Transdermal drug delivery, besides painfulinjections with syringes, has long been associatedwith small size particle pharmaceuticals, which candiffuse through the skin. This method of drugadministration has only been applicable on a smallnumber of drugs, where active molecules are smalland delivery time should or can be long.Other drug delivery options are oral administrationand injection with hypodermic needles (ordinaryhospital syringes). In oral administration thestomach and liver tend to dissolve the drug and theeffect becomes more difficult to anticipate, anddrug delivery rates difficult to control. Hypodermicneedles are used as a mean of drug injectiondirectly into the bloodstream. This method ispainful and risks infection due to tissue damageand skin penetration.One way to get a painless non-damaging techniquewith high delivery rate that still can delivery largemolecules is to manufacture an array of microscopichollow needles and equip them with a pumping unitthat delivers the correct amount of drugs.This thesis shows the technique and possibility ofmanufacture micromachined needles using low costtechniques of Ion Track Technology (radiation ofheavy ions creates porous materials), electrolessdeposition (non-current activated wet chemistrymethod of depositing metal) and electroplating.

Methadone is frequently used as an analgesic drug for dogs although there are very few studies describing the pharmacokinetics of methadone in this species. In man methadone has a long half-life and there are considerable differences in pharmacokinetics between individuals. The dose interval is lengthened when the drug is used fore longer periods of time due to prolonged half-life. Therefore the drug dose must be adjusted individually. The purpose of this study was to study the fundamental pharmacokinetics of methadone in dogs, and to find an optimal drug dosage.

The purpose of this essay is to explore the significance for former drug addicts who, during their treatment against drug abuse, have had a therapist with a drug addiction in his or her past. A qualitative case study has been used as method in which four former drug users have been interviewed. We have compiled the results based on five key themes in order to get a comprehensive picture of the relevance of common experiences regarding drug abuse, based on former addicts? experiences. This has been done in connection with a review of different theoretical perspectives that we have found relevant to the investigation. Our findings have then been compared with previous research in the field.

Läkemedelshanteringen är ett av sjuksköterskans ansvarsområden inom hälso- och sjukvården. Utifrån kunskap och lagar skall den bedrivas på ett patientsäkert sätt men trots det sker läkemedelshanteringsfel vilket innebär risker i patientsäkerheten.Syftet med studien var att beskriva faktorer som påverkar säkerheten i samband med sjuksköterskans läkemedelshantering. Studien genomfördes som en litteraturstudie. Resultatet visade att vanliga läkemedelshanteringsfel är utebliven dos, fel administreringstid, fel dos, fel administreringssätt, fel läkemedel och läkemedel till fel patient. Faktorer som påverkar sjuksköterskans läkemedelshantering är felaktiga och dåligt skrivna läkemedelsordinationer, distraktion under läkemedelshanteringen, bristande rutiner samt införande av ny teknologi.

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.

The drug treatment staff attitude towards needle exchange is what investigates in this study. The aim of this study is to see what?s affecting the standpoints in the needle exchange issue and also to investigate if the needle exchange is compatible with Swedish drug policy. The study has a qualitative approach and it?s based on eight semi-structured interviews with drug treatment staff.

The purpose of this essay is to identify how the drug user is portrayed in motion pictures. My main questions are: How is the drug use described? How is the male and female drug user depicted? How may the movies contribute to the construction, reproduction and change of gender? The method I use in my research is a qualitative, selective discourse- analysis of a number of movies prominently portraying drug use. A gender perspective is also applied on this paper.The main result of the study is that I have found that the great majority of the analyzed films portray drug use as means for something else. Drug use is often portrayed in the beginning as heavenly but changes to be depicted as problematic.

The aim of this study is to highlight drug experiences and the significance our interviewee?s ascribe to their drug experiences in conjunction to their everyday lives. In the concluding chapter of this study we have used the collective experiences of the participants to allow us to engage in a dialogue of why it is important to acknowledge the attributes and needs an individual attaches to his/her perspective drug in the field of social welfare in Sweden. Symbolic Interactionism as a theoretical approach is used as the framework for understanding responses of participants in this study. The word ?experience? is a comprehensive concept for the sensations that an individual feels.

