Bakgrund: I slutet av 2019 upptäcktes ett nytt virus i Kina som fick namnet SARS-CoV-2 och senare Covid-19. Den elfte mars 2020 deklarerades viruset som en pandemi. Virusets höga smittsamhet och dödlighet blev en stor påfrestning för vårdpersonal. Covid-19 orsakar hos de flesta en luftvägsinfektion, men kan hos vissa utvecklas till svår sjukdom med dödlig utgång. Primärvården anses vara basen i hälso- och sjukvården med distriktssjuksköterskans hälsofrämjande arbete i centrum. Studier har visat att när sjuksköterskor är i nära kontakt med smittsamma infektionssjukdomar upplever dem ensamhet, ängslan, rädsla, utmattning och sömnstörningar. Det finns få studier om distriktssjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att arbeta under pandemi så en ökad kunskap och förståelse bedömdes därför som aktuell. Syfte: Beskriva distriktssjuksköterskans erfarenheter av hälsofrämjande omvårdnad under den pågående pandemin. Metod: kvalitativ metod med induktiv ansats. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med distriktssjuksköterskor och sjuksköterskor på fem vårdcentraler i Stockholm. Texten bearbetades utifrån kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Materialet resulterade i en variation av erfarenheter såsom rädsla, stress, utmattning men likaså möjlighet till ökad kunskap och utveckling, samt en känsla av att ha kommit närmare patienter och kollegor. Slutsats: Distriktssjuksköterskan utvecklades med sina arbetsuppgifter och upplevde samhörighet men också olika former av känslomässiga utmaningar. Beslutsfattare och ansvariga för primärvården bör använda slutsatserna för att förbättra stödet till distriktssjuksköterskor och verksamhet. Det finns behov av vidare studier i området. / Background: By the end of 2019 a new virus was discovered in China. It was later named SARS-CoV-2 and eventually Covid-19. The eleventh of March 2020 the virus was declared a pandemic. The high level of contagiousness and mortality of the virus put a lot of stress on health care professionals. Covid-19 causes respiratory tract infections, and can be deadly. Primary health care is considered the base of the health care system, where the district nurse´s health promotion work is central. Studies have shown that nurses´ who come in contact with contagious infectious diseases suffer loneliness, anxiety, fear, fatigue and sleep disorder. There are very few studies about district nurses´ working experiences during a pandemic, therefore more knowledge and understanding was warranted. Purpose: To describe the district nurses´ experiences of health promotion in nursing care during the current pandemic. Method: A qualitative method with inductive approach was conducted with semi-structured interviews with district nurses at five primary health care centers in Stockholm, Sweden. The material was then analyzed with content analysis. Results: The material showed a variety of experiences, including fear, stress and fatigue, but also increased knowledge, professional development and feeling closer to colleagues and patients. Conclusion: The district nurses´ developed professionally with the new tasks and experienced affinity but also various forms of emotional challenges. Decision makers and managers can make use of these insights to inform and improve their support for districtnurses´ during a pandemic. There is a need for further research on the subject. / <p>Godkännandedatum: 2020-11-23</p>

Detta arbete har tagit upp ämnen som rörelsemönster, resvanor samt olika reserutiner och hur de har, eller inte har, förändrats under pandemin och det har även diskuterats huruvida detta potentiellt har inneburit några lättnader i miljöpåverkan från denna sektor. Genom insamlad data som delgivits av kommunen och lokaltrafiken, samt en genomförd enkät, har det visat sig att det har skett omfattande förändringar i rörelsemönstren. Det handlar bland annat om att fordonstrafiken och användningen av kollektivtrafiken minskade kraftigt och andelen cyklister ökade, samt att den genomsnittliga körsträckan per vecka per person nästintill halverades och likaså sågs en påtaglig skillnad i antalet flygresor genomförda under pandemin. Slutligen diskuteras framtiden efter Covid-19 när restriktioner och liknande