This predominantly empirical dissertation deals with how socio-economic living conditions and immigrant-specific factors can be linked to immigrants’ mental ill health. It is also explored how cultural representations can affect stress and whether mental ill health is expressed differently among immigrants from Iraq and Iran than among individuals of Nordic origin. Moreover, a conceptual analysis is conducted, where a phenomenological conceptualisation of stress is outlined with a special focus on how this stress approach can be related to culture and migration. The empirical material consists of eleven in-depth interviews with Iraqi and Iranian immigrant women and two population-based surveys. The main findings of this thesis suggest as follows: 1) Mental ill health is more common among foreign-born than among native-born Swedes and can to a great extent be attributed to their poorer socio-economic living conditions. 2) Immigrants’ mental health is independently associated with different types of factors, such as traumatic episodes, socio-cultural adaptation level and socioeconomic living conditions. 3) The self-reporting mental health instruments, HSCL-25 and WHO (ten) Wellbeing Index, produce scores that are comparable between Scandinavians and immigrants of Middle Eastern descent. 4) Nonuniversal representations that can be found in Iraq and Iran can amplify, or even be necessary ingredients in certain types of stressful experiences among immigrant women from these countries. 5) The distinctions between universal and non-universal stress, and between immigrant/minority and non-immigrant/nonminority stress appear to be crucial for an adequate comprehension of immigrants’ stressful experiences. / Denna huvudsakligen empiriska avhandling behandlar hur socioekonomiska levnadsvillkor och invandrarspecifika faktorer kan kopplas till invandrares mentala hälsa. I avhandlingen undersöks även hur kulturella representationer kan påverka stressfulla upplevelser och huruvida mental ohälsa uttrycks annorlunda bland invandrare från Irak och Iran än bland nordbor. Vidare genomförs en begreppsanalys av stress skisserad utifrån ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv. Fokus ligger här på hur ett sådant perspektiv på stress kan relateras till kultur och migration. Det empiriska materialet består av elva djupintervjuer med invandrarkvinnor från Irak och Iran, samt två populationsbaserade enkätundersökningar. De huvudsakliga fynden i denna avhandling är följande: 1) Mental ohälsa bland utrikesfödda är vanligare än bland svenskfödda och detta kan till stor del ”förklaras” av ogynnsammare socioekonomiska levnadsvillkor. 2) Invandrares mentala ohälsa har ett direkt samband med olika typer av faktorer som traumatiska episoder, sociokulturell anpassningsnivå och socioekonomiska levnadsvillkor. 3) Självskattningsinstrumenten för mental hälsa, HSCL-25 och WHO (ten) Wellbeing Index, producerar värden som är jämförbara mellan nordbor och invandrare från Mellanöstern. 4) Icke-universella representationer som kan påvisas i Irak och Iran kan förstärka, eller till och med vara nödvändiga komponenter för vissa typer av stressfulla upplevelser bland invandrarkvinnor från dessa länder. 5) Distinktionerna mellan universell och icke-universell stress, och mellan invandrar/minoritets och icke-invandrar/icke-minoritets stress, tycks vara centrala för en adekvat förståelse av invandrares stressfulla upplevelser.

Diploma thesis "Mental health policy analysis in the Czech Republic in the context of European Union" deals with the present state of health care of psychiatric patients in the Czech Republic. Main theories for the thesis are quality of life, human rights, health determinants and support of mental health. Analysis of mental health policy shows that health care for psychiatric patients is mainly concetrated in psychiatric institutions. Advanced trends and recommendations described in the political documents issued by the European Union urge to transformation of service framework stressing the importance of health care diferentiation and its move towards community care. At the end, health care framework for the Czech Republic fulfilling such requests and correspondig with the model of balanced care is described. Such a model is based on progressive health care movement from psychiatric institutions towards community care with regard on financial, personal and capacity resources of the state and region. The Czech Republic belongs to the states with average resource capacity thus such steps would lead to balancing institutional and community care and follows the line established by developed countries leading to larger and more diferentiated health care framework.

