Biomedical subjects

O Söderhamn

Publications and source records attributed to O Söderhamn.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Factors associated with nutritional status in a group of people in an early stage of dementia.

BACKGROUND & AIM: Beside cognitive and behavioural problems, nutritional difficulties and weight loss are often observed at the beginning of dementia disease. This weight loss has been hard to explain. But previous research has shown that it is not related to increased energy expenditure but rather to deficiency in intake at the beginning of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate possible factors that may be associated with nutritional status among people in an early stage of dementia. METHODS: Fifty-nine individuals with perceived impaired memory were interviewed with three assessment instruments and a number of other structured questions. RESULTS: The results showed that predictors for nutritional status were: eating smaller portions, partly lost learned practices, and having a dry mouth. CONCLUSIONS: Caring actions for this patient group should focus on support at meals and maintaining oral health.

Aged↗

PubMed2001

Developing and testing the Nutritional Form For the Elderly.

Undernutrition among elderly patients is a significant problem in nursing care. The aims of this study were to develop and test an instrument for identifying actual and potential undernutrition among elderly patients in clinical nursing care. A Likert-type scale consisting of 15 items was constructed. A consecutive sample of 56 elderly patients (>65 years) in a geriatric rehabilitation ward in western Sweden were interviewed with the instrument. The data were mainly analysed with non-parametric statistical methods. The results showed that the instrument was a fairly reliable scale with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.72. Evidence of validity concerning face validity, criterion-related validity-including concurrent and predictive validity-and construct validity was shown in the study group. Further testing is required if the instrument is to be used in clinical nursing care and research.

Aged↗

PubMed2001

Attitudes toward older people among nursing students and registered nurses in Sweden.

Geriatric nursing is generally not considered to be a popular branch of nursing among Swedish nursing students and registered nurses. It is, therefore, important for nurse educators and others with responsibilities for the development of nursing to pay attention to trends of importance for the care of the elderly. Attitudes - conceptualized as feelings, knowledge, and readiness to act - may be one important factor. It has been reported that feelings toward older people may change with experience, age and gender. The aim of this study was to measure feelings toward older people among nursing students and registered nurses. A convenience sample of 151 undergraduate nursing students and 41 registered nurses in Sweden participated in the study. Data were collected through Kogan's Old People scale. The results confirmed earlier findings and showed that limited previous experience of care of older people, age <25 years, and male gender were significant factors for showing less favourable feelings towards the aged. In the education of nurses, goal-directed experience of elderly care is recommended in order to create positive feelings towards and interest in older people among students. It is also suggested that special considerations should be given to very young students and male students.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

The structure of self-care in a group of elderly people.

According to Orem's self-care deficit theory of nursing, the structure of self-care consists of self-care agency balanced by therapeutic self-care demand. Different conditioning factors constitute these two constructs. The aim of this study was to investigate through secondary analysis the structure of self-care in a group of elderly. Data were originally collected from a total of 125 randomly chosen elderly individuals (65+ years of age) in Sweden by means of a mailed questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to show that self-care agency was totally and significantly balanced against therapeutic self-care demand and explained by five conditioning factors.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

Ability for self-care among home dwelling elderly people in a health district in Sweden.

The aim of this study was to describe the ability for self-care among home dwelling elderly in the community in a health district in western Sweden. Two self-report instruments plus a number of self-care related questions were distributed by mail to an age stratified random sample and finally completed by a total of 125 subjects. Bivariate and multivariate statistical methods were used in the analyses. The results showed that self-care ability and self-care agency decreased for respondents 75+ years of age. Self-care ability was predicted by three productive means for self-care and four risk factors.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2000

Reliability and validity of a Swedish version of Kogan's Old People Scale.

Standardized and well-tested instruments are needed in order to study attitudes toward old people. One scale that has been widely used is Kogan's Old People scale. A Swedish version of the scale has been available since 1987. The aim of this study was to test this Swedish version of the scale for reliability and validity, in a sample consisting of students and different health-care professionals. A convenience sample of 319 individuals in western Sweden took part in the study, and data were collected by means of a questionnaire that included the scale. Reliability was assessed as homogeneity and validity as construct validity. All but 4 of the 34 items were found to have significant item-total correlations. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.79. Some evidence of construct validity was found in a three-factor solution, which explained 30% of the variances. Strong evidence of construct validity was shown in the scale's capability to differentiate between individuals who rather preferred to work with old people (p < 0.005) than with young clients. Convergent validity, as a form of construct validity, was also supported for the scale.

Aged↗

PubMed1998

Self-care ability in a group of elderly Swedish people: a phenomenological study.

The aims of this study were to describe self-care ability in a group of Swedish elderly and to elucidate the meaning of actualizing this self-care ability into self-care activity. Two different phenomenological methods were applied in the analyses of 11 self-reports written by home dwelling elderly in the community. The eidetic structure of self-care ability was twofold; it entailed, first, being present to the opportunity to act on certain perceived influences on the body and, second, alone or with support from somebody else to be able to bring about a change in attitude towards one's personal lifestyle or life situation. The meaning of actualizing this ability was interpreted as self-realization or self-transcendence.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

A Swedish version of the appraisal of Self-Care Agency (ASA) scale.

The "Appraisal of Self-care Agency" scale (the ASA scale) is designed to measure self-care agency in accordance with Orem's self-care deficit theory of nursing. The aim of this study was to obtain a reliable Swedish version of the ASA scale by measuring the internal consistency. ASA-A for self-appraisal and ASA-B for appraisal of another were tested with a convenience sample of 52 elderly in-patients and 53 caregivers in six geriatric care units. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was 0.59 for the ASA-A scores, 0.77 for ASA-B scores obtained by caregivers comprising different professions, and 0.87 for scores obtained by registered nurses. Further testing of both validity and reliability is needed if this version of the scale is to be used in nursing research and practice.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1993

Geriatric nursing assessment--the use of a standardized assessment instrument in a clinical setting.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the content and focus of nursing assessment when using a well-known Swedish, commercially available, standardized structured multidimensional instrument in the assessment of nursing needs/problems in a geriatric rehabilitation department. Two hundred and fifty-six assessment forms were quantitatively and qualitatively analysed. In 113 cases the corresponding nursing care plans were also analysed. Although a few important areas, such as communication and I-ADL, were missing, the instrument enabled the nurses to make a fairly comprehensive nursing assessment. However, the data collected with the instrument were only partly used in the nursing care plans, and relevant nursing diagnosis could be formulated in only 36 cases. The conclusions are that the data collection must be more goal-oriented and that education in diagnostic reasoning should be meaningful. To choose wide assessment areas could probably also facilitate holistic nursing care.

Aged↗