tagits bort, och även om det är svårt, om inte omöjligt, att sia och diskutera framtiden baserat på data har pandemin troligen haft en mer bestående påverkan hos flera personer än hos andra, där det snarare istället finns en hunger och nästan ingen rädsla alls förknippad med att gå tillbaka till ”gamla vanor”. Vidare studier behövs för att kunna dra några slutsatser om långtidseffekter. / This project addresses subjects such as movement- and travel patterns, routines in travel and traveling behavior, with the aim of investigating and determining whether or not there has been a change in these during the pandemic due to restrictions and also if this may or may not have meant any reliefs in environmental impact. Through collected data given in a collaboration by the local municipality offices and local public transport company, and also by performing a survey, it has been shown that there have been comprehensive changes in peoples movement- and travel patterns and ways of traveling. It includes among other things that the vehicle traffic amount has reduced, and the use of public transport has been considerably reduced followed by an increase in traveling by bike. In total the average travel distance by car per person and week reduced by almost 50 percent and also air travel saw a heavily decrease in use during the pandemic. Lastly the future after the Covid-19-pandemic when restrictions and such are going to be removed where discussed and also issued in the survey. Even if it is hard, almost impossible, to prophesy or predict the future based of collected data it has been shown through the respondent’s answers and motivations in the matter that the pandemic most likely has affected people with a more lasting impact that will partly carry on for some time after the pandemics end. That does not imply on all people, some are very eager and express a hunger to go back to “old routines” and travel more. Further research has to be done to conclude any longtime affects.

Pandemin covid 19 har påverkat människors liv på många sätt. På grund av restriktionerna pandemin medfört har många tvingats till en beteendeförändring av olika slag. Den beteendeförändring som denna undersökning har till syfte att undersöka är upplevelser av förändrade alkoholvanor samt dess orsaker under pandemin. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ ansats med 10 semistrukturerade intervjuer, som analyserats med en innehållsanalys. Studiens resultat visade att samtliga intervjupersoner upplevde en förändring av någon form i beteendet gällande deras alkoholvanor i samband med pandemin. Studiens slutsatser är att pandemins restriktioner var den främsta anledningen till att intervjupersonerna upplevde en beteendeförändring av sina alkoholvanor. Inköpsvanorna har förändrats då de inte längre inhandlat alkohol från Tyskland. Studien visade på en oförändrad eller minskad alkoholkonsumtion under pandemin, beträffande såväl tillfällen som alkohol förtärs som den faktiska volymen alkohol de totalt förtär. Upplevelser om tider på dygnet då alkohol intogs var oförändrat med en avvikelse. / Pandemic covid 19 has affected people's lives in many ways. Due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic, many have been forced to make a behavioral change of various kinds. The behavioral change that this study aims to investigate is experiences of changed alcohol habits and its causes during the pandemic. The study is based on a qualitative approach with 10 semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed with a content analysis. The results of the study showed that all interviewees experienced a change in some form of behavior regarding their alcohol habits in connection with the pandemic. The study's conclusions are that the pandemic's restrictions were the main reason why the interviewees experienced a behavioral change in their alcohol habits. Shopping habits have changed as they no longer buy alcohol from Germany. The study showed an unchanged or reduced alcohol consumption during the pandemic, regarding both occasions when alcohol is consumed and the actual volume of alcohol they consume in total. Experiences about times of the day when alcohol was consumed were unchanged with a deviation.

