The aim of this thesis is to investigate the self-proclaimed performance of the National Board of Institutional Care, and its specific youth care homes in Sweden (SiS), concerning SiS work with institutionalised children and youth in relation to law of The Care of Young Persons Act (LVU). Special focus is also given to how the SiS self-assessment contrasts with the accounts given by institutionalised youths. We have investigated SiS claims present on their website since it provides ample documentation, information and deeds, and investigated reports by youth in the media, research and news outlets. We have elected to code all collected data and have thus identified key recurring themes present in youth and SiS reports.We have then regarded these findings with respect to our theories that are presented in the results and analysis section along with previous research. In this section we maintain that the description provided by youths at SiS is problematic and often shows a lack of care giving instances or staff that master the tools required to meet the youth in a constructive manner. In the discussion we once again maintain our theories and methodological approach that is based on Discourse analytical grounds that maintain the importance of language and the messages signified through actions.

Malignant melanoma is the most invasive form of skin cancer and today's current diagnosis is based on surgical invasive sampling that can be perceived as frightening for the patient. Therefore, a non-invasive sampling method called Pigmented lesion assay (PLA) was investigated which is based on a sampling using tape-strips (D100 - D-Squame Standard Sampling Discs). The skin consists of three layers, the epidermis, dermis and subcutis, where each layer varies considerably in its anatomy and function. The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin and the cell contents consist mainly of keratinocytes and melanocytes. Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that occurs when melanocytes, whose function is to develop pigment in the skin, begin to grow out of control. Through the tape method, there is an exchange between the epidermal cell types and the tape, the number of tape-strips applied to the 10 voluntary participants was a total of 5 where the first two were discarded to minimize bacterial contamination. After sampling, an RNA isolation was performed on collected tape-strips and then a cDNA-synthesis was performed. To elucidate the function of the method, a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was performed on participant samples for amplification of the normal gene filaggrin on the healthy participants. The results showed that the PLA analysis is possible for the detection of interesting genes. Genes that are melanoma-related are LINC, PRAME and CIMP and was amplified on purchased melanoma cells for control of the method in comparison with control genes ACTB and GAPDH.

This study is about women who suffer from violence in close relationships. The purpose ofthe study is to answer three questions, those are "What difficulties can the social service faceat work and when designing needs-adapted interventions for women who are in a violentrelationship?", "Does the social service have various tools that can be used at work ifdifficulties arise in the work and in the design of needs-adapted support for women exposed toviolence? ” and "How does the law, as a påwer structure, affect social services efforts towardswomen exposed to violence?”. The empirical sources of the study are a handbook for FREDAfrom the National Board of Health and Welfare (2014), a handbook from the National Boardof Health and Welfare (2016), a report from the National Board of Health and Welfare (2018)and a regional handbook from the County Administrative Board (2019). The sources werechosen as the study's empirical data because they are informative and the information coversthe most essential in the study area. A qualitative method is the method the study is based onand the empirical data have been analyzed on the basis of a thematic analysis. In social work,difficulties may arise in the provision of housing to abused women. This is because there maybe a shortage of housing that satisfies women's needs. Even when a woman is offeredfinancial assistance, there is a risk that the violence will not be made visible, which results inthe woman not receiving the right help. Additional difficulties that can arise are when thewoman normalizes the violence and does not tell about it. The social services have varyingmethods in dealing with these difficulties, for example collaboration or through askingquestions with the help of Freda-short question. The intersectional perspective has been usedto understand how the law affects the support offered to abused women. The perspective hasalso been used to understand why categories are essential in social work. 

Background: Humans normally follow a 24-hour circadian rhythm where light and darkness facilitates wakefulness during the day respectively sleep during the night. The circadian rhythm reaches its bottom level between three and four in the morning regardless of the necessity of sleep. Because of this, night work means a predisposition to sleep disorders due to the body’s physiology that controls the circadian rhythm. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to illustrate the presence of sleep disorders among night and shift working nurses. Method: A literature study was conducted and fifteen quantitative scientific articles from the databases CINAHL and PubMed were retrieved, selected, reviewed analyzed aend complied. All the reviewed articles based their results using self-assssment forms completed by clinically active nurses. Results: The findings indicated a strong relationship between sleep disorders and night work among nurses. Nurses with continuous night work, or shiftwork with including night shifts, suffered of either; sleep deprivation, decreased sleep quality, insomnia or chronic fatigue. Conclusion: Nurses that work consequently during the night or work shifts with included night shifts, are affected by either sleep deprivation or decreased sleep quality. This indicates that work during the night can lead to some type of sleep disorder.

Development of biocompatible surfaces are considered a great challenge within the medical research. In general a medical implant will be coated of a layer of non-specific proteins a few seconds after implantation. This happens regardless of the construction material of the implant. The adsorbed protein layer will activate a host-defense mechanism, known as the foreign body reaction, which evidently will result in a fibrous non-vesicular capsule that isolates the implant from its goal tissues. The development of biocompatible surface is an interesting research field. It is important to use a surface coating that does not contribute to an inflammatory response or adhesion of unwanted cells. Macrophages is a cell line that is naturally involved in the immune system in the body, which is interesting for such studies. The aim of this study is to examine cell adhesion and inflammatory response of a macrophage cell line in vitro. The investigation was performed using surfaces modified by polydopamine (PDA), polyethyleneglycol (PEG) and protease and combination thereof. RAW 264.7- cells is a mouse macrophage cell-line. The investigation of cell adhesion was performed using cells in contact with different surface coatings and evaluated by photographing the surfaces at various occasions. The cells ability to adhesion and the inflammatory response was studied in different fetal sera concentrations. The result show no difference in cell adhesion at different fetal sera concentrations. The RAW 264.7-cells adhesion varied for the different surface coatings. The RAW 264.7 cells showed a stronger adherence when the surface coating was done purely by diffusion. The RAW 264.7 cells preliminary showed no inflammatory response related to the tested surface coatings.

Introduction: The study provides a comprehensive overview of how it has become increasingly common in today's job market for employers to request criminal record checks during the hiring process. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how the criminal record affects the employment prospects of individuals with a criminal background and to analyze the methods identified as effective in supporting individuals who have been denied employment due to their criminal record. Method: To address the study's objectives, a qualitative research approach was chosen, involving content analysis and document analysis. Results: Individuals with a criminal record face greater challenges in reintegrating into the labor market due to the stigmatization and labeling associated with having a criminal record. The results showed that individuals with a criminal record experience social exclusion, discrimination, and stigmatization. Furthermore, the findings indicate that these individuals are indirectly punished even after serving their sentence, as they face limitations in their opportunities for labor market reintegration. Society views them as deviant, further hindering the reintegration of individuals with previous criminal convictions and increasing the likelihood of recidivism. Therefore, it is important to implement strategies and interventions that focus on the rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals with criminal backgrounds into the labor market.

