Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), as a consequence of atherosclerosis in the arteria of the limbs, affects one of ten Swedes older than 65. PAD can develop slowly and silently, and involves an increased risk for cardiac infarction and stroke. Measurement of the patient´s ankle blood pressure and calculation of the ankle-brachial index is an evidence-based method to discover PAD. Objective: To investigate how district nurses and general practitioners perceive this method of examination and experience possible obstacles to why it is not more commonly applied at primary health care centres. Method: Data collected by semi-structured interviews have been processed by qualitative content analysis with a manifest onset.

According to The National Board of Health and Welfare, about 200 000 elderly persons get some help or support with eating or nutrition problems. This was approximately 2 percent of the population. Older people in sheltered accommodation in community care were not able to manage their own nutrition. The older people were dependent on the food that was offered to them, when and how the food was served. This was a specific responsibility for the nursing staff.

Previous research and patient complaints to the Swedish Patient Support Committee shows that there is a lack of substance in the patient-nurse relationship. This may suggest that it can be difficult for health care to live up to health-care law which requires it to be of good quality, based on dignity and respect and designed so that the patient is an active participant and can make their own decisions when it comes to their health care. For a better understanding of what a dignified patient-nurse relationship is, this study aims to clarify what the patient values as good patient-nurse relationship and describe how they have experienced the patient-nurse relationship during their stay at an emergency care department. The study is a descriptive cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, where the population consisted of patients who were cared for at an emergency care department in the County of Västmanland, Sweden during 2007. The sample consisted of 93 patients which were asked to answer a questionnaire.

The purpose of this study was to examine the obstacles and problems prescribers of exercise on prescription (EoP) in primary care in Bollnäs and Söderhamn experience when using the method. It also aimed at examining if the barriers identified in previous studies also will be found in Bollnäs and Söderhamns municipalities. A qualitative study was made and four interviews with the managers of health centers in Bollnäs and Söderhamns municipalities were completed. The only inclusion criteria was that it would be a licensed health care professional at the clinic who work with, and prescribe the EoP. A content analysis was performed, which categorized the statements made according to their content.

The purpose of the study was to examine if Talking Mats® couldsupport communication and participation for people with Huntington?sdisease, carers and a dental hygienist in conversation about oral care. Elevendyads, a person with Huntington's disease and a carer, participated.Conversations with and without mats were video recorded and compared.Each participant responded to a questionnaire about how they experiencedthe conversations. Analysis with Effectiveness Framework of FunctionalCommunication showed that two participants increased their communicativeeffectiveness using Talking Mats®. Feelings of participation increased forall participants and were significantly higher for participants withHuntington's disease.

This thesis aims to examine the possibility of understanding social change by using new institutionalism approaches on a specific case, The case, which describes the implementation of new public management reform in the Swedish health care system, is analysed from two separate new institutionalismperspectives; the tool perspective and the symbol perspective. These approaches differ from one another in the sense that the first relies on a rational choice ontology, while the latter rather refers to a sociological tradition. In the analysis, causal explanations as well as aim related explanations are presented. Formative moments such as economic stagnation, non-socialist governments and ideological isomorfism are presented as important factors behind the reformation. By using the tool perspective, the motives of the idea spreading and reformation of the Swedish health care system, are connected to a strictly rationalbasis such as cost efficiency and quality improvements.

The aim of this study has been to create an understanding for the situation of an often forgotten group in foster care, the carers? own children. Our main focus has been the experience this group has of foster care, their experience of participation in caring for the foster children and their possible need of support and help. Our chosen method has been qualitative interviews with six adult children of foster carers, two men and four women. The theory used in this study has been Sense of Coherence.Our interviewees gave mainly a positive description of being part of a foster family even though they could give examples of difficult situation and of loss.

Background: Older people are a major patient group seeking medical care in Sweden. Several of the elderly are living alone and the main reason for living alone is when the spouse passes away. Loneliness is a factor that can affect quality of life, health and wellbeing. Loneliness is an individual experience, loneliness can be self-chosen but involuntary loneliness can lead to lifelong suffering and feelings of loneliness. Aim: The aim of the study was to highlight the factors affecting loneliness among elderly people within municipal care living in Sweden.

