| 1. |
- Abbadi, Ahmad, et al.
(author)
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Validation of the Health Assessment Tool (HAT) based on four aging cohorts from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care
- 2024
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In: BMC Medicine. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1741-7015. ; 22:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: As global aging accelerates, routinely assessing the functional status and morbidity burden of older patients becomes paramount. The aim of this study is to assess the validity of the comprehensive clinical and functional Health Assessment Tool (HAT) based on four cohorts of older adults (60 + years) from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care (SNAC) spanning urban, suburban, and rural areas.Methods: The HAT integrates five health indicators (gait speed, global cognition, number of chronic diseases, and basic and instrumental activities of daily living), providing an individual-level score between 0 and 10. The tool was constructed using nominal response models, first separately for each cohort and then in a harmonized dataset. Outcomes included all-cause mortality over a maximum follow-up of 16 years and unplanned hospital admissions over a maximum of 3 years of follow-up. The predictive capacity was assessed through the area under the curve (AUC) using logistic regressions. For time to death, Cox regressions were performed, and Harrell’s C-indices were reported. Results from the four cohorts were pooled using individual participant data meta-analysis and compared with those from the harmonized dataset.Results: The HAT demonstrated high predictive capacity across all cohorts as well as in the harmonized dataset. In the harmonized dataset, the AUC was 0.84 (95% CI 0.81–0.87) for 1-year mortality, 0.81 (95% CI 0.80–0.83) for 3-year mortality, 0.80 (95% CI 0.79–0.82) for 5-year mortality, 0.69 (95% CI 0.67–0.70) for 1-year unplanned admissions, and 0.69 (95% CI 0.68–0.70) for 3-year unplanned admissions. The Harrell’s C for time-to-death throughout 16 years of follow-up was 0.75 (95% CI 0.74–0.75).Conclusions: The HAT is a highly predictive, clinically intuitive, and externally valid instrument with potential for better addressing older adults’ health needs and optimizing risk stratification at the population level. © The Author(s) 2024.
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| 2. |
- Backåberg, Sofia, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of the Skeleton Avatar Technique for Assessment of Mobility and Balance Among Older Adults
- 2020
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In: Frontiers of Computer Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2095-2228 .- 2095-2236 .- 2624-9898. ; 2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Mobility and balance is essential for older adults’ well-being an independence and the ability tomaintain physically active. Early identification of functionalimpairmentmay enable early risk-of-fall assessments and preventivemeasures. There is a need to find new solutions to assess functional ability in easy, efficient, and accurateways, which can be clinically used frequently and repetitively. Therefore, we need to understand how functional tests and expert assessments (EAs) correlate with new techniques.Objective: To explore whether the skeleton avatar technique (SAT) can predict the results of functional tests (FTs) of mobility and balance: Timed Up and Go (TUG), the 30-s chair stand test (30sCST), the 4-stage balance test (4SBT), and EA scoring of movement quality.Methods: Fifty-four older adults (+65 years) were recruited through pensioners’ associations. The test procedure contained three standardized FTs: TUG, 30sCST, and 4SBT. The test performances were recorded using a three-dimensional SAT camera. EA scoring was performed based on the video recordings of the 30sCST. Functional ability scores were aggregated from balance and mobility scores. Probability theory-based statistical analyses were used on the data to aggregate sets of individual variables into scores, with correlation analysis used to assess the dependency between variables and between scores. Machine learning techniques were used to assess the appropriateness of easily observable variables/scores as predictors of the other variables included.Results: The results indicate that SAT data of the fourth 4SBT stage could be used to predict the aggregated results of all stages of 4SBT (with 7.82% mean absolute error), the results of the 30sCST (11.0%), the TUG test (8.03%), and the EA of the sit-to-stand movement (8.79%). There is a moderate (significant) correlation between the 30sCST and the 4SBT (0.31, p = 0.03), but not between the EA and the 30sCST.Conclusion: SAT can predict the results of the 4SBT, the 30sCST (moderate accuracy), and the TUG test and might add important qualitative information to the assessment of movement performance in active older adults. SAT might in the future provide the means for a simple, easy, and accessible assessment of functional ability among older adults.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Borg, Christel, et al.
(author)
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Life satisfaction in 6 European Countries : The Relationship to health, Self-Esteem, and Social and Financial Resources among People (Aged 65-89) with Reduced Functional Capacity
- 2008
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In: Geriatric Nursing. - New York : Mosby. - 0197-4572 .- 1528-3984. ; 29:1, s. 48-57
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate how overall health, participation in physical activities, self-esteem and social and financial resources are related to life satisfaction among people (65+) with reduced Activities of Daily Living (ADL) capacity in six European countries. A subsample of the European Study of Adults’ Well-Being (ESAW), consisting of 2195 people with reduced ADL capacity from Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, and Italy, was included. The Older Americans’ Resources Schedule (OARS), the Life Satisfaction Index Z, and the Self-esteem scale were used. In all national samples, overall health, self-esteem and feeling worried, rather than ADL capacity, were significantly associated with life satisfaction. The findings indicate the importance of not only taking the reduction in functional capacity into account, but also the individual’s perception of health and self-esteem, when outlining health care and nursing aimed at improving life satisfaction. The study thus suggests that personal, rather than environmental, factors are important for life satisfaction among people with reduced ADL capacity living in Europe.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Borglin, Gunilla, et al.
