive impairments. The stigma associated with cognitive impairment also threatens their sense of self. Harré’s social constructionist theories of self and positioning have been used to study how people with AD express their sense of self. As there is a need to expand the previous research by involving additional participants and research contexts, the aim of the present thesis was to describe, in accordance with Harré’s theories of self and positioning, how people with AD expressed their sense of self in personal interviews and in support groups with other people with AD. The research consists of four substudies (I–IV), and has a qualitative, descriptive, and theory-testing approach. Thirteen people with mild and moderate AD were included, 11 of whom had the early onset form of the disease. Two support groups were formed, led by facilitators who supported the communication and the participants’ expressions of self. Each group met 10 times during an eight-month period. Topics were not predetermined, and introduced by both facilitators and participants. Semistructured interviews were conducted before the groups started and after they ended. The interviews and support group conversations were audio-recoded and analysed with qualitative content analysis, guided by Harré’s theories. In substudy I, the initial interviews were deductively analysed. The findings showed that Self 1 (the sense of being a singular, embodied person) was expressed by the participants without difficulties. Self 2 (the perception of one’s personal attributes and life history) was expressed as feeling mainly the same person. While some abilities had been lost, other had been developed. Self 3 (the socially constructed self) was described as mostly supported, but sometimes threatened in interactions with other people (I). In substudy II, support group conversations were analysed abductively with respect to expressions of Self 2. It was found that participants expressed Self 2 in terms of agency and communion, and a lack of agency and communion (II).In substudy III, a secondary analysis of the data from substudy II was performed inductively with the aim of describing how Self 3 was constructed in the interaction of the support group. Five first-order positions, generating lively interaction, were described: the project manager, the storyteller, the moral agent, the person burdened with AD, and the coping person (III). In substudy IV, all the collected data were reanalysed inductively, focusing on how participants expressed the experience of being research participants. Three themes were constructed: contributing to an important cause, gaining from participating, and experiencing risks and drawbacks (IV). In conclusion, it was found that participants constructed positive social selves through the support from each other, the facilitator, and researchers in the support group (III), and as research participants (IV). Agency and communion were central to Self 2, and decreased with the progression of AD (II). In spite of change, participants perceived themselves as basically the same people, with a potential to learn and develop as persons (I).
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| 3. |
- Melander, Catharina
(författare)
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Piecing together a fragmented world : Structures to promote the understanding of people with advanced dementia
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Understanding people with dementia whose verbal ability has been impaired is a complex and challenging task, even for professional nursing staff. The aim of this PhD thesis was to explore structures that may promote the understanding of people with advanced dementia living in nursing homes. It focusses specifically on (I) the clinical reasoning employed by assistant nurses when utilizing the NPI-NH (Neuropsychiatric Inventory Nursing Home version) as a tool to assess frequency and severity of BPSD (behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia, i.e. problematic behaviours) in people with advanced dementia, (II) whether a sensor measuring electrodermal activity (EDA) can improve the identification of agitation in individuals with dementia, (III) how an EDA sensor impacts assistant nurses’ structured assessments of problematic behaviours amongst people with dementia and their choices of care interventions, and (IV) how Martha Nussbaum’s approach to human capabilities can apply to dignity in the lives of people with advanced dementia living in nursing homes. Study I used a method of discourse analysis that focussed on clinical reasoning utilized by assistant nurses when assessing problematic behaviours. In study II, a nonexperimental and correlational observation of the relationship between a sensor measuring EDA and assistant nurses’ structured observations of agitation in people with advanced dementia was applied. Study III used both quantitative and qualitative approaches; data were collected during structured assessments of problematic behaviours conducted by assistant nurses, as well as by focus group interviews with assistant nurses. Study IV took an ethnographic approach with participatory observations that were analyzed with a recursive analysis using a theoretical framework for the conditions necessary for a dignified human life. The structure of the NPI-NH provided a supportive framework that encouraged assistant nurses to discuss and broaden their understanding of the person with dementia (I). The EDA sensor provided continuous information regardless of staff presence and the potential to identify EDA prior to observing these behaviours (II, III), which supported the understanding of the person and when to introduce timely interventions to prevent the onset of problematic behaviours (III). The structure of Nussbaum’s approach to human capabilities illuminated that people with advanced dementia were at risk of living a life in which their opportunities for human capabilities were limited, and hence, the possibility to live a dignified life (IV). An overview of the findings in this thesis indicates that the studied structures were used to piece together fragments of information to create a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the person with dementia. For the structures to support the understanding of the person with dementia, it was crucial that nursing staff were present, attentive and engaged in each person’s situation in order for them to figure out how to piece together and integrate the structures into the overall understanding of the person and, based on that, formulate caring actions in daily life that are meaningful from the perspective of the person with advanced dementia.
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| 4. |
- Santamäki Fischer, Regina, 1952-
(författare)
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Living in consolation while growing very old
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Growing very old into late life means increased suffering that may lead to despair and call for consolation. This thesis looks at the lived experience of very old people and aim at illuminating the meaning of growing very old and the meaning of consolation when growing old. It is part of the Umeå 85+ Study, and of the Consolation Study at the Department of Nursing, Umeå University. The participants were 85, 90, or 95 years old or over, living in the county of Umeå. The thesis comprises four studies with data from thematic interviews that are analysed using a phenomenological hermeneutic method (Studies I, II, IV) and qualitative content analysis (III). For Study I the transcribed interviews of 15 85-year-old people were analyzed and disclosed the meaning of growing very old as: maintaining one’s identity in spite of the changes that come with aging—that is, being able to balance change with feeling the same. This was based on four themes: balancing weakness and strength, balancing slowness and swiftness of time, balancing reconciliation and regret, and balancing connectedness and loneliness. In Study II, interviews with 12 people between 95 and 103 years old were analyzed and disclosed the meaning of being very old as living in hope and being on the move, based on two themes: Being in stillness and in movement, which involves being in one’s aged body, unable to move, and being in the stillness of the inner person occupied with remembering and reconciling life; and Being at the threshold ready to let go, which implies being at peace and feeling confident despite the anxiety of dying. Study III describes how 90-years old and older people perceive consolation. Qualitative Content analysis of 49 interviews revealed four categories perceiving consolation connected to God, others, self, and things and presented in two themes: “Living amidst consolation in the presence of God” and “Seeking consolation”. Study IV examines the meaning of being consoled when growing very old. The interviews with 13 people over 85 years who scored high on a self-transcendent scale were analysed and disclosed the meaning of being consoled as an immediate experience of being carried and embraced by God and supported by the loving care and affection from others and the world, being relaxed, peaceful and full of joy and experiencing hope. The interpretation was based on the main theme Feeling whole, comprising the following themes: Being connected to self, Feeling connected to fellow beings and the world, Feeling connected to God. The meaning of growing very old and the meaning of consolation when growing very old point at a way of aging into late life interpreted as living in consolation. Reminiscence, reflecting on life and transcendence are resources when growing very old that were interpreted to being related to consolation. Thus growing very old and living in consolation is to transcend and come in communion with the sacred; with goodness, light, joy, beauty and life and hope, carried by a connectedness to God (e.g. Higher power) and supported by a connectedness to fellow beings and the world.
