No / Vitiligo is a visible condition that is more noticeable in darker-skinned people. Beliefs about illness have been linked to psychosocial adjustment. There is some evidence that such beliefs may be influenced by cultural factors. Surprisingly little is known about beliefs in relation to vitiligo. Objectives The study sought to explore in depth the ways in which British Asian women manage and adjust psychosocially to vitiligo, and the potential role of ethnicity and culture in this process. Methods In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with seven British women of South Asian decent and analysed using the qualitative method of template analysis. Results Participants described feeling visibly different and all had experienced stigmatization to some extent. Avoidance and concealment were commonplace. Experiences of stigmatization were often perceived to be associated with cultural values related to appearance, status, and myths linked to the cause of the condition. Conclusions The findings of this study present a unique in-depth analysis of British South Asians living with vitiligo and suggest there is a need for further research to explore cultural associations of disfigurement and of adjustment to chronic skin conditions. Furthermore, they suggest that in addition to individual therapeutic interventions there may be a need for community interventions aimed at dispelling myths and raising awareness of sources of support and treatment.

Yes / People with dementia have been affected in unique ways during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not known whether the impact of the pandemic has changed with time or with the changes in social restrictions. This study explored how experiences of coping with the effects of the pandemic in the UK changed over time. We conducted semi-structured interviews with people with dementia living in the community in England and Wales who had taken part in a qualitative interview at an earlier stage of the pandemic. We applied framework analysis to identify themes and compared these with interviewees' previous accounts. Nine people aged between 51 and 89 years were interviewed; four were female and five had early onset dementia. We identified three themes: 1. Navigating a changing world: Living with coronavirus; 2. A 'downward spiral': Managing advancing dementia; and 3. Availability, accessibility, and suitability of support. Findings reflect participants' ongoing caution about re-emerging from social restrictions to resume valued activities, and how this led to coping behaviours to minimise the impact on wellbeing in the absence of formal support and services. Despite easing of restrictions across the UK, the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on people with dementia continues. Whilst individuals and services have adapted to some of the challenges, there is now an opportunity to rebuild support networks and services to ensure people with dementia are suitably advised, supported and socially engaged to allow them to live as well as possible. / This work was supported by Economic and Social Research Council (Alzheimer’s Society Centre of Excellence [348, A) (ESRC, part of UK Research and Innovation, UKRI) [ES/V004964/1] to Clare, L., Victor, C., Matthews, F., Quinn, C., Hillman, A., Burns, A., Allan, L., Litherland, R., Martyr, A., Collins, R., & Pentecost, C.; ESRC and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) [ES/L001853/2] to L. Clare, I.R. Jones, C. Victor, J.V. Hindle, R.W. Jones, M. Knapp, M. Kopelman, R. Litherland, A. Martyr, F.E. Matthews, R.G. Morris, S.M. Nelis, J.A. Pickett, C. Quinn, J. Rusted, J. Thom; and Alzheimer’s Society Centre of Excellence [348, AS-PR2-16-001] to L. Clare, I.R. Jones, C. Victor, C. Ballard, A. Hillman, J.V. Hindle, J. Hughes, R.W. Jones, M. Knapp, R. Litherland, A. Martyr, F.E. Matthews, R.G. Morris, S.M. Nelis, C. Quinn, J. Rusted.

Background: According to the ethical guidelines, family members of the patient should be allowed to be present during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Nurses should be able to, besides performing CPR, decide if family presence is appropriate, support and explain the course of events to the family. Aim: The aim of this study was to illuminate nurses' experiences of family presence during resuscitation. Method: A literature study has been made of 11 qualitative studies, where differences and similarities were analysed. The studies were published between the years 2000 – 2015. Result: Two main themes were identified and five subthemes. The main themes were: "The nurse's experience of their work situation" and "The nurse's experience of the circumstances that affects the nursing". The findings showed that the nurses experienced a dilemma when they needed to decide if family presence was appropriate. The nurses experienced that a bond could be created with the families through the role of support person. They experienced that the family members could participate in the care but they could also be a distraction and a source of stress. Conclusion: Clear local guidelines would facilitate the decision if family presence is appropriate. A support person for the family would also facilitate the family's presence. More education and experience in this subject helps nurses overcome fears of difficulties often associated with family presence.

