Men are much less likely to seek out mental health care services than women, despite having equally significant mental health related needs. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the construction and delivery of intervention messages designed to encourage men to seek help for mental health concerns. 225 men in the United States were randomly assigned to one of 4 vignette conditions featuring a pro-mental health help seeking message, varying based on the gender of the sender of the message (male vs. female) and based on the inclusion of information concerning misconceptions about therapy (inclusion vs. exclusion of information). A male message sender and a message that included information about misconceptions regarding therapy were both predicted to contribute to higher mental health help seeking intentions for men, and particularly so for men who conform strongly to masculine gender role norms. These hypotheses were not supported; however, the results replicated prior findings indicating that men who conform strongly to masculine gender role norms are less open to seeking help for mental health concerns. Additionally, men’s conformity to the specific masculine norms of self-reliance and violence both at least partially moderated the impact of message sender gender upon help seeking intentions. Further research should continue to investigate the potential effects of message sender gender and message content on men’s help seeking intentions by presenting the pro-help seeking message in person and by presenting a message that more explicitly challenges typical masculine attitudes about mental health care.

Bakgrund: Postpartum depression drabbar 13-19% av nyblivna mammor och konsekvenserna av att behandling inte sätts in i tid kan få bestående effekter för såväl mamman som barnet. Syfte: Att beskriva faktorer som påverkar hjälpsökande beteenden hos nyblivna mammor med symptom på postpartum depression. Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie genomfördes där tio kvalitativa artiklar granskades, analyserades och sammanställdes. Resultat: Ur litteraturstudiens resultat framkom temana: hälso-och sjukvårdens påverkan, familj och närståendes betydelse, kunskapsnivån kring postpartum depression, kulturens betydelse och förväntningar kring moderskapet. Hälso-och sjukvården samt familj och närstående beskrevs vara faktorer som främjade kvinnors hjälpsökande beteenden samtidigt som kultur, okunskap, informationsbrist och förväntningar kring moderskapet var framträdande hinder på vägen till att söka hjälp. Slutsats: Studien visade på ett antal faktorer som påverkade det hjälpsökande beteendet. För att kunna minska stigmatiseringen kring diagnosen och istället öka kunskaperna behövs det mer omfattande informationsåtgärder. Sjuksköterskor behöver ha god kunskap om postpartum depressionen för att förstå kvinnornas hjälpsökande beteenden och vidare forskning kring upplevelsen av hälso-och sjukvården som en hindrande faktor är önskvärt för att denna faktor i framtiden endast ska vara främjande. / Background: Postpartum depression affects 13-19% of new mothers, and the consequences when treatment is not introduced in time can have permanent effects for both the mother and the child. Purpose: To describe factors that affect help seeking behaviors in new mothers with symptoms of postpartum depression. Method: A general literature study was conducted where ten qualitative articles were examined, analyzed and compiled. Results: The results of the literature study featured the themes: the impact of healthcare, the meaning of family and close relatives, the level of knowledge regarding postpartum depression, the significance of culture and expectations about maternity. Healthcare and family were described as promotive factors in women's help seeking behavior while culture, ignorance, lack of information and expectations about motherhood were prominent barriers in help seeking. Conclusion: The study showed several factors that influenced the help seeking behavior. In order to reduce stigmatization around the diagnosis and instead increase knowledge, more comprehensive information measures are needed. Nurses need to have knowledge of postpartum depression in order to understand women's help seeking behaviors and further research on the health care experience as a barrier is desirable for this only be a promotive factor in the future.