(author)
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Nursing students understanding of critical thinking and appraisal and academic writing : A descriptive qualitative study
- 2012
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In: Nurse Education in Practice. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0260-6917 .- 1471-5953 .- 1873-5223. ; 12:6, s. 356-360
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In Sweden, regulations from the National Agency for Higher Education advocate an education that equips students with independence as well as critical, problem-based thinking, i.e. academic literacy skills. However, some research findings indicate that students may leave higher education without mastering these skills effectively. As part of quality-assuring a nursing programme at a university college in south-east Sweden we explored the nursing student's view of crucial academic literacy skills, such as critical thinking and appraisal and academic writing, by conducting a descriptive, qualitative study. Informants were recruited through an advertisement posted on the university's e-learning tool. Eight focused interviews were conducted during autumn 2010. The transcribed interviews were analysed – inspired by content analysis – and two categories became apparent: constantly questioning and formality before substance. The latter revealed a gap between the student's perception of academic writing and that of the educators, thus implying that nursing students might not be equipped with the tools they need to develop within academia. We suggest that students could benefit in their academic endeavours from theoretical educational models that integrate several academic skills simultaneously and which could be incorporated into the development of syllabuses and curriculums.
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| 7. |
- Brantmark, Anette, et al.
(author)
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Hälsa, sysselsättningoch levnadsvanor : Brukarundersökning av funktionshinder och funktionsnedsättningar och dess stödresurser i Blekinge 3 (BUFUS 3)
- 2018
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- BakgrundFolkhälsan i Sverige har blivit bättre men det finns skillnader i hälsa mellan olika grupper. Tobak, alkohol, fysisk aktivitet och kostvanor är levnadsvanor som har betydelse för hälsan. Personer som tillhör någon av de tre personkretsarna inom Lagen om stöd och service till vissa funktionshindrade (LSS) blir ofta exkluderade från studier varför det är svårt att beskriva hälsa och skillnader i levnadsvanor som har betydelse för hälsan i denna grupp. En tidigare brukarundersökning (BUFUS 1) beskriver förekomsten av sysselsättning och hälsa hos personer som har personlig assistans varför syftet med denna undersökning var att skapa en ökad förståelse kring eventuella samband mellan hälsa, sysselsättning och levnadsvanor i en större grupp dvs. personer med funktionsnedsättning som har beslut om LSS-insatser i Blekinge. Syftet var också att få kunskap om hur personer (LSS 1 och 2) beskrev områden som var betydelsefulla för hälsan.MetodTotalundersökning bland vuxna (18-64 år) och äldre (65 år och äldre) med beslut om LSS-insats, innefattande en tvärsnittstudie (n=574) och en kvalitativ intervjustudie (n=27). Data har analyserats med beskrivande statistik och regressionsanalys samt innehållsanalys.ResultatHälsan skilde sig signifikant mellan de tre LSS-grupperna. Färre personer som tillhör LSS 3 skattade sin hälsa som bra jämfört med övriga (LSS 1 och 2). Bland vuxna som tillhör LSS 1 och 2 hade sysselsättning och fysisk aktivitet betydelse för hälsan medan för vuxna som tillhör LSS 3 hade enbart fysisk aktivitet betydelse för hälsan. Fler personer, som tillhör LSS 3 hade fler läkarkontakter jämfört med övriga men oavsett grupp hade läkarkontakt en betydelse för hälsan.SlutsatsFysisk aktivitet har storbetydelse för hälsa hosvuxna personer oavsett LSS-tillhörighet. Det finns en medvetenhet om vad som behövs för att må bra och att ha någonstans att gå till utanför bostaden har positiv inverkan på hälsan. Det finns skillnader i självskattad hälsa i de olikaLSS-grupperna, och förekommande skillnader i den självskattade hälsa kan vara möjlighet till aktivitet. Modellen som visade att aktivitet förklarar hälsa i grupperna, förklarade dock enbart en liten del av variationen av hälsa. Det behövs fler studier som tar hänsyn tillandra faktorer än de som använts i denna undersökning för att kunna förstå vad som är av betydelse för personernas hälsa i olika ålders-och LSS grupper.
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| 8. |
- Bratt, Anna S., 1969-, et al.
