Hjärtsvikt drabbar cirka två procent av befolkningen och sjukdomen påverkar personens vardag och förmåga till att utföra vardagliga sysslor. Prognosen för hjärtsvikt är allvarlig, personer som blivit diagnostiserade med hjärtsvikt har en median överlevnadstid på cirka 2 år. Med hjälp av egenvård kan prognosen och förmågan att utföra vardagliga sysslor förbättras.  Syftet var att undersöka vilken betydelse personcentrerad vård kunde ha för personer med hjärtsvikt gällande egenvård, livskvalitet och symtombörda.  Metoden som användes var en litteraturstudie som inkluderade tio kvantitativa studier. Artiklarna valdes från databaserna PubMed och CINAHL. Dorothea Orems omvårdnadsteori användes som teoretisk referensram i studien. Resultatet påvisade att en personcentrerad vård kan förbättra egenvården hos personer med hjärtsvikt. Några resultat visade att personcentrerad vård gav en förbättring gällande livskvalitet, medan andra resultat inte visade på en signifikant förbättring gällande livskvalitet. En personcentrerad vård visade ingen förbättring på symtombördan hos personer med hjärtsvikt. Slutsatsen var att en personcentrerad vård förbättrar egenvården hos personer med hjärtsvikt. Personcentrerad vård kan i vissa fall även leda till en förbättrad livskvalitet, men det visade ingen förbättring gällande symtombördan hos personer med hjärtsvikt. / Heart failure affects circa two percent of the population and the illness affects the person’s everyday life and the ability to perform everyday tasks. The prognosis for heart failure is serious, people that have been diagnosed with heart failure have a median survival time of approximately 2 years. With the help of self care the prognosis and the ability to perform everyday tasks can be improved.  The aim of this study was to examine what importance person centered care have for people with heart failure concerning self-care, quality of life and symptom burden.  The method that was used was a literature study which included ten quantitative studies. The articles were chosen from the databases PubMed and CINAHL. Dorothea Orem’s nursing theory was used as theory framework in this study. The results showed that a person centered care may improve self-care in people with heart failure. Some results showed that a person centered care improved quality of life, while other results did not show any significant improvement on quality of life. A person centered care did not show any improvement in symptom burden for people with heart faliure.  The conclusion was that person centered care may improve self-care for people with heart failure. Person centered care may in some cases also result in an improved quality of life, but it did not show any improvement in the symptom burden for people with heart failure.

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The paradox of living is that the best way to care for yourself is through positive connections with others, through making a contribution to the whole, and through loving as much as you can from wherever you are at a moment in time. Using mindfulness, personality priorities, and awareness exercises, the workshop focuses on living life more fully.

The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate the biological, behavioral, and psychosocial attributes of individuals diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Specific aims were to: 1) explore the predictive power of spirometry measures for event-free survival in patients with heart failure and suspected COPD, focusing on the differences in survival between those with and without airflow limitation; 2) examine the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) in patients with concomitant COPD and heart failure; and 3) test the efficacy of a theory-based, multidimensional, self-care educational intervention using an eHealth platform on measures of symptom severity and variability, anxiety and depressive symptoms, perceived self-care ability, perceived self-care adherence, and selfcare information needs (knowledge) in a sample of adult patients with stable COPD. Specific aim one was addressed by evaluation of the predictive power of spirometry measures (forced expiratory volume/second [FEV1], forced vital capacity [FVC], and the ratio of FEV1/FVC) for event-free time to combined hospitalization/mortality after controlling for clinical and sociodemographic variables. This analysis revealed that those patients with airflow limitation were 2.2 times more likely to experience hospitalization/mortality compared to those without airflow limitation. The second specific aim was addressed with a psychometric evaluation of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social support (MSPSS) which included determination of internal consistency reliability, the factor structure and construct validity by hypothesis testing in participants with comorbid COPD and heart failure. The MSPSS was a valid and reliable instrument to measure perceived social support in patients with comorbid COPD and heart failure. The third specific aim was addressed by a trial of an eHealth educational intervention in participants with COPD (N = 20). This intervention resulted in significant change in symptom severity evaluation in patients categorized as having medium symptom severity for the following symptoms: distress due to cough, chest tightness, dyspnea with activity and fatigue; these symptoms were perceived as more severe in the intervention period. Anxiety, depressive symptoms and perceived self-care ability were unchanged; however, perceived self-care adherence scores improved, and knowledge needs were significantly reduced after the intervention.

Despite the many weight loss options available, the majority of overweight and obese individuals who try to lose or maintain weight loss are unsuccessful. This lack of success has been the focus of extensive research. In an attempt to develop more effective modalities, researchers have identified several predictors of weight loss success. However, the efficacy of diets is still limited. For many, this lack of weight loss success may be due to issues such as depression, loneliness, anxiety, lack of support, or other environmental factors that may be imperceptibly related to food and exercise. Repeated dieting failures may produce feelings of deprivation, low self-esteem, reduced self-efficacy, and dietary rebellion. For these individuals, a more holistic approach to addressing weight-related issues may be more effective and is the impetus for the development of this project. This project was developed utilizing several previously identified predictors of weight loss success, holistic and weight loss models, along with several self-help lay publications. This resulted in the development of a unique, holistic, self-care guide that is easily individualized and based on personal weight management needs. Individuals can potentially identify their unique physical, emotional, and spiritual motives for overeating or lack of physical activity, and design their own plan of action; potentially providing themselves with a new level of health and happiness not previously realized.

