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Background: In Sweden and Northern Europe, cardiovascular disease mortality rates are high. The clinical picture in the Western world is dominated by lifestyle diseases in which individual behavior and attitudes have a significant impact on the health effect. In the society cardiovascular disease is seen as an illness factor and contribution to disability. Conditions for a good life are not only good health also factors such as intimate relationships and meaningful work which affect the person's quality of life. Aim: Lifestyle changes and quality of life for patients, regarding cardiovascular disease. Method: A literature review was made. Eight articles, quantitative and qualitative were analyzed. The analysis revealed three themes and four subthemes. Results: Through interventions bodily- and behavioral change occurred, for example weightloss, better cholesterol- and bloodpressure levels and increased physical activity. Respondents also had better quality of life. Great importance was laid on education and information about different lifestyle changes. On the contrary, the nursing staff was careless with the documentation. Conclusion: Lifestyle changes such as smoking cessation, increased physical activity, reducing obesity and improving dietary habits and psychosocial factors such as reduced stress and depression, have a positive impact on the health of cardiovascular disease. Because these changes should not affect patients' quality of life, the nurse's communication and information are important. It's also important to combine good lifestyle changes with good quality of life, as adherence then is better. The nurse has to consider the patients whole life situation.

Bakgrund: I en befolkning där medelåldern ökar finns risk för ett ökat antal äldre med demenssjukdom. Demens är ett samlingsnamn för sjukdomar som medför minnessvårigheter och personlighetsförändring, vilket i sin tur kan sänka livskvaliteten. Syfte: var att beskriva aspekter av vad livskvalitet kan vara för personer med demens på särskilt boende. Metod: Detta är en litteraturstudie med deskriptiv design. Nio artiklar som besvarade studiens syfte valdes från databaserna Cinahl och Medline. Resultat: Flera studier rapporterar om vad livskvalitet är enligt demenssjuka som bor i särskilt boende. Livskvalitet är relaterad till bl.a. social samvaro, aktivitet, kost samt fysisk och psykisk känsla av hälsa. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskans omvårdnadsåtgärder kan påverka upplevelsen av livskvalitet för den demenssjuke. Meningsfulla aktiviteter som utförs tillsammans med vårdpersonalen och anhöriga är exempelvis betydelsefulla. Sjuksköterskan bör visa respekt för personens integritet, värdighet, autonomi och delaktighet.

The influence of physiotherapy for patients quality of life after stroke ABSTRACT Key words: stroke, quality of life, physiotherapy, Bobath technique. The influence of rehabilitation for patients after stroke helps to recover loss of functional disorder and the activities of daily living. There are created many physiotherapy techniques, which are used for the patients after stroke for the maximum recovery of the functions. Mostly clinical researches analyze the improvement of functional system. Though there are not many researches which analysis the influence of physiotherapy for the quality of life and they are not comprehensive. The purpose of the work: to evaluate patients quality of life after stroke using traditional physiotherapy methods and Bobath technique. The problems of the work: 1) To find out which components of the quality of life physiotherapy has the greater influence. 2) To find out which factors – age, gender, neurological lesion, has the influence for physiotherapy efficiency or for the quality of life. 3) To evaluate which physiotherapy methods has better influence using the traditional physiotherapy or using Bobath technique. The object of the work: 1) Patients quality of life who had stroke and for which was used traditional physiotherapy. 2) Patients who had stroke quality of life and for which was used Bobath technique. The hypothesis of the work: Stroke negatively influences patients’ quality of life – patients’ physical condition, emotional... [to full text]

Since psychological adaptation to knowledge that child suffers autism is multi-element process, its different features were estimated. Among them: reaction of mothers to a knowledge, relations within family, mothers concern about the future of her child, excessive expression of care of the child, need for help. Also the quality of life of mothers raising child with the autism was examined. During the investigation, a questionnaire prepared by L.Čečkauskienės and G.Gintilienės (1996) “Questionnaire on the impact of diagnosed permanent child disease to parents” was used. It was disseminated among mothers growing. Also questionnaire created by M.B. Frish (1994) “Questionnaire on quality of life”, which was disseminated among mothers growing children suffering from autism and mothers growing healthy children, was used. It was proved, that mothers after the knowledge about autism diagnosis to their child, feel very embarrassed, deny such diagnosis, they are worrying about the future of their child. Results of investigation also shows, that relation within the family also are changing. Results of investigations on quality of life points out that for the quality of life for both, mothers growing children suffering from autism and mothers growing healthy ones, children, household, goals and worth are important. However, only mothers raising healthy children, express satisfaction about children and households. Mothers growing children suffering from autism, show their satisfaction to... [to full text]

