Background: Flavan-3-ols are polyphenolic phytochemicals belonging to the flavonoids. Flavan-3-ols are present in many higher plants and are particularly concentrated in e.g. Camellia sinensis (tea) and Theobroma cacao (cacao) and have got attention due to their antioxidative capacity. Many studies have been able to associate flavan-3-ol-rich foods to improved endothelial function. The aim of the present work is to review the scientific literature and evaluate the evidence for positive effects of flavan-3-ols on endothelial dysfunction in humans. Method: Scientific articles describing intervention and observational studies about flavan-3-ols and endothelial dysfunction, were searched for on http://www.pubmed.org.

The demand för Swedish pork meat is increasing every day. This leads to agricultural farming having to develop as an industry, with larger and more rationalised units to make the farming more effective and to raise the financial profit. The consequence of this is that it affects the animals when their surroundings become more industrial. The pig´s natural behaviour becomes restricted by the limitations of the facilities, which leads to them becoming understimulated. Helena Kummel, a teacher at Munkagård upper secondary school and also an educated animal inspector has developed a prototype that could possibly replace the pig´s natural rooting behaviour inside the barn. The porpuse of this report is to study "bökboxen" in the gilts´actual living enviroment, through qualitative- and quantitative analysis.

Stroke is caused by a bleeding or infarct in the brain and is one of the most common diseases in Sweden today. The purpose of the study was to evaluate if Ronnie Gardiner?s Rhythm Therapy (RGR-therapy) has any effect, regarding motor control and the subjective experienced health related quality of life, on people who have been affected by stroke. The examination group consisted of eight people. The intervention consisted of RGR-therapy once a week during a period of nine weeks.

The purpose was to investigate whether using two type of interventions (i.e., Four rooms of change in school and EQ- workshop) in addition to curriculum guidelines can affect character development in children 10-12 years of age. The data was collected using the test Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (J-TCI; Cloninger, CR, 1994) in three elementary schools among students in fifth grade who had been involved in any of the two interventions for the past two years or no intervention at all.The J-TCI scales were used to, besides the seven personality dimension it measures, create a self-constructed empathy scale. A total of 55 participants were included in the study (girls n = 26 and boys n = 29). Statistical testing with MANOVA showed no significant main effect on empathy or any personality trait. There was however an interaction effect between intervention and gender on the character traits.

Sverige har under en längre tid haft en åldrande befolkning vilket resulterar i allt högre krav på hälso- och sjukvården då fler personer drabbas av ålderssjukdomar. Demens är en stor diagnosgrupp bland dessa och arbetsterapeuten har en viktig roll i behandlingen av personer med demens där bl.a. kognitiva hjälpmedel är ett nytt område inom arbetsterapi. Syftet med studien var att beskriva arbetsterapeuters erfarenheter av och uppfattningar om kognitiva hjälpmedel för personer med demenssjukdom. En deskriptiv kvalitativ metod användes och datainsamling gjordes genom intervjuer med sex arbetsterapeuter som arbetade inom kommunal demensvård i en mellanstor svensk stad.

Palliative care is a care that focuses on providing end of life care but not to delay or hasten death. Despite training, nurses often show a lack of knowledge in attitude, ethics and healthcare issues of palliative care. The nurse in palliative care has a central role in caring of the dying patient and therefore a big responsibility. However, palliative care is a low priority in basic training. The aim of this study is to investigate the roles of nurses in palliative care and if there is a need for increased education in the subject.

The effect of gentle massage upon the ageing individual, in combination with the Gerotranscendens Theory by Lars Tornstam..

Background: Diabetes mellitus Type 1 is one of the most common chronicle diseases in childhood. This signifies big changes in the daily life for the child and its family. Aim: The aim of the study was to illustrate the family?s situation when the child falls ill in Type 1 diabetes. Method: The search for literature has been done both manually and in databases.

Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva arbetsterapeuters erfarenheter av vårdhundar/terapihundar i svensk rehabilitering. Interventionerna med vård/terapihundarna benämndes hundassisterad intervention men den arbetsterapeutiska rehabiliteringsprocessen inkluderar ännu fler faktorer, exempelvis utredning. Nio arbetsterapeuter deltog i studien och semistrukturerade intervjuer användes för att samla in data. Data analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Analysen resulterade i ett tema, Vårdhunden skapar delaktighet i och efter rehabiliteringen, bildades med tre tillhörande underkategorier.

Background: The district nurses profession has traditionally been health promotion. In order to find patients with excessive alcohol intake, district nurses use AUDIT. Research shows that health professionals find it difficult to face alcohol abusers in primary care. AIM: The aim is to describe how district nurses work with AUDIT. Method: Semi-structured interviews with six informants were carried out.

Background: Pressure ulcers have during a long time ages caused great suffering for the patients. The factors affecting the occurrence of pressure ulcers can be both internal and external, such as immobility and malnutrition. Nurses´ role is to assess risks and thus pay attention to prevent and treat pressure ulcers. The nurse may use various assessment tools to highlight and document patients at risk for developing pressure ulcers. Aim: This study was to describe health professionals´ thoughts and actions about the pressure ulcers.

Stressymtom hos ungdomar, och bland dem främst unga tjejer, har ökat markant de senaste 20 åren och utgör idag ett stort hälsoproblem. Inom ramen för ett projekt mot stress i gymnasieskolan under år 2006 fick elever med självrapporterade stressymtom prova på metoden expressivt skrivande. Föreliggande studie bygger på det textmaterial som nio ungdomar lämnade in, där tjejer utgjorde en stor majoritet. Syftet med studien var att djupare förstå innebörden av ungdomars stress samt att undersöka hur processen ser ut när de använder metoden expressivt skrivande. Två stora områden som upptog deltagarna var relationer i familjen samt olika former av krav på prestation.

Bakgrund: Självskadebeteende startar ofta i tidiga tonåren men orsaken grundar sig i traumatiska upplevelser i barndomen. Beteendet är en medveten handling som utförs för att dämpa den psykiska smärtan och resulterar i en vävnadsskada. Patienterna anser sig ofta bli stigmatiserade och behandlade som objekt när de istället behöver känna stöd och förståelse från personalen i omvårdnaden. Syfte: Att belysa patienter med självskadebeteende, deras upplevelser av sitt beteende och av omvårdnadspersonalens förhållningssätt vid mötet i omvårdnaden. Metod: En litteraturstudie baserad på 11 vetenskapliga artiklar.

The aim of this descriptive literature study was to describe the patients? experience of the need for social support and the choice of coping strategies during treatment for eating disorders. Further, the authors wanted to describe the relationship with the parents and also to highlight the caring relationship between nurse and patient. Results that came to light, concerning the patients? experience, were that patients with eating disorders, in a majority of studies, indicated a deficient social network.

Changes in swallowing function are common in elderly and chronically ill individuals. Therefore it is important to be aware of these changes and their prevalence. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of dysphagia in nursing homes in the municipality of Linköping, and to correlate dysphagia with variables that can be a cause or a consequence of dysphagia. These variables were gender, age, MMT-result, dentition, weight loss, medical diagnose or number of medications. The intention was also to examine the additional information regarding dysphagia supplied by pulse oximetry.Sixty nursing home residents aged 74-101 years were chosen to participate in the study.