Drug related messages in antidrug campaigns and music related media -A qualitative study about young people?s perceptions Youth are exposed to both promotional and critical drug and alcohol messages in their daily media consumption. The purpose of this study is to examine how youth perceive anti-drug campaigns and drug-promoting messages in music-related media. The empirical material consists of qualitative data, including a focus group and two individual interviews, consisting of youth between the ages of 18 and19. One main finding is that young people perceive anti-drug messages differently, yet they are virtually unanimous about what makes such messages effective.

The purpose with our essay was to increase our knowledge about what social workers, with experience from working with drug addicts, perceive as the explanations to a person stopping the abuse and succeed in staying drug free. Our framing of the question was:- How do social workers define the term drug free?- How big a roll do the social worker believes she/he has in the process in which a person stops abusing drugs?- How do the social worker work with a person towards getting that person drug free?- What do the social worker believe to be the reason why a person stops abusing drugs?- What do the social worker perceive as helpful for a person to stay drug free?We did qualitative interviews with six social workers. Our main conclusion was that it is difficult to define the term drug free. The reason for stropping the drug abuse can vary, it can be the family situation, "hitting rock bottom", finding love or tiring.

This paper is about drug prevention. In my paper the aim is to examine when, where and how the drug prevention work, by law, is being realized, on local levels, in school and municipality, towards youth.My central questions are among others: What does it imply, how the municipality and school value the drug prevention work?, Which prevention programs do the municipality and school use? and Does the drug prevention work give any results? The method I've been using is qualitative interviews and studies of literature and research.The main results I gained with my studie are, that the work of politicians is not in phase with the development in society. And in spite of the fact that drug prevention programs are used, the young ones are using drugs and alcohol more than ever..

In this essay, I have studied the image of the drug abusing mother and her motherhood as seen in some of the social science literature on drug abusing women. This I did with a qualitative research design and with the questions:How is the drug abusing mother and her motherhood portrayed by social scientists?What signification is her motherhood given in her life by the researchers?What approach towards the drug abusing mother in the research process, and hence in the creation of the images of her, does the scientists have?I found that there are distinct patterns and themes in the research on mothers with a drug abuse. The researchers studied the women with the goal to understand them and to give them the opportunity to speak for themselves through the researcher. The drug abusing mother is in short portrayed as a woman who cares for her children, whose motherhood is one of the most important factors in her life and who is anxious that her substance abuse should not threaten it.

By comparing the experience off interaction in a life world with a drug habit and a life world without a drug habit you might find how they differ. We asked four former drug abusers in four semi structured interviews to describe their experiences off interaction under these two circumstances. The difference between the two life worlds when it comes to interaction is that in the drug abusing life world our informants describe that communicative action has to stand back for a more goal oriented action. In the drug free life world, communicative action on the other hand is experienced as the most important action. The difference is about wether interaction is goal oriented or oriented at understanding.

The purpose of this study is to investigate university students, studying social work, attitudes against the drug policies, zero tolerance and harm reduction. This was done by quantitative survey utilizing questioners targeting students in semester one to four at Stockholm University, Department of Social Work. The study included 295 students responding to the questioners. The results have been analyzed utilizing theories regarding attitudes and their influence of different social aspects; social influences, social norms and conformity. The result of this study shows that the students prefer the drug policy of harm reduction over zero tolerance.

By comparing the experience off interaction in a life world with a drug habit and a life world without a drug habit you might find how they differ. We asked four former drug abusers in four semi structured interviews to describe their experiences off interaction under these two circumstances. The difference between the two life worlds when it comes to interaction is that in the drug abusing life world our informants describe that communicative action has to stand back for a more goal oriented action. In the drug free life world, communicative action on the other hand is experienced as the most important action. The difference is about wether interaction is goal oriented or oriented at understanding.