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| 5. |
- Öresland, Stina, 1952-
(författare)
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Nurses go visiting : ethics and gender in home-based nursing care
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis is to explore how nursing is constructed in home-based nursing care from the viewpoint of patients and nurses who are receiving or giving care. Since nursing both constructs and is in turn constructed by the context in which it serves, language plays a central part in those constructions and in this thesis. The thesis has been guided by social constructionism, meaning that the positions the patients and the nurses inhabits have been considered as social phenomenon constructed in discursive processes. There are two ideas that guided this thesis. One idea was that home-based nursing care promotes the association of caring abilities in relation to nursing, women and the private sphere. Another idea was that the place where the care was carried out has ethical implications. Data was collected from interviews with 10 home-based nurses (study I) working in community in the western part of Sweden and 10 patients cared for in their home by these nurses (study II). Nurses and patients were interviewed about their experiences of giving respectively receiving home-based nursing care. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed with a discourse analytic method in study I and II. The findings in study I show that the nurses described their subject positions as "guests" and "professionals" and that they have to make a choice between these positions, as it is impossible to perform both positions at the same time. Dependent on the situation, both an ethics of care and an ethics of justice were applied by the nurses, that is, to perform according to the subject positions of "guest" or "professional." In study II, the patients describe their own subject position as "safeguard" and the nurses‟ positions as "substitutes". These subject positions provided the opportunities, and the obstacles, for the patients‟ possibilities to receive care in their home which included which kind of strategies, habits and activities the patients described and what tasks and how they considered or expected the nurses to perform. These findings are discussed within a theoretical framework, i.e. a gendered dichotomy of the private spheres versus the public spheres. Inherent in this framework is a discussion of the findings related to the habits that are essential in the nurses‟ and the patients‟ constructions of subject positions. In study III, metaphors used by home-based nurses‟ were explored as a means to discover values and norms held by nurses working in home-based nursing care. Ten interviews with nurses working in home-based nursing care (the same interviews as in study I) were analyzed and interpreted with a metaphor analytic method. In the analysis metaphoric linguistic expressions (MLE) were explored and patterns of MLEs formed two entailments. After exploring MLEs and entailments on an explicit surface level the analysis went to a broader underlying dimension of conceptual metaphors identifying the overall metaphor: "Home-based nursing care is an endless journey". The metaphor "Home-based nursing care is an endless journey" exposed home-based nursing care in constant motion, thereby requiring nurses to adjust to circumstances. This adjustment required ethical maturity based on experience, knowledge, and creativity. The study III focuses on the importance of further developing reflections over experiences related to everyday ethical issues. In study IV, the findings from study I were the starting point for a philosophical exploration of the concept "guest" and its relation to other adjacent concepts such as hosts and hospitality. The question to be answered was as follows: In what ways can home-based nurses‟ description of being "guests" in patients‟ home be understood? The exploration was based on Derrida‟s philosophy of unconditional and conditional hospitality, Levinas‟ philosophy of "face" and "the Other" and Arendt‟s philosophy of "go visiting". The findings indicated that the concept "guest" was not appropriate for the nurses to use when describing their position in home-based nursing care, since the concept was problematic for the content and the complexity of home-based nursing care. The findings also showed that exposing concepts as binaries is fruitful since they show relationship between concepts. Just illuminating the concept "guest" did not reveal the power relationship between the "guest" and the "host" and their relationship to hospitality. The distinction between diverse ethical perspectives could be seen as problematic or as an opportunity. According to this study, the nurses used a plurality of different ethical ideas, such as an ethics of care, an ethics of justice, an ethics of virtue and an "everyday ethics." A possible interpretation could be that this was a sign of a difficulty to maintain distinction between ethical theories in clinical practice. Ethical issues in the private sphere are less commonly explored compared to ethical issues in the public sphere, for example in hospital care. As showed in this thesis, the distinction between the private and the public spheres was problematic. It does not describe two spatially separate spheres, but rather it describes functionally dependent activities, interests and relations, such as diverse areas of ethical ideas and "feminine" and "masculine" positions. Home-based nursing care is a complex area and discourse analysis of the relation between home-based nursing care, subject positions, ethics and gender is more or less lacking. Exploring home-based nursing care outgoing from discourse analytic perspectives and methods is rewarding for nurses‟ practice, education and research as it opens up new perspectives of home-based nursing care.