Published Article / This study was conducted with 29 Grade 12 learners who were studying calculus. The purpose was to explore how the learners responded to questions based on the derivative and why they did so. Data was collected from the written responses of the learners to two assessments carried out over a six-month period as well as interviews with four of the learners. It was found that learners made extensive use of inappropriate formulae, drawn from other sections of the curriculum The study recommends that teachers should not focus solely on how to carry out procedures, but they should also pay attention to why certain procedures are appropriate or not.

Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskeprofessionen är en kvinnodominerad arena och antalet manliga sjuksköterskor är lågt. Detta är ett resultat av samhällets normer och attityder kring genus. Normer kring genus är inget statiskt utan förändras över tid. Andelen manliga sjuksköterskor ökar men det går trögt. Syfte: Syftet men denna litteraturstudie var att undersöka upplevelsen av att vara man inom sjuksköterskeprofessionen. Metod: Litteraturstudien baserades på tio kvalitativa artiklar. Artiklarna analyserades med induktiv ansats.  Analysen resulterade i två huvudkategorier som mynnade ut i fem subkategorier. Huvudkategorierna var frustration och välbefinnande. Resultat: Resultatet visade på att männen upplevde att deras yrkesval blev ifrågasatt av familj, vänner, patienter och kollegor samt att de kände ett utanförskap på arbetsplatsen. De manliga sjuksköterskorna kände sårbarhet och rädsla inför risken att bli falskt anklagade för sexuellt ofredande samt att vara homosexuella. Risken att bli falskt anklagad för sexuellt ofredande berodde på att männens beröring sexualiserades. Männen upplevde en yrkesstolthet då arbetet kändes meningsfullt. Hos de manliga sjuksköterskorna fanns en vilja att göra gott samt att vårda människor. Slutsats: Det behövs mer forskning om genus utifrån ett manligt perspektiv inom sjuksköterskeprofessionen i Sverige för att bättre förstå problematiken kring varför så få män väljer att bli sjuksköterska. Det behövs även fler studier i genus i förhållande till andra faktorer såsom etnicitet, ålder, klass och sexuell läggning för att få en breddare och djupare bild av manliga sjuksköterskors upplevelse av sin arbetsmiljö.

People in children’s environment can significantly influence the process of inclusion in regular schools,teachers and their perceptions on students with special abilities are recognized asplaying a key role. As such, this study aims at investigating, comparing and analyzing Greek and Swedish primary school teachers’ attitudes on inclusive education for childrenwith mental disabilities, as well as their experiences concerning the impact students’ environment has on their efficient inclusion and development. To this end, interviews with them have been employed for data collection in this cross-cultural qualitative research.

Bakgrund: Hjärnskakning i idrott är vanligt och det finns etablerade riktlinjer för identifiering, hantering och rehabilitering. För tidig återgång till idrott kan medföra risker. Kvalitativ forskning om idrottares upplevelser och erfarenheter av och om idrottsrelaterad hjärnskakning har ej påträffats. Syfte: Att undersöka hjärnskakningsdrabbade idrottares upplevelser och erfarenheter om hjärnskakning inom idrott samt återgång till idrottsaktivitet efter skadehändelsen. Metod: Data insamlades från fem idrottare med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyserades med hjälp av innehållsanalys. Resultat: I studien framkom tre teman; ”Föranledd vårdkontakt”, ”Motiverande och hindrande faktorer för återgång till idrott”, samt ”Resonemang kring hjärnskakning” som innefattade bland annat att idrottarna upplevde undermålig information från vården gällande återgång till idrott efter hjärnskakning och att tränare hade bristande kunskap om omhändertagande vid idrottsskada. Idrottarna uppfattade ett behov av ökad kunskap. Stöttning och förståelse för idrottarens situation från omgivningen påverkade positivt för återgång medan press och rädsla för en ny hjärnskakning hämmade. Konklusion: Föreliggande studie har uppnått syftet att undersöka hjärnskakningsdrabbade idrottares upplevelser och erfarenheter om hjärnskakning samt återgång. Resultaten ökar förståelsen för idrottare som råkar ut för hjärnskakning i idrottssammanhang. Ytterligare forskning behövs för att bilda uppfattning om läget av idrottsrelaterad hjärnskakning i Sverige. / Background: Concussion in sport is common and there are established guidelines for identification, management and rehabilitation. Premature return to play may be dangerous. Qualitative research on athletes' experiences on sport-related concussion has not been found. Objective: To examine concussed athletes' perceptions and experiences about concussion in sports and return to play after their concussion. Method: Data was collected from five athletes using semi-structured interviews and was analyzed through content analysis. Results: Three themes emerged; "Cause for health care", "Motivations and hindrances on return to play", and "Reasoning about concussion”. They included for instance that athletes experienced poor information from health institutions regarding return to play, and coaches had insufficient knowledge of sport-injury management. The athletes perceived a need for increased knowledge. Support and understanding for the athlete's situation had a positive impact on the return to play while pressure and fear of a new concussion inhibited return to play. Conclusion: The objective to examine concussed athletes' perceptions and experiences about concussion in sports and return to play, has been achieved. The results increase our understanding for athletes who sustain concussions in sports. Further research is needed to form an estimation of ​​the extent of sports-related concussions in Sweden.