I december 2019 rapporterades fall av oidentifierad lunginflammation, senare känd som Covid-19. Antalet fall ökar fortfarande snabbt i världen och därmed utgör Covid-19 ett extraordinärt hot mot folkhälsan. Studier har visat en ökad mängd proinflammatoriska cytokiner TNF-α, associerade med andningssvårigheter samt en ökad kortisolproduktion. Utsöndring av kortisol och TNF-α är associerade med fysiska- och psykiska hälsoeffekter, sjukdomsgrad samt dödsfall av Covid-19. Syftet med studien var att undersöka utsöndringen av biomarkörerna kortisol och TNF-α i saliv hos individer tidigare diagnostiserade med Covid-19 samt hos individer utan diagnostiserad Covid-19 (kontrollgrupp). Det för att undersöka huruvida kvarvarande symtom kunde associeras till biomarkörerna. Studien inkluderade 40 individer, varav 20 individer tidigare diagnostiserade med Covid-19 samt 20 individer utan diagnostiserad Covid-19. Saliv och ett frågeformulär om deras allmänna hälsotillstånd och symtom kopplade till Covid-19 infektion samlades in och analyserades. Salivprover tagna på morgon analyserades med ELISA och resultatet jämfördes mellan grupperna. Inga signifikanta skillnader visade mellan grupperna gällande biomarkörer. Resultaten visade dessutom inga korrelation mellan symtom och biomarkörer samt att inga förhöjda nivåer av analyserade biomarkörer kan associeras med kvarvarande symtom efter en Covid-19 infektion. / A cluster of unidentified pneumonia cases, later known as Covid-19, were reported in December 2019. The number of Covid-19 cases is still rapidly increasing and poses an extraordinary threat to our public health. Studies have shown an increased level of the cytokine TNF-α, associated with severe respiratory symptoms as well as an increased cortisol production. Together associated with physical and mental health effects, disease severity and increased mortality of Covid-19. This study aimed to evaluate the secretion of cortisol and TNF-α in the saliva of individuals previously diagnosed with Covid-19 and individuals not diagnosed with Covid-19 (control group). This to examine whether the residual symptoms can be associated with the analyzed biomarkers. The study included 40 participants, 20 individuals diagnosed with Covid-19 and 20 individuals not diagnosed with Covid -19. Saliva and a questionnaire concerning their overall health and possible symptoms associated with Covid-19 infection were collected and analyzed. Saliva morning samples were analyzed with ELISA and results were compared between the groups. No significant differences were shown between the groups regarding the biomarkers. Also, the results showed no correlations between symptoms and biomarkers, nor elevated levels of analyzed biomarkers could be associated with residual symptoms after a Covid-19 infection.

Because of covid-19, everyone has to follow the public health authority's recommendations to work from home. It's not only people's daily routines that have changed, it's also the workplaces. This has led to companies having to work more digitally than they did before. For some people this has been a big difference and for others it has not, depending on how digital the company worked before the start of the pandemic. People's way of communicating has changed due to the pandemic. With this background, this essay will examine how people at an IT company have experienced the change from physical communication to digital communication at their workplace due to covid-19. We are also interested in seeing whether the relationship and communication with colleagues has changed or not.  We have used a qualitative method and conducted interviews with ten people at an IT company. The communication at the IT company has changed in some areas while it has not changed in others. To summarize the internal and external communication, the internal has changed a lot because the employees only communicate digitally with each other. External communication, on the other hand, has not changed much as the employees communicated largely digitally with their customers even before the pandemic, as they have customers all over Sweden and in the world. The biggest change that can be identified is that the employees themselves have had to take great personal responsibility in the work and meeting process.  The pandemic has affected the communication between employees in a way that many feel more alone when they cannot have the same contact with their colleagues as they previously had. There has been a big difference in digital communication as it is much more difficult to see body language through a screen than it is when employees can meet physically.