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| 6. |
- Juthberg, Christina, 1966-
(författare)
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Samvetsstress hos vårdpersonal i den kommunala äldreomsorgens särskilda boenden
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis is to describe perception of conscience, stress of conscience (stress related to troubled conscience) and burnout, to explore their relationships and to illuminate meanings of the lived experience of troubled conscience in one’s work among registered nurses (RNs) and nurse assistants (NAs) in municipal residential care for the elderly. The thesis comprises four studies; studies I-III are based on questionnaire data from 50 RNs and 96 NAs and study IV is based on interview data from 6 RNs and 6 NAs selected from the participants in the questionnaire study. Questionnaire data was analysed with multivariate statistics (I-III). Narrative interviews were interpreted with a phenomenological hermeneutic method (IV). Study I showed two relationships explaining a noteworthy amount of the shared variance by themselves (25.6% and 17.8%). One relationship was shown between having to deaden one’s conscience in order to keep working in healthcare and stress of conscience related to external demands which was interpreted as having to deaden one’s conscience in order to be able to collaborate with co-workers. The other relationship was shown between having to deaden one’s conscience in order to keep working in healthcare and stress of conscience related to internal demands which was interpreted as having to deaden one’s conscience in order to be able to feel like a good healthcare professional. Study II showed a relationship between stress of conscience and burnout (43.6% explained variance) indicating that experiences of shortcomings and of being exposed to contradictory demands are strongly related to burnout. The relationship between perceptions of conscience and burnout (33.9% explained variance) indicated that having to deaden one’s conscience in order to keep working in healthcare is strongly related to burnout. Study III showed that both RNs and NAs perceived conscience mainly as an asset and a guide and not as a burden in their work. Lack of time and high demands of work influencing home life were the situations related to the highest stress of conscience for both RNs and NAs. The predictive pattern for RNs was interpreted as RNs showing sensitivity to expectations and demands and NAs using their conscience as a guide in their work. Study IV showed that meanings of the RNs’ lived experience of troubled conscience in their work are of being trapped in feelings of powerlessness and a sense of being inadequate. They feel they are failing to live up to expectations from residents and their families, colleagues and themselves because of feelings of powerlessness, cowardice and incompetence. Meanings of NAs’ lived experience of troubled conscience in their work are a sense of being hindered in providing the level of care they would like to provide because of pre-determined conditions and by feelings of being inadequate. They are betraying the residents and themselves by accepting perceived inadequate working conditions and through their own perceived sense of cowardice and negligence. The conclusion of these studies is that stress of conscience is related to burnout among RNs and NAs in municipal residential care for the elderly. Experiences of inadequacy, powerlessness and feelings of being hindered are shown in situations where they have troubled conscience. When the norms of others and/or the pre-determined conditions do not correspond to their own values and norms it may result in the feeling that they cannot perceive themselves as good healthcare professionals.
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| 7. |
- Kihlgren, Mona, 1938-
(författare)
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Integrity promoting care of demented patients
- 1992
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of the thesis was to investigate if integrity promoting care improves functions in demented patients over time. The Erikson (1982) theory of ”eight stages of man” was used as a basis for training of staff in a three-month intervention study (I-VI) at a nursing home ward. A collective living unit where staff had had support in the performance of the delivery of care was also evaluated and compared with a nursing home in a long-term study (VII). Patients, relatives, staff, and the environments were investigated. Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of somatostatin increased, and reduction of distractability, anxiety and confusion was seen in the intervention group (I) in contrast to controls. In the collective living group (VII) EEG activities indicated a reduction of supposed dementia induced changes. Better motor and social ability, some improved intellectual ability, more alertness and reduced signs of depression were seen (I, II, VII). Patients expressed more autonomy (IV, VII) and initiatives (II-VII) and showed a lot of competence (V) in conversations. Five patients (V) showed patterns of behaviour which seemed to reflect life-long characteristics in spite of their severe dementia. The improvement in the patients' functions can be attributed to the physical environment and the integrity promoting care, since the medical treatment of the patients remained unchanged. In the thesis medical, psychological, and nursing sciences were connected in a complementary process. The results were congruent, and indicate that patients in the care of staff who had had training and support, declined less than controls.
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| 8. |
- Nygren, Björn, 1949-
(författare)
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Inner strength among the oldest old : a good aging
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall purpose of this thesis is to describe, explore and illuminate inner strength among the oldest old. The thesis has a salutogenic perspective where strengths and health are in the foreground instead of weakness and ill health. The thesis is part of The Umeå 85+ study and comprises four studies with both quantitative and qualitative data.The aim of Study I was to test reliability and validity of the Swedish language version of the Resilience Scale (RS) in regard to its stability, internal consistency and validity. A convenience sample of 142 participants aged 19 to 85 years answered the questionnaires the first time and 126 on the retest. In Study II scales aimed to measure phenomena related to inner strength, health and development were used. The aim was to describe resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life, and self-transcendence in relation to perceived physical and mental health in a sample of 125 participants aged 85 to 103 years. Study III aimed to give a more extensive knowledge of resilience among the oldest old. The relationship between resilience and physical health factors, psychological health factors, diseases and social relations were examined among a sample of 192 persons aged 85 to 103 years. In order to deepen the knowledge about inner strength from a life world perspective the aim of study IV was to illuminate the meaning of inner strength as narrated by women and men 85 and 90 years old. The sample consisted of those 18 participants that scored the highest on the scales aimed at measure phenomena related to inner strength.The findings in study I showed that the Swedish version of the RS was both valid and reliable. Construct validity was established by satisfactory correlations coefficient values between the RS and the Sense of Coherence Scale and the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale. A principal component analysis corresponded well to the original version of the RS. Reliability was assured with both satisfactory internal consistency as well as test-retest reliability. The findings in study II showed significant correlations between the scales aimed to measure resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life and self-transcendence which indicates that the scales reflect some kind of common core, which was interpreted as inner strength. The oldest old scored high on all scales, this indicating that strength can be preserved or perhaps even increased in old age. The finding also showed lack of significant correlations between the scales and perceived physical health but significant correlations between these scales and perceived mental health among the women but not for the men. No significant correlation was found between physical and mental health. In study III a regression analysis showed that a strong resilience among the oldest old was found to be associated with health, mainly represented by absence of depressed mood but also by not being on medication and by the absence of psychological symptoms, but also that raising children in the past gave a meaning to the present by having a family and this produced feelings of feeling safe and secure in facing the inevitable future; that is, being resilient means living in connectedness with one’s past, present, and future. In study IV a phenomenological hermeneutic approach to the interview text disclosed a meaning of inner strength as Life goes on –living it all, meaning that inner strength still makes it possible to live, handle and being open to ones life in many of its potentials. Inner strength means that one can chose to stand up and fight as well as living in reconciliation, a possibility to work hard as well as feeling relaxed, inner strength means having tasks to accomplish as well as feeling content and proud over ones life as well as life itself, it means relying in oneself as well as having faith in others and God (for some), knowing that you as a person is the same as well as accepting and adjusting to changes. It means that one can chose aloneness and still be connected, it is to be living in the present as well as in one’s past and in the future. That is, living in wholeness.The findings of the studies are discussed in relation to personal strengths and a good aging.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Pålsson, Maj-Britt, 1936-
(författare)
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Support for women with breast cancer, and for the district and hospital nurses involved : an intervention study
