Background: Organ transplantation is an established form of treatment applied worldwide, which saves many lives. There is however, an imbalance between supply and demand for organs, which means that the patients on the waiting list for organs often have to stay there for a long time. In worst case, they die before a suitable organ is found. Patients waiting for vital organs are therefore in a very exposed situation and this causes many feelings. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe patients´ experiences while waiting for vital organs. Method: A literature based study analysing twelve qualitative studies, that based onpatient interviews describe the patients' experiences while waiting for vital organs. Results: The result showed that patients felt bound, both physically and mentally. They experienced anxiety and stress during the long wait for an organ but had also hope forrecovery and wished to be able to return to a normal life. Information and support were an important part of getting through the wait. Two themes appeared during the analysis; To hope and to understand, the mixed emotions and To be bound and to be in need. Conclusion: All patients' experiences were individual, although there are many similarities in how they experienced waiting for vital organs, especially regarding emotions. Hope was a prerequisite for patients while waiting for a vital organ, as it servesas a driving force to hold out during their uncertain life situation.

High structural diversity amongst plant species in the arid winter rainfall region of southern Africa is common to other arid regions of the world. Details of the range and combinations of structural attributes in species, and within plant communities, are not widely known for southern African arid ecosystems. Hence little is known of how plant-form distributions vary within and between arid ecosystems. and of the environmental factors that may be responsible for any variations found. Nor is much information available on how phenological behaviour relates to the structural attributes of plant species. This study examined structural attributes of perennial plant species on the Worcester Veld Reserve, southwestern Cape. in relation to their distribution and phenology. Species were grouped on the basis of above ground structural and anatomical criteria. The distribution of species and plant-forms was assessed through a phytosociological survey along an environmental gradient in the area, and their phenology determined through qualitative and quantitative monitoring of species phenophases over a two year period. The results show that species of the predefined structural groups i) Co-occur throughout the area. but relative abundances vary from site to site and in relation to topography. aspect and the presence of Mirna-like mounds; ii) Phenological patterns for the flora overall are strongly seasonal, but the timing and periods of phenophases differ between, but are relatively uniform within, the defined structural plant groups. Since phenological patterns are indicative of resource-use patterns. these results indicate that the different plant-forms have different functional responses to the conditions of limited water availability and summer drought. This conceivably facilitates the co-existence of species in this water-limited environment. Habitat variability. which can be related to land-form patterns. is also implicated as a factor facilitating the co-existence of a diversity of species and plant-forms. Structural functional relationships known for arid region plants help to explain the relative uniformity of behaviour within plantform groups. and aid in understanding the ecological significance of distribution patterns of plant-forms in the arid landscape. The conclusion is reached that because of the close coupling between photosynthesis and water-use. the water storage potential and photosynthetic organ type are plant attributes which can serve as useful criteria by which arid region species can be grouped into ecologically meaningful categories or functional guilds. The formulation of a practical and meaningful functional classification is necessary to facilitate the understanding of complex vegetation patterns and processes within arid ecosystems. and allow for meaningful inter-ecosystem comparisons.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Many advanced cancer patients receive intensive treatment near the end of life (EOL). Intensive treatment near the EOL is often associated with worse outcomes, such as worse quality of life (QOL), greater distress in patients and caregivers, and higher health care costs. For cancers typically unresponsive to chemotherapy such as lung and gastro-intestinal (GI), the side effects of intensive treatment are endured without increasing survival time. To date, research on EOL care in advanced cancer patients has focused on patient prognostic understanding, physician communication, and patient distress. These factors do not fully explain why many patients receive intensive treatment near the EOL when there is no hope for cure. Hence, there is a need to better understand the factors that influence EOL treatment in order to improve patient and caregiver outcomes. Self-Regulation Theory (SRT) provides a framework that may help explain motivations and care decisions in this population. This study had two aims: 1) to examine the associations between EOL clinical encounters (i.e., EOL conversations with a physician) and treatment intensity in advanced cancer patients near the EOL; and 2) to examine the associations between important SRT constructs (i.e., goal flexibility, hope, and optimism) and treatment intensity in advanced cancer patients near the EOL. A sample of 76 advanced lung and GI cancer patients was recruited from Indiana University Simon Cancer Center. Hope predicted receiving chemotherapy closer to death (β = -.41, t (66) = -2.31, p = .025), indicating more intensive treatment near EOL. Other predictor variables were not significantly associated with intensive treatment. Implications and methodological limitations are discussed.