(author)
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An internet-based compassion course for healthcare professionals : Rationale and protocol for a randomised controlled trial
- 2022
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In: Internet Interventions. - : Elsevier BV. - 2214-7829. ; 28
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Severe stress is one of the most common causes of sick leave in Sweden. Previous research has shown that compassion interventions for healthcare professionals can decrease work-related stress through the introduction of self-care, self-awareness, and emotion regulation abilities when experiencing difficult situations. Internet-based stress management interventions have hitherto shown promising results in reducing stress. However, further research is needed to examine the effectiveness of internet-based compassion interventions for healthcare professionals. Objective: In the present study protocol, a randomised controlled trial is described, aiming to examine the effects of an internet-based compassion course for healthcare professionals on work-related stress and stress of conscience. Method: Healthcare professionals will be offered an internet-based stress management course of five modules across a period of five weeks. The design is a randomised controlled study consisting of three groups enrolled in one of the following: a compassion course (n = 120), a cognitive behavioural stress management course (n = 120), or placed on a waitlist followed by either the compassion course or the cognitive behavioural stress management course (n = 36). We hypothesise that the internet-based compassion course would reduce the participants' stress of conscience to a greater degree compared to the other two groups. The secondary hypothesis is that the compassion course would increase the participants' professional quality of life (i.e., higher job satisfaction and lower empathy fatigue) and self-compassion. In addition, the internet-based compassion course is expected to reduce the participants' work-related stress and sick leave rates to the same degree (non-inferiority) as the cognitive behavioural stress management course and to a higher degree when compared to the waitlist condition. The primary outcome measure is the Stress of Conscience Questionnaire (SCQ) and the secondary outcome measures are the Professional Quality of Life Scale (PROQOL), the Work-related Stress Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ), and the Self-compassion Scale (SCS). Assessments will be performed at baseline, four weekly assessments during treatment, post-treatment (5 weeks), and follow-ups at 10 weeks, 15 weeks, and 6 months. The repeated measures data will be analysed using a generalised estimating equation for repeated measurements to examine whether changes over time differ between the groups and whether the improvements persist over time. Discussion: The clinical trial is expected to provide novel data on the effects of compassion interventions and add to the existing knowledge of internet-based interventions for stress management in healthcare professionals.
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| 9. |
- Bratt, Anna S., 1969-, et al.
(author)
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Perceptions of General Attitudes towards Older Adults in Society : Is There a Link between Perceived Life Satisfaction, Self-Compassion, and Health-Related Quality of Life?
- 2023
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In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - Basel, Switzerland : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 20:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Negative attitudes towards aging are common in society. However, few studies haveinvestigated how older adults perceive this phenomenon. This study investigated (a) how olderadults in Sweden perceive general attitudes towards the older population and whether negativeperceptions are associated with low life satisfaction, self-compassion, and health-related qualityof life (HRQL), and (b) whether perceived attitudes predict life satisfaction when controlling forHRQL, self-compassion, and age. The sample comprised 698 randomly selected participants, aged66–102 years, from the Blekinge part of the Swedish National Study on Ageing and Care. The resultsshowed that 25.7% of the participants held negative attitudes towards older adults and reportedlower life satisfaction and HRQL. Self-compassion was related to higher life satisfaction, perceivedpositive attitudes, and better mental HRQL. Overall, perceived attitudes, HRQL, self-compassion,and age predicted 44% of the participants’ life satisfaction. Understanding the factors that influenceolder adults’ life satisfaction is crucial, as health-related losses might reduce the opportunity fora successful life. Our study makes an important contribution to the field, showing that perceivedattitudes explained 1.2% of the variance of life satisfaction, whereas mental and physical HRQLaccounted for 18% of life satisfaction.
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| 10. |
- Bratt, Anna S., 1969-, et al.
(author)
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Self-compassion in old age : confirmatory factor analysis of the 6-factor model and the internal consistency of the Self-compassion scale-short form
- 2020
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In: Aging & Mental Health. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1360-7863 .- 1364-6915. ; 24:4, s. 642-648
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Self-compassion is a psychological construct associated with self-acceptance and coping with the aging process. The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), in both long and short forms, is the most widely used measure of self-compassion. Studies on the psychometric properties of the short form (SCS-SF) are scarce. The aim of this study was to translate into Swedish and test the psychometric properties of the SCS-SF. Another aim was to investigate whether self-compassion differs by age and gender in older adults.Method: We tested the Swedish SCS-SF in a sample of 594 randomly selected older adults, aged 66 to 102 years, for internal consistency, construct validity, and factor structure.Results: The results showed the SCS-SF had acceptable internal consistency in the total sample (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.68) and somewhat higher (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.76) in the youngest old (age 66 years). The six-factor structure found in the original study was not observed in confirmatory factor analyses in our older sample. Exploratory factor analyses showed that a two-factor solution, formed by the positive and negative components had the best fit; however, only the negative component had good internal consistency.Conclusion: Overall, the SCS-SF seemed to have insufficient reliability in this sample of older adults and further studies are needed to see whether new instruments are needed for this population. Self-compassion was generally higher in men than women, but did not differ by age in this sample of older adults.
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