Chronic Myeloid Leukemia is a kind of blood cancer with around 1 incidence per 100 000 persons/year. After the development of an effective treatment, imatinib, in the late 1990:s, the survival percentage has increased drastically. The high survival has turned the attention to different kinds of treatment responses, which in turn are good prognostic factors to future health status. In this thesis, the focus is on whether or not the patient has achieved a so called major molecular response after 12 month, or not. More precisely, the aim is to find prognostic factors to the 12 month response. In order to find prognostic factors for this binary response variable, a multivariate logistic regression analysis is conducted, with the goal of finding a parsimonious logistic model that describes the data. The analysis is done from a merged dataset from three earlier studies. The prognostic factors in the final model are treatment, 3 month response, and enlarged spleen. However, the residual analysis indicates that the model is incomplete, implying that further research needs to be done.

Background: Women and men in Sweden are in paid work to almost the same extent, but are found in different occupations and positions in the labour market. Still, women perform the bulk of the unpaid domestic work at home. Gendered inequalities in these respects leave women and men exposed to different work environments and responsibilities, which in turn can have gendered health consequences. In public health research there is a lack of studies on domestic work that include women and men, as well as a lack of qualitative studies exploring individuals’ experiences of domestic work and mental health. At the workplace level, few attempts have been made to analyse how several dimensions of gender equality at workplaces are related to health status and there is a lack of studies with a contextual approach combining many different variables that are at play simultaneously. Because of the cross-sectional design of previous studies on paid and domestic work there is a lack of analyses taking possible health-related selection into account, which makes it difficult to ascertain whether gender equality leads to better health or if good health is a prerequisite for gender equality. Aim: The aim of this thesis was to analyse gender relations of work (at workplaces and at home) in relation to mental illness among women and men. Methods: The thesis was based on data from the Northern Swedish Cohort. The baseline survey was conducted in 1981 when the participants were 16 years old (n= 1080, 574 boys and 506 girls), with follow-up at age 18, 21, 30 and 42. The response rate was 94 % throughout the last follow-up in 2007. Data from the Northern Swedish Cohort were supplemented with register data about the employees at the participants’ workplaces. The analysis methods for the questionnaire and register data were logistic regression analysis and cluster analysis. Interviews were performed with four women and four men in the Northern Swedish Cohort and were analysed with a Grounded Theory approach. Results: Women had overall greater responsibility for domestic work. Gender inequality in responsibility for domestic work and perceptions of gender inequality in the couple relationship (after adjustments for background variables and previous psychological distress) were associated with psychological distress among women and men. However, among men the relation between domestic work inequalities and psychological distress was affected by socioeconomic position relative to the partner. Having less responsibility for domestic work and a partner with higher socioeconomic position was associated with psychological distress among men. The qualitative analysis showed that gender relations were an important part of how the domestic work was unequally organised and related to experiences of mental illness among women and men. Among women the high burden of domestic work was experienced as an obstacle to experiencing good health. Among men the experience of being trapped in an outmoded masculinity was related to feelings of stress. At the workplace level, patterns of gender inequality were associated with psychological distress among women, but not among men. However, the most gender-equal pattern was related to lower as well as more similar levels of mental illness among women and men, which supports a convergence in health when women’s and men’s work conditions become more similar. Conclusion: Gender equality at home and at work is central for reducing mental illness among both women and men, but also for achieving a good average health status in the population, which is a central public health target. When investigating social inequalities in health, gender perspectives are of great importance for deepening the understanding of how and why gender inequalities in paid and domestic work are related to mental illness. Integrating gender perspectives into public health policy could be a way to acknowledge power relations that hinder good public health. / Bakgrund: Kvinnor och män i Sverige yrkesarbetar i nästan samma sträckning, men återfinns i olika yrken och positioner på arbetsmarknaden. Samtidigt utför kvinnor merparten av det obetalda arbetet i hemmet. Könade orättvisor i dessa avseenden innebär att kvinnor och män utsätts för olika arbetsmiljöer och ansvarsområden, vilket kan medföra könade hälsokonsekvenser. Dock är det