ABSTRACT Professors repeatedly warn students against burnout throughout the years of schooling that is required to earn a credential or license to work with persons who suffer from a substance use disorder. Despite these many warnings, burnout amongst practitioners continues to occur. There has been considerable research done over the years on the phenomenon of practitioner burnout, its causes and how to prevent it. Substance use disorder practitioners’ challenges often include high caseloads, difficult cases and lack of self-care. The data collected through an electronic server Survey Monkey allowed for a quantitative cross-sectional analysis which focused on participants’ perceptions of the causes of burnout and methods used for self-care. Respondents were recruited from two substance use disorder treatment programs, participation was voluntary. The analysis highlighted that the survey participants (n=30) view self-care as an appropriate intervention against burnout. These findings present: underlying causes of burnout; effective self-care practices for practitioners who are suffering from burnout; and how practitioners with higher education viewed self-care differently. Among the goals of the research done in this project was to bring awareness to; underlying causes of burnout; solutions to prevent burnout and effective techniques currently being used by practitioners that contributes additional knowledge to social work’s knowledge on burnout and self-care methods for practitioners experiencing burnout symptoms.

ABSTRACT This study explored the challenges medical social workers face that lead to burnout. Currently, there is literature on burnout among health care providers and social workers, but not specifically on social workers in the medical field. The current study aimed to fill this gap in literature. Due to the lack of literature, the study used an exploratory, qualitative design. The study utilized individual interviews with a non-random purposive sample of nine medical social workers currently employed at Kaiser Permanente’s Fontana/Ontario Social Services Department. Interviews with participants were recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis. Major themes that emerged were organizational challenges, challenges working in multidisciplinary teams, working in the medical field, and limited resources. The study’s findings aim to increase awareness of the issue of burnout among medical social workers and to contribute to the implementation of interventions or policies within health care settings to prevent burnout among medical social workers.

The goals of this research study were to determine if clergy members were prone to experiencing compassion fatigue and to identify the self-care methods they currently employ. Compassion fatigue can affect anyone in a helping profession and is considered to be a component of burnout. With the use of qualitative interviews, the views of pastors will be used to explain their understanding of compassion fatigue and their implementation of self-care. Data will also be collected to describe the methods of self-care the clergy members utilize when their levels of compassion fatigue presentation are prominent. Audio information gathered from the interviews, and demographic, compassion satisfaction and self-care surveys will be used, and a thematic and phenomena analysis will be created to analyze the data collected. This research will contribute to the collaborative efforts of churches and social workers to increase public awareness of compassion fatigue and self-care deficits that pastors are experiencing and that churches are observing within their faith communities. This can be beneficial in helping communities to effect positive change within the community.

This study examined the different types of self-care strategies that Master of Social Work students practice. This study used the National Alliance on Mental Illness Self-Care Inventory, a survey which asks participants about commonly used methods of self-care. Engaging in self-care can bring better understanding and insights on how to prevent the signs of stress while also increasing an individual’s ability to regulate their emotional needs. All MSW students at the California university were invited to participate in the study. The surveys were administered via Qualtrics online survey software to the 68 part-time and o-time MSW students who agreed to participate in the study. However, 52 participants completed the survey. Overall, the social work students in this sample indicated high levels of self-care practice within the five domains of self-care: physical self-care, psychological self-care, emotional self-care, spiritual self-care, and workplace/professional self-care. This finding suggests that the MSW student participants in this study seemed to recognize the importance of self-care practice as MSW students. The study’s implications for social work research, practice, and education are discussed.

Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are significant public health issues that affect people of all races; Type 2 diabetes disproportionately affects African Americans with higher diagnosis, morbidity, and mortality than it affects Caucasians, and Type 1 has been increasing in incidence. Diabetes self-care activities (DSCAs) and social support have been shown to help in managing both types, which can reduce morbidity and mortality. African Americans with diabetes in San Francisco have higher rates of complications, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits secondary to diabetes. This study assessed whether a relationship exists between emotional support, practical support, affirmational support, informational support, and self-care behaviors. This cross-sectional study was guided by the health belief model and social cognitive theory and was conducted using the Summary of Diabetes Self Care Activities (SDSCA) and the Social Support Survey Instrument. The median SDSCA score for performance of diabetes self-care activities was 32. The Spearman correlation between informational support and the SDSCA score was positively statistically significant (p < .002), and the affectionate support score was also positively correlated with the SDSCA score (p < .0001). The emotional support and the practical/tangible support scores were negatively correlated to the SDSCA score, but the correlation was not statistically significant. The results of this study may help to effect social change by encouraging provision of informational support with diabetes self-management education and affectionate support by including family and friends in their care process. This provision could lead to improvement in DSCAs and reduction of hospitalizations and emergency room visits among African Americans.