| 1. |
- Arndt, D. S., et al.
(author)
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State of the Climate in 2016
- 2017
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In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 98:8, s. S1-S280
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2016, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere-carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide-continued to increase and reach new record highs. The 3.5 +/- 0.1 ppm rise in global annual mean carbon dioxide from 2015 to 2016 was the largest annual increase observed in the 58-year measurement record. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth's surface surpassed 400 ppm (402.9 +/- 0.1 ppm) for the first time in the modern atmospheric measurement record and in ice core records dating back as far as 800000 years. One of the strongest El Nino events since at least 1950 dissipated in spring, and a weak La Nina evolved later in the year. Owing at least in part to the combination of El Nino conditions early in the year and a long-term upward trend, Earth's surface observed record warmth for a third consecutive year, albeit by a much slimmer margin than by which that record was set in 2015. Above Earth's surface, the annual lower troposphere temperature was record high according to all datasets analyzed, while the lower stratospheric temperature was record low according to most of the in situ and satellite datasets. Several countries, including Mexico and India, reported record high annual temperatures while many others observed near-record highs. A week-long heat wave at the end of April over the northern and eastern Indian peninsula, with temperatures surpassing 44 degrees C, contributed to a water crisis for 330 million people and to 300 fatalities. In the Arctic the 2016 land surface temperature was 2.0 degrees C above the 1981-2010 average, breaking the previous record of 2007, 2011, and 2015 by 0.8 degrees C, representing a 3.5 degrees C increase since the record began in 1900. The increasing temperatures have led to decreasing Arctic sea ice extent and thickness. On 24 March, the sea ice extent at the end of the growth season saw its lowest maximum in the 37-year satellite record, tying with 2015 at 7.2% below the 1981-2010 average. The September 2016 Arctic sea ice minimum extent tied with 2007 for the second lowest value on record, 33% lower than the 1981-2010 average. Arctic sea ice cover remains relatively young and thin, making it vulnerable to continued extensive melt. The mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which has the capacity to contribute similar to 7 m to sea level rise, reached a record low value. The onset of its surface melt was the second earliest, after 2012, in the 37-year satellite record. Sea surface temperature was record high at the global scale, surpassing the previous record of 2015 by about 0.01 degrees C. The global sea surface temperature trend for the 21st century-to-date of +0.162 degrees C decade(-1) is much higher than the longer term 1950-2016 trend of +0.100 degrees C decade(-1). Global annual mean sea level also reached a new record high, marking the sixth consecutive year of increase. Global annual ocean heat content saw a slight drop compared to the record high in 2015. Alpine glacier retreat continued around the globe, and preliminary data indicate that 2016 is the 37th consecutive year of negative annual mass balance. Across the Northern Hemisphere, snow cover for each month from February to June was among its four least extensive in the 47-year satellite record. Continuing a pattern below the surface, record high temperatures at 20-m depth were measured at all permafrost observatories on the North Slope of Alaska and at the Canadian observatory on northernmost Ellesmere Island. In the Antarctic, record low monthly surface pressures were broken at many stations, with the southern annular mode setting record high index values in March and June. Monthly high surface pressure records for August and November were set at several stations. During this period, record low daily and monthly sea ice extents were observed, with the November mean sea ice extent more than 5 standard deviations below the 1981-2010 average. These record low sea ice values contrast sharply with the record high values observed during 2012-14. Over the region, springtime Antarctic stratospheric ozone depletion was less severe relative to the 1991-2006 average, but ozone levels were still low compared to pre-1990 levels. Closer to the equator, 93 named tropical storms were observed during 2016, above the 1981-2010 average of 82, but fewer than the 101 storms recorded in 2015. Three basins-the North Atlantic, and eastern and western North Pacific-experienced above-normal activity in 2016. The Australian basin recorded its least active season since the beginning of the satellite era in 1970. Overall, four tropical cyclones reached the Saffir-Simpson category 5 intensity level. The strong El Nino at the beginning of the year that transitioned to a weak La Nina contributed to enhanced precipitation variability around the world. Wet conditions were observed throughout the year across southern South America, causing repeated heavy flooding in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Wetter-than-usual conditions were also observed for eastern Europe and central Asia, alleviating the drought conditions of 2014 and 2015 in southern Russia. In the United States, California had its first wetter-than-average year since 2012, after being plagued by drought for several years. Even so, the area covered by drought in 2016 at the global scale was among the largest in the post-1950 record. For each month, at least 12% of land surfaces experienced severe drought conditions or worse, the longest such stretch in the record. In northeastern Brazil, drought conditions were observed for the fifth consecutive year, making this the longest drought on record in the region. Dry conditions were also observed in western Bolivia and Peru; it was Bolivia's worst drought in the past 25 years. In May, with abnormally warm and dry conditions already prevailing over western Canada for about a year, the human-induced Fort McMurray wildfire burned nearly 590000 hectares and became the costliest disaster in Canadian history, with $3 billion (U.S. dollars) in insured losses.