Histones are a family of proteins that form nucleosomes when packing DNA in the cell. The complex of histones and DNA named chromatin. In addition to histones, chromatin consists of proteins that are non-histones, which contribute to chromatin stability and gene activity. Histones, with molecular weights of 11-21 kDa, include five main classes: H1, H2A, H2B, H3, H4, forming a complex with each other by ionic bonding. The histone complex consists of (H2A-H2B) flanked with (H3-H4) tetramers. Since histones consist of basic amino acids such as arginine and lysine, they are positively charged, which facilitates binding with DNA which is negatively charged. Histones are considered antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) because they can neutralize bacterial endotoxin. The purpose of the study was to purify histones from wheat germ and characterize these, and study their effect on bacterial growth. Wheat germ was used because they are rich in chromatin. The method for isolation of histones was based on low ionic strength using three different buffers, as well as acid extraction of chromatin with sulfuric acid. To characterize histones, SDS-PAGE electrophoresis was performed and to study their bacterial inhibition, E. coli bacteria were used. The result showed a poor yield of histones, but the main classes of different histones could be separated and characterized by SDS-PAGE. Some samples showed an antibacterial effect. Optimization of the extraction is necessary to increase the yield and thus be able to better study the antibacterial effect of histones. Presumably, it is homogenization that limits the yield and possibly also modification of the acid extract to prevent aggregation.

Keywords: Antimicrobial peptides, acid extraction, chromatin, DNA, histones, ionic strength, purification, wheat germ

The use of vaccines has been one of the most successful public health interventions ever undertaken to prevent infectious diseases and deaths worldwide.  Adjuvants are a substance that is often added to vaccines whose purpose is to stimulate the immune system in a more effective way.  Adjuvants are particles like phagocytes of macrophages and thus increase energy requirements and induce changes in the metabolism of macrophages.  The aim of this work was to investigate whether aluminum (Al)-adjuvants affect macrophage metabolism by measuring intracellular glucose in macrophages after incubation with the Al adjuvant. In this study, the glucose content of macrophages in already collected samples from three healthy donors was examined. Human peripheral monocytes differentiated and polarized into M0-, M1-, and M2-macrophages. A luminescence based method was used in this study to investigate macrophage glucose content before and after incubation of different concentrations with Al adjuvants. The results showed that macrophages' glucose production changes after incubation with the Al adjuvant. M2 macrophages had the largest increase in glucose after the addition of low concentrations of the Al adjuvant. The results of this study are preliminary and several further trials are needed to be able to draw conclusions about a significant increase in glucose concentration in macrophages after exposure and thus phagocytosis of Al adjuvants.

Zonulin, also known as prehaptoglobin, is a precursor to haptoglobin and may affect the permeability of tight junctions of the intestine. Elevated zonulin concentration in plasma may be a potential marker of celiac disease and other autoimmune diseases, such as insulin-dependent diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. This research mainly focused on evaluating the stability of zonulin: Whether the zonulin levels differ between serum, heparin plasma and EDTA plasma, and if repeated cycles of freezing and thawing and cold storage affected the concentration of zonulin in plasma or serum. The zonulin concentration in EDTA plasma was also investigated by adding calcium. To determine the concentration of zonulin, competitive ELISA was used. This study includes 20 participants who met the following selection criteria: over 18-year-old, not pregnant, not medicated and not gluten intolerant. Additionally, three test tubes (serum tubes, EDTA plasma and heparin plasma tubes) were taken from each participant. Blood samples were treated differently before the ELISA assay. The results showed that the concentration of zonulin is significantly higher in serum compared to heparin plasma and EDTA plasma. This study also showed that the concentration of zonulin in plasma and serum increases significantly during repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Cold storage also caused a significant increase of zonulin in serum. The results further illustrate that the addition of calcium to EDTA plasma causes an increase of the concentration of zonulin, the levels are higher than in the corresponding serum samples and there is no significant correlation between zonulin in serum and zonulin in EDTA plasma with calcium additive. This study shows that it is important that zonulin is determined in serum, not in plasma, and that repeated freeze-thaw cycles as well as cold storage of samples should be avoided as it can dramatically affect the zonulin concentration.

Mycoplasma genitalium is an intracellular bacteria that is sexually transmitted. In women, M.genitalium causes urinary urgency and cervicit, and in males, mainly non-gonococcal urethritis, NGU. The first choice for the treatment of M. genitalium is macrolides, for example azithromycin. Second-hand treatment is the fluoroquinolones. The aim of this study was to describe mutations in the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) in the Topisomerase IV (parC gene) and in the DNA gyrase subunit A (gyrA gene) in M.genitalium positive isolates which also carries macrolide resistance in clinical samples within Region Skane. The method being used for analysing the mutations was DNA-sequencing. In addition, an optimization analysis was performed on different parameters (primer concentration, annealing temperature and cycles) of conventional PCR to achieve good sequencing results. A fisher's exact test with GraphPad QuickCalcs was also made to see how frequent fluoroquinolone mutations for each gene respectively are in this study compared to a study made in Melbourne, Australia. Mutations in QRDR were found in both parC gene (C234T, G248T, G259A, and G259T) and gyrA gene (G295A). The results for the optimization analysis showed that using 0.2 μM primer concentration to PCR mix for PCR, 58ºC annealing temperature and 50 cycles was considered most appropriate. The result from GraphPad QuickCalcs showed no difference in frequency between the studies concerning mutation in both genes and is statistically significant at significance level 0.05 with two-tailed test. The central purpose of describing mutations in the QRDR region aims to provide knowledge of mutations linked to fluoroquinolone resistance in M.genitalium isolates.

The aim of this study was to investigate potential factors of why children and youths generally start bullying, but also the long and short-term effects bullying has on its victims. In order to answer the research questions, the method used was a systematic literature review which includes collecting data by using databases such as Libsearch and Swepub. We obtained seven studies including doctoral dissertations and scientific articles, some of which include collected data results from several longitudinal, quantitative, qualitative and meta-analytic studies. The theoretical framework used in this study include social cognitive theory by social psychologist Albert Bandura. This theory was relevant in order to analyze how bullying behavior can be designed based on the social environment together with cognitive abilities. The results indicate that bullying is a complex phenomenon explained differently within the research field and our main finding shows that the victims define bullying differently from the definition used by researchers within the field. Several different factors emerged as to why some children and youths are prone to bullying. This study identifies that some of these factors are due to moral disengagement which refers to distancing from moral actions and lack of moral emotions such empathy, sympathy and guilt. Furthermore, domestic violence and social environment such as aggressive peers are also explanatory factors to why children develop and normalize a bullying behavior. Finally, this study has shown that bullying affects the victims at both early and adult age. Bully victims are often being affected in an early age developing mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and increased risk for behavioral problems associated with substance use. These problems often continue into adulthood where beside mental and physical health issues the victims also struggle with trust and relationship issues.

Men's violence against women in couple relationships is a global growing social problem that occurs in all countries regardless of religion, social class or social and economic conditions. The United Nations (UN) is constructing men's violence against women as a global pandemic that is constantly on the rise, and as the most widespread and socially accepted violation of human rights. Violence maintains individual positions of power and is thus a violation of women's human rights.The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how women exposed to violence describe their experiences of violence in hetrosexual relationships, and whether the normalization of violence affects a woman's decision to leave a violent relationship. The study was based on the documentary series Våldsam kärlek",(”Violent love”) which depicts the subjective experiences of violence by four women exposed to violence. Theories about the gender power perspective, the normalization process and the breakup process were applied in the study for a deeper understanding for the subject. The results from the study show that men's violence against women involves physical, psychological and sexual violence, where violence escalates gradually. The results from the study show that the most common reason for domestic violence against women is due to manly power imbalance between men and women in society, but also because the woman normalizes violence in everyday life, which makes the breakup from the relationship more difficult. 