- 1995
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to investigate breast cancer patients’ experiences of their illness and of traditional nursing care (TNC) or supportive nursing care (SNC) respectively, as well as nurses' experiences of support and of caring for cancer patients. An intervention including extended co-operation between the surgical ward and primary health care, shorter waiting times, and changed routines concerning the information about the diagnosis, as well as training and systematic clinical supervision for the nurses, was implemented. Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients (n=47) from two county councils in the south-east of Sweden were interviewed (IV, V). Thirty-four of them completed scales about well-being, burnout, hopelessness, anxiety and depression (VII). The women who had TNC reported lack of professional support during the initial phase of the disease and suggested changes in the care similar to those implemented in the SNC. In the SNC group the women expressed feelings of safety and security after the professional support and the organizational changes in the care. There were significantly more single women and women who had had breast conserving surgery in the SNC group than in the TNC (VII). The hopelessness scores in the SNC group were significantly higher than in the TNC group.Thirty-nine district nurses (DNs) were interviewed at baseline (I), and thirty-three of them completed scales about burnout, empathy, and sense of coherence (SOC) before and after systematic clinical supervision (VI). Twenty-three of the 39 DNs, as well as 9 hospital nurses (HNs) who participated in the clinical supervision, were interviewed about their experiences of this intervention (III). Twenty-nine tape-recorded supervision sessions in three groups of DNs (n=23) were analysed (II). Baseline interviews and analyses of the content of the supervisory sessions strongly emphasized that DNs experienced problems in the home care of seriously ill cancer patients. Deep human contacts were a source of both strain and enrichment. The clinical supervision was said to provide relief from undesirable thoughts and feelings, confirmation of themselves both as individuals and in their professional role, a broader and deeper knowledge and increased self-confidence. There were no significant differences in the burnout, empathy, and SOC scores between the supervisory group (n=21) and a comparison group (n=12) at the first and second measures, nor over time within the groups. There were some correlations between these phenomena and the Karolinska scales of personality, as well as correlations between burnout, empathy and SOC.The groups of women were not entirely similar as regards demographic and medical characteristics, and the sample size of patients and nurses was small. It is obvious that patients in the TNC missed those factors that were implemented in the SNC, at the same time the latter women expressed hopelessness more often than those who had received TNC. This result may be due to the fact that support from nurses had made the women more prepared to express their feelings, that support had not been provided to an adequate extent or in the right way, or that the applied scales were not appropriate. The finding that the nurses experienced the clinical supervision as very positive but that, despite this, there were no significant differences in attitudes measured by scales within or between the groups, can be interpreted in a similar way. Consequently, further research is needed to judge the effects of intervention. The study has, above all, produced qualitative descriptions of patients' experiences of the nursing care after discharge from hospital, and of DNs’ experiences of the care of cancer patients in their homes, and of systematic clinical supervision.
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| 12. |
- Saveman, Britt-Inger, 1950-
(författare)
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Formal carers in health care and the social services witnessing abuse of the elderly in their homes
- 1994
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose was to elucidate the reactions of formal carers as witnesses and helpers in situations of elder abuse, to illuminate abusive situations and to reflect on the findings from an ethical point of view. Twenty-one district nurses from one county council were interviewed (I, II, III, IV). They described the problems they had when dealing with cases of elder abuse, the uncertainty they felt when they approached the family, identified the abuse and intervened (I). They used no distinct definition of elder abuse but described it as ’overstepping the boundaries of a person’s integrity/autonomy’ (II). In the 44 cases narrated the elderly people were mostly physically and/or psychologically impaired, the person abused could either be the impaired elderly person, the informal carer or both. Abuse was related to the inability of one party to meet the demands made on him/herself, the other person, or to a history of violence (III). The cases narrated were analysed for reliability and were considered reliable (IV). Questionnaires submitted to 163 district nurses revealed 33 cases of elder abuse (V) and to home service assistants 97 cases (VI). The abused elderly people were often very old women, mostly healthy or unhealthy in equal proportions. The perpetrators were mostly close relatives, responsible or not responsible for the caring. The abusive acts often involved a combination of psychological, physical, and financial abuse and neglect. Mental disturbance and alcohol abuse, as well as financial reasons were reported as contributing to the abuse (V, VI). The attitudes of general practitioners, district nurses and home service assistants towards elder abuse and the interventions suggested in hypothetical cases of elder abuse were investigated (VII). All groups were uncertain about their attitudes towards elder abuse. Their suggested interventions were amalgamated into three groups; sparse and of the social type, more specific and of the health care and voluntary type, or overall types of intervention. The situation, profession and organization seemed to result in different interventions (VII). The findings were reflected on using Lögstrup’s ethic as a framework, and the conclusion was that in order to be able to intervene successfully formal carers need to find solutions on a meta-level. Conventions and norms must be developed and public responsibility is needed.
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| 14. |
- Söderlund, Mona, 1957-
(författare)
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Förhållningssätt och kommunikation i mötet med personer med demenssjukdom : utvärdering av ett träningsprogram med validationsmetoden
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Communication difficulties among residents with dementia disease living in nursing homes may complicate care situations. These residents can have difficulties describing how they experience their everyday lives, which can lead to withdrawal, social isolation, or feelings of homelessness. Research indicates that nurses involved in dementia care experience communication as difficult and challenging. The validation method developed by Feil is held to facilitate communication through emphatic and confirmatory approaches. Scientific reviews show insufficient evidence for recommending the use of the method, in spite of this the method is used in dementia care. Evaluations of the validation method have primarily focused on the residents’ perspective, and reports on nurses’ experiences of the validation method are sparse. The overall aim for this thesis was to evaluate Feils’ validation method by describing nurses’ experiences and skills in communication observed during implementation of a training programme. Twelve nurses participated in the validation method training programme that included 10 days of theoretical training with supervision about once a month, and practical training integrated in everyday work. During practical training nurses had conversation with 3 residents each 2-3 times a week, and videotaped one conversation per month. Methods: The design is based on naturalistic scientific approach. Data were collected with interviews (I, II) and a questionnaire (II) before and after the programme, and videotaped conversations during the programme (III, IV). An interview was conducted as a comparison with nurses from another nursing home, who had long experiences of using the validation method (I). The result showed that nurses improved their communication and had closer relationships with residents with dementia disease after validation method training, in accordance with nurses with long experiences (I). The training strengthened the nurses, but also posed an extra strain on them. Even though the nurses described an extra strain on the entire nursing staff, this was not reflected in the results from the questionnaire about the work climate (II). Videotaped one-to-one conversations between nurses and residents showed that the nurses developed their approaches and communication skills, although to different degrees. An overall pattern revealed nurses’ movements within and between various paths when improving their communication skills (III). The findings were in congruence with the nurses described experiences (I). In videotaped conversations from the end of the programme, the residents had the possibilities to use their remaining communication abilities and to communicate what was currently on their mind (IV). This may be related to the development of the nurses’ communication skills during the programme. Conclusions of this thesis were that the nurses developed their skills in caring approach and communication when communicating with residents with dementia disease, which gave these residents possibilities to communicate according to their abilities. In order to integrate new knowledge about communication the results showed that it was necessary to combine theoretical and practical training with supervision and reflection. To provide nursing staff with this type of training could be seen as an investment for nursing homes, an opportunity to increase job satisfaction for nurses and to increase social community for residents.