Bakgrund: Genom tiderna har mänskligheten drabbats av flera pandemier. Den 11 mars 2020 förklarades Covid-19 som pandemi orsakad av viruset SARS-Cov-2. Pandemier påverkar både individer såväl som samhällen och kräver vanligtvis extraordinära insatser för att hindra smittspridning. Under pandemin har den svenska sjukvården har varit under hög belastning. Arbetsbelastningen och riskerna för att sjuksköterskor utsätts för hög stress ökar vid pandemier. Stressen kan komma att påverka sjuksköterskors hälsa negativt. Syfte: att beskriva sjuksköterskors upplevelser av att arbeta i frontlinjen under pågående Covid-19-pandemi och hur de upplever att detta påverkar deras hälsa. Metod: En systematisk litteraturstudie genomfördes för att besvara syftet. Totalt 13 artiklar har analyserats och användes som grund till litteraturstudiens resultat. Resultat: I resultatet framkom två kategorier; sjuksköterskans stärkta yrkesidentitet samt sjuksköterskans arbete i förändrad miljö. Ur dessa kategorier identifierades tre underkategorier vardera. Slutsats: Arbetet i frontlinjen innebär en påfrestande miljö för sjuksköterskor att arbeta i. Sjuksköterskorna påverkas både professionellt och privat under pandemin. Pandemin har tvingat hälso- och sjukvården till stora förändringar som har påverkat sjuksköterskor både positivt och negativt. Rädsla, stress och ångest förekommer men även en känsla av att tillhörighet och uppskattning under en påfrestande period. / Background Throughout the ages, humanity has been hit by pandemics. On March 11, 2020, Covid-19 was declared a pandemic caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Pandemics affect both individuals and communities and usually require extraordinary efforts to prevent the spread of infection. The Swedish healthcare system has been under heavy pressure during the pandemic. The workload and the risks of nurses being exposed to high stress increase during pandemics. Stress can have a negative effect on nurses’ health. Aim: was to describe nurses’ experiences of working in the front line during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the effect of nurses’ perceived health. Method: A systematic literature study was conducted to answer the purpose. A total of 13 articles have been analyzed and used as a basis for the results of the literature study. Result: The result emerged in two categories; nurses’ strengthened professional identity and nurses’ work in a changed environment. From these categories, three subcategories were identified each. Conclusion: The work in the front line means a stressful environment for nurses to work in. The nurses are affected both professionally and privately during the pandemic. The pandemic has forced the health service to make major changes that have affected nurses both positively and negatively. Fear, stress and anxiety occur but also a feeling of belonging and appreciation during a stressful period.

Vi lever idag i en osäker tid där pandemin Covid-19 har påverkat världen på många olika sätt. Fysiska möten har blivit begränsade och en större del av befolkningen arbetar idag hemifrån från distans. Det har aldrig varit viktigare än nu för företag att ha fungerande teknologi och digitalisering för att överleva på marknaden. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad möjliga samband kan vara mellan motivation, längre arbetsdagar och flexibilitet när det kommer till distansarbete. Samt att undersöka om förutsättningarna skiljer sig åt när de arbetar på distans kontra på kontor. Denna studie har begränsats till ett företag (som vill vara anonymt) och är ett dotterbolag till en stor koncern där de flesta arbetar från distans. För att besvara syftet med studien har det genomförts en mixed methods, både en kvantitativ och kvalitativ studie i form av enkäter och intervjuer då vi vill se eventuella samband samt hur individer uppfattar situationen med distansarbete. Resultatet visar på att majoriteten varken anser att motivationen ökar eller brister när de arbetar på distans och det framkommer inte heller något samband mellan motivation och förlängda arbetsdagar. Det finns ett samband mellan flexibilitet och motivationen när det kommer till distansarbete och att dessa två variabler är oberoende av varandra är väldigt osannolikt. De som saknar flexibilitet saknar även motivation och tvärtom. Förutsättningarna att arbeta på distans kontra att arbeta på kontor skiljer sig en del, det finns många olika faktorer som spelar in. Det finns stor saknad av den sociala kontakten med kollegor samtidigt som motivationen ökar genom att sitta ostört och arbeta hemma. Studien visar även på att majoriteten i framtiden vill kombinera att arbeta både på kontor och distans. Dessa resultat har en betydelse för företag och organisationer då vi lever i en oviss tid och ingen vet hur länge anställda kommer att tvingas arbeta från distans. Hur ska företag förhålla sig till situationen i framtiden och vad kan göras annorlunda. / We are living in an uncertain time where Covid-19, a pandemic, has affected the world in many different ways. Physical meetings have become limited and today a larger part of the population now works from distance. It has never been more important than now for companies to have functioning technology and digitalization