Syftet med följande studie var att undersöka yrkesverksammas upplevelser av möjliga riskfaktorer till mäns våld mot kvinnor i relation till den socio-ekologiska modellen. En kvalitativ intervjustudie genomfördes och fem yrkesverksamma från relevanta organisationer deltog. Teman som identifierades i studien jämfördes med de olika nivåerna från den socio-ekologiska modellen och med tidigare forskning på området. I studien kunde tre av de fyra nivåerna från den socio-ekologiska modellen återfinnas som självständiga teman och den fjärde nivån återfanns som en underliggande faktor i samtliga teman. Resultatet visade även att de yrkesverksamma upplever att det finns personlighetsdrag som karaktäriserar män som utövar våld mot kvinnor men att männen ändå skiljer sig från varandra. Mäns våld mot kvinnor finns i alla samhällsklasser och miljöer vilket gör det svårt att identifiera vilka män som har denna typ av problematik. För att våldet ska minska krävs tidigt förebyggande arbete samt krafttag i hela samhället kring de rådande maskulinitetsnormerna. Vidare behövs mer forskning på hur de män som inte lagförs eller frivilligt söker behandling kan upptäckas samt motiveras till behandling för sin problematik. / The purpose of following study was to examine professional’s experiences of potential risk factors to men's violence against women in relation to the socio ecological model. A qualitative interview study was conducted and five professionals from different organizations participated. Themes identified in the study were compared with different levels from the socio-economic model and with previous research in the field. In the present study, three out of four levels from the socio-ecological model were found as independent themes and the fourth level was found as an underlying factor in all themes. The results also showed that the professionals found personality traits that characterize men who use violence against women, but that the men still differ from each other. Men's violence against women exists in all social classes and environments, which makes it difficult to identify which men that have this type of problem. For the violence to decrease, early preventive work and effort are required throughout society and the current masculinity standards. More research is needed about how men who are not prosecuted or voluntarily seeking treatment can be discovered and motivated to treat their problems.

Background Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic presented major difficulties for many self-employed people because it caused pressures such as decreased customer demand, production stagnation, disruptions in supply chains and increased uncertainty. The vast amount of the studies of self-employed people during the pandemic have focused on traditional pathogenic effects. Hence, overall aim of this thesis is to explore how self-employed people experienced and used internal and external salutogenic resources to navigate the pandemic, from a business challenge and an individual well-being perspective.  Methods Different methods of data collection and analysis were employed in the thesis. For study I, a qualitative design was used to explore whether a sense of coherence was experienced, and any general resistance resources were used by small business managers in Sweden and Norway during the pandemic. For study II, a cross-sectional quantitative design was employed to investigate the well-being of self-employed people in Europe during the pandemic and whether their well-being was influenced by factors representing four socio-ecological levels. Lastly, study III applied a mixed-method design including comparative policy analysis and interviews to gain an understanding of how different governmental financial support measures aimed to aid the resilience of Swedish and Canadian self-employed people and improve their ability to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Study I was analysed through a deductive content analysis, study II was analysed using independent sample t-tests, correlations and linear regression, and study III used comparative policy analysis and inductive content analysis.  Results Findings from the interviews in study I demonstrated that it was important for the participants to comprehend and manage challenges during the pandemic in a resourceful manner, and to see meaningfulness in their situations. In study II, the findings highlight that the socio-ecological factors of resilience, social support, doing useful work and experiencing rules as clear affected the self-employed people’s well-being, and that these factors may be even more important for those who had difficulties running their business. Study III found that self-employed people in both Sweden and Canada who 10 were unable to telework were relatively less resilient during the pandemic. The interviews revealed that many self-employed people in hard-hit industries were dissatisfied with government financial support measures and found them to be unfairly distributed. In addition, the self-employed people who experienced difficulties running their businesses reported reduced well-being, which had a negative effect on their business survival.  