Women treated for a gynecological cancer report longstanding post-treatment difficulties for which they rarely seek or receive help. Few intervention studies have successfully improved global sexual health within this population. Research in this domain is challenging due to inconsistent measurements of sexuality, low response rates and high attrition rates. The overarching study objectives were: (a) To contribute to the advancement of research on supportive care needs (including sexual health needs), desire for help, and predictors of needs; and, (b) To inform the development of services for gynecological cancer survivors. In Study 1, a qualitative interview study explored the experiences of 15 gynecological cancer survivors. Interviews were conducted and analysed based on the Interpretive Description approach . In Study 2 (for which results were analyzed in two parts), a descriptive, cross-sectional needs assessment was conducted to measure supportive care needs, desire for help, sexual health and vaginal changes, and service format preferences in 113 patients. In Part 1 of Study 2, descriptive and regression analyses explored patient needs, desire for help and potential predictors of these variables. In Part 2, a descriptive analysis explored sexual health needs and vaginal changes, desire for help with sexual health needs, and their associations with sociodemographic and medical variables. Qualitative results from Study 1 suggested that psychological, emotional and relational aspects of sexuality were as important to the participants as physiological sexual response. In the needs assessment, the strongest predictors of greater unmet needs and increased readiness for help were younger age and shorter time since treatment. Moderate to high sexual and social needs were equally prevalent in women recently treated and those treated several years prior to the study, suggesting that sexual and social needs may remain unaddressed over time. Further, many women who reported a need did not desire help, demonstrating the subjectivity of needs and distress, as well as the potential presence of barriers to seeking help. Both studies revealed a common finding, where sexual health needs were a product of the discordance between participants’ current sexual experiences and their perceptions of ideal sexual health. Overall, the two studies indicate that a significant subgroup of patients experience unmet needs in cancer survivorship, most of which are non-physical; also, while some needs were higher following treatment, unmet social and sexual health needs show little relationship with time since treatment. Ambivalence about receiving help with unmet needs is related to beliefs about the role of the health care team in meeting non-physical needs, as well as other perceived barriers. Patient’s perceived sexual health needs and barriers to receiving help should be evaluated within a comprehensive framework of needs and discussed one-on-one. Future research should explore the added predictive value of other groups of medical and psychological variables.

The effects of goal interdependence on employees’ performance outcomes have been well documented in the literature. Yet, the relationship between goal interdependence and employees’ proactive behaviors remains largely unexplored. Integrating the theory of cooperation and competition with the employee proactivity literature, this study investigates how cooperative goal interdependence and competitive goal interdependence respectively influence employee knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding, and in turn shape their propensity to seek help from coworkers. It further examines reciprocity beliefs as an individual factor in affecting the indirect effect of goal interdependence on help seeking. Specifically, positive reciprocity belief is hypothesized to moderate the mediating role of knowledge sharing, whereas negative reciprocity belief is expected to moderate the mediating effect of knowledge hiding. In Study 1, a total of 127 interviews were conducted with full-time employees working in professional service firms across four cities including Hong Kong, Macau, China and Taiwan. Results of structural equation modeling supported the mediating role of knowledge sharing in the relationship between cooperative goal interdependence and employee help seeking. In Study 2, an experimental study was conducted with 150 full-time students at a university in Macau to replicate the findings in Study 1 and to test the moderation hypotheses. It yielded findings consistent with Study 1 and supportive of the moderating role of negative reciprocity belief in the mediated effect of goal interdependence on help seeking. Specifically, knowledge hiding mediates the relationship between competitive goal interdependence and help seeking, when an individual is high in negative reciprocity belief. Findings of the two studies provide both theoretical contributions to the literature and practical insights to organizations. Cooperative goal interdependence is a valuable method for managers to promote knowledge sharing, inhibit knowledge hiding, and encourage active help seeking among employees.

Våld mot kvinnor är ett centralt område i arbetet med mänskliga rättigheter och global hälsa. En grupp som är underrepresenterad i hjälpapparaten för våld mot kvinnor är Rumäniens romska kvinnor, vars socio-ekonomiska förutsättningar ofta skiljer sig från majoritetsbefolkningen. Studien grundar sig på kvalitativ metod och syftar till att undersöka hjälpsökandeprocessen hos romska kvinnor i Rumänien som sökt formell hjälp till följd av våldsutsatthet. Sex semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med kvinnor som erfarit våld och sökt formell hjälp för sin våldsutsatthet. En abduktiv tematisk analys användes för att analysera intervjumaterialet. Resultatet visade att kvinnornas problemdefinition influerades av våldets ansvarsfördelning, ekonomiska och juridiska förutsättningar, social acceptans av våld mot kvinnor, normer kring kön och cykler av uppbrott. Kvinnornas beslut att söka hjälp påverkades av isolering, tidigare erfarenheter av våld, barn och oförmåga att lösa problemet själv. Kvinnornas val av hjälpkällor korresponderade med deras psykologiska och fysiska behov, kunskap och erfarenheter av informella och formella hjälpkällor. Avslutningsvis visade resultatet att hjälpsökandeprocesserna till stor del överensstämmer med evidens från andra grupper men att större hänsyn behöver tas till kvinnornas handlingsutrymme ifråga om tillgänglighet till hjälpkälla, ekonomiska förutsättningar, ålder och graden av kollektivism. / Violence against women is a key area in the work on human rights and global health. One group that is underrepresented in the help apparatus for women who experienced violence is Romania's Roma women, whose socio-economic conditions often differ from the majority population. The study is based on a qualitative method and aims to examine the help-seeking process among Roma women in Romania who have sought formal help as a result of violence. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who had experienced violence and sought formal help for their exposure to violence. An abductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview material. The results showed that women's problem definition was influenced by their interpretations of violence, economic and legal conditions, social acceptance of violence against women, gender norms, and cycles of separations. The women's decision to seek help was influenced by isolation, previous experiences of violence, children, and inability to autonomous problem- solving. The women's choice of sources of help corresponded to their psychological and physical needs, knowledge, and experience of informal and formal sources of help. In conclusion, the results showed that the help-seeking processes of Roma women in Romania are largely in line with evidence from other groups, but that greater consideration needs to be given to the women’s access to resources, economic conditions, age, and the degree of collectivism.