Fourteen cancer caregivers participated in a six-week Vinyasa Yoga (VY) intervention and completed demographic items, psychological distress, measures of QOL, and open-ended questions. There was a significant difference and large effect (n2 =.47) in the total mood disturbance scores; t(13)= 3.43, p=0.005, 95% CI [8.6, 38.1]. There was no significant difference in the Physical Component Score; t(13)= 1.70, p=0.113, 95% CI [-.8, 6.8], n2 =0.18. There was a significant difference and large effect (n2 =.30) in the Mental Component Score; t(13)= -2.37, p=0.034, 95% CI [-12.9, -.6]. Additional analyses indicated that several subdomains of psychological distress and QOL were significant. Responses to the survey questions revealed participants perceived benefiting physically and mentally from the VY intervention, noting improvements in flexibility, core and upper-body strength, mindfulness, breathing, and energy. Although further and more rigorous exploration is required, this study provides support for the feasibility of VY with cancer caregivers.

In the aging world of today, more attentions are grabbed towards studies on elderly. New facilities and technologies are emerged to serve to the elderly, maketheir life easier, better and more useful. Having participated in a study on thequality of life of the elderly in Europe, it was aimed to run a similar project toresearch the quality of life of the elderly in a Non-EU country. This was donethrough the research questions “What is the quality of life for them?” and “Howa designer, focused on service design, can improve their quality of life?”The knowledge for the study was obtained from fields Quality of Life of ElderlyPeople, Service Design, Service Design Process, and Qualitative Research. As thekey country for this study, Iran was chosen. Study on the target group in thiscountry was done through Cultural Probes and in analyzing the probes, Processfor Empathy in Design was used. To visualize the results of the target group study,Affinity Diagrams and Personas were drawn.The result was designing a service for the target group, which is presented byConcept Scenario, Storyboards, System Maps and Blueprints. In this concept,called “Virtual Family”, the personas are encouraged to be members of a networkwhich is supported by an organization/community in terms of health, social life,leisure activities and educational programs. This network is forming a virtualfamily regarding the traditional values and ethics which are important for thisage group. Additionally it supports them with entertainment and educationalprograms. Later on, the service concept was evaluated by a number of people inthe same age and social group of the target group. Evaluators found the conceptan excellent complement for mentioned target group who are on the verge oflosing their family and social structure, but the organizational system of the contextcountry should be studied to know if it is planning is practical in that context.

This projects attempts to gain an understanding of the role that perceptions and attitudes to ageing play in the recovery process after stroke. Firstly, a systematic review establishes the current opinion within the literature, and how perceived quality of life and depression interplay during the stroke recovery process. Whilst a relationship is apparent in the literature, the direction of causality remained unclear, in addition to many contributing factors possibly adding the interaction. The reader is introduced to the wider context of stroke, looking at the consequences of stroke and the adjustment process. Whilst older adults add a complexity to formulation and clinical work, they are also the predominant age group who experience stroke. Therefore, the role of the ageing process is introduced, in light of the current literature around stroke and recovery. A journal article then examines the role of attitudes towards ageing and perceptions of quality of life, in older adults after stroke. The relationship between attitudes and perceptions is explored, in relation to depressive symptoms in the sample recruited; using a questionnaire based cross sectional design. The questionnaires used were the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ), the World Health Organisation Quality of Life, version for Older adults (WHOQOL‐Old) assessment and the New Multidimensional Depression Scale (NMDS). A correlational analysis revealed that positive attitudes toward ageing were associated with greater levels of perceived quality of life, and that both were negatively associated with depression. The findings are discussed in the context of ageing literature and incorporating aspects of loss, in an effort to understand how perceptions and attitudes may be protective factors in the journey of recovery from stroke.

