Biomedical subjects

Kerstin Petersson

Publications and source records attributed to Kerstin Petersson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Family members' experience of participation in the needs of assessment when their older next of kin becomes in need of public home help: a qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND: The policy that older people should be able live in their own homes in spite of extensive care and social service needs means that close family members are increasingly involved in help provision. Ways must be found to facilitate their situation. Their participation in the needs assessment of their next of kin may be crucial. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to illuminate close family members' experience of having an older next of kin becoming in need of public home help, their participation in the needs assessment procedure and the decisions about their next of kins' public home help. PARTICIPANTS: The sample was 27 close family members (mean age 63, range 42-93 years) chosen by their older needs-assessed next of kin. METHODS: An interview using a thematic interview guide formed an everyday dialogue jointly constructed by the interviewer and the interviewee. Thereafter an interpretative content analysis was conducted on the transcribed interviews. RESULTS: One overarching category was illuminated: "Feeling disconfirmed or confirmed in the needs assessment, when feeling pressed by the responsibility and struggling to balance the needs of the family." Four principal categories with sub-categories were derived: (1) Experiencing existential ruminations and the need to help. (2) Help giving and receiving as a difficult balance between needs. (3) Feeling overlooked or acknowledged as having an influence on the needs assessment. (4) Hopes about the home help being fulfilled or dashed. CONCLUSION: The findings imply that the main focus is on the help seeker, overlooking the contribution of family members representing and providing help. A more holistic needs assessment approach is required with a framework and working methods that involve and support the family as a whole.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Screening for infants with developmental deficits and/or autism: a Swedish pilot study.

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument (SEEK) for the early detection of developmental deficits and/or autistic spectrum disorders among children by the age of 8 months at eight child health care centers in southern Sweden. Health visitors, trained by the research team, screened 312 infants. SEEK captured 5 infants with several points. Twenty-one percent of the infants obtained at least one SEEK point. At the 18-month follow-up, 5 children still showed more obvious signs of developmental problems. The health visitors found SEEK to be very satisfactory and easy and quick to use and its items and questions to be easy to administer. The results have indicated a new systematic methodology to examine infants, which is to be further developed.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2006

Older persons' experience of being assessed for and receiving public home help: do they have any influence over it?

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore older persons' experience of participation in and influence on decisions about public home help/care when undergoing needs assessment and receiving public home help. A purposive sample of 28 home help recipients over the age of 75 were selected. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews. A content analysis revealed one overarching category: 'Having to be satisfied, adjust, and walk a fine line when balancing between needs and available help'; and three principal categories: Balancing the comfort and guilt--receiving help from the family at the limits of their capacity; 'A necessary evil'--balancing feelings and resources against having no choice but to accept; Incorporating the home help into daily life to gain a sense of continuity. The findings indicate that older persons have difficulties coping and adapting to their new life situation and have no actual influence over the decisions about their home help. The officer told them what was available. This implies a need to pay attention to the frail persons' mental state in the needs assessment and to ensure adequate understanding of information. Further, it suggests that the needs assessment and the home help officer should to a larger extent focus on individual needs as a whole, involve and encourage the older person to strengthen his or her sense of being in control.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Striving for emotional survival in palliative cancer nursing.

In this grounded theory study, the authors analyze interviews and participant observation data related to palliative cancer nursing in hospitals. Striving for Emotional Survival emerged as the pattern of behavior through which nurses deal with their main concern, the risk of being emotionally overloaded by their work. It involved three main strategies: Emotional Shielding through Professional Shielding or Cold Shielding; Emotional Processing through Chatting, Confirmation Seeking, Self-Reflecting, or Ruminating; and Emotional Postponing through Storing or Stashing. Emotional Competence is a property of Striving for Emotional Survival that explains more or less adequate ways of dealing with emotional overload. The theory Striving for Emotional Survival can be useful in the nurses' daily work and provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how nurses deal with emotional difficulties. The authors suggest that health care organizations encourage self-care, prioritize time to talk, and offer counseling to nursing staff with emotionally difficult working conditions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

20-year follow-up of patients receiving high-cost dental care within the Swedish Dental Insurance System: 1977-1978 to 1998-2000.