få folkhälsovetenskapliga studier om obetalt arbete i hemmet och hälsa som inkluderar både kvinnor och män. Det är också en brist på kvalitativa studier som undersöker individers upplevelser av det obetalda arbetet i hemmet och psykisk hälsa. På arbetsplatsnivå har det gjorts få försök att analysera hur olika dimensioner av jämställdhet på arbetsplatser är relaterade till hälsostatus, och det är en brist på studier med en kontextuell metod som tar hänsyn till hur flera olika variabler samspelar. Tidigare folkhälsovetenskapliga studier som undersökt förvärvsarbete och hemarbete har framförallt använt sig av en tvärsnittsdesign, vilket gjort det svårt att utreda riktningen av samband mellan jämställdhet och psykisk hälsa, det vill säga om jämställdhet leder till bättre hälsa eller om god hälsa är en förutsättning för jämställdhet. Syfte: Syftet med denna avhandling var att analysera genusrelationer i arbete (på arbetsplatser och i hemmet) i förhållande till självskattad psykisk ohälsa bland kvinnor och män. Metod: Avhandlingen bygger på data från Luleåkohorten. Baslinjeundersökningen genomfördes år 1981 då deltagarna var 16 år (n=1080, 574 pojkar och 506 flickor). Uppföljningar har genomförts vid 18, 21, 30 och 42 års ålder och svarsfrekvensen var 94% under det senaste uppföljningen år 2007. Data från Luleåkohorten kompletterades med registerdata om anställda på deltagarnas arbetsplatser. Analysmetoder för enkät- och registerdata var logistisk regressionsanalys och klusteranalys. Intervjuer har genomförts med fyra kvinnor och fyra män i kohorten och analyserats med grundad teori. Resultat: Kvinnor hade totalt sett ett större och män ett mindre ansvar för det obetalda arbetet i hemmet. Upplevelse av bristande jämställdhet i ansvar för obetalt arbete i hemmet och i parrelationen hade ett samband med psykisk ohälsa bland kvinnor och män (även efter justering för bakgrundsvariabler och tidigare psykisk ohälsa). Att ha mindre ansvar för det obetalda arbetet i hemmet och en partner med högre socioekonomisk klass hade även ett samband med psykisk ohälsa bland män. Den kvalitativa analysen visade att genusrelationer var en viktig del i en ojämställd organisering av hemarbete och relaterade till upplevelser av psykisk ohälsa bland kvinnor och män. En hög belastning av hemarbete var ett hinder för kvinnor att uppleva en god hälsa. Upplevelser av att vara instängd i en omodern maskulinitet innebar en stressfull situation bland män. Mönster av ojämställdhet på arbetsplatser hade ett samband med psykisk ohälsa för kvinnor, men inte för män. Däremot visade sig de mest jämställda arbetsplats-mönstern vara relaterade till lägre och mer liknande nivåer av psykisk ohälsa bland kvinnor och män, vilket stödjer en konvergens i hälsa när kvinnor och mäns arbetsplats förhållanden är likvärdiga. Slutsats: Jämställdhet på arbetsplatser och i hemmet är viktigt för att minska psykisk ohälsa både bland kvinnor och män, men också för att uppnå en god genomsnittlig hälsa i befolkningen, något som är ett centralt folkhälsomål. Vid analyser av social ojämlikhet i hälsa är genusperspektiv av stor betydelse för att fördjupa förståelsen om hur och varför ojämställdhet i på arbetsplatser och i hemmet är relaterat till psykisk ohälsa. Att integrera genusperspektiv i folkhälsopolicy kan vara ett sätt att ta hänsyn till de maktrelationer som förhindrar en god folkhälsa.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur olika aspekter av arbetslivet påverkar individen. Vår utgångspunkt i denna uppsats är att vi ställer oss kritiska till arbeten med högt självbestämmande som blir allt mer vanligt. Till vår hjälp har vi en mängd tidigare forskning samt kritisk teori och Foucaults teori om makt och övervakning som guidar oss i genom forskningsprocessen. Urvalet är baserat på tidigare statistik framtaget av ESS, som består av ett samarbete mellan 24 europeiska länder. Uppsatsen testar hur olika aspekter av arbetslivet påverkar gränsdragningen mellan arbete och fritid. Resultaten visar att ju högre grad av självbestämmande individen har i sitt arbete, desto mindre missnöjd är hon med tidsfördelning mellan arbete och fritid samt att en högre grad av självbestämmande även tenderar att skapa en oro hos individen på hennes fritid över arbetsrelaterade problem. Vår slutsats är att det finns goda skäl att vara uppmärksam på vad detta alltmer vanliga arbetssätt kan ställa till med för individen. / The purpose of this paper is to explore how different aspects of working life affect the individual. Our starting point in this paper is that we are critical of jobs with high autonomy that is becoming increasingly common. To assist us, we have a lot of previous research as well as critical theory and Foucault’s theory about power and surveillance that guides us through the research process. The selection is based on previous statistics produced by the ESS, which consists of a collaboration between 24 European countries. The essay test different aspects of paid work and its affect on work-life balance. The results show that the higher the degree of autonomy the individual has in his/her work, the less dissatisfied he/she is with time spent between work and leisure. A higher degree of autonomy does in fact lead to the individual worrying about work-related problems in his/her leisure time. Our conclusion is that there are good reasons to pay attention to what this increasingly common tendency can affect the individual.