Conclusion  While the three studies in this thesis had different foci, they collectively provide insights into the internal and external salutogenic resources that influenced how self-employed people navigated the pandemic. A sense of coherence, resilience and well-being were deemed important for handling the pandemic well, for both the individuals and their businesses. The research also indicated the interconnectedness between self-employed people and their businesses. For instance, financial difficulties may lead to increased stress and pressure to make decisions to sustain the business. Reduced well-being, in turn, made it harder to adapt and adjust positively to adversity. The importance of supporting factors at multiple socio-ecological levels was also highlighted, and these may be particularly important to those who had difficulties running their businesses.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT : It has been suggested that the complex needs of children with neurodevelopmental disorders are best addressed with a family-centred approach. As this approach has been increasingly incorporated into healthcare systems over recent years, most children with disabilities are now able to remain at home as opposed to living in institutions or group homes. Many parents have thus been forced to adopt the role of a primary caregiver for their child that has been diagnosed with a disability or chronic condition. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of caregivers for children with cerebral palsy in rural communities of the Western Cape, with a specific focus on the barriers and facilitators that they encounter. An exploratory qualitative design was employed and 15 individuals (aged 27-62), who were identified as caregivers for a child with cerebral palsy through purposive sampling were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and generate themes from the semi-structured interviews that were conducted with participants. A number of barriers to caring emerged including the personal consequences of caregiving, difficulty adjusting to caregiving duties, environmental conditions, lack of access to healthcare services, lack of respite services, and negative perceptions towards disability. Various facilitators to caring were also identified, namely personal coping methods, personal transformation, social support, relationship with one’s child, community resources, child’s crèche, and financial assistance. The five levels of the Social Ecological Model were used to conceptualise the discussion of these findings and links were made to the existing literature on the caregiver experience in the developing context. In this process it was found that participants often encountered similar barriers and facilitators to caregivers for individuals with other types of conditions, such as HIV/AIDS, autism, mental illness, cancer, and neurological disorders. This could suggest that caregivers residing in developing countries share similar experiences, regardless of the condition of the care receiver. Although participants received support from a number of sources that aided them with their caregiving duties, it is evident that they still encountered gaps in the provision of a number of important services, including lack of information from healthcare professionals, lack of community programs to reduce stress and promote empowerment, and lack of disability-friendly facilities. It is vital that caregivers have access to these services to ensure their child’s well-being as well as their own. There is thus a need to explore how these services can be made more accessible to caregivers in rural communities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Daar word voorgestel dat die komplekse behoeftes van kinders met neuro-ontwikkelingsversteurings die beste aangespreek word deur ‘n familie-gefokusde benadering. Aangesien hierdie benadering meer geredelik geïnkorporeer is in die gesondheidsorg sisteem oor die afgelope paar jaar is meeste kinders met gestremdhede nou in staat om by die huis te kan bly in plaas daarvan om in inrigtings of groepshuise te woon. Baie ouers is dus geforseer om die rol as primêre versorger aan te neem vir hulle kind wat gediagnoseer is met ‘n gestremdheid of kroniese toestand. Hierdie studie se doel was om die ervarings van versorgers van kinders met serebrale gestremdheid in landelike gemeenskappe van die Wes-Kaap, te ondersoek, met ‘n spesifieke fokus op die hindernisse en fasiliteerders wat hulle ondervind. ‘n Ondersoekende kwalitatiewe ontwerp is gebruik en onderhoude is gevoer met 15 individue (ouderdomme 27-62) wat deur doelgerigte steekproefneming geïdentifiseer is as versorgers van ‘n kind met serebrale gestremdheid. Tematiese analise is gebruik om die semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude wat met die deelnemers gevoer is te analiseer en temas te genereer. ‘n Aantal van die hindernisse tot versorging