The objective was to perform a long-term follow-up study of patients that had received high cost dental care within the Swedish National Dental Insurance System in 1977-1978 with special focus on remaining teeth, periodontal disease progression, change in the prevalence of root-filled teeth and teeth with apical periodontitis as well as the survival of fixed prosthetic reconstructions. All 262 patients who had had their treatment plans sent for approval for high-cost dental care in 4 local health insurance districts and who were sampled for base-line studies in 1977-1978, were offered a free clinical examination including radiographs in 1998. 177 patients (68 % of the original sample) could be reached for telephone interview and 104 of them (40 % of the original sample) were examined clinically and radiographically. Comparisons were made with records and radiographs from 1977-1978. The analyses were performed with the individual patient as the studied unit. The low progression of severe periodontal disease during the 20-23 year follow-up period and the decrease in number of teeth with apical periodontitis among a majority of the patients examined, indicated that the dental care received resulted in a limitation of dental disease on the individual level. Furthermore 63 % of the patients had the fixed prosthetic reconstructions, received after approval 1977-1978, in full extention after 20-23 years. However, more tooth losses were observed among the patients in this study than in similar studies in Swedish general populations over the same decades. Furthermore multiple tooth extractions were significantly more frequent in patients with severe periodontitis at baseline and in patients with less apical periodontitis at follow-up in this study. Thus it seems that tooth extraction not seldom was a treatment choice for teeth with severe periodontitis and apical periodontitis among the patients examined clinically in this study.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Patients' experiences of consultations for nonspecific chronic orofacial pain: A phenomenological study.

AIMS: To use a qualitative research study to analyze the experiences of patients with nonspecific chronic orofacial pain with respect to consultations for their pain condition. METHODS: Fourteen patients (11 women and 3 men; age range, 21 to 77 years) were strategically selected through a purposive sampling of the chronic orofacial pain patients referred to the Orofacial Pain Unit at the Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden. A qualitative research strategy based on phenomenological philosophy was chosen. Thematic in-depth interviews were conducted twice with each patient in order to expose the context of the orofacial pain condition. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The text material was analyzed to determine the attitude of the patients concerning their experience from the consultations. RESULTS: All selected patients consented to participate. The patients expressed dissatisfaction with the consultations and related many examples of poor communication and understanding. The patients also felt a great need to be taken care of and expressed contradictory statements concerning pain improvement. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the communication between the patients and the care providers was unsatisfactory and that the patients were limited in their ability to develop a personal coping strategy.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

Swedish child health care in a changing society.

BACKGROUND: Staff in Swedish child health care today feel a gap between policy and practice. By revealing the main lines in the development of child health care, we hoped to achieve a better understanding of the current trends and problems in today's Swedish child health care. METHODS: A selection of official documents about the development of child health care during the period 1930-2000 was studied with the aid of discourse analysis. RESULTS: Four discourses were identified, which serve as a foundation for a periodization of the development of child health care. In the first period the main task of child health care, alongside checking on the development of the child, was to inform and educate the mothers. During the second period health supervision became the crucial task, to identify risks and discover abnormalities and disabilities. The third period focused on the discussion concerning the identification of health-related and social 'risk groups', and the work of child health care was increasingly geared to supervision of the parents' care of their children. Parents were to be given support so that they could cope with their difficulties by themselves. During the current period child health care is increasingly expected to direct its work towards the child's surroundings and the family as a whole and is now explicitly defined as an institution that should strengthen parents' self-esteem and competence. The level of responsibility for the child's health changed gradually during the different periods, from public responsibility to parental responsibility. The focus of efforts in child health care was changed from being general in the first and second periods to general and selective in period three, and then gradually becoming selective again in period four. While control of the child's physical health was central during the first two periods, psychosocial health came into focus in the last two, along with the importance of supporting the parents to enable them to handle their difficulties by themselves. CONCLUDING REMARKS: We noted that it was difficult to translate policy recommendations into practice. One reason was the shifting focus in child health care from the child's physical health to psychosocial problems which in itself meant a shift from descriptions of concrete and well-defined duties to more abstract and general descriptions of tasks which are by definition open to interpretation. Another reason for the noted difficulty was the transition from unambiguously described measures in terms of paternalistic regulation to more participatory and at the same time more expansive definitions of roles and responsibilities.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