No description available.

Psykisk ohälsa är ett ökande problem samtidigt som symptomen ofta behandlas med medicinering istället för psykologiska behandlingsmetoder där individen får möjlighet att läka i lugn och ro. Hästunderstödda insatser är en behandlingsmetod som innefattar glädje och struktur för att lyfta individens självkänsla och egenskaper. Syftet med studien är att undersöka behandlarens syn på hästens roll i arbetet med psykisk ohälsa. Studien fokuserar på att utreda om hästen påverkar relationen mellan klient och behandlare samt huruvida häst och behandlare inverkar på klientens återhämtning. Det är en kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer och tematisk analys. Resultatet visar att hästunderstödda insatser kan vara en metod där det finns möjlighet att med hjälp av djur och natur, återhämta sig från psykisk ohälsa i lugn och ro. Hästen kan motivera samtidigt som relationen mellan behandlare och klient förbättras. Metoden kräver dock mer forskning för starkare evidens för att utvidga användningen i samhället. / Mental ill-health is a growing problem, where symptoms are often treated with medication instead of psychological treatment that allows the individual to recover in peace and quiet. Equine-assisted intervention is a treatment method that improves an individual's self-esteem and attitude by providing joy and structure. This study investigates the therapist's view of a horse's role in the treatment of mental ill-health. It examines whether a horse can influence the relationship between the client and the therapist, and whether the horse, together with the therapist, can influence the client's recovery. It is a qualitative study, with semistructured interviews and thematic analysis. The result shows that equine-assisted interventions can, with the help of animals and nature, provide the opportunity to recover from mental ill-health with tranquility and improve the client’s relationship with the therapist. However, more research is needed to strengthen the evidence and encourage the adoption of the method in society.

Psykisk ohälsa i arbetslivet är ett stort och växande problem i välfärdssamhället. Problemet har flera bottnar och väcker många frågor om vem som har ansvar, vad det egentligen är för ett slags fenomen och hur det bör hanteras. Den här studien undersöker hur arbetsrelaterad psykisk ohälsa hanteras av yrkesverksamma inom vården, med fokus på företagshälsovård och primärvård. Intresse riktas mot hur yrkesverksamma personerna resonerar kring arbetsrelaterad psykisk ohälsa, vilka dilemman de ställs inför och de strategier de har för att hantera dessa. Den söker också svar på ansvarsfrågan kring detta komplexa problem, inte minst i ljuset av privatiseringen av företagshälsovården. I studien används ett tvärvetenskapligt perspektiv, där begrepp från teknik- och vetenskapsstudier (STS), professionssociologi och organisationsteori kombineras för att analysera olika aspekter av vårdens hantering av arbetsrelaterad psykisk ohälsa. Det empiriska materialet bygger i huvudsak på intervjuer med läkare, psykoterapeuter, kuratorer, arbetsterapeuter, psykologer, rehabiliteringskoordinatorer och  beteendevetare, men inkluderar även observationer inom primärvård och företagshälsovård. Hanteringen av arbetsrelaterad psykisk ohälsa i vårdens vardag präglas av att orsaksbilden till problemet är komplext, ansvarsfördelningen otydlig och att psykosociala orsaker till sjukdom är kontroversiellt. I studien diskuteras utmaningarna och möjligheterna kring hanteringen av detta komplexa problem i bred bemärkelse. I analyserna uppmärksammas de yrkesverksammas gränsdragningar kring både ansvar och fenomenet arbetsrelaterad psykisk ohälsa. Begreppet kunskapsinfrastruktur används för att förklara och förstå den kunskapsmässiga och materiella struktur som de yrkesverksamma verkar inom. Analyserna visar att de yrkesverksamma har ett pragmatiskt förhållningssätt och använder olika strategier för att skapa sig handlingsutrymme i hur de hanterar arbetsrelaterad psykisk ohälsa. / Mental ill health in working life is a major and growing problem in the welfare society. The problem is multifaceted and raises many questions about who is responsible, what kind of phenomenon it is and how it should be managed. This study examines how care professionals manage work-related mental ill health. Focusing on occupational healthcare and primary care, interest is directed towards how care professionals argue about workrelated mental illness, what dilemmas they face and the strategies they rely on in managing them. It also seeks to answer the question of responsibility regarding this complex problem, not least in the light of the privatization of occupational healthcare. The study uses a multidisciplinary perspective, combining concepts from technology and science studies (STS), sociology of professions and organizational theory in order to analyze various aspects of care management of work-related mental ill health. The empirical material is mainly based on interviews with physicians, psychotherapists, counsellors, occupational therapists, psychologists, rehabilitation coordinators and behavioral scientists, but also includes observations in primary care and occupational health care. The management of work-related mental ill health in everyday healthcare practice is characterized by the fact that the cause of the problem is complex, the division of responsibility unclear and that psychosocial causes of disease are controversial. The study discusses the challenges and possibilities of managing this complex problem in a broad sense. The analysis pays attention to the drawing of boundaries by the care professionals regarding both responsibility and the phenomenon of work-related mental illness. The concept of knowledge infrastructure is used to explain and understand the knowledge and material structures that the care professionals work within. The analysis shows that the care professionals have a pragmatic approach and use different strategies to create scope for dealing with work-related mental health.

