This thesis explores the stigmas and taboos surrounding youth health centers in Sweden and how this might be hindering young people to visit the youth health centers. It’s exploring how this can be challenged and how the threshold can be lowered by involving the informal support system and bringing the youth health center to the youth arena which allows for a more informal type of support and guidance. The youth health centers in Sweden have been around since 1970 and are a well known and established form of healthcare, yet the majority of the visitors are young women. How come? I’ve been working from the hypothesis that there is a need for more youth to seek help but that they for various reasons don’t manage to make it all the way there. There are many stigmas surrounding topics that the youth health center is dealing with, such as sex, depression, or domestic violence. This is especially true for young people on the edge between childhood and adulthood. Using a human-centered design approach this project has through the involvement of adolescents, midwives and youth workers among others, been exploring challenges and finding opportunities where interaction design can be used to improve the situation for the youth that do not make it to the youth health centers but that want and would benefit from their services. The final design proposal is an ambassadorship, aimed towards adults already part of the informal support system, that will enable youth to feel more empowered to seek help. It is set up to reach the youth in new ways, in an informal manner to bring the solution to the youth and to create a more comfortable space for them to open up within. Part of this is also a service for youth to effortlessly get in contact with the youth health center and to create personal connections to its personnel through link cards and video presentations. These connections are there to prepare the youth and to lower the bar of contact by building trust and humanize the help-seeking process. To make it clear that they are not trying to contact an institution but a person.

People experiencing mental health illnesses such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who do not receive mental health treatment services (MHTS) are at a higher risk of committing crimes. The research problem of this study was to fill the gap in the literature concerning gender, sex at birth, and gender identity differences as predictors of attitudes toward perceived stigma in help-seeking behavior (HSB) and use of MHTS. The sample size included 5,000 participants in the de-identified secondary data set of students from 26 universities and colleges across the United States. The Healthy Minds Study collected these data in 2016-2017 using the Patient Health Questionnaire. To address the research questions guiding the study, one-way ANOVA was used to test for differences in groups based on sexual orientation and gender identity for measures of perception of stigma, use of MHTS, and HSB regarding receiving mental health services. Between groups, MANOVA was used to assess differences in groups based on gender identity and sexual orientation on a linear combination of the dependent measures of perception of stigma in use of MHTS and HSB. There were directional differences between groups based on independent variables gender and sexual orientation on measures of the dependent variables perception of stigma in use of MHTS and of HSB. However, a closer examination of the results indicated that the effect size associated with the directional differences was weak. The results from this study may help clinicians to identify treatment challenges related to biological sex and gender identity and help to influence future interventions to better accommodate the contemporary population of men and women experiencing symptoms of PTSD.

Pharmaceutical product claim and help-seeking advertisements have prompted the types and purposes of medical dermatology service(s) that patients have used in the United States. Indeed, researchers have demonstrated that 94% of working nurse practitioners affirmed receiving from their patients a request for a cancer drug advertised. However, adult dermatology patients members of Saint Nicholas Catholic Church or/and patients at MedStar Clinic in Houston, Texas, have not been of interest for any study so far. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the relationship between product claim, help-seeking, types, and purposes of medical dermatology services used amongst males and females aged at least 18 years. Prospect theory (PT) was the theoretical framework used to analyze the purpose of this study. A cross-sectional survey approach permitted to collect primary data from 120 participants who were members of Saint Nicholas Catholic Church or/and patients at MedStar Clinic. The results, based on a forced entry multiple regression analysis at 95% confidence interval, indicated that product claim and help-seeking significantly explained (p -?¤ .05) the variances of certain types and purposes of medical dermatology services used. Thus, product claim and help-seeking predicted the types and purposes of medical services used by the study population. Pharmaceutical announcers may benefit from the results of this study by using the study results to create new direct-to-consumers advertisements for the dermatology health promotion. The study population may benefit healthy skin, hairs, and nails by using medical dermatology services after exposure to the new pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertisements.

I denna kvalitativa översiktsstudie var syftet att undersöka vad forskning har identifierat som svårigheter för våldsoffer i samkönade parrelationer i deras hjälpsökande beteende av formella källor, samt hur de upplever det stödet de söker. Efter en innehållsanalys identifierades olika svårigheter som kunde vara barriärer i HBTQ-personers hjälpsökande beteende som sedan analyserades utifrån konstruktivistiska teorier. Svårigheter att definiera deras upplevelser som våld samt brist på kunskap om tillgänglig hjälp framkom. “Outing”, bristande kompetens hos myndigheter, tidigare dåligt bemötande och förväntade negativa konsekvenser var andra möjliga barriärer i målgruppens hjälpsökande beteende. Vidare framkom att det för HBTQ-personer är viktigt att det stöd som finns är HBTQ-anpassat. I diskussionen lyfts målgruppens svåråtkomlighet som en försvårande faktor vad gäller forskning inom området. Vidare diskuteras hur normer och kontext har en betydande roll för HBTQ-personer avseende deras hjälpsökande beteende. Avsaknaden av forskning avseende våld i samkönade parrelationer generellt diskuteras samt förslag att utöka forskning inom området ges. / This qualitative scoping review aimed to investigate what current research states as difficulties for victims of same-sex partner violence in their help-seeking behaviours of formal sources. Furthermore it aims to investigate LGBT-persons experiences of their sought support. After a content-analysis different barriers were identified as possible obstacles in their help-seeking behavior, which was then analyzed through constructivist theories. Results indicated that problems identifying their experiences as violence and lack of knowledge emerged as a potential barrier. As was outing, lack of professional competence, prior negative encounters and expected negative outcomes were other possible barriers in their help-seeking behavior. Furthermore, the importance of LGBT-specific services emerged as an important facet for the respondents. In the discussion part of the study, difficulties regarding reaching the target group are discussed as a specific hindrance in LGBT research. Also, the implications of norms and the current context is discussed as an important factor regarding LGBT-persons help-seeking behavior. The current lack of research regarding violence in same-sex couples is discussed and more research is suggested as being needed in the field.