Young adults in Sweden have grown up with dental care free of charge until the age of twenty. Their self-perceived oral health has been reported as being good, but rapid changes in society have led to a weaker economic situation for many young adults, which may influence their dental attendance and priorities concerning oral health and oral health care. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the views of young adults on dental care, oral health and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL). The thesis is based on four scientific papers which all apply a qualitative approach. In Paper I, the views of young adults on dental care were explored. Paper II investigated the views of young adults on their oral health and OHRQoL. In Paper III, measures of OHRQoL were described and analysed from a public health perspective, and in Paper IV, the views of young adults on the relevance of three measures of OHRQoL were explored. In Paper I, II, and IV, data collection was performed through qualitative interviews. The selection of informants was strategic with reference to age (21-29 years), sex and education. For Paper III, a literature search for OHRQoL measures was made in the PubMed database. The data in Paper I was analysed in accordance with the constant comparative method (inspired by Grounded Theory), and in Papers II, III and IV, qualitative content analysis was used. The results showed that young adults were satisfied with the dental care that they had received but reported specific views and demands on dental care (Paper I). They perceived their oral health as good, but an array of oral health problems was described (Paper II). The young adults’ perceived control of their OHRQoL depended on their future prospects of oral health, in relation to their perceptions of their past and present oral health. In Paper III, the search for measures of OHRQoL in the PubMed database generated 22 measures. The measures were analysed with regard to their theoretical framework and in relation to four principles of health promotion. Some elements of public health principles were found in all the measures, but most of them originated in disease-oriented theories. The occurrence of oral problems was reflected in young adults’ views on the measures of OHRQoL (Paper IV). The analysed measures were deemed to have both advantages and disadvantages but to be fairly equal. The conclusions are that young adults’ OHRQoL was dependent on their earlier experiences of dental care and their former and present oral health, as well as their future prospects regarding oral health. Elements of public health principles were present to a varying degree in all the measures of OHRQoL. Young adults regarded the frequently used measures of OHRQoL as being equal. The measures were mainly disease-oriented and no specific measures had been developed for young adults. / Unga vuxna i Sverige har vuxit upp med fri tandvård till och med det år de fyller 19 år och de upplever ofta en god munhälsa. Snabba samhällsförändringar har bl a medfört sämre ekonomi för många unga och detta kan ha påverkat deras tandvårdsbesök och deras prioriteringar vad gäller tandvård. Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen var att utforska unga vuxnas syn på tandvården, deras munhälsa och munhälsorelaterade livskvalitet (OHRQoL). Avhandlingen baseras på fyra studier. I Studie I undersöktes unga vuxnas syn på tandvården. Studie II undersökte och beskrev unga vuxnas syn på sin munhälsa och OHRQoL. I Studie III beskrevs och analyserades mätinstrument för OHRQoL ur ett folkhälsoperspektiv och i Studie IV beskrevs hur unga vuxna ser på tre mätinstrument för OHRQoL. I Studie I, Studie II och Studie IV samlades data in genom kvalitativa intervjuer. Urvalet var strategiskt i förhållande till ålder (21-29 år), kön (hälften kvinnor) och utbildning (gymnasienivå/mer). De flesta deltagarna i studierna besökte tandvården regelbundet. I Studie III gjordes sökningar i databasen PubMed för att finna mätinstrument för OHRQoL.  Data i Studie I analyserades genom komparativ metod som är inspirerad av ”Grounded Theory”. I Studie II, Studie III och Studie IV genomfördes dataanalysen med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultaten visade att unga vuxna var nöjda med den tandvård de erhållit men att de hade speciella önskemål och krav på denna (Studie I). Unga vuxna beskrev sin munhälsa som god men angav trots det en mängd olika munhälsoproblem. Deras upplevda kontroll över sin OHRQoL var relaterad till deras syn på sin framtida munhälsa i relation till tidigare erfarenheter av tandvården och synen på sin egen munhälsa (Studie II). I Studie III genererade datasökningen 22 mätinstrument för OHRQoL. Mätinstrumenten analyserades utifrån deras teoretiska utgångspunkter och i relation till fyra principer för folkhälsoarbete (empowerment, medinflytande, holism, rättvisa). Aspekter av de fyra principerna återfanns i varierande grad hos alla mätinstrumenten varav de flesta hade sin utgångspunkt i sjukdomsinriktade teorier. I Studie IV framkom att de unga vuxnas upplevelse av sin egen munhälsa hade betydelse för deras syn på de tre undersökta mätinstrumenten för OHRQoL. Alla mätinstrumenten ansågs ha för- och nackdelar men bedömdes som ungefär likvärdiga. Konklusionen är att unga vuxnas OHRQoL är beroende av deras tidigare erfarenheter från tandvården och deras tidigare och nuvarande munhälsa samt i deras syn på sin framtida munhälsa. Principer för folkhälsoarbete uppfylldes i varierande grad i analyserade mätinstrument för OHRQoL och unga vuxna ansåg att mätinstrumenten var ungefär likvärdiga. Mätinstrumenten var i huvudsak sjukdomsinriktade. Det saknas ett speciellt instrument för att mäta unga vuxnas munhälsorelaterade livskvalitet. / <p>Odontologie doktorsexamen i ämnet odontologisk vetenskap</p>

Background: Chronic pain is a major public health concern in Canada, with an estimated annual cost of $6 billion in direct health care expenses. At the same time, Canadians are participating in an increased use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine the relationship between the use of CAM and HRQOL for individuals living with chronic pain. Method: This study was a secondary data analysis of the nationally representative Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) Cycle 3.1 Subsample 1 collected by Statistics Canada in 2005 (n=32,133). Results: The prevalence of CAM use for the Canadian population was 20.9% whereas for the chronic pain subset, it was 30.8%. CAM users had 1.48 times increased odds of reporting a high HRQOL than non-CAM users (CI=1.16-1.88). Conclusion: These results demonstrate that a modest but significant positive association exists between CAM use and a high HRQOL.