This study explores the experiences of the Swedish front-line social workers (socialsekreterare) in the municipal income support unit, Young Adults, monthly assessing the income support applications as well as daily processing the activation programs for young adult clients with mental ill-health combined with social-medicinal vulnerabilities, also referred to as young adults with complex needs. Furthermore, this study aims to illuminate the ever changing conditions of the Swedish welfare state and its underlying driving forces through the lens of the social workers. 9 Semi-structured distance interviews with 11 social workers from 6 municipalities belonging to 5 regions in Sweden, were conducted for the collection of qualitative data. It has been analyzed by the inductive-deductive coding as well as a theoretical frame consisting of concepts such as discretiona and advocacy of M. Lipsky, and reciprocal interaction (Wechselwirkung), form and contents, and call of G.Simmel. The result and analysis show that the rehabilitative approach based on the interactions and relations with the clients, is prevalent through the social workers’ processing of the activation program. It seems to be effective in a dyad, between the social workers and the client while the social workers’ discretion is maximized for the utilization of the agency (unit) activation resources. However, it proved not to be as effective in a triad or more when an extern agent outside of the unit, Young Adults begins to be involved. The tension is a fact and the social workers’ discretion is minimized when they have to process the activation program for the clients who are neither “active enough” to have a job in the ordinary labor market, nor “sick enough” to be eligible for the stately activity compensation (aktivitetsersättning) from the Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) which heavily relies on the medicinal expertise for its decision making. The social workers’ experience to fail to deliver the best possible results out of the activation programs, and the client relationship built on the rehabilitative approach turns out to be unsustainable, which can indicate the discrepancy between the rehabilitative approach as well as the activation programs, as content, and the unit, Young Adults, as form. Even though the social workers daily carry the ideological as well as the social-political tensions between the medicalization and the activation through the ever changing reality of the Swedish welfare state, their mandate to make an impact on the decision making of the activity compensation program, is rather limited, reflecting the Swedish welfare state’s expectation for the professionalism of the social workers. Rather striking that the social workers, however, confess that they in spite of the pressure of organizational efficiency as well as socio-economic discourse of digitalization undermining the concept of the unit, Young Adults, are not willing to give up the rehabilitative approach for the client’s sake but also to protect their unit, Young Adults, which postulate that they are not the gatekeepers in the agency but the advocate for the clients. In this moment, they also seem to know, and even have the call, the essential, if not mandatory, element needed to be landed in the perfect society of G. Simmel.