Background: Research shows that the nurse?s presence has a great significance for the relationship between patient and nurse. By this, the nurse can gain a greater understanding for the patient?s situation and thus have an opportunity to influence the patient?s health processes.Problem: Today?s focus on the technology and lack of time in healthcare can create a stress which can make it more difficult for the nurse to prove presence to the patient.Aim: To describe patients? experiences of the nurse?s presence in healthcare.Method: A qualitative approach, where Evans descriptive synthesis has been used. Eleven previously published qualitative, caring science, articles has been used in the synthesis.Results: The synthesis revealed two themes.

Background:Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a complex clinical condition. The higher survival rate after heart attack and other heart diseases, plus aging population, has led to more CHF patients. Symptoms can have negative impact on exercise capacity, ability to perform activities of daily living and quality of life. Heart failure clinics have been established to help better quality of life. Helping to stabilize and maintain patients´ health can reduce the need of hospital admission.

Background: People who is close to patients suffering from incurable diseases experiences both suffering and grief. It is hard to be there for someone and at the same time handle your own grief. This can create feeling of anxiety, stress and guilt. Problem: Near related persons might not accept the further loss of someone near, the hope remains until it is final. They may not know the whole width of the situation, not acknowledge to the patient or himself how it is going to end.

Telephone counselling has been around for more than forty years and remains a widely accepted communication support, both in the primary care and the outpa-tient departments of our hospitals. In many cases, this form of communication might be the only way in which the patient will have contact with the health ser-vices, primarily the nurse. In this study, the authors have chosen the word com-munication support as a generic name for the various technology tools, which are already present or in the future, might be an important link between the patient and the nurse. The aim of this study was to examine which communication sup-port that is available and patients´ perceptions of those and the patients´ percep-tions. Our patients can sometimes be affected by their illness, which means that their perception might be influenced and the advices or the prescriptions given by telephone will not be correctly perceived.

The aim of this study was to describe home care personnel and their experiences in palliative care. The design was qualitative and data were collected through interviews. Five home care personnel were interviewed, all women, whom have experience of palliative home care.The material was then analysed with qualitative content analysis and eight main categories, derived from experiences of home care personnel, were identified: relationship, safety, quality of care, a better end-of-life, routine, information, knowledge and competence, and work environment. The result showed that all participants of this study identified themselves as family members of the patients whom they had cared for during a long period of time. Additionally, the participants were emotionally touched when the patient died.The majority experienced that the patients do receive good care in their homes.

Background: Sweden is one of many countries which have a long history of immigration during the past decades. Each yearSweden receives numerous immigrants from different parts of the world, which has madeSweden to a multi-culture country.Aim: The aim was to describe nurses? experiences of encounters with patients from different cultures.Method: A literature-based study based on qualitative research, nine scientific articles were performed.Result: The analysis of the data resulted in four themes such as; insufficient communication, family members as a link to the patient, unfamiliar situation, and attentive to the patients? vulnerability with seven subthemes.Conclusion: For a well functioning encounter between nurse and patient from different cultures, a prerequisite is that the nurses establish a relationship based on good communication with the patient and relatives. This can prevent inequality, suffering based on lack of nursing, violation and misunderstandings..

The aim of this study was to investigate patients? experiences of pain during dental hygienist treatment and scaling. The study is based on a questionnaire and includes 129 patients, from four dental clinics in Skåne, Sweden. The questionnaire consisted of ten questions with a Visual Analogue Scale as a main question. Questions about age, gender and dental anxiety were also included.

AbstractBackground: Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and accounted for 7.6 million deaths, about 13% of all deaths, in 2008. Several factors can affect patients' quality of life such as physical and psychological symptoms, relationship to people around and the environment. In palliative care professionals need to have good knowledge in order to improve patient quality of life and to give them as good a life as possible in the final stages of life.Aim: The purpose of this overview study is to describe the experiences of quality of life in patients with incurable cancer.Method: We conducted an overview study that was based on ten scientific articles. All articles are qualitative studies, from the year 1995 - 2011, and are from Sweden, Finland, UK, Canada and the USA. Qualitative analysis was used to group the various themes and subthemes for overview study purpose.

It?s known that the drug information patients get at discharge from hospital is often insufficient. Patients? ignorance of which drug they use and how to take them can lead to drug related problems, can cause suffering and heavy expenses.The aim of this study was to shed light on the patients? understanding for drug information, which was given at discharge from hospital. The literature survey was used as a method and based upon a systematic choice of scientific articles, which were found in different databases during the period of April 1 to May 31, 2008.

Background: The need for palliative care at home hasincreased in recent years as more people wish to die in their own homes. Toperform good palliative care by addressing patients' needs and desires of lifecare requires a better understanding of how nurses experience palliative careat home. Aim: The aim of the study was todescribe nurses experiences of caring for patients in palliative care in homecare. Method: The method was asystematic literature review and the article search resulted in elevenqualitative articles. An inductive qualitative approach was used where nursesdifferent experiences was identified. Results: Our results are reportedunder two themes:Opportunities and Barriers. Palliative carein home care experiencedby nurses in variousways in which personalgrowth, experience, guidance,trustful communication, cooperation and self-knowledgewas opportunies thatemerged. Barriers experienced by nurseswas ineffective communication,lack of time and abuseof power in palliative care at home.

The aim of this literature review was to elucidate how suicidal and self-harming patients should be treated and cared for, mainly in the acute phase in somatic care. Searches were conducted in databases with relevant keywords. Qualitative and quantitative articles were included, would not be more than 20 years, be written in Swedish or English, and match the aim of the study. Results showed that nurses and patients felt that the treatment would be respectful, non-judgmental and characterized by active listening and clear communication. Poor care was described as disrespect and lack of understanding.

Background: Mental illness is a growing public health problem which can cause significant disabilities and lead to poor quality of life. As primary care nurses often are the first to encounter these patients they need knowledge to be able to respond appropriately to this group.Aim: The aim was to describe how the sufferer of mental illness experiences the introduction to primary care. Method: The literature review was based on the results of 11 scientific articles which were analyzed with the inspiration of a metasynthesis method.Results: Four categories emerged: the experience of being treated like a human being, the importance of a therapeutic space, the experience of time and availability as well as the importance of competent personnel and the importance of continuity. Patients described different aspects deemed important when encountering nursing staff. Conclusion: Patients experienced that they received good care when they felt listened to and seen as individuals with their own thoughts and feelings.

Background: Palliative care is a type of care, which does not cure but eases the suffering caused by the disease. The goal of palliative care is not to extend or shorten the patient's life, but to relieve pain and distressing symptoms and to promote the patients? quality of life (QOL). QOL can be understood as a subjective sense of happiness of existence, which means that the patient is experiencing life when her total life situation is consistent with her ??wishes.

The aim of the literature review was to illuminate the importance of nutritional management to patients who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and describe nurses responsibility and meaningful function in the nutritional support. TBI patients tend to be associated with hypermetabolism and hypercatabolism, resulting in negative nitrogen balances. The results reveal increased energy expenditure and assessments of needs energy requirements at the TBI patients. This study determining the route of feeding: enteral versus parenteral nutrition. Furthermore describes complications associated with enteral feeding.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can limit patients physical abilities and contribute to social isolation. The purpose of this literature study is to investigate men's and women's experiences of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary dis-ease, and the supporting and guiding role of the nurse to an increased quality of life. 13 critical reviewed articles were used to find the answers to our questions. Quality rating forms were used in order to guarantee a good scientific quality. The results show that, it is of great importance for the COPD-patients well-being to experience social support from those around them, and to have a close relation-ship with their families and friends, in order to experience quality of life.