in order to survive in the market. The purpose of the study is to examine what possible connections there can be between motivation, longer working days and flexibility when it comes to working from distance. And to examine whether the conditions differ when they work remotely versus in the office. This study have been limited to a company, which is a subsidiary of a large concern where most people work remotely. To answer the purpose of the study, a mixed methods have been carried out, both a quantitative and qualitative study. To come to a conclusion both questionnaires and interviews has been done as we want to find out how individuals perceive the difference of working remotely. The results show that the majority do not believe that motivation increases or lacks when they work remotely and there is no connection between motivation and extended working days. Though there is a connection between flexibility and motivation when it comes to distance working, we find it unlikely for these two variables to be independent of each other. Those who lack flexibility also lack motivation and vice versa. The conditions for working remotely versus working in the office differ somewhat, there are many different factors that come into play. There is a major lack of social contact with colleagues thus at the same time as motivation increases by sitting undisturbed and working at home. The study shows that a majority of the employees wish to combine working in the office and remotely in the future. These results are important for companies and organizations as we live in an uncertain time and no one knows how long employees will be forced to work remotely. How will companies handle the situation in the future and what can be done differently.

Human decisions are simultaneously determined by economic incentives and psychological motivations. Based upon this fundamental assumption, I compose three interdisciplinary studies which analyze individual, collective and government actions at multiple levels of aggregation, and how they in turn lead to various economic and psychological outcomes. In the first study, Iexplore the key predictors of the level of compliance to social distancing and mask wearing in the United states by aggregating interdisciplinary datasets and applying multi-level analysis. I use a behavioral model to classify the determinants of compliance to COVID-19 response measures into economic incentives and psychological motivations and show that the former would have an increasing marginal effect on working hours. Empirically, I show that (a) economic vulnerability was the key predictor of failure of social distancing in 2020, even taking partisanship into account. (b) mask wearing was more politicized than social distancing, and in Fall (close to the elections), Republican partisanship was the only dominant indicator of noncompliance of mask wearing. In the second study, we use a coordination game model to discuss the dynamics of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) on COVID-19 in the United States. We use atheoretical model to justify that there exist social reinforcement effects between policies in US states, i.e. the implementation of an NPI in a state would increase the possibility that others follow suit. Under certain conditions, if enough states engage in NPIs, they will tip others that have not yet done so to follow suit and thus shift the Nash equilibrium to the greatest one (allstates follow). Then, we show that there can be equilibria where states with different political leanings adopt different strategies when politics is a determinant of the interaction intensity. Empirically, we use a random utility model (RUM) to test it in reality with Probit and Logit regressions, and find robust evidence that inter-state social reinforcement is important and that equilibria can be tipped in mask wearing, and slightly weaker confirmation for social distancing. In the last study, I explore how personality traits in China are different from the traditional Five-Factor model by a large twin dataset in Yunnan Province. I find robust evidence about personality structures, formation and impacts in China and state three findings: (1) Personality traits in China seem to have a significance deviation from the well-accepted Five Factor Model. Instead, it has two general factors, relying on whether the item is positive or negative in tone. Positive factors include Social Desirability, Extraversion and Openness; negative factors include Disorderliness, Neuroticism and Introversion. (2) The genetic heritability of personality traits in China is significantly lower than that measured in the Western countries. For some traits, such as Social Desirability and Disorderliness, the genetic effect is around 0 and the shared environmental effect is much larger. This challenges previous findings in the West. (3) Using a within-twin fixed effect model, we find suggestive evidence on the causal effect on economic preferences and outcomes, including education performance, income, risk attitudes and subjective well-being.These three studies use the similar behavioral science methodology to study different levels of decision making, and all have important implications for issues of sustainable development.

