Organizations spend significant amounts of money to address low job satisfaction. As much as 16.5% of an organization's pretax income is lost due to employee withdrawal behaviors, with 27% of that amount associated with turnover. Building on the quality of working life theory, this single-site case study took place at a for-profit university located in the Midwest United States to understand the role that work-life balance programs play in employee job satisfaction. The population consisted of 6 front-line admissions managers, as that population was appropriate for understanding the work-life balance strategies college officials use to improve the job satisfaction of admissions representatives. The data collection process consisted of semistructured interviews, a review of observational field notes, and a review of employee surveys. Based on methodological triangulation of the data sources and analysis of the data, 3 emergent themes were identified. Participants indicated that both autonomy and flexibility contributed to employee job satisfaction, which the quality of working life theory and existing research on the subject supports. Participants also indicated that the manager-employee relationship was fundamental to improving job satisfaction, which was a finding outside of the scope of the conceptual framework used in the study. Social change implications include improving policy makers and business leaders' understanding of the role that work-life balance plays in job satisfaction. Employees will also find the results of this study informative when attempting to understand how work-life balance programs may contribute to the level of satisfaction they experience with their jobs.

The overall aim of this thesis is to illuminate meanings of the relation between human beings, technology and care, as narrated by critical care nurses and people in need of home mechanical ventilation (HMV). The data are based on narrative research interviews with six intensive care nurses (I), 13 people who were about to start HMV (II), these 13 people were interviewed for a second time six to eight months after HMV had started (III), and nine persons with more than two years HMV experience (IV). The text was analysed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic research method as described by Lindseth and Norberg. The method is developed from the writings of the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur. The findings illuminate meanings of nursing care in an intensive care unit (I) as undertaking the role of advocacy as a caring response to another human being. The basic condition for this caring response depends on the nurses' openness and sensitivity to the needs of patients or patients' next of kin. The nurses were aware of the influence of technology and tried to modify its negative effects. Meanings of becoming dependent on HMV (II) are interpreted and metaphorically expressed as "to get one's breath" and "to hold one's breath" respectively. On the one hand, breathing ensures the cellular oxidation process within the body, but on the other hand there can be "shortness of breath" in "spiritual breathing", and starting HMV will influence patients' whole life situation, body and spirit. After using a ventilator six to eight months, meanings of a life dependent on a ventilator was interpretd as either a closure or an opening of the lived body to oneself, other people and the world. This interpretation is illustrated by two images. A life on a ventilator at home is not to be seen as static being. On the contrary, it is a being which moves and changes over time. Being dependent on a ventilator and living at home, as narrated by adults with more than two years of HMV experience (IV), was interpreted as being able to rise above yourself and your personal boundaries in order to live a good life. These meanings are bound up with experiencing a vital force and interdependency, and despite fragility being able to reach others and the outside world. Design and function of technology had an impact on the lived body. The comprehensive understanding of the four articles (I-IV) unfolded meanings of the relation between human beings, technology and care, as an interchange and a creation of physical and spiritual energy among humans and between human and technology. It could be an experience of the lived body being filled with as well as emptied of energy. This interpretation points at a call for the caring personnel to be attentive and to listen to the voices of the lived body in health and illness, and to bear witness to those who suffer. Technology acts between the person and the world and in order to be embodied, technology must be "transparent", i.e. beautiful and fit to its use.

