AbstractWe are interested in group meetings of the self-help group Alcoholic Anonymous and the emotional energy created therein. We examine which impact self-help group AA has on its group participants regarding: group meetings, dealing with alcoholism and identity. Group membership has great value for individuals; it provides social identity and possibility to self-value. Previous research shows that group members of self-help groups who have been sober for a period of time experience higher self-esteem and less anxiety compared to non-members. Our thesis is based on a hermeneutic approach.

Background: In Sweden about 19000 people fall victims of sudden death every year. This covers around 20% of all deaths. Relatives are those who are closest to the patient, regardless of the type of relationship. When a patient suddenly dies this affects the relatives and they can suffer from high risk of complicated grief reactions or crises. Being the nearest professional contact in these situations, the nurse has an important role in supporting and guiding the relatives.Aim: The aim of this literature review was to nominate the relatives' needs of support from the nurse when a loved person suddenly dies.Method: The literature review was based on seven articles with a quality approach.Results:The analysis resulted in four themes; "to be seen and confirmed", "information", "take farewell" and "follow-up ".To be able to give support both mentally and physically, it is important for the nurse to give proper attention to the relatives.

The aim of this study was to review six professionals supporters work to support adolescents in grief, and if this support is the kind of support adolescents actually need. These professional supporters are two hospital social workers, two hospice social workers and two support group leaders. The questions included in the work are; How does the professional support look like for adolescents aged 12-18, who has lost a parent in cancer? Are the adolescents getting the support they need from these professionals? The study is based on qualitative interviews based on interview guides, which where then analyzed thematically and linked to previous research and grief theory. The result indicate that adolescents may need different forms of support when their parent is dying or has died.

Research about social support and social networks has mostly concerned the impact on a person?s wellbeing and health. However an aspect largely neglected is how social support within the social networks can affect the process of giving up a drug abuse. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of what role the social support within different relationships can have on the process of giving up drug abuse. Furthermore the aim is to examine how a self-help group can provide social support in the transitional period after leaving a drug abuse.

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world and it usually affects elderly women. However, there are between 600-700 cases per year in Sweden where women under the age of 45 are diagnosed. Removal of the breast or part of the breast, hair loss, fatigue and nausea as a result of the breast cancer treatment has an emotional and physical impact on the women?s lifeworld. The nurse should build a relationship with the women to identify and meet their needs. Aim: To describe younger women?s experiences of getting a breast cancer diagnosis and life afterwards.Method: Four biographical books were analyzed to match the aim of the study.Result: The findings were that the women experience similar thoughts and feelings when it comes to living with a cancer diagnosis.

"Outstanding" or "They ought to know more about computers" : A study on computer support at university libraries.The main purpose of this study is to investigate the support computer users are given at university libraries. Further, the aim is to find out if the users thought they received the support that they needed. The study is carried out at two different university libraries. The data is obtained through interviews with the librarians, observations of the daily work at the information counters and questionnaires handled out to the users.The study indicates that variables such as knowledge, time and equipment play a central role in making the computer support successive. To a great extent the computer support is synonymous with information search, but it also deals with word processing and technical support connected with computer errors.

The aim of this essay is to study how parents to children with learning disability experences the support they get from society. My main question has been: what kind of support offer does society offer this parents? What is good and what is less satisfactory in this support? The study is based on a qualitative method. Five parents with children who has learning disabilities has been used as base. The material has been analysed with a narrative, hernmeneutic perspective.The study concludes that the parents, use in this case, find that society does not offer the necessary understanding for their problem of their family.

This study aims to examine how adolescents with diabetes describe and value their experience of participating in a support group and how they describe the issues of being a teenager with diabetes. This is a qualitative study and we have interviewed three young women who have been participating in a support group. The results of the interviews were analyzed through a phenomenological method and then compared to earlier research and interpreted through symbolic interactionism and Erikson's development-theory, which were our theories of choice. Our findings support earlier research when stating that support groups are important and necessary for adolescents with chronic illnesses. Our interviewees stated that they think that one of the most important benefits of support groups is to meet other people in their situation; same age and same chronic illness..

The main aim of this bachelor thesis is to describe through a quantitative study the extent of support received by foster families, their opinion of the support and any areas that might need improvement. The foster families receive foster care support through a private agency. We concentrated on the following areas of support; education, health, contact with the children?s biological relatives and behavioral difficulties. These four areas have, in previous research, shown to be problematic for foster children.

It is now increasingly common for organisations to work actively with HR issues. Furthermore, it is a constant top priority for organisations to remain profitable. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether so called soft HR values, as manager?s communication skills, has an actual impact on hard values in terms of costs for the organisation. Leadership is largely characterised by emotional communication, which together with personnel costs were the main focus of the research.

In health care today at Uppsala County Council the daily work involves spending time at the computer. IT-systems were implemented to support and aid the care givers in their work. Around these systems there is a support organization to support the users in using the system. The aim of this thesis is to investigate this organization in terms of how well it works and how successful it is in helping the users. This has been done by investigating the flow of information trough the organization and by focusing at the role of IT-coordinators with responsibility for support, process development, education and statistics.

Background: The nursing profession involves meetings and situations which can be stressful. The work environment can cause additional stress in the form of time pressure, lack of support from colleagues, management or disgruntled family members and patients. This places the nurse in a position that requires a sharpened ability to handle stress. It can become overwhelming and unmanageable and cause a serious threat to the nurse's health and wellbeing. To handle stress the nurses uses different coping strategies.Aim: The aim of the review was to gain a better understanding of how nurses deal with occupational stress.Method: A systematic literature overview study based on eleven articles, including both qualitative and quantitative studies.Results: Nurses deal with stress in different ways based on their own resources.

Kevin Roberts has extended the comprehension of strong consumer brands to a higher level where loyalty beyond reason is established. He calls this new status Lovemarks. As the concept of Lovemark has only been applied in B2C markets, this thesis is directed to find out the applicability of Lovemarks in B2B context. In order to fulfill the research purpose, three main questions are answered based on a cross-sectional research approach: What role do intangible factors play in B2B branding? Is the idea of B2C Lovemarks transferable to B2B context? How should a B2B Lovemark be characterized? The results of the qualitative interviews indicate insights of high investment and involvement, integrated brand communication, balance between function versus emotion, brand?s trustworthy personality, customer partnership, and finally, the potential establishment of B2B Lovemarks.

The purpose of this study has been to investigate how psychosocial support for families where a parent suffers from a life threatening illness can be constructed. The intent was also to explore how the child's perspective is protected and what barriers and opportunities there are for family oriented support. The study has a qualitative approach and includes interviews with four social workers. The interviews were analyzed with a systems theory and attachment theory. The conclusions are that the whole family suffers psychological and social pressures when a parent is sick.

Obesity and overweight is the worst public health related disease today, and it is a constantly increasing problem in societies all over the world. In Sweden the number of overweight persons has been doubled in the last 20 years. Today about 500 000 persons suffer from obesity and overweight.The aim of this study was to investigate obese and overweight people´s thoughts and wishes regarding what support they would like, in order to be able to successfully manage a weightreduction. The study is qualitative and conducted through six interviews, the material was analysed with content analysis. The result of the analysed interviews led to four categories:offered support, wished support, are you strong enough to find support by your own and mental wellbeing.The conclusion of this study is that overweight person?s biggest wish is to get continuous and personal support from the health care system.