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- Ehn, Mattias, 1972-
(author)
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Life Strategies, Work and Health in People with Usher Syndrome
- 2020
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Introduction: People with Usher syndrome (USH) have an inherited disorder causing congenital deafness or hearing loss combined with progressive vision loss and, in some cases, balance problems. Previous research has shown that people with USH have poor physical and psychological health. Research has, however, demonstrated that there are in-group health differences that have not yet been explored and that there is a lack of studies on life strategies as well as health in relation to working life.Aim: The aim was to explore the relationship between work and health in people with USH1 and 2 and to explore the experiences of life strategies in people with USH 2.Methods: A quantitative and a qualitative explorative design was employed comprising two cross-sectional studies of the relationship between work and health in people with USH2 (n=67) and USH1 (n=47). The third study, of life strategies, comprised focus group interviews with people with USH2a (n=14) analyzed by content analysis. The fourth study explored the lived experiences of working life by interviewing people with USH2 (n=7) using an interpretative phenomenological approach.Results: Study 1 and 2 demonstrated significant differences in health between working and nonworking people. Nonworking people showed significantly poorer health. In study 3, a variety of strategies to prevent and resolve challenges in life, as well as to comfort oneself was identified. The lived experiences of working life in people with USH2 (study 4) disclosed feelings of satisfaction, striving towards a work life balance. Work also disclosed feelings of limitations and uncertainty about the future.Conclusion: The results, which are discussed in relation to the Meikirsh model of health, demonstrated a complexity. Individual life strategies, psychological flexibility and environmental aspects, such as social determinants have to be considered to receive a comprehensive picture of the relationship between work and health in people with USH. This thesis provides new insights into the health of people with USH.
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| 2. |
- Stålnacke, Helena, 1973-
(author)
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Fonologisk utveckling hos barn med otitbenägenhet : En longitudinell studie i åldrarna 3;6 – 5;6 år
- 2020
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: Hearing loss can act as a risk factor to poor linguistic development. One type of hearing loss is caused by fluid in the middle ear, a common consequence of acute otitis media (AOM). A number of children have ≥3 episodes of AOM within a 6-month period and are thus classifiedas otitis prones. Otitis proneness can result in fluctuation of the hearing experience that is believed to create inconsistency of the perceived speech signal and, thus, difficulties for the child to identify, categorize and produce speech sounds.Objective: The aims of the current study are to investigate, longitudinally the phonological development, concerning phonological production and phonological awareness, in children with otitis proneness and to compare their results with the results of the children without otitis proneness.Method: In total, 25 children with and 21 children without otitis proneness were involved in the study. Tests on phonological production (age 3;6 and 4;6) and phonological awareness (age 5;6) were performed onannual basis.Result: The comparisons between the study and the control group at the age 3;6, 4;6 and 5;6 years, reveal few significant results for either phonological production nor phonological development. For phonological production differences were seen at segmental level. The longitudinal development of phonological production indicate typical phonological development between age 3;6 and 4;6 for both test group and control group.Conclusion: Otitis proneness before 2;6 years of age does not appear to be an indicator of affected linguistic development at the ages 3;6 to 5;6 years, neither for phonological production nor concerning phonological awareness. However, there are great variations in the results, indicating that some children have greater difficulties than others do.
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