Our Companion animals can, with or without symptoms, carry infectious agents which have a potential to induce diseases in man, so called zoonoses. An immune compromised person has an increased risk of becoming infected by various agents, and thus also has an increased risk to become infected by one?s own Companion animals. A study was carried out within the veterinary program at SLU, Sweden, based on a questionnaire answered by 31 physicians, 31 veterinarians and interviews of 30 immune compromised persons in Sweden. The study investigated the following questions: Which zoonoses do physicians and veterinarians consider to be the most important to inform immunecompromised persons about? How are immunecompromised persons being informed by their physicians about the risk of catching zoonoses from their Companion animals? How are the owners of zoonosis-infected animals being informed by their veterinarians about zoonoses? Does veterinary medicine and human medicine communicate about zoonoses, in order to take the best care of immunecompromised persons in contact with animals? The results of our study imply that: - Physicians and veterinarians differ about which zoonoses immunecompromised persons should be informed about. - Only oral information is passed to immunecompromised persons and animal owners.

Cancer is one of the most feared diseases in veterinary medicine today, and the incidence is higher than ever due to the fact that our Companion animals live longer then they did ten to twenty years ago. Cancer is also one of the most common causes of mortality in older Companion animals. This literature review will be about two of the currently most common form of cancer treatment of Companion animals in Swedish animal hospitals, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. There will also be a section of general nursing care for cancer patients. The section of chemotherapy will describe the indications for choosing chemotherapy, the way to administrate chemotherapeutic drugs, describe specific chemotherapeutic drugs, potential side effects of chemotherapy, and how to handle and store chemotherapeutic drugs safely. The section of radiation therapy will describe the current devices for delivering radiation therapy, describe the indications for choosing radiation therapy and describe potential side effects that radiation therapy may cause.

Ny teknologi har skapat nya möjligheter inom utvecklingen av teknologi för äldre. Kunskap behövs om de äldres behov och vilka situationer i vardagen som skulle kunna underlättas av teknik för att minska de äldres beroende av andra människor. I utvecklingen av ett interaktivt teknologiskt hjälpmedel en så kallad virtual Companion har en etnografisk studie gjorts för att kartlägga vardagen på ett äldreboende och interaktionen mellan vårdgivare och vårdtagare. Dessa har strukturerats upp i interaktionsmönster för att bli ett underlag till funktioner som skall implementeras i hjälpmedlet..

Obesity is a problem that increases exponentially in humans and Companion animals. It is defined as a big accumulation of fat in the body and is usually connected with several diseases. This study describes how obesity can be diagnosed, in which way the gut flora can affect obesity, if the gut flora is genetically influenced or not, and how it differs between individuals with obesity and obesity-related diseases. Conclusions of the study are that both the bacterial strains Bacteriodetes and Firmicutes probably have a connection to obesity. The intestinal flora is probably also genetically related.

The obesity problem in the world is growing bigger and today even our Companion animals are becoming heavier. In this paper the importance of a balanced diet for the Companion animal is emphasised. There are many disadvantages for the animal and for the owner if the animal becomes obese and it is important to stress the facts on what the consequences might be. There are several medical conditions connected to obesity and a short summary of these will be discussed. It is often easier to prevent obesity rather than loosing the overweight and some ideas of how to do this is looked in to. In many veterinary clinics today, the veterinary nurse is the first and sometimes the only person to see the animal.

This field study examined how elderly and cognitively disabled people used and experienced a social Companion robot. The following pages explores the questions: Which are the physical, social and affective qualities during the interaction? The aim was to through observations see how qualities of interaction could activate different forms of behavior. The results show that motion, sound and the eyes together created communicative and emotional changes for users who felt joy and were willing to share the activity with others. The robot stimulated to some extent users to create their own imaginative experiences but often failed to involve user or group for a long time and was also considered too large and heavy to handle..

The aim of this littrature review has been to describe how you can satisfy the need of nourishment for older people who suffer from dementia. Data has been retrieved by searches in Academic Search Elite, Sience Direct, Blackwell, PubMed and in the Journal Vård i Norden. The studies show that most of the people with dementia have a hard time to satisfy the nourishment. The results show that through different preventive measurement you can improve the nourishment for these people, to set the table, play calm music and to have a table Companion. By taking the food oneself created a good meal environment and the individually need was provided for.

There are several ways in which people can relate to eating or not eating animals. This essay is focussing two main strategies: Making distances and drawing borders.Today, there are several reasons for not eating meat, including environmental reasons, individual and public health reasons, ethical reasons and more. Yet, people eat more meat than ever. According to the UN, this is a major problem. In 2006 the report Livestock?s long shadow pointed out that meat consumption was a bigger problem from an environmental point of view, than global transports, including air-traffic.