The aim of this study is to show how violence against a child’s mother effects judgments about child’s best interests in custody, housing and child contact. The thesis main empirical object consists six rulings in custody related cases from different courts in 2019, which all countian information from mothers who have been exposed to violence from the father of their child in presence of the child. The purpose is to understand how courts reason and judge when there is information that the child has experienced violence against their mother. The courts often diminish mothers and the children’s statement of experience violence, the courts describe men’s violence against women and children as “conflicts”, “cooperation problems” and “disagreement”. This type of reasoning blurs out roles as aggressors and abused, which diminish abused mothers and children’s experience of violence and need of protection. The violence that is described in the court cases and the consequences of the experienced violence effects and seriously harm children’s mental and physical health in both short and long terms. Children have an increased risk to develop psychological, behavioral and cognitive difficulties like anxiety, depression, worry and low self-esteem. Studies show that children who have experienced fathers violence against their mothers constitute a risk group for developing PTSD. The courts focusing on the importance of a close and good relationship with both parents is in my opinion the good and close relationship cannot be achieved when a chilled is exposed psychological violence and exposed to violence from the father against their mother. And when the court sentence for shared custody there is an increased risk for fathers to control and have power over the abused mothers and children.

Background: Cyberbullying has long been a problem among children and young people and especially in school activities. With the rapid development of the internet, bullying has begun to be expressed in a new arena, namely the internet. This is often called cyberbullying. Purpose: The purpose of the following paper is to investigate the experience of cyberbullying and what possible strategies exist to combat cyberbullying. Method: To answer the purpose, a literature review with qualitative approach has been used. Results: The results show that children and young people who have been bullied can have lasting problems, both socially and intellectually. Conclusion: The conclusion that can be drawn from the following study is that the promotion work should include information on the consequences of cyberbullying. Adults who grew up in other circumstances where the internet has not been as extensive in everyday life should also have a broader perception of cyberbullying.

The Swedish education Act is one of several laws and legal documents regulating every children's right to an equal education and where every child's differences are an asset, integrating children's differences instead of separating them. Despite this, previous research shows that the swedish school system is failing in including necessary means for children with special needs and also discusses what the necessary means are for a successful schooling. In light of this, the aim of this study is twofold where I first aim to show the lack of including necessary support for children with special needs in the Swedish school education. By pointing this out, I will move on to the main purpose of the study which is to examine how Swedish teachers within the municipality of Malmö work in order to include these children in the education. The method used for answering the purpose and research questions of the study are semi structured interviews focusing on the concept of inclusion and including children with special needs in the normal education system. The developed concept on inclusion as well as learning and development stems from the theoretical framework, where I have also identified specific themes that will be applied to collect relevant findings from the interviews. The result of the study shows that, as previous studies show, that there are failing points in the lack of resources when trying to include students with special needs. But, the teachers reflect in many ways when working with inclusion of students in need of special support.

Student health consists of several professions that together build a team with several professions. The team works to promote students' mental and physical health. The goal for student health is that all participating professions work together to ensure that all students feel involved, valuable and motivated to achieve the official school goals. Depending on how well this teamwork operates, it can either be an enabling or hindering factor for the student's participation in school activities. This study aims to investigate how a student health team can best work to create the sense of context that the school requires both by law and its required values. The study is based on two popular science books about health and unhealthiness in school and a fiction book with a "case description" of two teenage girls from different psychosocial environments feeling mentally ill. The results of the study show that student health teams can function well as there is a clear structure and determination among all participating professions. Some issues the popular science books discussed were the need to focus on health promotion and to provide adequate time for the required preventive work. A further development of this study is recommended to gain an understanding of the individual thoughts in student health and thereby make a comparison with the study that we have done through our interpretation of the literature.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a disease with unclear etiology characterized by chronic pain and fatigue and an array of other symptoms. The disease affects approx. 2% of the world's population and the prevelance is higher among women. Diagnosis is limited by unclear laboratory values and other medical examination methods. An increased knowledge of patients' experience of living with fibromyalgia can help the registered nurse support these patients by giving them person-centered care. Aim: The purpose of this literature review was to describe patients' experience of living with fibromyalgia. Method: The study focused on qualitative systematic scientific literature, based on 11 original research articles. The articles were analyzed in accordance with content analysis outlined by Forsberg & Wengström. Results: The results showed four themes and 12 sub-themes which described patients' experience of living with fibromyalgia. The themes that emerged included how to live with an invisible disease, living with the symptoms, symptoms and their social impact and strategies to live with the disease. Conclusions: Symptoms of pain, fatigue and insomnia impact of the patient´s life and limits them in work, at home, in leisure activities and participation in socializing. Since the symptoms are subjective and cannot be confirmed objectively, the patients feel that no one takes them seriously including healthcare personnel. To have a meaningful life despite the disease, patients need to find different coping strategies. Healthcare personnel lack of knowledge and thus an inability to perceive it to be a problem; creates unnecessary suffering. Nurses must confirm the patient’s experience of the disease as well as keep up to date with current research in order to create an environment where the patient feels trusted and respected.

Abu Jacobsson, S. Artistic expression in social work. A road to empowerment? Degree project in social work 15 högskolepoäng. Malmö University: Faculty of Health and Society, Department of social work, 2018. One of the main tasks of social work is to contribute to the empowerment of individuals and groups, and by doing so, also promoting values such as democracy, participation, equality and liberation of resources. During the last decades the development of social work has been characterized by processes of rationalization and higher demands on scientific evidence and evaluation. Social workers use standardized models and forms in the interaction with individuals, creating clients and needs that suit the system. From a critical perspective this type of rationalized practices contribute less to empowerment and liberation of resources, and more to social stratification, limitation and marginalization of those who do not “fit in”. This qualitative study aims at highlighting the potential of artistic expression in social work in the quest to promote empowerment at individual, group and community level. The results show that artistic expression, offering opportunities of reflecting human diversity, promote empowerment of individuals and groups in various ways, and contributes to processes of participation, social inclusion and democracy. Keywords: Artistic expression, empowerment, human development, participation, social inclusion, social justice, social work.

An increased production of free coat chains in (KFLC) serum is commonly observed in inflammatory processes and in autoimmune diseases. An overproduction of free kappa chain is a marker for intrathecal immunoglobulinproduction in the central nervous system (CNS), which can often be seen in multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory nerve diseases. This can be measured both quantitatively by IgG index with nephelometry and qualitatively by detecting oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with isoelectric focusing. The purpose of the studies is to set up analysis for determination of free kappa chain in liquids on a nephelometer and evaluate different quantitative measures for intrathecal Ig synthesis where free kappa chain is included by comparing them against isoelectric focusing, which is the current standard method for detecting intrathecal Ig synthesis. The study obtained good results for different KFLC parameters compared to oligoclonal bands, where KFLC IF has the highest sensitivity and specificity (72%and 93%) compared to oligoclonal bands.

