In Sweden, units managed by nurses specialised in counselling and telephone triage, have been developed within the Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS). This study has a qualitative design and illuminates the nurses' perceptions of what helps or hinders their assessments and telephone triage. The Enhanced Critical Incident Technique was utilised, eight nurses were interviewed in depth, to identify factors influencing triage. The study is the first to provide a comprehensive description of helpful and hindering factors while performing telephone triage. It illuminates telephone triage in Swedish CAMHS settings and provides insights how to enhance and implement this practice.

A prevalence study was conducted using the NorVold Abuse Questionnaire for men (m-NorAQ) to estimate the prevalence of self-reported experience of life-course abuse and to identify the perpetrators of the abuse. This among men seeking general psychiatric and addiction care in a Swedish context. In total, 210 men completed the questionnaire, and were included in the study. The total prevalence of life-course abuse (i.e., any emotional, physical or sexual abuse during the life course) was 75% (n = 157). The results of this study indicate the importance of identifying experiences of life-course abuse among men in general psychiatric and addiction care settings.

Background: The German Hairdex quality of life (QoL) instrument is specific to hair and scalp diseases, developed for self-rating and consists of 48 statements divided into five domains: Symptoms, Functioning, Emotions, Self-confidence and Stigmatisation. There was a need of a Swedish reliability tested, validated hair and scalp specific QoL instrument why the German Hairdex was chosen to be translated and reliability tested in a systematic way.

Objectives: To make a translation, a reliability test of stability, and validation of the German Hairdex QoL instrument among 100 Swedish patients with a dermatological ICD-10 diagnosis of alopecia areata (AA).

Methods: An eight-step method by Gudmundsson was used as a model with a forward and backward translation and with comments from an expert panel. A statistical test–retest (ICC (2,1)) analysis was made, followed by an internal consistency analysis. A comparison between the German and Swedish Hairdex-S constructs by a principal component analysis was performed.

Results: The Hairdex-S was very well accepted by patients. The ICC(2,1) test–retest showed a good to excellent correlation of 0.91 (CI [0.85–0.95]). Internal consistency was α = 0.92. Like the original Hairdex, Hairdex-S showed good factorability with a Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of 0.82 and with one component explaining 70% of the variance: original Hairdex instrument (69%). When tested on patients with AA, the domains Functioning and Emotions had the strongest loadings, followed by Stigmatisation and Self-confidence. Younger AA patients at self-assessment and patients who reported to be younger at the onset of AA, scored statistically significantly higher on the Hairdex-S, indicating an overall lower QoL on domains Emotions and Functioning, respectively.

Conclusions: The Hairdex-S is very well accepted by AA patients, shows very good psychometric properties, and a very good agreement with the original Hairdex. The Swedish Hairdex instrument can be recommended for evaluation of patients QoL as well as for research purposes.

BACKGROUND: In psychiatric inpatient care, situations arise where it may be necessary to use coercive measures and thereby restrict individual autonomy. The ethical principles of healthcare, i.e., respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice, are recognized as central aspects in healthcare practice, and nurses must be clear about which ethical theories and principles to prioritize and what values are needed for a thorough ethical consideration. The aim of this study is to shed light on psychiatric mental health nurses' ethical considerations and on the factors influencing them when performing coercive measures.

METHODS: This qualitative interview study included twelve psychiatric mental health nurses with experience from psychiatric inpatient care. A content analysis was made. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, and categories were formulated.

RESULTS: The study revealed a duality that created two categories: Ethical considerations that promote the patient's autonomy and health and Obstacles to ethical considerations. Based on this duality, ethical considerations were made when performing coercive measures to alleviate suffering and promote health. The result shows a high level of ethical awareness in clinical work. However, a request emerged for more theoretical knowledge about ethical concepts that could be implemented among the staff.

CONCLUSION: The psychiatric mental health nurses in this study strive to do what is best for the patient, to respect the patient's autonomy as a guiding principle in all ethical considerations, and to avoid coercive measures. An organizational ethical awareness could increase the understanding of the difficult ethical considerations that nurses face with regard to minimizing the use of coercive measures in the long run.

Background:

Women are at increased risk of developing anxiety or depression disorders after Cesarean section (CS). This study aims to evaluate whether an appointment with a senior obstetrician combined with an ultrasound examination reduces levels of anxiety in women after CS.