Many caregivers for children of incarcerated parents report that they struggle to speak with children about their parent’s incarceration or substance use (Manby et al., 2015; Smyke, Bailey & Zeanah, 2017). Children’s picturebooks are promising tools to aid caregivers in this regard (Colomer et al., 2010; Lowe, 2009: p. 3; Wolf, 2017). However, research that explores the content of children’s picturebooks as effective communication tools on the topics of parental incarceration and substance use is limited. This thesis uses arts-based methods including thematic narrative analysis, techniques of visual criminology, and autoethnography to explore the textual and visual narratives that are present in a series of picturebooks for children under the age of ten on the topic of parental incarceration and substance use. It also explores how these narratives resonate with my lived experience as the daughter of a former drug user and prisoner. Mobilizing a theoretical framework based on the sociology of emotions literature and picturebook studies (Hochschild, 1980; McCarthy, 1994), I conceptualize the role of specific emotions, including hope, in children’s literature. While the picturebooks accurately depict children’s emotional experiences when their parent lives with addiction or experiences incarceration, they fail to manage children’s expectations about the barriers their family may face when their loved one is released, such as barriers relating to poverty, mental illness, and relapse. The picturebooks in this study present young children with fairy tale endings and risk providing them with a false sense of hope regarding their parent’s release. Authors of picturebooks for children under the age of ten must consider how to balance truth-telling with age-appropriateness and the desire to provide young children with hope in these circumstances.

Bakgrund  När ett barn drabbas av cancer, drabbas hela familjen. Detta betyder att om en individs livssituation förändras kommer detta påverka livet för alla inkluderade. Därför är det essentiellt att familjen och omvårdnaden betraktas som helhet. Hopp har visat sig ha en stor betydelse inom cancervården och för tillfrisknandet. Däremot kan avsaknaden av hoppet få konsekvenser som nedstämdhet, nedsatt motivation och minskad följsamhet i behandlingen.  Bakgrunden visar att sjuksköterskan är den profession som ter sig bäst lämpad i främjandet och bibehållandet av hoppet.  Syfte  Syftet var att beskriva familjers upplevelser av hopp i vården av ett cancersjukt barn.  Metod  En icke-systematisk litteraturöversikt med 17 vetenskapliga artiklar. Tolv vetenskapliga artiklar söktes fram i PubMed och CINAHL samt fem stycken via en manuell sökning. Det totala antalet artiklar kvalitetsgranskades och genomgick sedan en integrerad analys.  Resultat  Flertalet familjer upplevde hoppet som konstant och den viktigaste faktorn i vården av ett cancersjukt barn. Däremot kunde familjer även uppleva att hoppets intensitet varierade beroende på vad som inträffade under behandlingen. Variationens intensitet beskrevs utifrån en hög hoppfullhet som resulterade i minskade ångestsymtom medan en låg hoppfullhet orsakade depression och ångest. Familjers upplevelser av vilka faktorer som främjade hoppet var framförallt ett empatiskt och förstående bemötande, stöd från närstående och vårdpersonal samt sanningsenlig information och kunskap om sjukdomen.  Slutsats  Alla familjer till ett cancersjukt barn upplever att hoppet har en signifikant betydelse i vården. Dels för att orka fortsätta behandlingarna genom den berg- och dalbana föräldrarna beskriver att cancervården medför, men också för att motverka de konsekvenser som cancern och hopplöshet kan orsaka, såsom depression och ångest. Sammantaget beskrevs hoppet som fluktuerande under hela vårdtiden men familjernas upplevelse av hoppet var alltid konstan / Background  The whole family is affected when their child is diagnosed with cancer. If one individuals' life situation changes, this will affect the lives of everyone included. It is essential that the nursing and the family is seen as united. Hope has shown have a great meaning in cancer care and for the recovery. However, lack av hope can eventuate consequences like depression, decreased motivation and compliance. The background shows that the nurse is the profession that is best suited for promoting and preservation of hope.  Aim  The aim was to describe family's experiences of hope in care of a child with cancer.  Method  A non-systematic literature review with 17 scientific articles. Twelve scientific articles were search in PubMed and CINAHL and five articles through a manual research. The total amount of articles was quality reviewed and went later on through an integrated analysis.  Results  Most families experienced hope as something constant and the most important component in nursing for a child suffering from cancer. However parents could also experience that the intensity of hope varied depending on how the treatment progress went. Intensity of the variation was described as high hopefulness resulted in reduced anxiety symptoms while a low hopefulness caused depression and anxiety. An empathic and understanding response, support from relatives and health care professionals together with truthful information and knowledge about the disease were those factors that promoted hope according to the family.  Conclusions  All families experienced the significant meaning of hope. Partly to be able to continue the treatments through the roller-coaster parents described that the cancer brings with it, but also to be able to resist the consequences cancer and hopelessness can bring, such as depression and anxiety. Summarized, hope is described as something fluctuating but were always present.

