This dissertation covers the subject of how abstract concepts and complex situations can be concretized through research together with practitioners. The dissertation is based on four empirical studies. The researcher role, the practitioner participation and the methods for data collection and analysis have varied. In study I the concept ‘Närsjukvård’ was explored to understand how practitioners, managers and politicians in hospitals, primary health care and municipalities interpreted the concept. The researcher acted as consultant who collected data by interviews and questionnaires. Practitioners’ participation was limited. ‘Närsjukvård’ was interpreted as accessibility to hospital beds, accessibility to primary health care, collaboration between care providers and continuity and developed home care. Study II aimed to explore how people experienced leg ulcer care. The researcher acted as a consultant who performed the interviews and  analysed the data. Although the informants experienced their encounters with the nurses as satisfying, the study illuminated low participation in the care and low practitioner involvement in issues about daily living with the leg ulcer. The findings were brought back to the informants and the practitioners. The project did not proceed towards development and change. In study III the aim was to explore the Swedish concept ‘trygghet’ by using stories from daily life. Four older women were interviewed and the Story Dialogue method was used together with assistant nurses and registered nurses who participated in data collection and analysis. Two themes emerged: Sense of Security and factors strengthening the Sense of Security. Together with the assistant nurses, areas for improvements were identified. Study IV aimed to explore the discharge planning situation in order to     generate ideas for development. Members from a discharge planning network participated in the whole research process. Conditions for a successful coordinated discharge planning situation were a system including: the participation of the patient, the competence of the staff and the support from the organisation. The group arranged a workshop about communication and interdisciplinary   collaboration. The findings resulted in a form with self-evaluation questions. In conclusion, this thesis illustrates that it is possible to clarify abstract concepts and complex situations together with practitioners. To do this successfully, sense making activities and to start from practitioners’ experiences and their own context are key factors. The studies illuminate that building trust, relationship and sense of participation are essential in health and social care in general and specifically in the participatory action research process.

Ledarskap har en inverkan på medarbetarnas hälsa och påverkar arbetsprestationen. Utifrån detta erbjuder man i Mora kommun sina chefer att genomgå en ledarskapsutbildning. Syftet med vår kvalitativa intervjustudie är att undersöka ledares förväntningar och upplevelse av utbildningen samt syn på och upplevelse av självstöd. Fem chefer, två kvinnor och tre män i åldern 40 - 60 år intervjuade före och efter ledarskapsutbildningen. Intervjuerna var semistrukturerade. Samtalen bandades och transkriberades. Därefter kodades materialet, dels genom en manuell reducering, dels genom kodning/synteser med stöd av Open Code. Ur detta har teman extraherats. Resultatet visar att ledarna var positiva till innehållet och upplägget i utbildningen. Förväntan om att få redskap för praktiskt bruk och inre redskap infriades. Bekräftelse och självinsikt har varit viktigt och att diskutera och spegla sig för reflektion. Synen på självstöd menar ledarna handlar om förmågan att vänta in, backa, att lyssna klart och ta stöd utifrån samt att våga tro på sig själv. Två av ledarna säger sig ha utvecklat sitt självstöd under utbildningen. Utbildningen har bidragit till att man känner sig säkrare och litar mer på sig själv. Tre ledare tycker inte att självstödet utvecklats. Att processen fortsätter efter avslutad utbildning och att detta sanktioneras uppifrån anses avgörande. / Leadership has an impact on employee health and supports better work performance. For this reason, Mora municipality managers offer a leadership program. The purpose of our qualitative interview study was to investigate leaders' expectations and experience of a leadership program, as well as their perspective on self-support. Five leaders, two women and three men aged 40-60 years were interviewed before and after the program. The interviews were semi structured. The talks were electronically recorded and transcribed. The material was encoded, partly by manual reduction, partly by coding / syntheses supported by Open Code. From this the themes have been extracted. The result shows that the leaders were positive about the content and layout of the leadership program. The expectation of getting tools for practical use and internal readiness was fulfilled. Affirmation and self-awareness have been important to discuss as a subject for reflection. The leaders define self-support as the ability to wait, hold back, to listen clearly and to take support from outside, and to believe in oneself. Two of the leaders express that they have evolved their self-support during the program. The program has contributed to feel more safe and to have trust in themselves. Three leaders do not experience that self-support has evolved. That the process continues after completed the program and sanctioned from above is considered crucial.