What is good parental education? Interviews with parents who have attended parental education sessions.

The aim of the study was to highlight the experiences and expectations of Swedish parents with respect to general parental education within child healthcare. Interviews were carried out with 25 parents who had attended education sessions. With a few exceptions the fathers did not take part, and those mothers who did comprised a relatively highly educated group; their views therefore predominate in this study. Socially vulnerable parents such as the unemployed and immigrants took part more sporadically in the meetings, which is why less material is available from these groups. The arrangement and analysis of the material was done using qualitative content analysis. We identified two main categories of importance: 'parental education content' and 'parental education structure'. The parents were on the whole satisfied with the content with respect to the child's physical and psychosocial development. On the other hand, first-time parents expressed a degree of uncertainty with respect to the new parent roles and parent relation and they thought that the education should place more emphasis on the interplay between the parents and between child and parents. The degree of confidence in the nurse as group leader was mainly high. The parents thought that the groups functioned well socially and were satisfied with the organization of the meetings. They did, however, demand clearer structure and framework with respect to the content. Since the aim of legally established parental education is to improve the conditions of childhood growth and to provide support to parents, it must be considered especially important to provide resources so that the socially vulnerable groups in the community may also be reached.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2003

The illness experiences of patients after a first time myocardial infarction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate illness experiences of patients after a first myocardial infarction (MI), focusing on life situation and the recovery process over time. Thirty patients were interviewed within the first 3 days of hospitalisation, and again 17 weeks after discharge. The interviews were tape-recorded verbatim and the transcriptions were analysed and categorised using qualitative content analysis. The main category was Uncertainty of the life situation that was combined with and articulated the superior theme in both interviews. Analyses revealed uncertainty focused on problems related to: treatment-seeking behaviour; existential threat; preventing another coronary and need for knowledge and support, which the patients considered important for their case and future life. The findings are fundamental for the health care when education and counselling are planned and challenge health care personnel to listen to MI-patients' own experiences.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Music therapy--a complementary treatment for mechanically ventilated intensive care patients.

The aim of this study was to ascertain whether music therapy had a measurable relaxing effect on patients who were temporarily on a respirator in an intensive care unit (ICU) and after completion of respirator treatment investigate those patients' experiences of the music therapy. In the study both quantitative and qualitative measurements were applied. Twenty patients were included using consecutive selection. It became apparent that the patients remembered very little of their time in ICU. The analysis of the quantitative data showed a significant fall in systolic and diastolic blood pressure during the music therapy session and a corresponding rise after cessation of treatment. All changes were found to be statistically significant. The conclusion was that intensive care nursing staff can beneficially apply music therapy as a non-pharmacological intervention.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

School nurses' view of schoolchildren's health and their attitudes to document it in the school health record--a pilot study.