As a point of departure, this thesis is motivated by the big changes which have taken place in most Western European countries since the 1970s, with an increase in female labour market participation and, to some extent, men’s increased share of the domestic work. There is also a debate as to whether France, having a fairly extensive family support,should be categorised as closer to the Scandinavian countries or together with countries with more restrictive family policy such as Italy and Germany, and thus belonging to the conservative regime cluster as defined by Gösta Esping-Andersen. The major topic of this thesis concerns what expectations parents have on childcare and how they experience the combination of care of children and participation in paid work. Two studies, based on quantitative macro-data, analyse and compare differences in primarily women’s employment in relation to family policy measures. The studies concern in addition to France and Sweden, also Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom. The results indicate that the extensive family support system brings France closer to the Scandinavian countries. However, results based on 80 interviews made with 40 French and 40 Swedish families in the three following studies indicate that this may not be the case concerning factors like attitudes and values about the care of children and the reconciliation of work and family. Results indicate that values expressed in the French families point to a strong connection with values significant for countries in the conservative regime cluster. Major findings are that in the reconciliation of work and family, Swedes experience role stress more than French people, and in particular Swedish fathers. In France, on the other hand, mothers strongly express a feeling of dissatisfaction with their partner’s lack of participation in the household work. Regarding the attitudes to the paid parental leave (allocation parentale d’éducation- APE), French families’ arguments reflect that the policy does not promote fathers’ use of paid parental leave, and French mothers more than Swedish mothers refer to the weaker labour market situation as a reason for their use of the leave. Concerning expectations on childcare, French families more than Swedish families stress the importance of ‘upbringing,’ ‘learning’ and ‘socialisation,’ whereas Swedish families emphasise ‘pedagogy’ and that the staff recognises the individual child.

The conditions of parenthood are affected by several factors, such as access to social support and parenting support, but also the parent's self-efficacy. In addition to these factors, foreign-born parents risk being affected by difficulties in adapting parenthood to the cultural and normative differences that exist between their home country and Sweden. They can therefore be seen as a group where society's offer of parenting support is particularly important.The aim of the study was to investigate how group leaders experience that the parental support program Parenting in Sweden can promote parental self-efficacy. The method was qualitative with an inductive approach where the purposeful sampling was supplemented with snowball sampling. The interviews were conducted in semi-structured form and analysed based on a manifest qualitative content analysis.The results showed that group leaders have positive experiences of the parental support programs’ promotive ability. On the other hand, the short duration of the programme is seen as an obstacle. The conclusions were that the parenting support program has the potential to promote parental self-efficacy through access to social support, the knowledge enhancing approach and the opportunity to improve the relationship between parents and their children. / Förutsättningarna i föräldraskapet påverkas av en rad faktorer, såsom tillgången till socialt stöd och föräldraskapsstöd men också förälderns självtillit. Utrikesfödda föräldrar riskerar att utöver dessa faktorer också påverkas av svårigheter att anpassa föräldraskapet till de kulturella och normativa skillnaderna som finns mellan hemlandet och Sverige. De kan därför ses som en grupp där samhällets erbjudande om föräldraskapsstöd är särskilt viktigt.Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur gruppledare upplever att föräldraskapsstödsprogrammet Föräldraskap i Sverige kan främja självtillit i föräldraskapet. Metoden var kvalitativ med induktiv ansats där det målstyrda urvalet kompletterats med snöbollsurval. Intervjuerna genomfördes i semistrukturerad form och analyserades utifrån en manifest kvalitativ innehållsanalys.Resultatet visade att gruppledare har positiva upplevelser av föräldraskapsstödsprogrammets främjade förmåga. Däremot ses programmets korta varaktighet som en hindrande faktor. Slutsatserna var att föräldraskapsstödsprogrammet har förutsättningar att främja självtilliten i föräldraskapet genom tillgången till socialt stöd, det kunskapshöjande tillvägagångssättet och möjlighet att förbättra relationen mellan föräldrarna och deras barn.

The purpose of this study was to understand how a sense of belonging contributes to graduation persistence among nontraditional Hispanic college students. The collectivist culture among these adult learners often results in family and work obligations that curtail their pursuit of higher education. The voices of these students are mostly absent in the current literature and warrant the current research study. Sense of belonging and retention theory formed the conceptual framework for this phenomenological study. A purposeful sample of 16 nontraditional Hispanic students enrolled in a 2-year community college in Southwest Texas participated in interviews. Data analysis focused on themes from the participants' responses to a series of open-ended questions. Four themes emerged: financial difficulties, college schedules, flexibility in work-school schedule, and family obligations. From the perspectives of these students, their basic needs did not differ from the needs of the traditional college students enrolled in 2-year community college; however, they perceived their access to the college's resources and services seemed to be greater than that of traditional students. These findings suggest that, in order to support nontraditional Hispanic students, institutions must provide access to support services beyond the business-hour model.