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| 2. |
- Arndt, D. S., et al.
(author)
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STATE OF THE CLIMATE IN 2017
- 2018
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In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - : American Meteorological Society. - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 99:8, s. S1-S310
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Research review (peer-reviewed)
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| 3. |
- Choong, Ferdinand X., et al.
(author)
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Stereochemical Identification of Glucans by a Donor-Acceptor-Donor Conjugated Pentamer Enables Multi-Carbohydrate Anatomical Mapping in Plant Tissues
- 2019
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In: Cellulose. - : Springer Netherlands. - 0969-0239 .- 1572-882X. ; 26:7, s. 4253-4264
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optotracing is a novel method for analytical imaging of carbohydrates in plant and microbial tissues. This optical method applies structure-responsive oligothiophenes as molecular fluorophores emitting unique optical signatures when bound to polysaccharides. Herein, we apply Carbotrace680, a short length anionic oligothiophene with a central heterocyclic benzodithiazole (BTD) motif, to probe for different glucans. The donor-acceptor-donor type electronic structure of Carbotrace680 provides improved spectral properties compared to oligothiophenes due to the possibility of intramolecular charge-transfer transition to the BTD motif. This enables differentiation of glucans based on the glycosidic linkage stereochemistry. Thus -configured starch is readily differentiated from -configured cellulose. The versatility of optotracing is demonstrated by dynamic monitoring of thermo-induced starch remodelling, shown in parallel by spectrophotometry and microscopy of starch granules. Imaging of Carbotrace680 bound to multiple glucans in plant tissues provided direct identification of their physical locations, revealing the spatial relationship between structural (cellulose) and storage (starch) glucans at sub-cellular scale. Our work forms the basis for the development of superior optotracers for sensitive detection of polysaccharides. Our non-destructive method for anatomical mapping of glucans in biomass will serve as an enabling technology for developments towards efficient use of plant-derived materials and biomass.
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| 4. |
- Eurenius, Eva, et al.
(author)
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Social-emotional problems among three-year-olds differ based on the child's gender and custody arrangement
- 2019
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In: Acta Paediatrica. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0803-5253 .- 1651-2227. ; 108:6, s. 1087-1095
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate mental health with respect to social-emotional problems among three-year-olds in relation to their gender, custody arrangements and place of residence.METHODS: A cross-sectional population-based design was used, encompassing 7,179 three-year-olds in northern Sweden during the period 2014-2017 from the regional Salut Register. Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed based on parents' responses on the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE), supplemented with items on gender, custody arrangement and place of residence.RESULTS: Parental-reported social-emotional problems were found in almost 10% of the children. Boys were reported to have more problems (12.3%) than girls (5.6%) (p<0.001). Parents were most concerned about children's eating habits and interactions at mealtimes. Parents not living together reported more problems among their children than those living together (p<0.001). When stratifying by custody arrangement, girls in rural areas living alternately with each parent had more problems compared to those in urban areas (p<0.008).CONCLUSION: Gender and custody arrangements appear to be important factors for social-emotional problems among three-year-olds. Thus, such conditions should receive attention during preschool age, preferably by a systematic preventive strategy within Child Health Care.
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| 5. |
- Ivarsson, Anneli, et al.