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Denna studie syftade att öka kunskap om självstigma och attityder till att söka psykologisk hjälp bland svenska sjuksköterskestudenter, med anledningen av de höga sjukskrivningstalen bland sjuksköterskor samt den pågående COVID-19 pandemin och dess medföljande negativa konsekvenser på psykisk hälsa. Studien fokuserade på sambandet mellan självstigma och attityder, samt hur de påverkas av ålder, tidigare erfarenheter av psykologisk hjälp och utbildningen. Data insamlades med självskattningsformulären Self-Stigma of Seeking Psychological Help Scale och Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale, som besvarades av 171 sjuksköterskestudenter vid Linnéuniversitet, Växjö. Studien visade att personer med lägre självstigma hade mer positiv attityd till hjälpsökande beteende, samt att tidigare erfarenhet av psykologisk hjälp varierade signifikant med nivå av självstigma, men inte med attityd till hjälpsökande beteende. Varken ålder eller utbildningsnivå var signifikant. Studiens resultat poängterade självstigmas betydelse i utformning av stödjande insatser för att främja hjälpsökande beteende, och behovet av fler studier inom området. / This study aimed to increase knowledge about self-stigma and attitudes to seeking psychological help among Swedish nursing students, due to the high sick leave rates among nurses and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying negative consequences on mental health. The study focused on the relationship between self-stigma and attitudes, as well as how they are influenced by age, previous experiences of psychological help and education. Data were collected with the self-assessment forms Self-Stigma of Seeking Psychological Help Scale and Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale, which were answered by 171 nursing students at Linnaeus University, Växjö. The study showed that people with lower self-stigma had a more positive attitude towards help-seeking behavior, and that previous experience of psychological help varied significantly with the level of self-stigma, but not with an attitude towards help-seeking behavior. Neither age nor level of education were significant. The results of the study emphasized the importance of self-stigma in the design of supportive efforts to promote help-seeking behavior, and the need for more studies in the field.

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Backround: Many patients from ethnic and minority groups have cultural needs and belief perceptions about health and care that differ from the mainstream population. To be able to cover the needs of the ongoing changing society in healthcare, does the nursing care professionals have awareness of the differences a patient’s cultural background is related to their health and how to help the patient in her new health related cultural environment. Aim: To explore the barriers and obstacles that refugee and asylum seeking women are faced with when looking for healthcare for mental ill-health in Sweden. Method: Qualitative in-depth interview study. Results: The result-analysis generated seven themas which were seen as a barrier or obstacle to seek healthcare to mental ill-health among refugee and asylum seeking women in Sweden. Knowledge about Swedish healthcare, Access to the healthcare and language, Somatic health problems, Education level, Economic situation, Prioritizing things in relation to health, and Taboos, shame, and fear of stigma around mental ill-health. Conclusions: This study shows that there are barriers and obstacles for refugee and asylum seeking women to seek healthcare for mental ill-health in Sweden. The study highlights the care professional’s knowledge cap about how to implement the law about care that cannot be delayed. / Bakgrund: Många patienter från etniska grupper och minoritetsgrupper har kulturella behov och trossystem om vård och omsorg som skiljer sig från den vanliga befolkningen. För att kunna täcka behoven i det ständigt föränderliga samhället inom vården, behöver vårdpersonalen medvetenhet om skillnaderna mellan en patients kulturella bakgrund och deras hälsa och hur man kan hjälpa patienten i sin nya hälsorelaterade kulturmiljö.  Syfte: Att utforska de barriärer och hinder som flykting- och asylsökande kvinnor ställs inför när de söker sjukvård för psykisk ohälsa i Sverige. Metod: Kvalitativ djupintervjustudie.  Resultat: Resultatanalysen genererade sju temas sågs som ett hinder för att söka sjukvård mot psykisk ohälsa bland flykting- och asylsökande kvinnor i Sverige. Kunskap om svensk sjukvård, Tillgång till sjukvården och språk, Somatiska hälsoproblem, Utbildningsnivå, Ekonomisk situation, Prioritering av saker i relation till hälsa samt Taboos, skam och rädsla av stigma kring psykisk ohälsa.  Slutsatser: Denna studie visar att det finns hinder för flykting- och asylsökande kvinnor att söka sjukvård för psykisk ohälsa i Sverige. Studien belyser vårdpersonalens kunskapslucka om hur man ska implementera lagen om vård som inte kan anstå.

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