Bakgrund: Kvinnlig könsstympning är ett kirurgiskt ingrepp i de kvinnliga genitalierna som av tradition utövas idag i flera delar av världen. Traditionen är vanlig i flera delar av Afrika, Asien och Mellanöstern och på grund av migration är det allt fler könsstympade kvinnor som bor i västvärlden. Kvinnlig könsstympning strider mot de mänskliga rättigheterna och den svensk lagstiftningen mot kvinnlig könsstympning. Könsstympning har inget medicinskt syfte och medför hälsorisker såväl som kortvariga och långvariga hälsoproblem som exempelvis förblödning, infektioner, menstruations- och miktionsproblematik. Problemformulering: För att kunna ge ett gott bemötande och en god omvårdnad till dessa kvinnor behöver sjuksköterskor i Sverige ha en djupare förståelse och större kunskap om detta fenomen. Syfte: Att belysa kvinnors upplevelser efter könsstympning. Metod: En litteraturöversikt som bygger på tio kvalitativa artiklar, söktes i databaserna Cinahl Complete, Medline och Pubmed. Datan analyserades med inspiration från Fribergs (2017) kvalitativ innehållsanalysmetod. Resultat: Insamlat data analyserades utifrån fyra teman. (1) Fysiska och psykiska följder (2) Att uthärda lidande och skam (3) Att upprätthålla familjens heder (4) Upplevelser vid mötet av vårdpersonal. Slutsats: Kvinnlig könsstympning konstateras vara ett folkhälsoproblem i Sverige. Traditionen utövas runt om i världen och medför stora hälsoproblem. Kunskapsbristen har en stor påverkan på kvinnornas vårdprocess och väg till välbefinnande. Detta beror till stor del på vårdpersonalens bristande kompetens och förståelse av fenomenet. Som resultat har kvinnor svårigheter med att kommunicera och dela med sig av sina problem, vilket har präglat och påverkat deras vardagliga liv negativt. Vårdpersonalen kan undvika detta genom att erhålla relevant information och kunskap om ingreppet och kulturen runt kvinnlig könsstympning, då det är ett vanligt förekommande och ett väsentligt ämne. / Background: Female genital mutilation is a traditional procedure concerning the female genitalia that is practiced today in several parts of the world. The tradition is common in several parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East and due to migration, an increasing number of women with genital mutilation are living in the western world. Female genital mutilation is in opposition to human rights and the Swedish law against female genital mutilation (SFS 1982:316). Genital mutilation has no medical reasons and imposes health risks such as short and long-term health problems, for example: bleeding, infections, menstrual and urinary problems. Problem formulation: In order to be able to encounter and treat women affected by female genital mutilation properly, nurses in Sweden need to have a deeper understanding and knowledge of this phenomenon. Purpose: To illuminate women's experiences of problems after genital mutilation. Method: A literature study based on ten qualitative articles. (Keywords: Female genital mutilation, experiences and health/health problems) were used to search on the following databases Cinahl Complete, Medline and Pubmed. The analysis was inspired by Friberg's (2017) description of qualitative content analysis. Results: Four themes emerged from the analysis. (1) Physical and mental consequences (2) To endure suffering and shame (3) Maintaining the family honor (4) Experiences when meeting healthcare professionals. Conclusion: Female genital mutilation is found to be a public health problem in Sweden. The tradition is practiced around the world and can cause serious health problems. The lack of knowledge has a major impact on the women's care process and path to well-being as the healthcare professional’s care competence and understanding of female genital mutilation was found to be minimal. This has resulted in women's difficulty communicating and sharing their problems that affected their daily lives. Healthcare professionals can avoid this by obtaining relevant information and knowledge about the procedure as female genital mutilation is an essential subject.