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| 15. |
- Sörensen Duppils, Gill
(författare)
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Delirium during Hospitalisation : Incidence, Risk Factors, Early Signs and Patients' Experiences of Being Delirious
- 2003
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Delirium is common among old patients admitted to hospital, but is often a neglected problem in patient care. The principal aim of this thesis was to evaluate aspects of delirium in relation to incidence, risk factors, behavioural changes, cognitive function and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). A further aim was to describe patients’ experiences of being delirious. The study was prospective, descriptive and comparative, with repeated measures (six-month follow up). The sample consisted of 225 consecutive patients, aged 65 years or older, who were to be operated on due to hip fracture or hip replacement. Exclusion criteria were serious cognitive disorder or delirium on admission. Data were collected via frequent daily observations, cognitive functioning tests (MMSE), HRQOL questionnaires (SF-36) and interviews. Delirium was assessed according to the DSM-IV criteria. A total of 45/225 became delirious, with an incidence of 24.3% among patients undergoing hip fracture surgery and 11.7% among those with hip replacement surgery. A predictive model for delirium included four factors: impaired hearing, passivity, low cognitive functioning, and waiting more than 18h for hip fracture surgery. Disorientation and urgent calls for attention were the most frequent behavioural changes in the prodromal phase prior to delirium. Delirium in connection with hip fracture revealed deteriorated HRQOL and cognitive functioning when measured at a six-month follow-up. The experience of being delirious was described by the patients as a sudden change of reality. Such an experience gave rise to strong emotional feelings, as did recovery from delirium. Nurses’ observations of behavioural changes in old patients with impaired cognitive function may be the first step in managing and reducing delirium. The predictive model of delirium ought to be tested further before use in clinical practice.
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| 16. |
- Talseth, Anne-Grethe, 1950-
(författare)
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Psychiatric care of people at risk of committing suicide : narrative interviews with registered nurses, physicians, patients and their relatives
- 2001
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aims of this thesis are to illuminate the meaning of being cared for and treated by nurses and physicians, as narrated by psychiatric suicidal in-patients; the meaning of taking care of and treating patient at risk of committing suicide, as narrated by nurses and physicians; and the meaning of being met and having one’s suicidal relative taken care of by health personnel, as narrated by relatives. Narrative interviews were conducted with 42 adult patients at risk of committing suicide in an in-patient psychiatric unit, 19 RNs, 19 physicians, and 15 relatives at a hospital in Norway. The tape-recorded and transcribed interviews were interpreted using a phenomenological hermeneutic method.Nurses’ relations to patients at risk of committing suicide were illuminated via the dimension ‘Distance- Closeness’ (I). The relation of the suicidal patient to the nurses was illuminated via the dimension ‘Confirming- Lack of confirming’ (II). The relation of physicians to patients was illuminated via the dimension ‘Power to - Power over’. (III). The relation of suicidal patients to physicians was illuminated via the dimension ‘Participating approach-Observing approach’ (TV). Results from the relatives’ experiences of being met by health personnel of suicidal patients reveal that the context of being met was characterized by ‘being helpless-powerless’, and that the meaning of the experiences of ‘being met’ was reflected in six themes: ‘Being seen as a human being’; ‘Participating in an I-Thou relationship with personnel’; ‘Trusting personnel, treatment and care’; ‘Being trusted by personnel’; ‘Being consoled’; and ‘Entering into hope’ (V).The interpreted meanings of the experience of being cared for as a person at risk of committing suicide were illuminated as confirmation, communion, consolation and hope. Threaded through these meanings is the relation with self and others. Thus, the essence of the results that emerged from this study indicates the presence of a relational view of the care received by people at risk of committing suicide.
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| 17. |
- Ångström-Brännström, Charlotte
(författare)
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TRÖST : beskriven av långvarigt sjuka barn, föräldrar och en sjuksköterska
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva långvarigt sjuka barns upplevelser av tröst samt vilka och vad som tröstar barn, föräldrar och en sjuksköterska. Avhandlingen omfattar fyra delstudier. Långvarigt sjuka barn, föräldrar och en sjuksköterska har intervjuats och barnen har ritat teckningar.I delstudie I var syftet att undersöka vad barn med långvariga sjukdomar berättar muntligt och i teckningar om sina upplevelser av att bli tröstade. Sju barn i åldern 4-10 år, med olika långvariga sjukdomar, beskrev under intervju sina upplevelser av tröst och ritade teckningar. Intervjuerna analyserades med innehållsanalys, vilket utmynnade i fyra teman: att vara fysiskt nära sin familj, att känna sig trygg och säker, att sjuksköterskor finns till hands för barnen och att barnen finns till hands för sina föräldrar och syskon. Resultatet visar att barnen litade på sjuksköterskors kunskap och yrkeskunnande, vilket var en förutsättning för att kunna känna sig trygg och hemma på sjukhus. Att vara nära sin familj upplevdes än mer betydelsefullt för att uppleva tröst. I delstudie II var syftet att beskriva föräldrars upplevelser av vad som tröstar dem när deras barn insjuknat i cancersjukdom. Nio föräldrar till barn i åldern 3-9 år, som var inlagda på vårdavdelning och hade genomgått sin första behandling, intervjuades. Innehållsanalys utmynnade i fem teman: att uppleva tröst genom att vara nära sitt barn, att uppleva tröst genom barnets styrka, att uppleva tröst genom att känna sig hemma på vårdavdelningen, att uppleva tröst genom att vara en familj och genom att vara hemma samt att uppleva tröst genom stöd från sociala nätverk. I kommunion, en djup känsla av gemenskap med barnet och personer i sociala nätverk, upplevde föräldrarna en ny vardag som kännetecknades av att känna sig trygg i livet trots alla svårigheter och de upplevde stunder av hopp. I delstudie III var syftet att beskriva upplevelser av vad som tröstar ett allvarligt sjukt och senare döende barn, berättat av barnet, hans mamma och hans sjuksköterska. Barnet ritade teckningar. Fältanteckningar, teckningar och intervjuer analyserades med innehållsanalys, vilket utmynnade i fyra teman: att uttrycka känslor och bli redo för tröst, att vara i kommunion, att skifta perspektiv och att finna tröst genom att vara hemma. Resultatet visar att tröst för det svårt sjuka, senare döende barnet, innebar att barnet kunde uttrycka sina känslor som barnet ville, att familjen fanns nära och var involverade i omvårdnaden av barnet, att barnet kunde vårdas hemma och att barnet upplevde en förtroendefull relation med sin sjuksköterska. I delstudie IV var syftet att beskriva vem och vad som tröstar föräldrar, syskon, sjuksköterska och andra personer som tröstade ett svårt sjukt och senare döende barn, beskrivet av mamman och barnets sjuksköterska. Intervjuer från delstudie II analyserades med innehållsanalys och utmynnade i tio teman. Resultatet visar en bild av samverkande nätverk som kan finnas runt ett svårt sjukt barn. Den svåra situationen innebar att barnets familj bar en tung börda, men omgivna av ett tröstande nätverk som de kunde luta sig mot och dela lidande och ansvar med, kunde de finna tröst och trösta varandra. Resultatet i avhandlingen visar att de långvarigt sjuka barnen och föräldrarna fann tröst i att kunna dela lidande med varandra. Föräldrar och sjuksköterska fann tröst i att kunna dela lidandet och ansvaret med personer i sina sociala nätverk. Modellen om tröst (Norberg m fl, 2001) kunde användas för att ge struktur till diskussionen.
