Bakgrund: Konst har genom alla tider använts av människor för att på olika sätt skänka glädje och förströelse. Den definieras både som ett mottagande, genom att se och lyssna, och som ett utövande genom ett eget skapande. Det har visat sig att konst kan användas i vården för att exempelvis minska oro och ångest eller som ett hjälpmedel för att skapa kommunikation mellan patienter och sjuksköterskor. För att främja ett gott vårdande som utgår från patienten, behöver patientens perspektiv tas i beaktning. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva patienters upplevelser av konst i vården. Metod: En litteraturöversikt har genomförts där elva vetenskapliga artiklar har analyserats utifrån likheter och skillnader. Meningsbärande enheter identifierades och bildade underlag för teman och underteman som presenterades i resultatet. Resultat: Patienters upplevelser av konst presenterades i två huvudteman. Upplevelser relaterade till sinnesstämning följs av underteman Glädje och lugn, Hopp och att blicka framåt samt Byta fokus från lidande. Upplevelser relaterade till meningsskapande följs av underteman Förmåga att uttrycka sig, Känsla av att vara en person samt Samhörighet med andra. Diskussion: Resultatet har diskuterats utifrån Katie Erikssons teori om vårdandet, som ett sätt att ansa, leka och lära för att lindra lidande. Diskussionen berörde således aspekter som visade på att konst kunde vara vårdande och borde därför vara en del av sjuksköterskans omvårdnadsarbete. / Background: Art has always been a way for human beings to experience joy and distraction. It can be defined as something one receives, through looking and listening, as well as something one practices, through creating. It has been shown that art can be used in health care to reduce anxiety and worry, or as a tool to create communication between patients and nurses. To foster caring that is beneficial and originated from the patient, it is necessary to take the patient’s perspective in consideration.     Aim: The aim was to describe patient’s experience of art in health care. Method: A literature overview has been carried out, where eleven scientific articles have been analyzed based on similarities and differences. Meaningful units were identified and created a foundation for themes and subthemes presented in the result. Results: Patients’ experiences of art were presented by two main themes. Experiences related to mood was followed by sub themes Joy and peace, Hope and look ahead, and Change of focus from suffering. Experiences related to create meaning was followed by sub themes Ability to express oneself, Feeling of being a person, and Affinity with others. Discussion: The result was discussed according to Katie Eriksson’s caring theory, through purging, playing and learning as a way to alleviate suffering. The discussion included therefore aspects of art as a way to care and ought to be a part of nurses’ caring function.

The thesis describes the phenomenon women’s health and illness experiences following a myocardial infarction (MI). The purpose of the thesis is to explore women’s experiences of their care and health processes, as well as their experiences of body, lifeworld and meaningful relationships related to the illness. A reflective lifeworld approach, based on phenomenological philosophy, is used. The thesis is comprised of four studies; three are based on interviews with a total of 26 women following an MI, followed by a fourth, theoretical, study. The first study explores women’s experiences of care and health processes following an MI, with a particular focus on well-being and participation (I). The findings show that an MI is an event that suddenly interrupts the ordinary life of the women. Participation is a sense of being involved in their own health and care processes, which may also encourage them to take responsibility for health promoting activities in a healthy and meaningful way. The second study explores women’s lifeworld experience of their bodies and lives following an MI (II). This study finds that an MI, as a major event in the women’s lives, influences and restricts their everyday activities over a long period of time. Following the illness, they live with an existential uncertainty about their life and the heart, and this feeling entails suffering for them. The third study explores the meaning of close relationships and sexuality to women’s health and well-being following an MI (III). The mmeaning of close relationships appears to be vitally intertwined with their long-term health process; both health processes and relationships are affected after an MI. The suffering following an MI can be compared to taking a fall, where meaningful close relationships can function as a safety net that catches the women in their fall. The fourth study is a concept development aimed at elucidating the meaning of the concepts uncertainty, control, secure and risk in relation to the thesis phenomenon and the findings of the empirical interview studies (IV). The existential uncertainty is an important matter in the women’s health processes. In these processes the concepts control, secure and risk play a central role. Women who have suffered an MI want to be as safe as possible in order to live well. The analysis illuminates a paradox, that the women’s ambition to achieve greater safety may lead them into an even greater experience of uncertainty. The conclusion is that women’s experiences of health and illness can be described as a journey characterized by existential uncertainty. The women’s lives go through different existential phases following an MI, which is a major event. They are not prepared for the reactions that this event causes and are in need of support and guidance to manage their illness experiences. If acknowledged and well met, the significance and meaning of the women’s reactions and experiences can give impetus and energy to their health processes.