The purpose of this paper is to try to get an understanding of the underlying causes and reasons that students starting in seventh grade junior high school seek out a particular group, and the extent to which they do so.The work is based on the questions: How do students perceive the meeting with their prospective bench-Companion in a new composite class? What should a teacher consider when it comes to bench placement in a new composite class? Do the students change, and if so to what extent, friends when they start high school? What are the factors that affect/have affected the students' choice of friends? How large a role does the school play for pupils relationships? What thoughts and feelings do the students have regarding new encounters?I have conducted in-depth interviews with six adolescents in grade seven as the basis for the understanding of how students relate to group selection and group affiliation, and I have then compared this material with previous research on the subject. Furthermore I have availed myself of literature in social- and group psychology.The conclusion which has emerged is that the most important component of a group-process is the sense of solidarity and security, and the results show that students largely retain their old relationships rather than adding new, when they start high school. Hence the teacher plays an important role in ensuring that any imbalance in the group is offset and make sure that nobody is excluded, but also to help make room for new groups and be aware of the sensitive and responsive phase of life that the young people are in..

Animal-assisted therapy had its large breakthrough in the 1960-ties when a psychiatrist named Boris Levinson discovered the great advantages of involving animals in the treatment of patients. Therapy with animals involves that animals are used in a systematic way, in a person's process of treatment. The most distinguished Companion animal used within this area is the dog, but horses, cats, rabbits, birds, dolphins and the most common farm animals are used in animal-assisted therapy. Most animals that are to be used for this specific purpose need to be trained in order to maintain their physical and mental health, but also to minimize the risks for the people that are involved. Most studies within this research area are focused on the positive effects on the patients and less on the effects on the animals.

Syftet med studien var att studera hur sällskapsdjur kan påverka demenssjukas beteendeproblem och vara ett komplement till medicinsk behandling med lugnande läkemedel hos patienter med demens.Studien genomfördes som en systematisklitteraturstudie. Metoden författarna använde sig av var att de valde ut 9 stycken vetenskapliga artiklar från år 1999-2009 som hittats i olika databaser och referenslistor. Artiklarna analyserades genom att texten delades upp i de olika kategorierna lugnade effekt/oro, aggression, kontakt/beröring och läkemedelsanvändande. Resultatet visade att beteendeproblemen som aggression och oro, i flera av studierna blev bättre i sällskapsdjurs närvaro, men bara under den tiden som deltagarna fick animal assisted therapy (AAT). När deltagarna blev utan AAT försämrades deras beteendeproblem igen.

The purpose of the study was to find out whether the interaction between mentally disabled individuals and pet positively affects the individual and gives a feeling of well-being to the extent that this might be implicated in the psychologically disabled people?s everyday life in some form of rehabilitation measure. The study is qualitative and builds on an ethnographic design. Data collection was performed through six observations, six interviews and reflections. Interviews were also conducted with relatives and assistants for greater opportunity for follow-up questions, and descriptions of the situation.

Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilken betydelse sällskapsdjur har för den äldre människans livskvalité och omvårdnad. Metod: En systematisk litteraturstudie med femton studier med kvantitativ ansats. Datainsamlingen gjordes i databasen ELIN och PubMed och genom manuell sökning av tidsskrifter. Huvudresultat: På ett äldreboende visade en studie att kanariefågel ökade livskvalitén, den självupplevda psykiska statusen och känslan av autonomi. Sociala interaktioner ökade i samband med Animal Assisted Activity och gav andra diskussionsämnen än de egna sjukdomarna.

The purpose of the study was to find out whether the interaction between mentally disabled individuals and pet positively affects the individual and gives a feeling of well-being to the extent that this might be implicated in the psychologically disabled people?s everyday life in some form of rehabilitation measure. The study is qualitative and builds on an ethnographic design. Data collection was performed through six observations, six interviews and reflections. Interviews were also conducted with relatives and assistants for greater opportunity for follow-up questions, and descriptions of the situation.

Tidigare studier visar att människor som bor på särskilt boende ofta lider av depression och ensamhet. Personalen som jobbar på särskilt boende är ofta upptagna med de dagliga sysslorna och tiden för social interaktion med de boende är ofta begränsad. Detta kan resultera i en känsla av övergivenhet och ångest hos den boende. Genom århundradena, så har människan alltid använt sig av husdjur som ett sällskap och tröst. Studier visar att den generella hälsan förbättras och stärks genom umgänget med djur.