Abudayya, M. The right to aid and homeless need for a fair standard of living. Degree project in Social work 15 högskolepoäng. Malmö University: Faculty of Health and Society, Department of Social Work, 2020. The purpose of the study is to examine the Social Secretary assessments of housing assistance and social secretary perceptions of the concept of reasonable standard of living in relation to different accommodation solutions available in Malmö. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the social secretary challenges associated with making their assessments of housing assistance. To answer the study questions, I used qualitative methods in the form of semi-structured interviews. For my study, I interviewed seven informants working accommodation caseworkers and accommodations investigators in Malmö. Coding and thematization used to conduct my analysis. Empirical data analyzer basis of knowledge and theory. Two theories were used in the study of legal and organizational power. Results and analysis showed that accommodations caseworkers and accommodations investigators do their assessments of housing assistance on the basis of Malmö's guidelines that distinguish between homeless groups in the assessment of eligibility. It turned out that the City of Malmö's guidelines do not resemble the National Board of Health and Welfare guidelines (Socialstyrelsens riktlinjer). There is uncertainty among case workers to define reasonable living standard of accommodation assistance. There are also different views on how accommodations solutions in Malmö cater to homeless people need decent standard of living. Accommodation caseworkers also had different challenges in the assessment of aid. There were various challenges that accommodation caseworkers and accommodations invistigators experienced such Malmö's new guidelines, lack of time, workload, autonomy and powerlessness.

Mass media play an important role in shaping public perceptions about different thematics, including crime and justice. The consumption of mediatic contents in different forms, such as newspapers, television news and crime dramas, can affect the way people perceive and interpret concepts as deviance and punishments, the attitude towards the criminal system and the level of concern for becoming a victim. In the last years, Streaming Videos On Demand platforms have made easier the access and the consumptions of contents as crime dramas; the changes in the modality of fruition have been followed by changes in the representation of characters, with the introduction and the increasing diffusion of morally ambiguous figures. This opens new possibilities of research, particularly regarding the modes of representation of criminals as antiheroes. The purpose of the article is then to investigate how the figure of the offender is constructed as antihero in four Original Netflix Productions (You, Narcos, Ozark, La Casa de Papel). A Critical Discourse Analysis of two narrative themes is conducted combining Marxist and Postmodernist interpretative approaches.

Bakgrund: Sverige har under åren utvecklats till ett multikulturellt land vilket innebär att nyexaminerade sjuksköterskor kommer att möta patienter från olika kulturella bakgrunder. Detta examensarbete kan användas som stöd för grundutbildade sjuksköterskor då det belyser hur andra sjuksköterskor har hanterat svårigheterna och utmaningarna som kan uppstå vid omvårdnad av palliativa patienter från olika kulturella bakgrunder.

Syfte Syftet med arbetet är att beskriva grundutbildade sjuksköterskors upplevelser av transkulturell omvårdnad inom palliativ vård.

Metod: Metasyntes användes som analysmetod för arbetet. Det är skrivet utifrån en kvalitativ litteraturöversikt och är baserad på totalt 10 kvalitativa artiklar.

Resultat: Resultatet för detta arbete valdes att presenteras utifrån tre huvudteman samt åtta subteman. Tema ett (1): Det som krävs för möjligheten till en god kommunikation vid transkulturell omvårdnad med tre (3) subteman: Verbal kommunikation, Beröring som kommunikationssätt samt Hjälp av tolk. Tema två (2): Kulturella skillnader med tre (3) subteman: Oro över att kränka patienten, Vikten av kunskap om kulturella skillnader samt Etiska dilemman. Tema tre (3): Sammarbete med familjen för personcentrerad vård med två (2) subteman: Medvetenhet om patienten som individ ochFamilj över autonomi

Slutsats: De grundutbildade sjuksköterskorna upplevde den verbala och icke-verbala kommunikationen som en svårighet vid transkulturell vård av palliativa patienter. Användning av tolk upplevdes inte alltid som positivt, och att ha kunskap om olika kulturer för att kunna ge personcentrerad omvårdnad sågs som viktigt.

FACTORS THAT CAN CHART A CRIMINAL CAREER

A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR, INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE, SOCIAL TIES AND FAMILY SITUATION 

JASMIN ACHKAR

Achkar, Jasmin. Factors that can chart a criminal career. A qualitative study which is aimed to examine what factors that can influence an individual to develop criminal behavior, the individual's experience of this time-period, the social ties, as well as family relationships. Degree project in criminology. Malmö University: Faculty of Health and Society, Department of Criminology, 2023.

The study "Factors that can chart a criminal career" aims to find out what can affect an individual developing a criminal career and what the individual's experience is during this period. How and when did the informant begin his criminal career? What did the informant's family situation and social ties look like growing up? To answer the study's questions, interviews have been conducted at KRIS in Malmö with three informants. All the informants are between the ages 49 and 60 years old and have served a sentence in the form of imprisonment during their life. The result of this study is supported by the social bond theory as well as previous research on crime. Since the participants in this study were involved in criminal activities from an early age, the researcher chose to include Travis Hirschi's theory of social bonds. This theoretical choice is considered advantageous as it provides an analytical framework to understand and investigate the social factors that may have influenced the participants' behavior. Hirschi's theory emphasizes the crucial role of social bonds and relationships in explaining criminality, and by applying it, the researcher can identify potential deficiencies or weaknesses in the participants' lives. The findings of this study support the social bond theory and previous research on criminality. This chapter gives the reader a presentation and background to the essay. Then follows the background to what I have chosen to investigate and its purpose, followed by questions and the choice of boundaries. 

Keywords: Interviews, crime and criminal career. 

Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish the top 10 research uncertainties in aortic dissection together with the patient organization Aortic Dissection Association Scandinavia using the James Lind Alliance concept. Methods: A pilot survey aiming to identify uncertainties sent to 12 patients was found to have high content validity (scale content validity index = 0.91). An online version of the survey was thereafter sent to 30 patients in Aortic Dissection Association Scandinavia and 45 caregivers in the field of aortic dissection. Research uncertainties of aortic dissection were gathered, collated and processed. Results: Together with research priorities retrieved from five different current guidelines, 94 uncertainties were expressed. A shortlist of 24 uncertainties remained after processing for the final workshop. After the priority-setting process, using facilitated group format technique, the ranked final top 10 research uncertainties included diagnostic tests for aortic dissection; patient information and care continuity; quality of life; endovascular and medical treatment; surgical complications; rehabilitation; psychological consequences; self-care; and how to improve prognosis. Conclusion: These ranked top 10 important research priorities may be used to justify specific research in aortic dissection and to inform healthcare research funding decisions.