Methods:

A prospective observational study was conducted in Sweden. Women underwent an appointment with an obstetrician 6–9 months after their first CS. Before the appointment, women were asked to fill in the state and trait subscales of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Beck's Depression Inventory. The women's experience of the childbirth was discussed and an ultrasound examination of the hysterotomy scar was performed. After the appointment, the participants filled in the state scale again. The women were divided into low trait anxiety (< 40) and high trait anxiety (≥ 40) groups for comparisons.

Results:

147 women were included. Of those, 114 (78%) had lower trait score <40 (mean 29.2 ± 5.4) and 33 (22%) had higher trait score ≥ 40 (mean 47.4 ± 6.5). Mean difference of state score in the low trait anxiety group before and after the examination was 4.8 ± 5.6 (95% CI 7.20 to 11.97, p<0.0001) and in the high trait anxiety group, the mean difference was 9.2 ± 6.5 (95% CI 3.77 to 5.82, p<0.0001).

Limitations:

A clinical examination with a diagnosis of depression in these women was not made by a psychiatrist.

Conclusions:

A supportive obstetric consultation combined with an ultrasound examination of the uterine scar decreased anxiety levels in women after CS, particularly in patients with higher anxiety

INTRODUCTION: Research shows that psychiatric nursing care puts additional demands on the nurse as a leader due to the psychological complexity of care. Experience and leadership training are most important to exert leadership. In Sweden, demands for leadership exists already at the beginning of a nursing career, and in psychiatry it may lead to an overwhelming workload.

AIM/QUESTION: The aim of the present study is to highlight nurses' experiences of leading the psychiatric nursing care in an adult psychiatric context.

METHOD: A qualitative interview study of eleven registered nurses within psychiatric inpatient care. Content analysis were used for analysis.

RESULTS: Leading with combined feelings of both meaningfulness and uncertainty were the theme arising from the result.

DISCUSSION: Findings from Swedish and international studies, stresses special demands on leadership in psychiatric care. The result show that nurses perceived an ambivalence of their leadership in terms of both meaningfulness and uncertainty.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: An official mandate to lead as well as leadership guidance in communication and teambuilding will enhance leadership, especially among newly graduated nurses. Heightened awareness within health care organisations about difficulties in leading psychiatric nursing care, could increase the possibility to create right prerequisites for leadership.

BACKGROUND: The number of errors in medication management in nursing homes is increasing, which may lead to potentially life-threatening harm. Few studies on this subject are found in the municipal nursing home setting, and causes need to be identified. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of errors connected to medication management in nursing homes by exploring the perspective of first-line registered nurses, registered nurses, and non-licensed staff involved in the care of older persons.

METHODS: A qualitative research approach was applied based on semi-structured interviews with 21 participants at their workplaces: Seven in each of the occupational categories of first-line registered nurses, registered nurses, and non-licensed staff. Subcategories were derived from transcribed interviews by content analysis and categorized according to the Man, Technology, and Organization concept of error causation, which is as a framework to identify errors.

RESULTS: Mistakes in medication management were commonly perceived as a result of human shortcomings and deficiencies in working conditions such as the lack of safe tools to facilitate and secure medication management. The delegation of drug administration to non-licensed staff, the abandonment of routines, carelessness, a lack of knowledge, inadequate verbal communication between colleagues, and a lack of understanding of the difficulties involved in handling the drugs were all considered as risk areas for errors. Organizational hazards were related to the ability to control the delegation, the standard of education, and safety awareness among staff members. Safety issues relating to technology involved devices for handling prescription cards and when staff were not included in the development process of new technological aids. A lack of staff and the lack of time to act safely in the care of the elderly were also perceived as safety hazards, particularly with the non-licensed staff working in nursing homes.

CONCLUSIONS: The staff working in nursing homes perceive that the risks due to medication management are mainly caused by human limitations or technical deficiencies. Organizational factors, such as working conditions, can often facilitate the occurrence of malpractice. To minimize mistakes, care managers need to have a systemwide perspective on safety issues, where organizational issues are essential.

OBJECTIVES: To compare short- and long-term emotional distress (grief, anxiety, depressive symptoms) after early miscarriage in women randomized to expectant management or misoprostol treatment, and to compare satisfaction with treatment.