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abstract: Depression has been found to be a major problem for young adults in college, with multiple studies indicating high prevalence rates for this population. College students struggling with depression suffer from various consequences, including academic impairment and suicidal ideation, with suicide being a leading cause of death for people in the typical age range for undergraduates. Grounded in cognitive behavior theory and humanistic theory, this study examined the intra and interpersonal factors related to depression among undergraduates. Specifically, the interrelations between friend social support, sense of belonging to the college, mattering to friends, hope, and depressive symptoms were explored. Sex and number of close friends were controlled for, as the literature also showed evidence of their significant relations to depression. The sample consisted of 177 undergraduates between the ages of 18 and 25 from a large southwestern university. Participants responded to an online survey. While participants represented a diverse range of ethnicities, the majority were White. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that hope and sense of belonging to the college negatively predicted depressive symptoms. Furthermore, through zero-order correlations, it was found that friend social support, sense of belonging to the college, mattering to friends, and hope were all positively correlated with each other. Implications for prevention and clinical practice include the roles that counselors, college personnel, and students play in the battle against depression. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling 2021

Bakgrund Cancer är ett brett begrepp som oftast har förknippats med död och där hoppet minskats. I tidigare generationer så dog många i cancer, men forskningen kring cancer har lett till att sjukvården idag kan behandla och i vissa fall bota cancer. Överlevnaden i cancer har ökat markant vilket ger mer hopp till cancersjuka. Forskning visar att cancersjuka får mer hopp om de har bra kunskaper samt information om cancer. Personer med cancer som inte har hopp tappar oftast både motivationen och följsamheten till behandling samt åtgärder som kan lindra eller bota cancersjukdom. Syfte Att beskriva faktorer som påverkar hopp hos cancersjuka patienter. Metod Studien genomfördes som en strukturerad litteraturstudie med inslag av den metodologi som används vid systematiska översikter. Databaserna som användes var PubMed och CINHAL. Resultat Från analysen identifierades tre teman: Socialt nätverk, fysiska faktorer samt mentala faktorer. Genom att cancerpatienter har ett bra socialt nätverk visar studier på att nivån av hopp ökar då dessa patienter får ett bra stöd från sina anhöriga. Att fokusera på att behandla smärta hos cancerpatienter ökar nivån av hopp gentemot de cancerpatienter som lider av smärta. Acceptans är en viktig aspekt hos cancersjuka då detta ger ett ökat hopp. Cancerpatienter kan känna hopp genom att ha ett socialt nätverk, en religiös tro eller om cancerpatienter är fri från psykiska samt fysiska besvär. Slutsats Det är av vikt att behandla/vårda de områden som gör att cancerpatienten inte känner hopp. Utan hopp tappar cancerpatienten livsgnistan samt blir mindre motståndskraftig mot sin cancerdiagnos. / Background Cancer is a broad term that has often been associated with death where hope has been lost. In previous generations, many people died of cancer, but research into cancer has led to healthcare today being able to treat and in some cases cure cancer. Survival in cancer has increased significantly, which gives cancer patients more hope. Research show that cancer patients gain more hope if they have good knowledge and information about cancer. People with cancer who have no hope often lose both motivation and adherence to treatment and measure that can alleviate or cure cancer. Aim To describe factors that influence hope in cancer patients. Method The study was conducted as a structured literature study with elements of the methodology used in systematic reviews. The databases used were PubMed andCINAHL. Results From the analysis, three themes were identified: Social network, physical factors and mental factors. Because cancer patients who have a good social network, studies show that the level of hope increases when these patients receive good support from their relatives. Focusing on treating pain in cancer patients increases the level of hope for those cancer patients who suffer from pain. Acceptance is an important aspect for cancer patients as this gives increased hope. Cancer patients can feel hope by having a socialnetwork, a religious belief or if cancer patients are free from psychological and physical ailments. Conclusions It is important to treat/care for the areas that cause the cancer patient to feel no hope. Without hope, the cancer patient loses the spark of life and becomes less resistant to his cancer diagnosis.