Background: 90, 000 people die annually in Sweden, whereby 70000 to 75000, were in need of palliative care in different forms. Due to advancement in modern day’s medical treatment and technology, so many live longer. Palliative care is not only aimed at patients in the final stages of life. It is also for patients with chronic illnesses. The purpose of palliative care is to increase the quality of life of a patient. Nurses, therefore need to increase their knowledge of palliative care in order to meet the needs of patients. Aim: To compile scientific literature about nurses experience of providing palliative care. Method: A literature study with eleven empiric studies with qualitative approaches was used to compile the results. Databases, CINAHL, PubMed and PsycINFO were used. Results: Six main themes and four sub-themes emerged. The main themes were: coordination; teaching and relatives support; symptom management; nurse- patient relationship; to facilitate a good death and Nurses development in palliative care. Conclusion: Nurses’ role in palliative care is extensive. In palliative care, nurses act as the care coordinators and as patient advocates and they help to facilitate a good death. This can be done by early identification of patient symptom. They help in relieving symptoms and building a relationship with the patient, in order to increase the quality of care. Nurses play a vital role in taking care of patients’ relatives by supporting them during the illness and after death occurs.

Denna kvalitativa studie undersöker hur individers möjlighet att få stöd av Plattform Malmö för att lyckas lämna ett kriminellt nätverk ser ut. Detta uppnås genom att undersöka hur samarbetet fungerar mellan polis och kommunens avhopparverksamhet samt att vidare undersöka hur arbetet med avhoppare fungerar på Plattform Malmö. Studien genomfördes med semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyserades tematiskt. Urvalet bestod av tre deltagare och tre intervjuer har utförts med Konsultationsteamet, sociala insatsgrupper och polisen. Resultatet visade att samarbetet mellan polis och avhopparverksamhet är väletablerat, men det innebär även utmaningar att få ett bestående arbete med de olika arbetssätten. Plattform Malmös arbete med avhoppare innebär en svår process som kräver ett samspel mellan parterna. Det gäller att ställa tydliga krav men samtidigt inte vara för hårda mot individerna. Individerna kan få flera stödinsatser för att lämna ett kriminellt nätverk. Insatserna tillsätts efter individens behov och får hjälp att jobba med både fysiska och inre förändringar. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultatet att Konsultationsteamet och sociala insatsgrupper arbetar med samordnade och hållbara metoder. Individen har en omfattande möjlighet att få stöd av Plattform Malmö för att lyckas lämna ett kriminellt nätverk, däremot måste individen själv kunna tillgodose insatserna. 

The study aims, in part, to examine how cooperation and collaboration can take place based on the work with student health teams and with a focus on the role of the school curator. Secondly, to highlight how health promotion and preventive work can be done in these perspectives. The study's questions are about how different professionals' joint and own assignments are experienced within student health teams in relation to cooperation and collaboration in school and externally as well as focusing on the role of the school curator. International and national studies are taken into account based on the purpose of the study. Professional theory that aims, among other things, to give an understanding of difficulties that can arise in collaboration between professional groups is a theoretical perspective used in the analysis. The method is qualitative and is based on six interviews with different occupational categories. The most important results of the survey show that cooperation and collaboration provide insight into each other's assignments within the student health team. That the school counsellor has a key role in coordinating collaborative work around students who need assistance from other administrations as well. That it is desirable to have more discussions about forms of collaboration between student health teams and the school in general to develop health promotion and preventive work.

Background: Healthcare workers are most at risk and most vulnerable to workplace violence (WPV) when compared to other professions. Despite high rates of exposure to violence, it is highly underreported. Aim: To identify the prevalence rate of WPV and the existing demographic relationship to WPV in the healthcare sector. To check for risk factors and health implications of this type of WPV on victims. Also, this research work intends to highlight the proposed strategies and interventions that can be used to mitigate against this type of WPV. Methods: To achieve this aim, a literature review methodology was employed. The Malmö university library and google scholar search engines were utilized with several inclusion criteria to arrive at a total of 24 articles for this review. Results: Prevalence rate for WPV is high with the prevalence for non-physical violence being higher than physical violence. Age and years of experience showed a significant relationship with being a victim of WPV while gender did not provide a conclusive result. There were few cases of physical injuries but a high percentage of victims of nonphysical violence suffered from psychological trauma such as fear, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder - PTSD, and anxiety. Prevention strategies and interventions have been recommended by victims and researchers of WPV. Conclusion: WPV is an existing phenomenon with adverse effects which reduce the quality of lives and services of workers. There is need for effective preventive methods to reduce WPV such as the implementation of zero-tolerance policy to WPV, the presence of police officers in at-risk health care facilities and involvement of victims in the development of prevention strategies.

Socialsekreterare inom ekonomiskt bistånd stöter på risker i sitt arbete som innebär att de tenderar att utsättas för arbetsrelaterat klientvåld mer än andra yrkesgrupper. Syftet har varit att studera upplevelserna av arbetsrelaterat klientvåld bland socialsekreterare som arbetar med ekonomiskt bistånd,hur de har hanterat upplevelserna och hur de har blivit påverkade av dessa. Studien analyserar dimensionen av den geografiska närheten till sina klienter parallellt med arbetsrelaterat klientvåld. Åtta kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med socialsekreterare som arbetar med ekonomiskt bistånd i mindre kommuner. Empirin har analyserats utifrån organisationsteori med inriktning på klientrelationen och organisationskultur samt teori om copingstrategier. Upplevelserna av arbetsrelaterat klientvåld presenteras i termer av våld, hot och trakasserier. Resultatet presenterar att våld är tämligen ovanligt förekommande bland socialsekreterarna, medan hot och trakasserier tenderade att vara vanligt förekommande. Studien fann 16 olika copingstrategier som användes för att hantera upplevelserna av arbetsrelaterat klientvåld. Copingstrategierna delades in i problemfokuserade och emotionsfokuserade. Upplevelsen av arbetsrelaterat klientvåld påverkade socialsekreteraren genom att de ändrade sitt arbetssätt och blev avvaktande i sin yrkesroll. Privatlivet påverkades genom att socialsekreteraren undvek lokala platser för att inte träffa på klienten, fick med sig upplevelserna hem där obehaget överfördes till deras familjer. Resultatet fann att den geografiska närheten till sina klienter i relation till arbetsrelaterat klientvåld gör att upplevelserna av arbetsrelaterat klientvåld förstärks. Arbetsrelaterat klientvåld är normaliserat inom organisationen. Organisationen saknar tydliga gränser för vad som klassificeras som arbetsrelaterat klientvåld. Det resulterar i att socialsekreterare inte rapporterar klientvåld som de anser är icke acceptabelt.

This is a qualitative study where I have interviewed four principals in different elementary schools to see their view of pupils support assistants for pupils in need of special support. The pupils support assistants work role is not a profession role and it’s a work group that is created when the principles make the decision that a pupil is in need of special support. No training requirements are required to work as a student assistant, and the most important thing is being flexible. A professional development, higher education and skills development is needed to increase the quality of pupils support assistants works. However, it was found that the majority of the principals did not have good communication, guidance or regular guidance to the pupils support assistants. The principals also saw an economic problem in the perspective regarding a professional development in the work role.