Bakgrund: Bröstcancer drabbar cirka 9000 kvinnor varje år i Sverige. Kvinnor drabbas både psykisk och fysiskt. Beroende på vilket stadium man är i livet hanterar kvinnor bröstcancerdiagnoser på olika sätt. Som sjuksköterska är det viktigt att se hela patienten för att kunna skapa en god vårdrelation och ge god vård. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser av vårdpersonalen bemötande vid bröstcancer. Metod: Litteraturöversikten har utförts av tio kvalitativa vetenskapliga  studier som analyserats enligt Fribergs beskrivning av sammanställning av kvalitativ forskning. Vetenskapliga artiklar var hämtade från CINAHL Complete och Pubmed och har analyserats och delats upp i teman. Resultat: I resultatet presenteras fyra teman utifrån tio artiklar (1) Att känna stöd från vårdpersonal (2) Att känna sig ensam i sin sjukdom (3) Att känna sig informerad (4) Kvinnors behov av kommunikation. Slutsats: Kvinnor med bröstcancers känsla av delaktighet och trygghet påverkas av vårdpersonalens bemötande. Vårdpersonalens förmåga att inkludera och integrera med patienten i kombination med kommunikationen är viktig för att främja vård upplevelsen och ge kvinnor med bröstcancer hopp och trygghet. / Background: Breast cancer affects about 9,000 women each year in Sweden. Women are affected both mentally and physically. Depending on the stage you are in in life, women handle breast cancer diagnoses in different ways. As a nurse, it is important to see the whole patient in order to create a good care relationship and to provide good care. Aim: The purpose was to describe women's experiences of healthcare professionls treatment of breast cancer. Method: The literature review that has been performed by ten qualitative scientific studies that have been analyzed according to Friberg's description of a compilation of qualitative research. Scientific articles were taken from CINAHL Complete and Pubmed and have been analyzed and divided into themes. Results: The result present four themes based on ten articles (1) Feeling supported by healthcare professionals (2) Feeling alone in their illness (3) Feeling informed (4) Women's need for communication. Conclusion: Breast cancer patient’s feeling of inclusion and safety depends on how they are received by health care professionals. Their ability to integrate with the patient and maintain healthy communication is paramount to further their experience and to give women with breast cancer hope and stability. Breast neoplasms, professional-patient relations, communication, qualitative studies, literature review, nurse-patient relations.

Abstract Every year the Swedish police handle 25,000 reports on missing people. A majority of those gone missing come back home, without the need of outside assistance. For some, help is critical, and many don’t even know that they are missing. These people are persons with dementia and a large percentage of them go missing in Sweden´s largest city, Stockholm. Searching for a person with dementia in a sprawling city creates its own set of obstacles and requires a certain skill from the police in order to execute assistance.   The result of the study is based on interviews with experienced police officers from the  Stockholm police force and their experience of searching for missing persons with dementia in an urban environment. The results of this study indicate that the Managing Search Operations, or “EFP-metoden” in Swedish, is a search method that works when the police search for a person with dementia in an urban environment. Why the method works can`t be explained and the reason is that there is lack of research and verified statistics in the research area of persons gone missing.  This indicates that there is a need of more research studies about people gone missing for the Swedish “EFP-metoden” to develop.    This study is done as a quality interview study and the study has been done to develop new information to the study of missing people who have dementia and to give suggestions to future research data in this field of study.

Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskeyrket är ett utsatt yrke där stress är vanligt förekommande. Om sjuksköterskan utsätts för långvarig stress kan det leda till utbrändhet och sjukskrivningar enligt Socialstyrelsen (2017). Det är väsentligt att undersöka vilka bakomliggande orsaker sjuksköterskor upplever vara anledningen till deras psykiska ohälsa och vilka konsekvenser det kan leda till både för sjuksköterskorna och omgivningen. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa sjuksköterskors upplevelser av arbetsrelaterad egenrapporterad psykisk ohälsa. Metod: En litteraturstudie som baserades på tio kvalitativa artiklar. Databaserna som användes var Cinahl och Pubmed. Samtliga artiklar kvalitetsgranskades med SBU:s kvalitetsgranskningsmall och dataanalysen utfördes med Popenoe m.fl. dataanalysmetod. Resultat: Resultatet som framkommer är att sjuksköterskorna är utsatta för hög arbetsbelastning, underbemanning och organisatoriska problem. Sammanställningen av artiklarna gav tre huvudkategorier som bakomliggande orsaker till sjuksköterskors arbetsrelaterade psykiska ohälsa. Dessa bakomliggande faktorer presenteras i följande huvudkategorier: Brister i organisationen, Höga förväntningar på sjuksköterskor och Svåra situationer i arbetet. Utifrån dessa uppkom även följande underkategorier: Bristande ledarskap, Hög arbetsbelastning, Stress på arbetsplatsen, Underbemanning, Traumatiska och komplexa patientfall samt Utanförskap på arbetsplatsen. Konklusion: Sjuksköterskan upplever arbetsrelaterad psykisk ohälsa främst på grund av organisatoriska faktorer, traumatiska patientfall samt kollegiala problem på arbetsplatsen. Arbetsrelaterad psykisk ohälsa kan påverka sjuksköterskors kvalitet på arbetet. Sjuksköterskor upplevde även höga krav från omgivningen, vilket skapade en upplevelse av negativ stress både i arbetet och privat. / Background: Being a nurse is a vulnerable profession where stress is common. If a nurse is exposed to prolonged stress, it can lead to burnout and sick leave for nurses, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare (2017). It is essential to investigate the underlying causes that nurses perceive as reasons for their mental health problems and the consequences it can have for both nurses and their surroundings. Objective: The purpose of the literature review was to shed light on nurses' experiences of work-related self-reported mental illness. Method: The literature study is based on ten qualitative articles. The databases used were CINAHL and PubMed. All articles were quality assessed using the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment, and Assessment of Social Services (SBU) quality assessment tool. Data analysis was conducted using Popenoe et al.'s data analysis method. Results: The results reveal that nurses are exposed to high workloads, understaffing, and organizational problems. The compilation of the articles yielded three main categories as underlying causes of nurses' work-related mental health problems. These underlying factors are presented in the following main categories: Organizational deficiencies, High expectations on nurses and Difficult situations at work. Based on these, the following subcategories also emerged: Deficient leadership, High workloads, Workplace stress, Understaffing, Traumatic and complex patient cases and Workplace exclusion. Conclusion: Nurses primarily experience work-related mental health problems due to organizational factors, traumatic patient cases, and collegial issues in the workplace. Work- related mental health problems can affect nurses' work quality. Nurses also experience high demands from their environment, which creates a perception of negative stress both at work and in their personal lives.

According to the United States Department of Education, approximately 4,172,347 four year olds are eligible to attend publicly funded preschool programs. Of this number, only 1,709,607 of those eligible are enrolled in a publicly funded preschool program (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Because of a lack of quantitative and qualitative data regarding parents' positive and negative attitudes and beliefs about preschool, misconceptions arise regarding parental decisions to support or not to support their child's academic, social and emotional development prior to kindergarten. In a large urban district in the southeastern part of the United States, this qualitative phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of 12 parents, six of whom elected and six of whom did not elect to send their children to preschool, and the lived experiences that contributed to those decisions. Unanswered questions linger about why so few children attend preschool. Further, the study examined the relationship between parent attitudes and beliefs about preschool and whether or not their lived experiences contributed to their perceptions of the values of preschool. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Glasser's (1998) concept of an individual's quality world. Data were collected from initial and follow up interviews. Moustakas' (1994) modified van Kaam (2011) method was used to analyze the data, including listing and preliminary grouping, reduction and elimination, clustering and thematizing, and for a final identification of the invariant constituents and themes. Findings from the study revealed that participants encountered both positive and negative experiences that contributed to their decisions about preschool. Participants also believed that academic readiness skills, social emotional development, and parental involvement were values of preschool. / Ed. D.