METHODS: This is a randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01033903) comparing expectant management with misoprostol treatment of early miscarriage. If the miscarriage was not complete on day 31 after inclusion surgical evacuation was recommended. Main outcome measures were grief, anxiety, depressive symptoms and client satisfaction assessed by validated psychometric self-assessment instruments, i.e. Perinatal grief scale (PGS), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S Form-Y), Montgomery-åsberg Depression Rating Scale Self-report version (MADRS-S) and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8). There were four assessment points: the day of randomization, the day when the miscarriage was judged to be complete, and 3 months and 14 months after complete miscarriage. Analysis was by intention to treat.

RESULTS: 90 women were randomized to expectant management and 94 to misoprostol treatment. The psychometric and client satisfaction scores were similar in the two treatment groups at all assessment points. At inclusion, 41% (35/86) of the women managed expectantly and 37% (34/92) of those treated with misoprostol had STAI-state scores >46 ("high levels of anxiety") and 9% (8/86) and 10% (9/91) had symptoms of moderate or severe depression (MADRS-S score >20). In both treatment groups, symptom scores for anxiety and depression were significantly higher at inclusion than after treatment and remained low until 14 months after complete miscarriage. Grief reactions were mild. The median PGS score in both treatment groups was 40.0 at 3 months and 37.0 at 14 months after complete miscarriage. Four women treated with misoprostol and two women managed expectantly had PGS scores >90 (indicating deep grief) 3 months after complete miscarriage. One woman managed expectantly had PGS score >90 after 14 months. More than 85% of the participants in both groups would recommend the treatment they received to a friend.

CONCLUSIONS: The psychological response to and recovery after early miscarriage did not differ between women treated with misoprostol and those managed expectantly. Satisfaction with treatment was high in both treatment groups. Our findings support patient involvement when deciding on management of early miscarriage. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Objectives: The aim of the present study is to determine how marital status and certain post-migration family structures are associated with the risk of mental illness among recently arrived Arabic- speaking refugees in Sweden. 

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during 2015 and 2016. The study population was recruited by inviting all adult refugees who participated in the mandatory public integration support programme. All refugees that participated had received refugee status. A total of 681 of the invited participants returned the GHQ-12 questionnaires, through which the risk for mental illness was measured and only Arabic- speaking refugees (N=638) were included in the analyses. 

Results: Marital status per se was not associated with a risk for mental illness. However, for the whole study sample there was a statistical significant odds ratio of 1.72 (95% CI 1.03–2.86). For male Arabic-speaking refugees with a spouse or child left behind in the home country there was a borderline significant increased risk for mental illness, odds ratio = 1. 87 (95% CI 0.99–3.56). The risk for female Arabic-speaking refugees was non-significant, odds ratio = 1.35 (95% CI 0.55–3.33). 

Conclusions: Arabic- speaking refugees who were separated from family members reported an increased risk for mental illness after arriving in the host country. Actions to facilitate family reunion after arriving as a refugee (in Sweden) seems to be an important factor to promote mental health among refugees. 

Objective; The aim of this study was to investigate whether women, who reported “symptoms of depression” during pregnancy and up to 1.5 years postpartum, who reported domestic violence or not, were treated with antidepressant medication. Material and Methods; A prospective longitudinal cohort study recruited primi- and multiparous women (n=1939). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the NorVold Abuse Questionnaire, and a questionnaire about medication during pregnancy were distributed and administered three times, during early, late pregnancy and during the postpartum period. Antidepressant medication was compared between women with EPDS scores < 13 and scores EPDS ≥ 13 as the optimal cut-off for lower and higher symptoms of depression. Results; EPDS scores > 13 were detected in 10.1 % of the women during the whole pregnancy, of those 6.2 % had depressive symptoms already in early pregnancy and 10.0 % during the postpartum period. Women with EPDS scores ≥ 13 and non-exposure to domestic violence were more often non-medicated (p < 0.001). None of the women with EPDS scores ≥ 13 exposed to domestic violence had received any antidepressant medication, albeit the relationship was statistically non-significant. Conclusion; Pregnant women who experienced themselves as having several depressive symptoms, social vulnerability and even a history of domestic violence, did not receive any antidepressant treatment during pregnancy nor postpartum. This study shows the importance of detecting depressive symptoms already during early pregnancy and a need for standardized screening methods.