The skin has several functions as the largest and one of the most complex organs of the body. One of the skin’s primary functions is to prevent water loss by retaining water to allow the skin to function in dry environments. The outermost layer, stratum corneum (SC), retains water loss as rehydration by natural moisturizing factors (NMFs). In this project, HaCaT cells were incubated with commonly used skincare ingredients such as urea, glycerol, transcutol, salicylic acid, and polyethylene glycol 4000 Da (PEG-4000) to evaluate their impact on cell viability, MTT proliferation assay and gene expression measurements by qPCR. The relationship between cell viability, gene expression, and water activity was also studied. The excipients showed a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability because osmotic pressure increased. One finding was that transcutol exhibited a protective effect against concentrations where osmotic pressure harmed the cells. PEG-4000, with a concentration of 10 % (w/v), showed an upregulation of elongation of very long chain fatty acid 4 (ELOVL-4). Gene expression of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) was low, with 10 mM transcutol, even though the cells had a viability of >100 %. It should have conducted an upregulation of SPT from the high metabolic activity in the cells. In conclusion, the viability and gene expression were most likely related to osmotic stress but should be further analyzed with digital holographic microscopy (DHM) and Western blot. 

It has been found that society sometimes fails to protect its citizens from being exposed to honor-related violence and oppression (HRV). A contributing factor is suggested to be lack of knowledge about HRV among practitioners within various fields of social work. This could inhibit practitioners’ ability to act on any signs of oppression among clients who may be exposed to HRV. The current thesis aims to explore this problem further by studying three projects which provide education on HRV to practitioners. Interviews have been conducted with both project managers and project participants in order to access experiences of incorporating education as a preventive factor of HRV, as well as access information on whether the target group, primarily children, have been affected by the work of the projects. The results show that informants respond differently to the term HRV which could infer limitations of the provided education. However, all informants agree that there is a need of education on HRV, especially in order to properly attend to clients who are perceived as pertain to a honor context. Some results show potential obstacles within preventive work against HRV. Such obstacles may be practitioners’ receptiveness to education, as well as practitioners’ perceived difficulties in attending to children between two cultures. All informants agree that education should be viewed as part of an long-term process of preventive work against HRV which needs continuous attention.

Background: Different countries have different euthanasia laws, in Sweden it is still an illegal practice. Patients who decide to end their lives with euthanasia/assisted death are usually terminally ill. The complexity with euthanasia includes ethical issues, personal values, health care principles, patient’s autonomy and how it should be applied in practice. The nurse is responsible for nursing and thereby has a close bond to the patient and his/her’s family. A lot of people suffer at the end of life and nurses are faced with difficult questions about death and wishes how they want their lives to end. Aim: To illustrate nurses’ experiences and attitudes to euthanasia/assisted suicide. Method: A literature review based on eleven scientific articles with qualitative design. Two databases were used, PubMed and CINAHL. The studies have been reviewed and analyzed; the used method was content analysis. Findings: Two main themes and eight sub themes were found. Under the first theme Communication the sub themes were; Understanding and helping the patient, Collaboration and support in the team, Nurses’ participation in the euthanasia process, Supporting the patient when euthanasia is granted and Nurses’ support to relatives. Under the second theme Attitudes the three sub themes were; Attitudes for euthanasia/assisted death, Attitudes against euthanasia/assisted death and Uncertainty in the issue of euthanasia/assisted death. Conclusion: Euthanasia/assisted death is complex and stirs a lot of emotions. The facing difficulties are dealt with through communication and interdisciplinary teamwork. Though nurses’ opinions about euthanasia/assisted death are divided they will always be faced with end of life nursing.

Background: Since the resources of todays’ health care service are not enough to answer to the health care requests of the growing/evolving population, the question about what care the patients can perform themselves is raised. In person-centred care the patients are, among other things, offered information and education needed to be able to make well-grounded decisions and to be responsible for their own care. Aim: To identify whether there was scientific support for how patients experiences, comprehends and perceives, information or education provided by health care professionals about wound care, and the effects of the information/education on the patients ability to self-care and their sense of independence in the daily life. Method: A systematic review was conducted of four databases, PubMed, Cinahl, Eric and ERC. After relevance and quality audit, totally eight studies where chosen to be included in the final synthesis. Results: Conclusions could be drawn that there was a scientific support for that the information or education provided by health care personnel had impact on the patients’ ability to perform self-care. In all studies their where findings of that lowered ability to perform self-care was concordant to lacking and insufficient information. The deficiency in information also caused emotions like worry/anxious/fear and had impact on the feeling of independence in daily life. However, there were no findings of scientific support of how the patients coped with their feelings related to the information/education and to self-care.

Background: Dementia is one of the main widespread diseases in the world and with an increased life expectancy, more and more people are diagnosed every year. Dementia is a chronic cognitive disorder that results in mental-, physical- and motor symptoms. The management of these symptoms are complex and can present great challenges to staff, relatives and patients alike. Pharmacological treatment of dementia is controversial with limited efficiency and may result in strong side effects. Non-pharmacological treatments are few and underutilized. Purpose: To compile the care staff’s experience of music as a nursing strategy in dementia care. Method: The literature study is based on ten scientific articles with a qualitative approach. The databases used include Cinahl, PubMed and PsycINFO. The analysis of the selected articles was based on Forsberg and Wengströms method of analysis for qualitative content and was quality checked with SBU: s qualitative review template. Result: The analysis process generated three main categories, which were experience of music’s impact on dementia symptoms, music and the sense of meaningfulness and music’s impact on communication. The results showed that music in different forms had a positive impact on patients’ agitation, anxiety, communication, memory and physical skills, which care staff thought gave the patients a sense of meaningfulness. The patients’ changed behaviors generated a positive impact on organizational factors and the environment of the departments. Furthermore, the results showed a few negative aspects, that mainly revolved around a lack of interests from care staff as well as difficulties in planning. Conclusion: Too summarize, the care staff found music to be a positive nursing tool in dementia care.

Introduction: Although research has shown that evidence-based family interventions in research settings improve the communication and understanding of parental mental illness, there is a lack of knowledge about interventions in an everyday clinical context. Aim: This study explores how families with parental mental illness experience family interventions in a natural clinical context in psychiatric services. Method: Five families with children aged 10–12 were recruited from psychiatric services in southern Sweden and interviewed in a manner inspired by naturalistic inquiry and content analysis. Both family and individual interviews were performed. Results: In striving to lead an ordinary life while coping with the parental mental illness, these families sought the support of the psychiatric services, especially in order to inform their children about the mental illness. Despite different family interventions, the family members felt supported and reported that the number of conflicts in the family had decreased. The parents were appreciative of help with child-rearing questions, and the children experienced a calmer family atmosphere. However, the partner of the person with mental illness experienced being left without support. Implications for practice: Our study shows that psychiatric services, and especially mental health nurses, are in a position to more regularly offer family interventions in supporting the children and the healthy partners.

Background: A parental mental illness affects all family members and should warrant a need for support.Aim: To investigate the extent to which psychiatric patients with underage children are the recipients of child-focused interventions and involved in interagency collaboration.Methods: Data were retrieved from a psychiatric services medical record database consisting of data regarding 29,972 individuals in southern Sweden and indicating the patients' main diagnoses, comorbidity, children below the age of 18, and child-focused interventions.Results: Among the patients surveyed, 12.9% had registered underage children. One-fourth of the patients received child-focused interventions from adult psychiatry, and out of these 30.7% were involved in interagency collaboration as compared to 7.7% without child-focused interventions. Overall, collaboration with child and adolescent psychiatric services was low for all main diagnoses. If a patient received child-focused interventions from psychiatric services, the likelihood of being involved in interagency collaboration was five times greater as compared to patients receiving no child-focused intervention when controlled for gender, main diagnosis, and inpatient care.Conclusions: Psychiatric services play a significant role in identifying the need for and initiating child-focused interventions in families with a parental mental illness, and need to develop and support strategies to enhance interagency collaboration with other welfare services.