Background: Public attitudes toward depression and help-seeking behaviour are important factors influencing depressed people to obtain professional help and adequate treatment. OSPI-Europe is a multi-level suicide prevention programme including a public awareness campaign. It was implemented in four regions of four European countries (Germany, Hungary, Ireland and Portugal). This paper reports the results of the evaluation of the campaign, including its visibility and effects of the campaign on stigma associated with depression and help-seeking behaviour. Methods: A representative general population survey (N = 4004) including measures on personal stigma, perceived stigma, openness to help, perceived value of help, and socio-demographic variables was conducted in the four intervention and four control regions in a cross-sectional pre-post design. Results: The public awareness campaign was considerably more visible in Germany and Portugal compared to Ireland and Hungary. Visibility was further affected by age and years of schooling. Personal stigma, perceived stigma and openness toward professional help varied significantly across the four countries. Respondents in the intervention regions showed significantly less personal depression stigma than respondents in the control regions after the campaign. Respondents of the intervention region who were aware of the campaign reported more openness toward seeking professional help than respondents who were unaware of it. Conclusion: The OSPI-Europe awareness campaign was visible and produced some positive results. At the same time, it proved to be difficult to show strong, measurable and unambiguous effects, which is in line with previous studies. Public awareness campaigns as conducted within OSPI-Europe can contribute to improved attitudes and knowledge about depression in the general public and produce synergistic effects, in particular when the dissemination of awareness campaign materials is simultaneously reinforced by other intervention levels of a multi-level intervention programme. Limitations: The survey was cross-sectional and based on self-report, so no causal inferences could be drawn.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences and relationships in student definition and background characteristics, help seeking behaviors, academic and environmental variables between and among community college students at a single institution who successfully completed and those who did not complete online courses during a single term. An adapted version of Bean and Metzner's conceptual model of nontraditional student attrition provided the theoretical framework for the study. The results of data analysis revealed statistically significant differences between completers and noncompleters on the basis of definition, gender, ethnicity, experience and prior GPA. Statistically significant relationships were found between definition, ethnicity, gender, experience, prior GPA, orientation and completion and noncompletion. No statistically significant interactions were found between definition and experience and help seeking behaviors. No statistically significant differences, relationships or predictor variables were found by degree seeking, preassessment, or technical help seeking. Additional analyses by defining characteristics revealed statistically significant differences between completers and noncompleters on the basis of residency, age and enrollment status. Predictor variables found to be significant were definition, gender, experience, prior GPA and orientation. The odds of completion increased with nontraditional definition, female gender, higher prior GPA, and orientation participation. The odds of completion decreased with experience.