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| 18. |
- Ericson-Lidman, Eva, 1960-
(författare)
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The complicated struggle to be a support : meanings of being a co-worker, supervisor and closely connected to a person developing burnout
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis is to illuminate meanings of being a co-worker, supervisor and closely connected to a person developing burnout, and to describe perceptions of signs preceding burnout. The thesis comprises four papers and is based on qualitative data. In papers I and II, the data material consisted of interviews with 15 female coworkers of a person developing burnout, in paper III, interviews with 12 supervisors to care providers suffering from burnout, and in paper IV, interviews on two occasions with 5 people closely connected to a person developing burnout. Thematic content analysis (I) and phenomenological-hermeneutic method (II, III, IV) was used to analyse/interpret the interview text. The findings show that the coworkers retrospectively recalled different signs preceding their workmate’s burnout. They describe that their workmate was struggling to manage alone and was showing self-sacrifice. Co-workers also describe that their workmates were struggling to achieve unattainable goals and were becoming distanced and isolated. Finally, the co-workers describe that their workmates were showing signs of falling apart (I). Meanings of being a female co-worker to a person developing burnout are struggling, on the one hand to understand and help the person with symptoms of burnout, and on the other to manage one’s own work. This burdensome situation means that the co-workers are filled with contradictory and frustrating feelings and when the workmate is finally sick-listed, troubled conscience arise in the coworkers (II). Meanings of being a supervisor for care providers suffering from burnout are struggling to help the care provider continue to work, but being responsible for the unit, the supervisors are forced to ensure that the work is carried out. As the situation proceeds, supervisors are trapped in a predicament, unable to help and feeling inadequate. When the care provider is sick-listed, feelings of self-blame arise. When the time comes for rehabilitation the supervisors are once again caught between conflicting demands in a seemingly impossible mission (III). Meanings of being closely connected to a person suffering from burnout are putting one’s life on hold in order to help the person, striving to stand by to the person developing burnout, regardless of one’s own needs. Those closely connected are saving the face of the person developing burnout in order to protect them from stress. As the situation proceeds, those closely connected carry the burden alone in this strained situation and sometimes they are treated with disrespect by the person developing burnout, a situation which reveals their own suffering. Striving to find recuperation engenders troubled conscience. This situation reveals a huge need for support for those closely connected to a person developing burnout (IV). The comprehensive understanding is that meanings of being a co-worker, supervisor and closely connected to a person developing burnout are, on the one hand, a complicated struggle to support the person and on the other to shoulder a heavy burden. They try to do everything they can to help and support the person developing burnout (II-IV), these attempts, however, do not seem to reach through (I-IV). Co-workers describe signs that something is the matter (I), but they (co-workers, supervisors and those closely connected) do not understand what is happening (IIIV). This burdensome situation is full of conflict for those involved, torn between the complicated struggle to support the person developing burnout and to manage this burdensome situation. Faced with their own shortcomings, troubled conscience arises. The comprehensive understanding of the four papers (I-IV) are discussed and reflected on with the help of social support theories and the ideas of the Danish philosopher Lögstrup’s thoughts about the ethical demand.
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| 19. |
- Hällgren Graneheim, Ulla, 1947-
(författare)
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Störande beteende i interaktionen mellan personer med demens och deras vårdare
- 2004
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen var att belysa innebörden i interaktionen mellan personer med demens och så kallat störande beteende och deras vårdare. I delstudierna I och II deltog en kvinna med frontallobsdemens och störande beteende (Ruth) respektive en kvinna med schizofreni, demens och störande beteende (Alice) och deras vårdare. Fjorton respektive 30 deltagande observationer samt sex respektive sju reflekterande samtal med vårdare genomfördes. Texterna tolkades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. I delstudie III gjordes narrativa intervjuer med sex vårdare och i delstudie IV genomfördes 10 informella samtal med tre personer med demens och störande beteende. Dessa texter tolkades med hjälp av fenomenologisk hermeneutisk metod. Innebörden i interaktionen mellan personerna med demens och störande beteende och deras vårdare handlar om att befinna sig i kaos och pendla mellan motsatser: att känna sig hemlös och hemma och att ”vara herre ”och ”vara slav”. Vårdarna upplever konflikter mellan att göra gott för individen och/eller kollektivet samt mellan de demensdrabbades beroende och önskan om självbestämmande. Såväl personerna med demens och störande beteende som deras vårdare pendlar mellan att känna sig hemlösa och hemma. Ruth lever i en fragmenterad värld där hon slåss för att skydda sitt revir. Hon kämpar också för att bli bekräftad samtidigt som hon bekräftar andra. Vårdarna bekräftar henne genom att möta henne i hennes värld. Alice lever i en tudelad värld där hon pendlar mellan ”himmel och helvete”. Hon misstror vårdarnas avsikter och slåss för sitt liv men hon visar också sin uppskattning och bekräftar vårdarnas ansträngningar. Även vårdarna upplever en tudelad värld. Innebörden i att leva med demens och störande beteende på institution handlar om att vara omgiven av oordning, fångad av begränsningar, satt åt sidan men också räknad med. Vårdarna befinner sig också i kaos och förstår inte vad det störande beteendet betyder. De upplever att de är fråntagna initiativet och känner sig utmattade och hjälplösa. Då och då upplever de att de har kontroll och känner sig dugliga och accepterade. Vårdarna pendlar mellan att ”vara herre” och ”vara slav”. Dialektiken mellan herre och slav handlar om kampen för ömsesidig bekräftelse. När vårdaren möter den demensdrabbade i sin egen (vårdarens) värld reduceras personen med demens till ett objekt. Därmed objektifierar vårdaren också sig själv. När vårdaren möter personen med demens i hans eller hennes värld, betraktar vårdaren den demensdrabbade som en betydelsefull person vars existens är viktig att bekräfta. Därmed känner sig också vårdaren betydelsefull. I hemmastaddheten bekräftas både personen med demens och vårdaren och kampen mellan herre och slav övergår i en Jag- Du relation. Störande beteenden är beteenden som inte bekräftar den andre. När vårdarna inte blir bekräftade upplever de personerna med demens vara störande och när personerna med demens inte blir bekräftade upplever de vårdarna vara störande. Bekräftelse uppstår i interaktioner som präglas av hemmastaddhet medan störande beteende visar sig i interaktioner som kännetecknas av hemlöshet.