This book offers insights on politics and ethics of representation that are relevant to researchers concerned with struggles for justice. It takes moments of discomfort in the qualitative research process as important sites of knowledge for exploring representational practices in critical research.

The Politics and Ethics of Representation in Qualitative Research draws on experiences from research processes in nine PhD projects. In some chapters, ethical and political dilemmas related to representational practices are analyzed as experienced in fieldwork. In others, the focus is on the production of representation at the stage of writing. The book deals with questions such as: What does it mean to write about the lives of others? How are ethics and politics of representation intertwined, and how are they distinct? How are politics of representation linked to a practice of solidarity in research? What are the im/possibilities of hope and care in research?

Drawing on grounded empirical research, the book offers input to students, PhDs, researchers, practitioners, activists and others dealing with methodological dilemmas from a critical perspective. Instead of ignoring discomforts, or describing them as solved, we stay with them, showing how such a reflective process provides new, ongoing insights.

Vitamin K is a fat soluble compound which is synthesized by the gut microbiota and produced in many tissues within the body. Considering its role in the liver as a cofactor for gamma carboxylase enzymes, treatment of dark circles and pigments under the eye among others. It is clear that is some circumstances vitamin K has to cross biological barriers, particularly, when the vitamin is produced by microbiota in the intestine or applied topically on skin. Thus it is important to develop methods that allow studies of vitamin K permeability through the skin including its participation in redox reactions and transdermal permeability. Taking into account that transdermal permeability is strongly limited for high molecular weight compounds, i.e., compounds with higher than 500Da, the study was conducted with vitamin K of  lower molecular weight. Specifically vitamin K4 model, i.e., 1,4-dihydroxy-2 naphthoic acid, with molecular weight of 204g/mol. Vitamin K4 is suitable for this kind of study , because it can work as reducing (antioxidant) compound as well as has relatively beneficial physicochemical characteristics for transdermal permeability. Permeability studies were conducted with skin covered oxygen electrode and franz diffusion cell. Data from measurements were analyzed to estimate diffusion coefficients, apparent Michaelis-Menten constants and flux of a vitamin K4 model whilst contribution of different permeability pathways was determined theoretically.

BACKGROUND: Caries and periodontitis are amongst the most prevalent diseases worldwide, leading to pain and loss of oral function for those affected. Prevention relies heavily on mechanical removal of dental plaque biofilms but for populations where this is not achievable, alternative plaque control methods are required. With concerns over undesirable side-effects and potential bacterial resistance due to the use of chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX), new antimicrobial substances for oral use are greatly needed. Here we have investigated the antimicrobial effect of hypochlorous acid (HOCl), stabilized with acetic acid (HAc), on oral biofilms and compared it to that of CHX. Possible adverse effects of stabilized HOCl on hydroxyapatite surfaces were also examined.

METHODS: Single- and mixed-species biofilms of six common oral bacteria (Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus gordonii, Actinomyces odontolyticus, Veillonella parvula, Parvimonas micra and Porphyromonas gingivalis) within a flow-cell model were exposed to HOCl stabilized with 0.14% or 2% HAc, pH 4.6, as well as HOCl or HAc alone. Biofilm viability was assessed in situ using confocal laser scanning microscopy following LIVE/DEAD® BacLight™ staining. In-situ quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) was used to study erosion of hydroxyapatite (HA) surfaces by stabilized HOCl.

RESULTS: Low concentrations of HOCl (5 ppm), stabilized with 0.14% or 2% HAc, significantly reduced viability in multi-species biofilms representing supra- and sub-gingival oral communities, after 5 min, without causing erosion of HA surfaces. No equivalent antimicrobial effect was seen for CHX. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria showed no significant differential suceptibility to stabilized HOCl.

CONCLUSIONS: At low concentrations and with exposure times which could be achieved through oral rinsing, HOCl stabilized with HAc had a robust antimicrobial activity on oral biofilms, without causing erosion of HA surfaces or affecting viability of oral keratinocytes. This substance thus appears to offer potential for prevention and/or treatment of oral biofilm-mediated diseases.

Background: Ulcerative colitis and Crohn´s disease are the most common inflammatory bowel diseases, which are chronic with relapses. The diseases mainly occur in the Westerns world, mostly affect younger people and are increasing. The symptoms are multifaceted and consist of diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss. Aim: The purpose was to illuminate the experience of living with IBD in daily life. Method: A systematic literature review based on ten qualitative scientific articles. Results: Four main categories and five subcategories arose; experience of emotional impact (experience of changed body image, a feeling of not being trusted, the emotional impact of the medicine), experience of social impact (influence on family and work life, social discomfort in case of elimination), experience of physical impact and experience of being forced to change life. Conclusion: IBD turned out to affect daily life in several aspects, it appeared that the whole human being was concerned. It emerged that the individual experienced that the disease was associated with shame and embarrassment and a lack of understanding among third party was found.

Substance abuse constitutes a multi-layered social issue. The practical social work carried out with individuals suffering from substance abuse is, among other things, directed by the guidelines set out by Socialstyrelsen. This study aims to, from a critical discursive point of view, map out the discursive field within those guidelines for care and support in cases of substance abuse and its consequences. Additionally, the study aims to clarify the connection between policy and real- world social work practices by illuminating subject positions articulated within the discourses of substance abuse contained in those same guidelines. Six different, partly if not fully competing, discourses within the guidelines are identified through the study, within which the subsequent subject positions affects any practical social work carried out. Furthermore, the study shows the hegemonic status of the medical discourse – how its construction of the substance abuse subject as medically afflicted is the most dominant. Finally, the results indicate, in accordance with previous research, the discourse of harm reduction is increasing its extent as a discourse surrounding substance abuse. Possibly, this signifies a paradigm shift in the making as regards perspectives on substance abuse and its treatment.

Ahlman, L & Grabka, J. Pictorial Support. Nurses experiences of using pictorial support in the care of children staying in the hospital. Degree project in nursing 15 credits. Malmö University: Faculty of Health and Society, Department of Care Science, 2018. Background: Children staying in the hospital face a risk of not having their communicative needs catered for, despite their rights to individualised information. Children who do not receive or understand the information about what is going to happen face a risk of feeling insecure and do not want to participate in procedures, examinations and treatments. By providing children with images as a tool for communication, they can be involved in their care. A child who is participating and has knowledge about their illness and treatment often feels more secure and is more compliant. Aim: Investigating nurses’ experiences of using pictorial support in the care of children staying in the hospital. Design: A qualitative study incorporating semi-structured interviews was implemented. A total of ten nurses were interviewed: Eight nurses from three pediatric wards and two from a patient facility in the south of Skåne. Results: The nurses were positive towards using pictorial support in the care and experienced that it could be used more frequently. Pictorial support can aid in educating patients about their illness and the treatment and can also be used as a schedule to create routines during the stay at the hospital. The nurses experienced that children became more interested and participated in their care when pictorial support was used. The children that used pictorial support also felt more secure because they knew what was going to happen. Talking about the images facilitated the initiation of a dialogue between the nurse and the child. The images also aided the nurses in adapting their way of speaking and in remembering giving most important information to the child. Conclusion: Pictorial support is used in many pediatric wards but could be used more frequently. There is a need for education about how to use pictorial support as well as structures for an uniform procedure.