This thesis examined the factors correlated with rapid and benign progression of disease in a group of 1452 Parkinsons disease (PD) patients. The data were collected in a movement disorders clinic at the Royal University Hospital, University of Saskatchewan run by Dr. Alex Rajput and Dr. Ali Rajput. This data is a clinical dataset of PD patients collected from 1970 through to February, 2005. This was a retrospective cases-only study, with anticipated analytical follow-up if any correlations were detected between progression type of PD and the many independent variables available in the dataset. <p>Rapid progression was defined as those subjects who reached Hoehn and Yahr stage 3 within three years or H&Y stage 4 or 5 within five years. Subjects who remained in Hoehn and Yahr stage 1 or 2, ten years after onset of disease, were defined as having benign progression. The study analyzed demographic and clinical findings at first visit to this clinic associated with rapid and benign progression of PD. <p> Analysis revealed that, at first clinic visit, benign progression was positively associated with disease duration (OR=1.41; 95% CI 1.27, 1.57), male sex (OR=3.23; 95% CI 1.70, 6.16), and current smoking habit (OR=2.33; 95% CI 0.67, 8.11). Benign progression was negatively associated with older age of onset (OR=0.36; 95% CI 0.25, 0.50), past history of smoking (OR=0.46; 95% CI 0.24, 0.89), current or past use of levodopa (OR=0.45; 95% CI 0.21, 0.98), and mild to severe rigidity (OR=0.43; 95% CI 0.23, 0.80). <p>Analysis also revealed that, at first clinic visit, rapid progression was positively associated with older age of onset (OR=2.45; 95% CI 1.80, 3.33) and mild to severe rigidity (OR=1.73; 95% CI 1.02, 2.94). Rapid progression was negatively associated with disease duration (OR=0.52; 95% CI 0.44, 0.62), male sex (OR=0.58; CI 0.35, 0.95), and mild to severe resting tremor (OR=0.47; CI 0.28, 0.77). <p>The results of this study indicate that age of onset, disease duration, male sex, and rigidity are good potential predictors of disease progression in PD because they have opposite associations with rapid and benign progression. History of levodopa use was negatively associated with benign progression and as such may be good indicator of non-benign progression. Although previous studies found no predictive value for smoking history, the current study reported a unique association between smoking history and benign progression. Past smoking history was negatively associated with benign progression. While there was a positive association with current smoking history, the result was not statistically significant. Resting tremor was negatively associated with rapid progression and as such may be a good indicator of non-rapid progression. <p> Disease characteristics collected at first clinic visit are useful in predicting the course of progression of PD. With more rapid progression of PD closer and more frequent follow-up of patients may be necessary.

Many patient-level barriers to more effective post-fracture osteoporosis (OP) management are associated with patients’ perceptions of their bone health and the link between their fracture and OP. These barriers could be addressed by interventions which account for the role of patients’ perceptions, such as those based on theories of behaviour change. This thesis had two objectives: to review the literature and determine whether these theories have been integrated in post-fracture OP management and to examine patients’ awareness of the OP-fracture link. The results showed that theories of behaviour change have not been integrated into post-fracture interventions, that most patients do not perceive the OP-fracture link even after a baseline intervention and that two baseline factors predict who is less likely to make the OP-fracture link at follow up. Based on these findings, modifications to current OP interventions were proposed and guidance that could help create new, patient-centered interventions was provided.

Many patient-level barriers to more effective post-fracture osteoporosis (OP) management are associated with patients’ perceptions of their bone health and the link between their fracture and OP. These barriers could be addressed by interventions which account for the role of patients’ perceptions, such as those based on theories of behaviour change. This thesis had two objectives: to review the literature and determine whether these theories have been integrated in post-fracture OP management and to examine patients’ awareness of the OP-fracture link. The results showed that theories of behaviour change have not been integrated into post-fracture interventions, that most patients do not perceive the OP-fracture link even after a baseline intervention and that two baseline factors predict who is less likely to make the OP-fracture link at follow up. Based on these findings, modifications to current OP interventions were proposed and guidance that could help create new, patient-centered interventions was provided.