Idag finns det ett samband mellan ekonomi och hälsa, kopplat till utrikesfödda i Sverige. Det är ofta utrikesfödda som drabbas av ojämlikhet på arbetsmarknaden, som därefter påverkar ekonomin. Ett interventionsprogram (Grönkvistprogrammet) har utvecklats och implementerats i syfte att minska den ekonomiska stressen och främja hälsan på kort- och långsiktig väg av Landstinget Västmanland och Samhällsmedicinska enheten. Studien undersökte deltagarnas upplevelser av programmet. Teorierna KASAM samt Socialt stöd har kopplats samman med resultatet. Metoden i studien hade en kvalitativ ansats och tio deltagare har intervjuats i enskilda intervjuer. Resultatet påvisade att den ekonomiska betydelsen för deltagarna var av stor vikt och hade en viktig roll i det dagliga livet. Programmet hade även påverkat deltagarna genom, förändrade levnadsvanor, mer insikt om ekonomin och relaterade områden samt att de har mer självmakt efter programmet. Deltagarnas positiva upplevelser var att handledarna var kunniga och att materialet förekom på olika språk. Deltagarna hade även fått mer kunskap om Sverige generellt och deltagarna upplevde att spridning av den nya kunskapen var möjlig efter programmet. Utvecklingsmöjligheterna som framkom i resultatet var att programtiden kunde ha varit längre, fler moment i programmet som berör ekonomin, mer extern reklam för programmet samt fortsatt spridning av programmet till andra målgrupper. / Today there is a connection between the economy and health, linked to foreign-born personsin Sweden. There are foreign born who suffer from inequality in the labor market which subsequently affects the economy. An intervention program (Grönkvist program) has been developed and implemented in order to reduce the financial stress and promote health in the short and long-term way of Västmanland County Council and Community Medicine Unit. The study examined the participants' perceptions of the program. The theories SOC and Social support has been linked with the outcome. The method of study was a qualitative approach and ten participants were interviewed in individual interviews. The results demonstrate that the economic importance of the participants were of great importance and had an important role in daily life. The program also had affected the participants through,changing lifestyles, more insight about the economy and related areas and that they havemore empowerment after the program. The participant’s positive experiences was that the supervisors were knowledgeable and that material occurred in different languages. The participants also had gained more knowledge about Sweden and the participants generally felt that dissemination of the new knowledge was possible after the program. The development opportunities that emerged in the result was that the program time could have been longer, more program elements that affect the economy, more external advertising forthe program and the continued spread of the program to other target groups.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Joyce A. Baptist / Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a prevalent, pervasive chronic illness. It is a hereditary condition that affects those of African, Mediterranean, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Hispanic/Latino descent. It causes extreme pain for patients and a myriad of other symptoms and complications. The medical issues associated with and the very nature of SCD has the potential to cause psychological distress and related problems for patients. Parents, caregivers, significant others, and family members are similarly affected by a family member with SCD. Applying the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Model, this qualitative study used heterogeneous sampling and explored the experience of three families with SCD. Three main themes emerged from the data, analyzed using thematic analysis: Stress and Challenges, Adapting to and Coping with the Demands of SCD, and Individual and Family Strengths. The pervasiveness and unpredictability of SCD as well as the strengthening effects of having experienced SCD were shared across families, despite their heterogeneity. Clinical implications for families with SCD are discussed.