The aim of the study was to describe what it's like to live with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and experiences of social support and being received and met by health personnel. The method was a qualitative interview study of descriptive design and was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three women and two men (26-75 years) with MS from two municipalitiesin central Sweden participated in the study. The main results showed that the participants felt the disease limited everyday life. The majority described feelings of injustice being affectedby the illness, but they now have a new perspective on life. Participants described lack of information and communication from health personnel. All felt there is a long wait to get appointments in specialist care and says it depends on too few staff. Participants felt that being received and met by health personnel have been good, some describes that lack of time and staff may influence the response from health personnel negatively. The conclusion was that the participants daily life was limited by the disease in various extent and could lead to strong feelings. Several felt they learned to live with the disease because of a positive attitude and persistence. Participants felt it was important to get information, rehabilitation, and that health personnel listened. However, the participants experienced long wait to get access to specialist care, and that the main support they got from there was through telephone contact.

Fysisk aktivitet kan ha positiva effekter på hälsa. Arbetsmiljölagen anger att risken för ohälsa ska undanröjas. Mot den bakgrunden skulle fysisk aktivitet på arbetstid kunna vara en legitim arbetsmiljöåtgärd för att förbättra arbetshälsan. Utifrån det förefaller det intressant att undersöka hur fysisk aktivitet på arbetstid kan implementeras så att den genererar positiva resultat. Studien beskriver en modell för implementering av fysisk aktivitet på arbetstid som är baserad på tidigare forskning och genomförbarhet. Syftet var att undersöka tillämpbarheten av modellen genom att mäta i vilken utsträckning medarbetare deltog i träningen och vilka det var som deltog. Ett ytterligare syfte var att undersöka vilka faktorer som var hindrande respektive underlättande för deltagande. I studien, som var en okontrollerad interventionsstudie, infördes frivillig fysisk aktivitet på arbetstid under åtta veckor för alla medarbetare (n=58) på en sjukhusklinik. Datainsamling gjordes med enkäter och semistrukturerade intervjuer. Alla medarbetare utom en deltog i studien och en valde att avbryta. Femtio procent av studiedeltagarna deltog vid minst hälften av träningstillfällena. De mest frekvent angivna underlättande faktorerna var att ha inställningen att fysisk aktivitet är viktigt för hälsan samt viljan att utnyttja förmånen. Den vanligaste upplevda begränsande faktorn var att träningstillfällena inte passade utifrån arbetssituationen. Resultatet indikerar vikten av anpassning till den specifika arbetsplatsen samt hänsynstagande till kunskapsnivå och inställning till fysisk aktivitet hos deltagarna. För att nå högt deltagande i FAPA antyder resultatet att fri tidpunkt för träning eller obligatorisk träning kan vara vägar att gå. Begränsningar i studien är att den fysiska aktivitetsnivån hos studiedeltagarna var högre än genomsnittet hos befolkningen vilket begränsar generaliserbarheten, samt att kontrollgrupp saknas. / This study describes a model for implementation of worksite physical activity. The aim was to investigate the applicability of the model by measuring participation in worksite physical activity and to investigate factors perceived as limiting and facilitating participation. Voluntary worksite physical activity was introduced for eight weeks for all employees at a hospital clinic (n=58). Data collection was done through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. All employees except one participated in the study, and 50 % of the participants took part in the physical activity intervention. The most common perceived facilitating factor was having the attitude that physical activity is important for health. The most common perceived limiting factor was that the physical activity did not correspond to the work situation. The results are congruent with previous theories and research that highlights the importance of adapting intervention approach for the specific workplace and taking into account the importance of knowledge and attitudes towards physical activity when planning an intervention. Certain aspects of these results indicate that mandatory worksite physical activity or physical activity at any time during the workday could be successful for participation.

This study investigates two facets of the relationship between mental health and religion. The first is an investigation into the effects of psychologist's and psychiatrist's religious belief on their assessments of a religious client. Previous research has argued that non-religious mental health workers display bias against their religious clients (Houts and Graham, 1986; and Jones, 1994). Other research has suggested that extrinsically religious indivi~uals and indiscriminately religious individuals tend to be more prejudiced than non-religious or intrinsically religious individuals (Donahue, 1985; and Richards and Bergin, 1997). The second facet of this study is an investigation into the differences between ministers of religion and mental health workers (psychologists and psychiatrists) in their assessment of a religious client. The DSM IV (APA, 1994) suggests that mental health workers should consider the cultural appropriateness of an individuals "symptoms" or behaviours before diagnosing them. It is argued here that psychologists and psychiatrists do not give due regard to the cultural appropriateness of their client's religious beliefs and the ministers of religion offer a gauge of what is culturally appropriate. To investigate these questions a group of mental health workers (consisting of 19 psychologists and 9 psychiatrists) and a group of Christian ministers of religion (consisting of 13 Pentecostal ministers and 17 mainstream ministers) was asked to complete a questionnaire based on a hypothetical case study. The hypothetical case study was constructed to have ambiguous religious characteristics, to allow the respondents to interpret the information according to their own biases. The questionnaire included Allport and Ross's Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) (Wulff, 1991). Data were analysed using Mann-Whittney U-tests and Kruskal Wallis H-tests. Significant differences were found between ministers of religion and mental health workers on most variables, with the greatest differences being evidenced between Pentecostal ministers of religion and psychiatrists. This suggests that mental health workers perceive religious clients as more mentally ill than ministers of religion do. However, no differences were found between mental health workers of different religious orientations according to the ROS and other measures of religiousness. This implies that mental health workers are not biased based on their own religious faith, but all mental health workers may be indiscriminately biased against religious individuals. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

(MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

This thesis presents a challenge to policy initiatives that presume that patient-centered care will reduce racial disparities in health. Data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were used to test patient assessment of provider behavior defined as patient-centered care according to the National Health Disparities Report of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the Department of Health and Human Services. Results indicated patient-centered care improves self-rated health status, but blacks still report worse health status than whites experiencing comparable patient-centered care. Further, black-white differences in patient-centered care had no affect on health status. Rival theories of black-white differences in health, including social class and health literacy, provided better explanations of disparities than assessment of provider behaviors. These findings suggest that policies designed to financially incentivize patient-centered care practices by providers should be considered with caution. While patient-centered care is better quality care, financial incentives could have a negative effect on minority health if providers are deterred from practices that serve disproportionate numbers of poor and less literate patients and their families. Measurement of the concept of patient-centered care in future health disparities research was also discussed.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ., 2008. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2002. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. Linköping : Univ., 2005. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1999. / Bibliography : leaves 322-339.