During 2012, the employer of this essay carried out a telephone survey with 18000 participants and a web panel survey with 708 participants. Those who partook in the telephone survey were given a choice to join the web panel. The purpose of this work is to study the participants of the telephone survey and see if they reflect the Swedish population with regards to several socio-demographic factors. Also, we intend to investigate if the propensity to join the web panel differs for participants of the telephone survey with regards to various socio-demographic affiliations. It is also of interest to study if the response pattern is different for participants of the telephone survey that would like to join the web panel and those who reject. A comparison of response pattern between the telephone survey and web panel survey has also been done, to see if there exist any differences for these two groups of surveys. The statistical methods used in this essay are descriptive statistics, multiple logistic regression and decision trees. Conclusions to be drawn with result from these methods are that the participants from the telephone survey do reflect the Swedish population regarding certain socio-demographic factors and that there is a slight difference in propensity to join the web panel for people which have dissimilar socio-demographic affiliation. It has also been found that there is a slight difference in response pattern for participants who would or would not like to join the web panel, as well as differences in response pattern also exist between the telephone survey and the web panel survey.

The main goal of this study is to seek the effects of some risk and prognostic factors contributing to survival of female invasive breast cancer in United States. The study presents the survival analysis for the adult female invasive breast cancer based on the datasets chosen from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program of National Cancer Institute (NCI). In this study, the Cox proportional hazard regression model and logistic regression model were employed for statistical analysis. The odds ratios (OR), hazard ratios (HR) and confidence interval (C.I.) were obtained for the risk and prognosis factors. The study results showed that some risk and prognosis factors, such as the demographic factors (race and age), social and family factor (marital status), biomedical factors (tumor size, disease stage, tumor markers and tumor cell differentiation level etc.) and type of treatment patients received had significant effects on survival of the female invasive breast cancer patients.

Background: It is debated whether temporary employment compared to permanent employment entails an elevated risk of illness or not, as the empirical studies have not shown a unified picture. Since a significant part of the Swedish workforce is currently working under temporary employment contracts, it is important for public health research to pay close attention to what the implications in terms of illness might be. Therefore the aim of this thesis was to explore the relationship between temporary employment and illness. Methods: This thesis was based on data from the Northern Swedish Cohort, consisting of all pupils in grade 9 in Luleå in 1981 (n=1083). The cohort was followed with extensive questionnaires. The latest follow-up was performed in year 2007, when 94% participated. To analyse the quantitative questionnaire data, logistic regression and trajectory analysis were used. A qualitative method, Grounded Theory, was also applied in this thesis to analyse interviews performed in 2011, with a strategic selection of 12 participants from the cohort. Results: Quantitative data showed that temporary employees had overall higher odds ratios for illness in terms of psychological distress and non-optimal self-rated health compared to permanent employees. This general difference in odds ratios was evident irrespective of how temporary employment was measured as well as after control for earlier health status and confounders. The qualitative analysis gained insight into temporary employment as social processes of: underling the driving force for employment; working hard for a job. The structural conditions emerged in terms of, being used and exploited on the labour market and these conditions were related to the individual strategies of adaptation and coping. In the intersection of agency, structural conditions and adaption, emotional and bodily reactions emerged, such as being worn out, worried and wrathful. Conclusion: Illness is unevenly distributed between temporary and permanent employees, with temporary employees being the unfavourable group. Striving for good and evenly distributed health conditions in the population, policy makers should aim at reducing the number of employees working in temporary contracts. In addition, there is a need to improve surveillance of the health situation among temporary employees and to reduce unfavourable conditions, such as job and financial insecurity and unemployment, among temporary employees.

The objective of this master thesis is to identify “key-drivers” embedded in customer satisfaction data. The data was collected by a large transportation sector corporation during five years and in four different countries. The questionnaire involved several different sections of questions and ranged from demographical information to satisfaction attributes with the vehicle, dealer and several problem areas. Various regression, correlation and cooperative game theory approaches were used to identify the key satisfiers and dissatisfiers. The theoretical and practical advantages of using the Shapley value, Canonical Correlation Analysis and Hierarchical Logistic Regression has been demonstrated and applied to market research.