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| 20. |
- Lundman, Berit, 1942-
(författare)
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Daily living and coping strategies in insulin-dependent diabetics : diagnostic reasoning in nursing
- 1990
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Within a defined geographical area, all patients, 192 in total, with insulin- dependent diabetes of at least 2 years' duration and free from long-term diabetic complications were identified. Their experiences of the influence of the disease on daily living, tedium, and smoking habits were evaluated using a questionnaire and related to metabolic control. A case-referent study concerning smoking habits among 25 patients with good, and 25 with poor metabolic control was performed. The influence of mentruation on metabolic control was studied among 20 diabetic women and 20 healthy controls. Coping strategies and their outcomes were studied among 20 patients, using the interview technique. Among those with unsatifactory metabolic and/or emotional outcomes, plans for nursing intervention were agreed on, using diagnostic reasoning. Only a minority of the patients reported that the disease caused them considerable problems in their daily lives. The greatest problems occurred in connection with regularity in daily life, diet management, and exercise. Patients with good metabolic control (HbAic<6.7) had a higher number of hypo-glycemic cornata (7 vs 1, p<0.001). Patients with poor metabolic control (HbAic>9.0) reported more often that they were smokers (pcO.Ol) and the women fertile aged in this group more often reported problems with metabolic control during menstruation (p<0.05). Twenty-nine (18%) were defined as suffering from tedium. There was a higher proportion (NS) of high tedium scores among patients in both good and poor metabolic control groups than in those with intermediate metabolic control. Sixty (31%) of the patients were smokers, prevalence of smoking increased significantly with increasing HbAic- levels (17.5% among patients with the best metabolic control, 47.5% among those with the worst metabolic control). In the case referent study exposure to smoking was found to be significantly more common among those with poor control (odds ratio 6.0). No systematic change in metabolic control during the menstrual cycle could be found. Problem-solving coping strategy based on the monitoring of blood glucose in combination with sensitivity to signs of actual blood glucose level and logical reasoning, was found to have the best coping outcome, both regarding metabolic control and well-being. The results are summarized in a model for diagnostic reasoning in nursing.
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| 21. |
- Mazaheri, Monir, Associate Professor, Senior lecturer, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Applying the theory of human development by Erik and Joan Erikson when communicating with persons with advanced dementia diseases
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Nordic journal of nursing research. - : Sage Publications. - 2057-1585 .- 2057-1593. ; 42:4, s. 178-184
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Persons with advanced dementia disease (ADD), here labelled PADDs, are shown to preserve parts of their self, which hasopened up possibilities for involving them in their own care and establishing strategies for improving their communicationwith the surrounding world. Using the well-known theory of human development proposed by Erik and Joan Erikson, herelabelled EJET, can operate as an efficient structure for formal caregivers to support PADDs in reclaiming their space.However, very few studies have used EJET as a framework in improving formal caregivers’ competence and the quality ofcare. This article aims to demonstrate the feasibility of applying EJET in the care of PADDs through two examples of successfulapplication of this framework in interacting with PADDs in residential care settings. The examples demonstrate the significanceof competent caregivers and the important role of tailoring nursing care plans to specific situations of the PADDs in theirpresent and previous developmental phases.
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| 22. |
- Mazaheri, Monir, Associate Professor, Senior lecturer, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
-
In memory of professor Sirkka-Liisa Ekman
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Nordic journal of nursing research. - : Sage Publications. - 2057-1585 .- 2057-1593. ; 41:1, s. 3-4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sirkka-Liisa Ekman, Professor Emeritus of Nursing at Karolinska Institutet, passed away on 3 September 2020 at the age of 77, surrounded by her immediate family. She was a giant in geriatric care and dementia care.