(author)
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Socioemotionell förmåga hos treåringar : Resultat från en befolkningsbaserad studie i Västerbottens län
- 2019
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Det övergripande målet för svensk barnhälsovård är att främja barns hälsa, trygghet och utveckling samt ge stöd i föräldraskapet. Barn i Sverige är i hög grad fysiskt friska i internationell jämförelse, men det finns indikationer på att den psykiska ohälsan har ökat hos barn och ungdomar under de senaste decennierna. Kunskapen om förekomst av, och bakomliggande faktorer, till psykisk ohälsa hos förskolebarn är dock otillräcklig. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka treåringars socioemotionella förmåga med avseende på könsskillnader och boende i stad eller på landsbygd i Västerbottens län.Förskolebarns psykiska hälsa undersöks systematisktI denna studie har instrumentet Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE) använts för att undersöka föräldrars rapporterade socioemotionella förmåga hos treåringar. ASQ:SE 36-månadersversion delas rutinmässigt ut till föräldrar inför treårsbesöket på barnavårdscentraler i Västerbottens län sedan 2013. ASQ:SE är ursprungligen utvecklat i USA och mäter barns socioemotionella förmåga inom sju domäner: självreglering, följsamhet, kommunikation, adaptiv förmåga, autonomi, affekt och social interaktion. Socioemotionell förmåga i treårsåldern är exempelvis förmåga till samspel med vuxna och jämnåriga samt förmåga att med stöd av förälder reglera egna känslor. Betydande avvikelser i den socioemotionella förmågan vid denna ålder kan tyda på att barnet har en sårbarhet som kan leda till fortsatta och ibland mer allvarliga socioemotionella problem.Generellt god psykisk hälsa men fler problem bland pojkarSvaren från majoriteten av föräldrarna indikerar god socioemotionell förmåga hos barnen, dock hade nästan en av tio treåringar föräldrarapporterade socioemotionella problem, med ASQ:SE-poäng över gränsvärdet 59. Problemen var dubbelt så vanliga bland pojkar (12 procent) som bland flickor (6 procent) (p <0,001). Det fanns inga signifikanta skillnader i socioemotionell förmåga mellan barn bosatta i städer i jämförelse med barn bosatta på landsbygden. Skillnaderna mellan könen var dock kvarstående oberoende av geografisk hemvist. Domänerna autonomi och följsamhet innehöll de frågor för vilka flest föräldrar rapporterade svårigheter, detta gällde för både pojkar och flickor.SlutsatsStudien har ökat förståelsen för socioemotionell förmåga hos treåringar i Sverige. Den förstärker vikten av att identifiera problem i tidig ålder och att beakta könsskillnader. Redan i förskoleåldern bör socioemotionell förmåga uppmärksammas, helst genom en systematisk strategi inom barnhälsovården
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| 6. |
- Ponce, Ninez, et al.
(author)
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The association of minimum wage change on child nutritional status in LMICs: A quasi-experimental multi-country study
- 2018
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In: Global Public Health. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1744-1692 .- 1744-1706. ; 13:9, s. 1307-1321
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group There is recognition that social protection policies such as raising the minimum wage can favourably impact health, but little evidence links minimum wage increases to child health outcomes. We used multi-year data (2003–2012) on national minimum wages linked to individual-level data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from 23 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that had least two DHS surveys to establish pre- and post-observation periods. Over a pre- and post-interval ranging from 4 to 8 years, we examined minimum wage growth and four nutritional status outcomes among children under 5 years: stunting, wasting, underweight, and anthropometric failure. Using a differences-in-differences framework with country and time-fixed effects, a 10% increase in minimum wage growth over time was associated with a 0.5 percentage point decline in stunting (−0.054, 95% CI (−0.084,−0.025)), and a 0.3 percentage point decline in failure (−0.031, 95% CI (−0.057,−0.005)). We did not observe statistically significant associations between minimum wage growth and underweight or wasting. We found similar results for the poorest households working in non-agricultural and non-professional jobs, where minimum wage growth may have the most leverage. Modest increases in minimum wage over a 4- to 8-year period might be effective in reducing child undernutrition in LMICs.
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| 7. |
- Richter-Sundberg, Linda, et al.