Bakgrund: Att vara närstående till någon som vårdas palliativt i hemmet, innebär ofta en förändrad livssituation och påverkar de närstående på olika sätt. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att belysa närståendes upplevelser av palliativ vård i hemmet. Metod:En litteraturstudie som bygger på sex vetenskapliga artiklar. Dessa analyserades med inspiration av Burnards (1995) modell. Resultat: Efter genomförd analys fick författarna fram tre kategorier: oro/rädsla, stöd och att få eller vara utan information.

In the year 1783 a fissure eruption from Laki in the southern part of Iceland produced a large amount of volcanic gases during a period of eight months. The volcanic gases and aerosols spread across the northern hem sphere due to ideal weather conditions and had a substantial impact on the environment, human health and also climate effects. This, so called dry fog, caused severe health problems, which led to death casualties, killing animals, crops and other vegetation. The consequence was a widespread famine which was aggravated by a hard and long winter in 1783/84. Analysis shows that the Icelandic volcanoes are the primary risk to produce dry fog that can affect Sweden.

Till akutmottagningen kommer en stor variation av patienter med olika sorters skador/sjukdomar. Många är oroliga över sitt tillstånd och för många är det den första kontakten med sjukvården. Vårdpersonalens bemötande är därför av stor betydelse. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur patienter upplever vårdpersonalens bemötande på akutmottagningen. Metoden som användes var en kvalitativ litteraturstudie med svenska och engelska vetenskapliga artiklar.

Lameness causes suffering and poor performance in sheep, as in other species. The cause of lameness often originates in problems of the claws. Many claw diseases of sheep are described in British and Australian research, but this field has previously not been of special concern in Sweden. This graduate thesis contains the first claw health survey made on Swedish sheep. The chief objective was to give an overview of sheep claw diseases and to assess claw health in adult sheep.

Ridterapi har varit känd som behandlingsform för sjukgymnaster sedan länge, men vad är det arbetsterapeuterna anser att ridterapi kan ge vid rehabilitering? Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva arbetsterapeutens erfarenheter av att använda sig av ridterapi som behandlingsform till personer med funktionella begränsningar. Insamlingen av data skedde med hjälp av en egen konstruerad enkät med såväl slutna som öppna frågor. Det framgick att arbetsterapeuterna ansåg att ridterapi är en behandlingsform, med många positiva behandlingseffekter och att ridterapi är ett bra komplement till övrig behandling. Slutsatsen är att det inom ridterapi saknas validerade mätinstrument, vilka skulle göra det lättare att sammanställa en utvärdera, ridterapi som behandlingsmetod..

In this study potential health risks for employees in connection with handling of bottom ash and bottom ash water at a Municipal Waste Incineration (MWI) plant have been investigated. Air surrounding the bottom ash and the bottom ash water has been examined. MWI is one of the primary ways to manage solid household waste, and bottom ash is the main solid residue produced by the incineration process. Bottom ash constitutes about 15-20% of the original waste. The bottom ash is extinguished in a water bath (bottom ash water).The study was carried out in a MWI plant in Karlstad, Sweden.

AimThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of MotVikt´s obesity-treatment program on eight severely obese subjects, concerning Body Mass Index, Waist-Circumference and Weight after three and a half months and Sense of Coherence, Body Image and Self-experienced Health after three months. The question in focus was: Did MotVikt´s obesity-treatment program have any effects concerning the factors mentioned above?MetodInformation was collected with questionnaires that were filled out by the eight subjects, three men and five women, who participated in MotVikt´s last round of treatment. Data concerning waist-circumference, weight and BMI were provided by MotVikt. The questionnaires that were used to get information about Sense of Coherence, Body Image and Self-Experienced health were SOC-29, BSQ and IQOLA SF-36.ResultatThe average BMI in the group has decreased with 2,9 kg/m2, from 39,7 till 36,8.