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| 23. |
- Norberg, Malin, 1975-
(författare)
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Från design till meningsskapande : En multimodal studie om elevers arbete med matematikläroböcker i årskurs 1
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis examines students’ work with mathematics textbooks in Year 1 (students aged 7–8 years) of Swedish elementary school. The aim of this thesis was to contribute knowledge about and an understanding of how students make meaning in their work with mathematics textbooks. Central to the thesis was the textbook’s designed meaning potentials, or the meaning potential needed to solve the exercise as designed, as well as the students’ meaning-making when working with the textbooks. With regard to the students’ meaning-making, interest is directed first, to the students’ specific meaning-making in the work with the textbook and second, to the students’ opportunities to take agency in the work with the textbook. This thesis was delimited to the area of subtraction in both printed and digital mathematics textbooks. The theoretical point of departure for this thesis was a design-oriented multimodal perspective (Selander & Kress, 2010). Interest was directed to the various resources for communication, or modes (e.g. Kress, 2010), in the mathematics textbook, such as images, mathematical symbols, moving images, writing and speech. Two studies were conducted: Study 1, Multimodal textbook analysis and Study 2, Students’ meaning-making. Two analyses were made in Study 1. The first was a descriptive textbook analysis mapping out the modes and subtraction in all Swedish Year 1 textbooks, totaling 17 textbook series, both digital and printed, and approximately 1,700 pages. That analysis was followed by a multimodal qualitative textbook analysis of 2–4 exercises from each textbook series according to its designed meaning potential. Study 2 examined the students’ work with mathematics textbooks. The data that formed the basis for the analysis were textbook pages, the teacher’s guides to the used mathematics textbook series, video material of 18 Year 1students’ work with these pages and representations in the form of studentresponses. The analysis involved a multimodal approach focusing on what mathematical content the exercises were designed to offer and what the stu-dents discovered when working with the mathematics textbook.Two articles were written based on Study 1 (Articles I and II), and two were written based on Study 2 (Articles III and IV). In addition to this, the data from Study 1 and the results from Study 2 were also analyzed using the concept of agency to further deepen the understanding of students’ meaning-making when working with mathematics textbooks. The results showed large differences between mathematics textbooks for Year1 in Sweden, regarding both how different modes are used and how subtraction is presented. The results also showed that the students’ work with mathematics textbooks differed. The students’ meaning-making was sometimes based on the designed meaning potential but sometimes not. Regarding images, the results showed that images could be particularly challenging for the students to interpret and that several students expressed that it was desirable to solve the exercises without using the images. The analysis using the concept of agency showed that exercises in which students could choose their working methods made it possible to take agency and that the students’ possibility for agency is affected by the prevailing notion that successful mathematics students do not use images but base their meaning-making on mathematical symbols. All in all, three conclusions were drawn. First, the mathematics textbook as a teaching resource could be developed, both printed and digital mathematics textbooks. Complexities can be detected more easily through greater awareness of modes as various forms of expression for the textbooks’ mathematics content. Second, the complexity of the students’ individual work with the mathematics textbook was highlighted. The students’ individual work should start from the basis of the exercise’s design, so that the students’ meaning-making can be directed to the designed meaning potentials. Third, for younger students to discover themselves as mathematical individuals, one must question the notions that mathematical symbols are the most important mode for young learners and that images are for those who find mathematics difficult. Based on these conclusions, questions can be raised concerning students’ potential for discovering themselves as mathematical individuals and whether the students’ self-discovery as mathematical individuals would differ if the mathematics textbooks more fully recognized students’ meaning-making using various modes. One question raised in relation to the students’ possibilities to take agency when working with mathematics textbooks concerned what knowledge is recognized in Year 1 mathematics textbooks. The results indicated that mathematical symbols already occupy a special position in Year 1. If modes other than mathematical symbols are more widely recognized as knowledge, then more young students will discover themselves as mathematical individuals.
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| 24. |
- Rahm Hallberg, Ingalill, 1944-
(författare)
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Vocally disruptive behaviour in severely demented patients in relation to institutional care provided
- 1990
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Thirty-seven patients identified as vocally disruptive and a control group, selected from 264 patients at psychogeriatric wards were studied. Tape-recordings of their vocal behaviour, ratings of their functional performance and symptoms related to dementia, observations of their behaviour, activities and interaction with caregivers were performed. Seventeen plus sixteen caregivers were interviewed to give their interpretation of the experience behind the behaviour and describe their own experience of it. The severely demented vocally disruptive patients were found to be significantly more physically dependant, disorientated at the ward and prone to confusional reactions but they had a more preserved speech performance than the controls. The vocal activity expressed such as helplessness, pain, fear and protest. Some were emotionally indifferent and a few expressed positive emotions. Caregivers interpreted the behaviour as an expression of anxiety related to such as abandonment, dissolution and loss of autonomy. They also expressed a strong wish to comfort the patients but felt unable to do so. The patients' daily life was characterized by idleness and solitude. Caring activities and interactions were dominated by physical procedures performed in a fragmentary and rapid way. Two hypotheses are generated. 1. Vocally disruptive behaviour develops influenced by sensory deprivation and the brain damage. 2. The care provided is influenced by caregivers experiencing anxiety in the patients as well as experiencing a conflict between the care they would like to provide and the care they actually provide. This evokes anxiety in them which elicits defence mechanisms leading to emotional withdrawal from the patients and task oriented care. The results are discussed in a nursing perspective based on existential thoughts, psychoanalytic and psychosocial theory.
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| 25. |
- Åström, Gunilla, 1947-
(författare)
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The meaning of caring as narrated, lived, moral experience
- 1995
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this research was to understand the meaning of caring as narrated, lived, moral experience. Forty-five good nurses experienced in the care of patients in surgical, medical and geriatric wards were interviewed. They described their experience of; caring, caring abilities, the worthwhile of caring, the strength related to caring and narrated situations (n=88) in which they had experienced that their caring had made a difference to the patient. Surgical nurses described care and cure as an integrated whole, medical nurses described care as integrated with the patients' social context and geriatric nurses described care as enhancing the autonomy of patients (I). The nurses' narrated, lived, experiences of caring situations revealed ways of intervening and interacting with the patient including caring actions (II).Eighteen good nurses experienced in the care of cancer patients were also interviewed. Their narrated, lived experiences of morally difficult care situations i.e. situations where it had been hard to know what was the right and good thing to do for the patient (n=60), revealed that relationships with their co-workers were very important for their possibility to act according to their moral reasoning and feelings(III). The situations for the nurses were either disclosed as overwhelming or possible to grasp. When narrating about these situations the nurses used different terms about themselves and their co-workers (One, They, I and We). The nurses viewed the patients either as a task to be accomplished or as a valuable unique person. In the latter situations ethical demands were interpreted, judged and acted upon (IV). Interpretations of these nurses' skills in managing morally difficult care situations disclosed two levels; one group of nurses who described positive paradigm cases, liberating maxims and disclosed open minds, while the other group described negative paradigm cases, restrictive maxims and revealed closed minds. The latter nurses were mostly the nurses who disclosed in Paper III that they used the term "one" about themselves and "they" about their co-workers (V).en patients recently cared for at surgical and medical wards were interviewed(IV). They narrated lived experiences of receiving/not receiving the help they needed or wanted when suffering from pain and anxiety/fear. The patients revealed that the most important thing for them to feel cared for in these situations was to be listened to, taken seriously and trusted, if they were not treated in this way the patients revealed that they felt they were in the hands of somebody who was uncaring.The findings are interpreted within the framework of Paul Tillich's philosophy concerning love, power, justice and courage, thereby showing the tension between these phenomena in the narrated, lived, moral experience. Light is also thrown on the dynamics of openness, vulnerability, fallibility, forgiveness, affirmation as well as powerlessness, meaninglessness, insufficiency, dissociation and exclusion. Reflections are made concerning practical wisdom.
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