(author)
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Addressing implementation challenges during guideline development – a case study of Swedish national guidelines for methods of preventing disease
- 2015
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In: BMC Health Services Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6963. ; 2015
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundMany of the world’s life threatening diseases (e.g. cancer, heart disease, stroke) could be prevented by eliminating life-style habits such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol use. Incorporating evidence-based research on methods to change unhealthy lifestyle habits in clinical practice would be equally valuable. However gaps between guideline development and implementation are well documented, with implications for health care quality, safety and effectiveness. The development phase of guidelines has been shown to be important both for the quality in guideline content and for the success of implementation. There are, however, indications that guidelines related to general disease prevention methods encounter specific barriers compared to guidelines that are diagnosis-specific. In 2011 the Swedish National board for Health and Welfare launched guidelines with a preventive scope. The aim of this study was to investigate how implementation challenges were addressed during the development process of these disease preventive guidelines.MethodsSeven semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the guideline development management group. Archival data detailing the guideline development process were also collected and used in the analysis. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis as the analytical framework.ResultsThe study identified several strategies and approaches that were used to address implementation challenges during guideline development. Four themes emerged from the analysis: broad agreements and consensus about scope and purpose; a formalized and structured development procedure; systematic and active involvement of stakeholders; and openness and transparency in the specific guideline development procedure. Additional factors concerning the scope of prevention and the work environment of guideline developers were perceived to influence the possibilities to address implementation issues.ConclusionsThis case study provides examples of how guideline developers perceive and approach the issue of implementation during the development and early launch of prevention guidelines. Models for guideline development could benefit from an initial assessment of how the guideline topic, its target context and stakeholders will affect the upcoming implementation.
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| 8. |
- Richter-Sundberg, Linda, et al.
(author)
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Improving treatment of depression in primary health care : a case study of obstacles to perform a clinical trial designed to implement practice guidelines
- 2015
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In: Primary Health Care Research and Development. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1463-4236 .- 1477-1128. ; 16:2, s. 188-200
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim The aim of this study is to investigate factors contributing to the failure of a randomized clinical trial designed to implement and test clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of depression in primary health care (PHC).BACKGROUND: Although the occurrence of depression is increasing globally, many patients with depression do not receive optimal treatment. Clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of depression, which aim to establish evidence-based clinical practice in health care, are often underused and in need of operationalization in and adaptation to clinical praxis. This study explores a failed clinical trial designed to implement and test treatment of depression in PHC in Sweden.METHOD: Qualitative case study methodology was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants from the clinical trial researcher group and 11 health care professionals at five PHC units. Additionally, archival data (ie, documents, email correspondence, reports on the clinical trial) from the years 2007-2010 were analysed. FINDINGS: The study identified barriers to the implementation of the clinical trial in the project characteristics, the medical professionals, the patients, and the social network, as well as in the organizational, economic and political context. The project increased staff workload and created tension as the PHC culture and the research activities clashed (eg, because of the systematic use of questionnaires and changes in scheduling and planning of patient visits). Furthermore, there was a perception that the PHC units' management did not sufficiently support the project and that the project lacked basic incentives for reaching a sustainable resolution. Despite efforts by the project managers to enhance and support implementation of the innovation, they were unable to overcome these barriers. The study illustrates the complexity and barriers of performing clinical trials in the PHC.
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| 9. |
- Richter Sundberg, Linda, 1975-
(author)
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Mind the Gap : exploring evidence-based policymaking for improved preventive and mental health services in the Swedish health system
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: The challenges in the utilization of scientific findings in the fields of prevention and mental health are well documented. Scholars have found significant gaps between the knowledge available and the knowledge applied in healthcare. Studies have suggested that about half of the patients receive the recommended care for their medical condition. In order to address this gap, health systems at global, national, regional and local levels have made diverse efforts to facilitate the uptake of research for example through evidence-based health policy processes. In Sweden, government agencies and health policy actors such as the National Board of Health and Welfare support and control the health care system through evidence-based policies amongst other steering tools. The overall aim of this thesis is to explore evidence-based policy processes, and to further understand barriers to implementation of policies in the fields of preventive and mental health services.Methods: A multiple case study approach was used, and data were collected from several sources. Qualitative content analysis methodology was used. Case 1 comprises the development and early implementation of national guidelines for methods of preventing disease managed by the National Board of Health and Welfare during 2007–2014. Case 2 covers the effort to improve health care