This study highlights school nurses' view of schoolchildren's health and their attitude to document it in the school health records. A strategic sample of 12 school nurses was interviewed. The interviews were semistructured and analysed with qualitative content analysis. The findings showed that the school nurses' viewed schoolchildren as physical healthy although they called attention to growing problems related to a changed lifestyle. Psychosocial ill-health was however increasing and the most common reason for visiting the school nurse was psychosomatic expressions. According to the nurses' descriptions, health was related to the individual, the school and the family situation. The family situation was mentioned as one of the most important factors of schoolchildren's health. The nurses described no problem to document schoolchildren's physical health. Ethical consideration, tradition, lack of time and the structure of the record were however factors that were said to hinder the documentation of the psychosocial health. In order to promote, protect and recover schoolchildren's health, more research is needed about how beliefs, experience, ethical consideration and resources influence the school nurse's daily work with schoolchildren's health.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

General parental education in Sweden: participants and non-participants.

OBJECTIVE: To study factors of importance for participation in parental education within routine child health care. DESIGN: All parents of children born during 1 year were invited by the district nurse to participate in parental education; their participation during the infant year was registered. SETTING: Catchment area of two health centres in Växjö, Sweden. SUBJECTS: 221 infants and their parents. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of educational sessions for mothers and fathers. RESULTS: 63% of mothers and 20% of fathers attended at least one session. These mothers attended a mean of 5.7 (SD 2.2) sessions and these fathers a mean of 2.8 (SD 2.3) sessions. Logistic regression analyses showed that the only variable of significance for participation was being a first-time parent (odds ratio 3.9 for the mothers and 3.7 for the fathers). Odds ratios above 2.0 (non-significant) were found for married mothers and Swedish mothers, as well as for Swedish fathers. CONCLUSION: It is still a considerable problem to get certain groups involved in routine parental education in Swedish child healthcare programmes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Balancing: a basic process in end-of-life cancer care.

In this grounded theory study, the authors interviewed caregivers and patients in end-of-life cancer care and found Balancing to be a fundamental process explaining the problem-solving strategies of most participants and offering a comprehensive perspective on both health care in general and end-of-life cancer care in particular. Balancing stages were Weighing--sensing needs and wishes signaled by patients, gauging them against caregiver resources in diagnosing and care planning; Shifting--breaking bad news, changing care places, and treatments; and Compensating--controlling symptoms, educating and team-working, prioritizing and "stretching" time, innovating care methods, improvising, and maintaining the homeostasis of hope. The Balancing outcome is characterized by Compromising, or "Walking a fine line," at best an optimized situation, at worst a deceit.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

The major factors that influence endodontic retreatment decisions.

The presence of a new or persistent periapical radiolucency adjacent to a rootfilled tooth is often used as a criterion of endodontic treatment "failure". However, clinicians' suggested management of such cases is subject to substantial interindividual variation. Several components that might influence endodontic retreatment decision making have been explored, but data on which factors dentists actually think they consider, are missing. The aim was to interview 20 general dental practitioners (GDPs) and 20 endodontists about factors they thought would influence the prescription of endodontic retreatment. Six simulated cases were presented as cartoons accompanied with a clinical history. In two of the cases the teeth were planned to serve as an abutment tooth in a fixed prosthodontic construction. The status of the periapical bone tissue and the quality of rootfilling seal were varied. Between 1 and 6 factors per case were reported to influence decision making. In cases not planned to serve as abutment teeth most dentists considered that the periapical condition was the most important factor, whilst they considered the fixed prosthodontic construction to be the most important factor in cases planned as abutment teeth. Generally, endodontists seem to be more inclined to retreat and act on the mere presence of a periapical lesion regardless of size than GDPs. In a real clinical setting in direct contact with patients, additional factors like economy and patients' preferences might be expected to exert a major influence. The majority of the dentists stated that they thought that their colleagues would make similar decisions as they did themselves.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2002

Undergraduate education in endodontology at two European dental schools. A comparison between the Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden and Faculty of Odontology, Paris 5 University (René Descartes), France.