Bakgrund Partnervåld innebär att en person på något sätt våldför sig på eller skadar personen den har en romantisk relation med. Våldet kan ske på olika sätt, men den aktuella litteraturöversikten utgick från det fysiska våldet. Risken att utsättas för partnervåld är högre i en HBTQ-relation än i en heterosexuell relation. Därför är det av vikt att som sjuksköterska vara medveten om problematiken samt veta vilken typ av hjälp HBTQ-personer kan behöva till skillnad från heterosexuella personer. Genom kartläggning av kunskapsluckor i det aktuella ämnet genererades viktig kunskap för sjuksköterskans profession. Syfte Syftet med litteraturöversikten var att undersöka hur fysiskt partnervåld i en HBTQrelation påverkar den utsattes hälsa och beteende samt vilka hanteringsstrategier som personen kan tillämpa. Metod Den aktuella studien var en icke-systematisk litteraturöversikt baserad på 19 vetenskapliga artiklar. Artiklarna som inkluderades var av både kvalitativ och kvantitativ design. De inhämtades från två olika databaser med hjälp av anpassade sökord i olika kombinationer. De vetenskapliga artiklarna granskades utifrån en bedömningsmatris modifierad av Sophiahemmet Högskola. Därefter utfördes en integrerad analys för att presentera och analysera resultatet. Resultat Resultatet i den aktuella litteraturöversikten beskriver hur den psykiska hälsan påverkades hos HBTQ-personer som utsatts för partnervåld samt vilka hanteringsstrategier en våldsutsatt HBTQ-person använde sig av. Resultatet lyfter även vikten av det sociala stödet som den våldsutsatta upplevde och hur det påverkade HBTQ-personen i sitt hjälpsökande. Slutsats Eftersom HBTQ-personer som utsätts för partnervåld upplever mer psykisk ohälsa samt har ett mindre socialt stöd, har sjuksköterskan ett ansvar att bemöta denna grupp på ett anpassat vis. Med personcentrerad omvårdnad kan sjuksköterskan skapa en tillitsfull relation till patienten. Därmed kan sjuksköterskan föra en konversation om partnervåld och psykisk ohälsa, och därigenom stödja patienten i dennes hanteringsstrategier. / Background Intimate partner violence refers to when a person in any way violates or harms another person, who they are in a romantic relationship with. There are many different types of violence, but this literature review focused on physical violence. It is more frequent to be subjected to intimate partner violence in an LGBTQ relationship, than in a heterosexual relationship. Therefore, it is of importance that the nurse is aware of the problem and knows what type of help LGBTQ persons can need, that differs from the needs of heterosexuals. By identifying the current knowledge gaps in this area, important information for the nurse’s profession was generated. Aim The purpose of this literature review was to investigate how physical intimate partner violence in an LGBTQ relationship affects a person's health and behavior, and what coping strategies can be used by the person. Method This study was a non-systematic literature overview based on 19 scientific articles. The included articles were of both qualitative and quantitative design. They were gathered from two different databases by using specific search words in different combinations. The scientific articles were examined using an evaluation matrix modified by Sophiahemmet Högskola. Then an integrated analysis method was used to obtain and analyze the result. Results The results in the current literature review describe how the mental health of an LGBTQ person was affected by intimate partner violence and what coping strategies a victim of intimate partner violence was used. The result also highlights the importance of social support and how it affected the person's help-seeking behavior. Conclusions Since LGBTQ persons who have been victimized by intimate partner violence suffer more from mental illness and have less social support, the nurse has a responsibility to meet this group in an adapted way. With person-centered care, the nurse can build a trusting relationship with the patient. By doing so the nurse can enable a conversation about intimate partner violence and mental illness, and thus support the patient's coping strategies.

The study is a qualitative systematic literature study that maps existing research on help-seeking barriers for abused women. The purpose of the study was to identify which help-seeking barriers exist. Violence in a close relationship is a worldwide problem. It affects every third woman at some point in her life. Despite several measures to counteract and prevent violence, the statistics rather show an increase. Social agencies work hard with various information campaigns, and research has come a long way in mapping and understanding how violence in close relationships works. Various action programs have been launched to counteract harmful gender norms, and unhealthy masculinity norms. Men's violence against women, even if we call it violence in close relationships, stems from patriarchal societies and values, where control and the need for power constitute a strong driving force for men. The violence is usually of an escalating nature, and lasts for a long time. Violence can take the form of physical, psychological, sexual and material violence, and through systematic combinations of these, the man restricts his female victim's freedom of action and controls her behavior. There are various explanatory models for acts of violence, the most common of which are the need to control the woman and maintain the position of power as a man. Despite preventive work, efforts and information campaigns, knowledge-seeking and outreach from social services, women's shelters and the police, the problem remains. Why do women not seek help? The result of our study were several barriers, which have been divided into different themes, including barriers based on stigma, and various structural barriers, among others. The thematization has then been analyzed on the basis of selected psychological and sociological theories. We present suggestions for future research, and provide an overall picture of the research which is reviewed.

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