世界上有一條路，最筆直也最曲折、最簡單也最艱難，叫做「回家」。這是一個關於渴望被愛、找尋與放下的故事。本劇希冀探討所謂的「你認為的好，不一定適合我」的概念。主角是一名患有氣喘的小女生，被雙親送到鄉下讓阿嬤照顧。她為了回家想盡各種方法，並在嘗試的過程中結識了一頭小鹿和孤僻的鄰居阿公。透過主角、小鹿及鄰居阿公三者間的互動，揭示了孩童的不安全感、動物的靈性及喪偶老人的孤獨等生命課題。 本文共分《回家的路》劇本、創作論述及附錄等三部分。創作論述中先說明故事發想歷程與創作背景，並回顧此劇探討面向的相關資料，包含兒童的安全感、老人的孤獨感及其與動物互動等；其次為劇本結構與人物研究，最後是創作心得與檢討。附錄則為相關電影介紹及分場大綱。 / There is one road in this world. It is the most straight and tortuous, the simplest and most difficult road – the road that takes us “home.” This story is about the desire to be loved, to search and to let go. The film script is hoping to explore the so-called “what is good to you may not mean the same to me” concept. It is about a little girl who suffers from asthma that her parents once took her to the countryside, and asked her grandma to take care of her. The little girl tried various ways to go home, and during the time she met a cute little deer and a solitary old neighbor. Through interaction among the little girl, the deer and the neighbor, the story reveals some life issues such as insecurity of children, spirituality of animals and loneliness among widowed elders. The thesis consists of three parts: the film script, literature review and appendixes. In the first part, the creative process and background of the story is mentioned, then to review on documents of children’s sense of security, loneliness of elders and the interaction between human and animal. Following with script organization and studies on characters, this thesis lastly presents the personal creation review and an overview of the script writing. Attached in the appendix is the introduction of related movies and outline plot.

Bakgrund: Tidigare forskning visar att insjukna i bröstcancer påverkar hela individens livsvärld, vilket ställer höga krav på sjuksköterskans omvårdnadsarbete. Det behövs fler studier som visar hur dessa individer upplever sin situation. Syfte: Att belysa kvinnors upplevelse av att leva med bröstcancer.Metod: En kvalitativ studie baserad på fem självbiografier med induktiv ansats har använts. Materialet analyserades med hjälp av en manifest innehållsanalys.Resultat: Analysprocessen resulterade i nio underkategorier och tre huvudkategorier; En utveckling av copingstrategier, En oviss framtid och En känsla av trygghet. Resultatet visade att en bröstcancerdiagnos påverkade kvinnans liv drastiskt och att cancerbeskedet var chockartat. Behandlingen och dess biverkningar upplevdes som påfrestande både kroppsligt och mentalt. Genom olika strategier klarade kvinnorna att hantera sin vardag. Behovet av att prata med någon och dela med sig till andra var centralt hos kvinnorna och minskade känslan av ensamhet. Resultatet visade också att ovissheten inför framtiden var känsloladdad och därför hade stödet från närstående och vården en betydande roll under deras sjukdomstid.Slutsats: Kvinnornas upplevelse av att leva med bröstcancer påverkar livsvärlden negativt, både kroppsligt och mentalt. Sjuksköterskan har en central roll under hela sjukdomsperioden, där engagemang, lyhördhet och bemötande är betydelsefullt. Omvårdnadsarbetet bör därför utgå från ett helhetsperspektiv för att skapa en professionell vårdrelation som stärker kvinnans livskvalitet, hälsa och trygghet. Vidare forskning behövs för att få en djupare förståelse och kompetens bland annat kring hur bröstcancerbehandlade kvinnors sexualitet påverkas samt hur man kan stärka olika former av stöd för de mest sårbara kvinnorna. / Background: Previous research shows that breast cancer affects the individual’s entire world, which places high demands on the nurse´s health care efforts. More studies are needed that show how these individuals perceive their situation.Objective: To highlight women’s experience of living with breast cancer.Method: A qualitative study based on five autobiographies with inductive approach has been used. The material was analyzed using a manifest content analysis.Results: The analysis process resulted in nine subcategories and three main categories; A development of coping strategies, An uncertain future and A sense of security. The results showed that a breast cancer diagnosis drastically affected the woman’s life and that the cancer notification was distressing. The treatment and its side effects were perceived as stressful both physically and mentally. Through various strategies, the women managed to maintain their everyday lives. The need to talk to someone and share with others was central to the women and reduced the feeling of loneliness. The results also showed that uncertainty for the future was emotionally charged and therefore the support of relatives and health professionals played a significant role during their illness.Conclusion: The women’s experience of living with breast cancer negatively affects her world, both physically and mentally. The nurse plays a central role throughout the illness period, where commitment, responsiveness and attentiveness are important. Nursing work should therefore be based on a comprehensive perspective in order to create a professional care relationship that strengthens a woman’s quality of life, health and safety. Further research is needed to gain a deeper understanding and competence about how breast cancer-treated women’s sexuality is affected and how to strengthen different forms of support for the most vulnerable women.