for the older population that was undertaken through an agreement between the Swedish government and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions during 2009–2014. Case 3 involves an effort to implement an adapted version of a systematic review from the Swedish agency for health technology assessment and assessment of social services on treatment of depression in primary health care. Data was collected between 2007 and 2010.In Paper 1, the policies from Case 1 and 2 were studied using a longitudinal, comparative case study approach. Data were collected through interviews, documents and observations. A conceptual model was developed based on prior frameworks. The model was used to organize and analyse the data. In Paper 2, the guideline development process (Case 1) was studied through interviews and the collection of documents. A prior framework on guideline quality was used in order to organize the data. Paper 3 investigated decision-making processes during guideline development using a longitudinal approach. Qualitative data were collected from questionnaires, documents and observations and analysed using conventional and summative content analysis. In Paper 4, the barriers to implementation were investigated through interviews and the collection ofdocuments. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis with a conceptual model to structure the analysis.Results: The sources and procedures for policy formulation differed in Case 1 and 2, as did the approaches to promote the implementation of the policies. The policy processes were cyclical, and phases overlapped to a large degree. The policy actors intended to promote implementation, both during and after the policy formulation process.The thesis shows variation in how the key policy actors defined and used research evidence in the policy processes. In addition, other types of knowledge (e.g. politics, context, experience) served as alternative or multiple sources to inform the health policies. The composition of sources that informed the policies changed over time in Cases 1 and B. During the policy formulation and implementation process, efforts to integrate research evidence with clinical experiences and values were associated with tension and recurrent dilemmas. On the local level (i.e. primary health care centres), barriers to implementation were found related to the innovation and among health professionals, patients, in social networks as well as in the organizational, economic and political contexts.Conclusion: The concept of evidence holds a key position in terms of goals and means for knowledge based policymaking in the Swedish health system. Broad definitions of evidence – including research and non-research evidence - were requested and to various extents utilized by the policy actors in the studied cases. An explicit terminology and systematic, transparent methodology to define, identify, and assess also non-research evidence in policy processes would potentially strengthen the clarity and validity of these processes and also enhance policy implementation.Particular determinants to implementation, such as the interventions characteristic, are to a considerable degree established early in the policy process, during agenda setting and policy formulation. This early phase offers unique opportunities to assess and build capacity, initiate and facilitate implementation.Early analysis and considerations of target populations and contexts and other implementation determinants related to the specific policy scope (e.g. disease preventive guidelines) could enhance the forth-coming implementation of the policy.
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| 10. |
- Richter Sundberg, Linda, et al.
(author)
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Reaching beyond the review of research evidence : a qualitative study of decision making during the development of clinical practice guidelines for disease prevention in healthcare
- 2017
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In: BMC Health Services Research. - : BioMed Central. - 1472-6963. ; 17:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The judgment and decision making process during guideline development is central for producing high-quality clinical practice guidelines, but the topic is relatively underexplored in the guideline research literature. We have studied the development process of national guidelines with a disease-prevention scope produced by the National board of Health and Welfare (NBHW) in Sweden. The NBHW formal guideline development model states that guideline recommendations should be based on five decision-criteria: research evidence; curative/preventive effect size, severity of the condition; cost-effectiveness; and ethical considerations. A group of health profession representatives (i.e. a prioritization group) was assigned the task of ranking condition-intervention pairs for guideline recommendations, taking into consideration the multiple decision criteria. The aim of this study was to investigate the decision making process during the two-year development of national guidelines for methods of preventing disease.METHODS: A qualitative inductive longitudinal case study approach was used to investigate the decision making process. Questionnaires, non-participant observations of nine two-day group meetings, and documents provided data for the analysis. Conventional and summative qualitative content analysis was used to analyse data.RESULTS: The guideline development model was modified ad-hoc as the group encountered three main types of dilemmas: high quality evidence vs. low adoptability of recommendation; insufficient evidence vs. high urgency to act; and incoherence in assessment and prioritization within and between four different lifestyle areas. The formal guideline development model guided the decision-criteria used, but three new or revised criteria were added by the group: 'clinical knowledge and experience', 'potential guideline consequences' and 'needs of vulnerable groups'. The frequency of the use of various criteria in discussions varied over time. Gender, professional status, and interpersonal skills were perceived to affect individuals' relative influence on group discussions.CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that guideline development groups make compromises between rigour and pragmatism. The formal guideline development model incorporated multiple aspects, but offered few details on how the different criteria should be handled. The guideline development model devoted little attention to the role of the decision-model and group-related factors. Guideline development models could benefit from clarifying the role of the group-related factors and non-research evidence, such as clinical experience and ethical considerations, in decision-processes during guideline development.
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