The aim of this study was to compare the courses in endodontics and to assess the treatment quality in the student clinics in two dental schools, in Malmö, Sweden and Paris, France. A further aim was to improve the curriculum development in Paris 5 and Malmö by testing student exchange programmes. The comparison was based on the guidelines for undergraduate education set up by the European Society of Endodontology (ESE) [Int. Endod. J. 25 (1992) 169] and on the criteria formulated by Qualtrough and Dummer [Int. Endod. J. 30 (1997) 234]. The latter criteria covered the following aspects: educational methods, the timing of endodontic teaching, pre-clinical practical exercises, student assessment, recommended literature, clinical/practical procedures, the education of the staff and number of students per teacher. The quality guidelines for endodontic treatment set up by the ESE [Int. Endod. J. 27 (1994) 115] were used for the assessment of the quality of the treatment. The following aspects were covered: history, diagnosis and treatment planning, records, infection control, root-canal treatment, assessment of endodontic treatment. The undergraduate education in endodontics was fundamentally similar in Paris 5 and Malmö. The main differences observed were related to: Educational methods: In Malmö, problem-based learning and in Paris 5, traditional. Assessment of student performance. In Malmö, self-assessment and in Paris 5, credits for clinical/practical procedures. Clinical/practical procedures relating to infection control. Aseptic treatment regimens were more meticulously performed in Malmö than in Paris 5. Assessment (follow-up) of all endodontic treatments was a routine only in Malmö.

Curriculum↗

PubMed2002

1.2 Cognition and learning.

This theme is concerned with the relevance and efficacy of educational methods adopted in dental schools while recognizing the influence of geopolitical issues in different countries and regions. Particular emphasis will be given to examples of best practices and innovations. Cognition and learning are dealt with in many different research areas such as education, psychology, cognitive sciences, brain research, neurolinguistics, gender, etc. and comprise the theoretical foundation for the philosophies, principles and methods underlying the dental education system. Educational methods are many and mixed. This group has used existing knowledge, personal experiences and current literature together with some of the material from the DentEd visits.

Cognition↗

PubMed2002

Learner-centred education in end-of-life care improved well being in home care staff: a prospective controlled study.

The aim of this controlled study was to evaluate a 1-year learner-centred educational project in end-of-life care for home care staff in a rural district of Sweden. Another rural district in the same region served as a control area. A 20-item questionnaire measuring attitudes towards end-of-life care was designed, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale was used to measure mental well being. Increased agreement to 18 of 20 attitude statements was seen in the education group, while 2 of 20 items showed a decreased agreement in the control group. Test-retest reliability of the 20-item questionnaire was good (r=0.92). The total HAD score decreased from 8.3 pretest to 5.3 post-test in the education group (95% CI = 2.1 -3.7; P<0.001), and was 6.8 for both years in the control group. Our study shows that a comprehensive educational programme not only improved attitudes towards end-of-life care, but also the mental well being of the home care staff.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Long-term follow-up by means of a questionnaire of 109 patients with long-lasting orofacial pain.

The aims were to follow-up, analyse and compare the pain status after 4-9 years with that at the baseline examination of 109 consecutive patients referred to the Pain Group at the Faculty of Odontology in Malmö, Sweden during the period 1988-1993 due to long-lasting orofacial pain. A further aim was to identify predictive factors of significance for pain alteration. 85 (78%) women with a median age of 51 years and 24 (22%) men with a median age of 60 years were included in the study. A survey of the pain status at the follow-up was conducted by means of a mailed questionnaire. The questionnaire covered the following aspects: pain alteration, pain intensity, pain location, medication and education. After one reminder, the non-responding patients were called for a telephone interview. A response level of 85% was obtained. Significant improvements were noted by the patients in the answers of the questionnaire in mainly three areas; the patients answered individually that pain relief had occurred, pain intensity rated on the VAS was lower at follow-up compared to the baseline examination and a decrease in drug use was reported. The responses indicated pain relief for 75% of the patients. However, only 27% of the patients experienced total disappearance of pain. Medication at baseline with opioids, muscle relaxants with central effect, antidepressants, neuroleptics, hypnotics or sedatives was found to be a predictive factor for persistent pain.

Adaptation, Psychological↗