Denna studie har undersökt hur enhetschefer inom äldreomsorgen upplever och arbetar för att främja den psykosociala arbetsmiljön hos medarbetarna under en pandemi. Med kvalitativa metoder har studien fördjupat sig i enhetschefernas upplevelser och erfarenheter till att utföra ett hållbart och strukturerat arbetsmiljöarbete och därmed ökat kunskapen om hur enhetschefernas verklighet ser ut och har sett ut under de påfrestningar som Covid-19 har medfört inom äldreomsorgen. Studiens empiri baseras på semistrukturerade intervjuer som har utförts med åtta kvinnliga enhetschefer från olika kommuner i södra till sydvästra Sverige. Studien har utvärderats med en tematisk analys och med en abduktiv ansats tolkar vi att Krav-Kontroll-Stödmodellen och KASAM återspeglar studiens empiri. Resultatet påvisar att enhetscheferna upplever att medarbetarna har haft en tuff arbetsmiljö i början av Covid-19 orsakat av hård arbetsbelastning, obegriplig information som bidragit till ständiga organisationsförändringar i hur deras sociala relationer kollegialt har kunnat fungera. Enhetschefernas ledarskap har påverkats av pandemin där de behövt finna nya strategier för att bemöta denna tuffa arbetsmiljö för sina medarbetare där tydlig kommunikation och närvaro har varit viktiga aspekter för att lyckas med en främjande arbetsmiljö under pandemin. / This study has examined how unit managers in elderlycare experience and work topromote the psychosocial work environment of employeesduring a pandemic. Withqualitative methods, the study has deepened the unitmanagers experiences andexperiences to perform a sustainable and structuredwork environment work and therebyincreased knowledge of what the unit managers realitylooks like and has looked likeunder the strains that Covid-19 has resulted in elderlycare. The empirical study is basedon semi-structured interviews that have been conductedwith eight female unit managersfrom different municipalities in southern to southwestSweden. The study has beenevaluated with a thematic analysis and with an abductiveapproach, it can be experiencedafter commuting between the result and theory thatthe Requirement-Control-Supportmodel and KASAM reflect the empirical study. The resultsshow that the unit managersfeel that the employees had a tough work environmentat the beginning of Covid-19caused by hard workload, incomprehensible informationthat contributed to constantorganizational changes in how their social relationscould function collegially. The unitmanagers leadership has been affected by the pandemicwhere they had to find newstrategies to respond to this tough work environmentfor their employees where clearcommunication and attendance have been important aspectsto succeed in a promotingwork environment during the pandemic.

Anställdas återhämtning är en viktig aspekt av individens och organisationens välmående. Traditionellt arbete, distansarbete och en kombination av de båda är arbetssätt som kan tänkas föra med sig vissa fördelar och/eller begränsningar i relation till återhämtning som i sin tur kan komma att påverka hur HR bör arbeta med detta. Studiens syfte är därför att jämföra anställdas upplevda återhämtning från arbete mellan traditionellt arbete och distansarbete samt förklara hur HR kan arbeta för att främja återhämtning inom de olika arbetssätten. Kvalitativa data samlades in genom en enkätundersäkning och en dokumentundersökning som sedan analyserades genom tematisk analys. Resultatet visar att anställda använder sig av olika strategier för återhämtning beroende på arbetssätt och det ses även individuella skillnader i anställdas upplevda återhämtning. HR bör för att främja återhämtning ata olika roller och säkerställa att anställdas individuella behov tas hänsyn till vid arbetet med återhämtning. / Employee's recovery is a vital aspect of individual and organizational well-being. Traditional work, remote work and a combination of both are ways of workning that may bring certain benefits and/or limitations in relation to recovery which in turn may affect how HR should approach this. The aim of the study is therefore to compare employees' perceived recovery from work between traditional work and remote work and also explain how HR can work in order to promote recovery within the different ways of working. Qualitative data ere collected through a survey as well as a documentation review and was later analyzed by using a thematic analysis. The result shows that employees use different strategies for recovery depending on the way of work and individual differences can also be seen in employee's recovery. HR should, in order to promote recovery, adopt different roles and ensure that indivdidual needs are taken into consideration when working with recovery.