The inclusion of family members in the acute care of older persons with complex needs results in better coordination of care and reduces the frequency and/or duration of rehospitalisation. Therefore, healthcare professionals need a tool to assess the collaboration with family members on acute hospital wards. The aims were to test the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Family Collaboration Scale (FCS), to investigate family members' perception of collaboration with healthcare professionals on acute medical wards in Sweden and to compare the data with the corresponding Danish results. Three hundred and sixty family members of frail patients aged 65 or older from 13 acute medical wards answered the FCS questionnaire. In addition to descriptive statistics, psychometric methods were applied. The internal consistency of the Swedish version of the FCS was excellent, and confirmatory factor analysis revealed that its factor structure was equivalent to that of the original Danish FCS. The respondents' ratings indicated better perceived collaboration than in the Danish case. Older age than 60 was associated with worse collaboration with healthcare professionals regarding Influence on discharge than younger respondents. Those with compulsory and health or nursing education showed better collaboration. The Swedish version of the FCS should be further evaluated for its retest reliability and as an outcome measure in intervention studies.

AIMS: To describe and compare perceptions of collaboration between care providers on the part of three groups of Registered Nurses working in municipal care and having particular responsibility concerning the care of frail older people with intellectual disability (ID); and, furthermore, to investigate the presence of and compliance with guidelines for the coordination of care.

DESIGN: National survey study with cross-sectional design.

METHODS: Nurses (N = 110) with key positions concerning people with ID answered a national questionnaire about collaboration, guidelines and coordinated individual plans. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were applied.

RESULTS: The meetings on cooperation and coordination of interventions were attended most frequently by nurses, and least frequently by social workers. The nurses were overall satisfied with the collaboration but perceived shortcomings in the case of inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care. Only in about half of the meetings for making care plans participated the people with intellectual disability and next of kin.

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between post-migration factors, mental ill health and the introduction among Syrian new arrivals in Sweden. The three questions of the study are: Which factors can new arrivals from Syria experience during the first period in Sweden related to their mental health ?, how can mental health of new arrivals affect the introduction? and how can introduction activities affect mental health of new arrivals? The study consists of qualitative semi-structured interviews with five new arrivals from Syria who have diagnosis or symptoms of mental health. The results of the study show that the informants in the first period in Sweden have experienced difficulties in communication and in finding a job. One the other hand, there are positive factors such as safety. The results also show that memory problems, concentration difficulties, low motivation and physical exhaustion can affect the learning of the new language as well as the motivation to learn, which may affect their introduction process. Results also show that participation in introduction activities can help informants to establish social relationships, learn the language and get information about society which can reduce stress. Informants have special focus on work as a means to have a normal everyday life and better health. The informants point out the importance of creating new job opportunities for new arrivals.

At the Nuclear medicine department at Skane University Hospital in Malmoe, the staff inject fluorine-18 labelled radiopharmaceuticals on a daily basis, which entails exposure of radiation dose. The Swedish Radiation Protection Ordinance prescribe dose limits, which works as requirements to prevent and minimize risks for future negative health effects to the public and workers handling ionizing radiation. The aim and purpose of the study was to study whether there is a statistically significant difference of radiation dose to the staffs fingers and body, when injecting fluorine-18 labelled radiopharmaceuticals, depending on when the removal of the peripheral venous catheter (PVK) is performed. The measurements were performed after the injection of fluorine-18 labelled radiopharmaceutical and after the imaging of the patients. In this study 44 measurements were performed, of which 22 measurements were performed after the injection of 18F-labelled radiopharmaceutical and 22 measurements after the medical imaging. The measurements were performed on 11 staff members in the Nuclear Medicine department in Malmoe. The results of 22 measurements showed a mean value of the equivalent doses to the fingers after injection showed 0,20 μSv/MBq and after the medical imaging of the patient of 0,18 μSv/MBq. The mean value of effective dose was entailed to 0,004 μSv/MBq after injection and 0,003 μSv/MBq after imaging. A Mann-Whitney U-test was performed and reported a p-value of >0,05, which indicates that there is no significant difference in radiation dose to the staff between the two different methods of removing the PVK. 

The SeHCAT test is the “golden standard” method in terms of diagnosing bile acid malabsorption. At Skåne University Hospital, the retention measurements of ⁷⁵SeHCAT are performed in a whole-body-counter located in a room that is heavily shielded from background radiation. However, the disadvantage is that the patient must lie still on a hard bunk bed in a warm and an isolated room for 17 minutes as well it is time-consuming for the examiner to conduct the retention measurements on a patient. Thus, a clinical development work for SeHCAT test is ongoing at Skåne University Hospital. The aim of the study was to study if same results would be obtained from the stationary measurement and the whole body measurement and to study the extent to which any deviations in the retention values between the two measurement methods would have affected the diagnosis of bile acid malabsorption based on results from previous SeHCAT tests that were performed at Skåne University Hospital. In the study, a 5-minute stationary measurement was executed after the whole-body measurements on 11 patients who were all referred to Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine Clinic in Malmö to perform the SeHCAT-test. The results showed a significant difference between the measurement methods (p < 0,05) and lower retention values obtained from the stationary measurements compared to whole-body measurements for all participants. Additionally, a large proportion of the previous patients obtained results that could have given a different diagnosis if the new measurement method were to be used in the retention measurements. To conclude, the new measurement method for the SeHCAT test will not be implemented at the clinic until further studies with more participants have been carried out. Moreover, this study is the basis for a modified variant of the new measurement method that will be tested at the clinic.  

The aim of this study is to understand the risk factors contributing to juvenile delinquency for young men in Sweden. Previous research shows that juvenile delinquency is a theme that exists in all communities and affects several areas of society such as family relations, social relations, academic achievement as well as individual consequences. In this essay, the focus is on identifying risk factors putting young men at greater risk of committing crimes, but also explaining the underlying causes of why these risk factors exist by using theoretical frameworks such as empowerment and life-span theories. The central point of the essay is thus the question of how and why some young men become criminals? The methods used are a systematic literature study combined with semi structured interviews in order to understand why some young men are more vulnerable than others in committing crime. The interviews consist of statements based on professional experience from four different non-governmental organizations in Sweden working with youths. The results of the study show that the environment these young men grow up in plays a major role for both academic achievement and the development of various personality disorders which can contribute to criminal behavior. The results of the interviews also show that social structures make these young men feel powerless in relation to themselves, school and society. This type of feeling of exclusion on a social and individual level tend to increase the risk of criminal behavior and lifestyle for some young men in Sweden.