het na vore gekom en sluit die persoonlike gevolge van versorging, probleme om aan te pas by die versorgingspligte, omgewingstoestande, tekort aan toegang tot gesondheidsorg dienste, tekort aan verligting dienste en negatiewe persepsies teenoor gestremdhede in. Verskeie fasiliteerders tot versorging is ook geïdentifiseer, naamlik persoonlike hanteringsmetodes, persoonlike transformasie, sosiale ondersteuning, verhouding met hulle kind, gemeenskapsfasiliteerders, kind se speelskool en finansiële hulp. Die vyf vlakke van die Sosiale Ekologiese Model is gebruik om die bespreking van hierdie bevindinge te konseptualiseer en verbintenisse is gemaak met bestaande literatuur wat handel oor die versorger se ervaring in die ontwikkellende konteks. In hierdie proses is gevind dat deelnemers dikwels dieselfde hindernisse en fasiliteerders ondervind as versorgers van individue met ander tipe toestande, soos MIV/VIGS, outisme, geestesiektes, kanker en neurologiese versteurings. Dit kan moontlik beteken dat versorgers wat in ontwikkellende lande woord dieselfde ervarings deel, ten spyte van die toestand van die persoon wat die versorging ontvang. Alhoewel deelnemers ondersteuning van ʼn aantal bronne ontvang het wat hulle help met hulle versorgingspligte, is dit duidelik dat hulle steeds gapings ervaar in die voorsiening van ʼn aantal belangrike dienste, insluitende ʼn tekort aan inligting van gesondheidsorg werkers, ʼn tekort aan gemeenskapsprogramme om stres verligting en bemagtiging te bevorder en ʼn tekort aan gestremdheid-vriendelike fasiliteite. Dit is baie belangrik dat versorgers toegang het tot hierdie dienste om die welstand van hulle kind en hulself te verseker. Daar is dus ʼn behoefte om te ondersoek hoe hierdie dienste meer toegangklik gemaak kan word vir versorgers in landelike gemeenskappe.

A higher level of education increases the chances of getting work, therefore, this can improve the socio-economic status and social position. Besides, higher education ensures improved health by providing fundamental health knowledge. Completing high school even with low grades increases the chances of getting a job, whereas, unemployment is three times more common among the students with incomplete high school education which leads to low socio-economic status and an unhealthy lifestyle in the long run. This study aims to gain a better understanding of high school students’ perspectives living in Västerås and Eskilstuna regarding meaningful leisure activities and perceived quality of education from their school which may lead to complete high school education. This study will also investigate whether there are any associations between membership in sports and perceived quality of education by adolescents at different gender and socio-economic levels. A cross-sectional study design was applied in this study. The result shows there are many available outdoor activities where the adolescents live to spend their leisure, among them parks are the most reported (314, 58%); walking and cycling paths, running track, outdoor gym and soccer field are the second most reported available opportunity (309, 56.8%) followed by the free sports activities (295, 55.9%). The most popular activities to adolescents are free sports (71, 13.2%) together with homework help at school (70, 13.1%); and more adolescents have membership in sports associations compared to other associations. Also, the study finds that adolescents who either have membership in sports or not do not make any change to the perceived quality of education by students whether they get a very good education, good education, and less than good education in high schools at different gender and self-reported socioeconomic levels. / ACTION: Actions for sustainable education and health among youth

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur artiklar från två välkända svenskakvällstidningar beskriver det våld som män brukar mot kvinnor i nära relationer. Vidare har det undersökts vilka orsaksförklaringar tidningsartiklar använder för att beskriva mäns våld mot kvinnor. En kvalitativ textanalys har genomförts där resultatet har tematiserats med teoretisk ansats genom socioekologiska modellen och Socialstyrelsens definition av våld i nära relationer. Media har visat sig ha en betydande roll för människors förståelse av sociala problem. Det som beskrivs i media blir ofta människors verklighet, därför är det av betydelse att media ger en rättvis och korrekt bild av det stora och utbredda fenomen som våld i nära relationer utgör. Resultatet indikerar att fysiskt våld är den vanligast förekommande typ av våld som beskrivs av tidningsartiklar. Vidare skildrar studien att flest tidningsartiklar beskriver orsaker till mäns våld mot kvinnor med ett strukturellt perspektiv. Endast en av alla inkluderade tidningsartiklar beskriver mäns våld mot kvinnor i nära relationer genom den socioekologiska modellens alla fyra perspektiv. Modellen som i enlighet med Socialstyrelsen är av stor vikt för att få en helhetsbeskrivning av mäns våld mot kvinnor i nära relationer. / The aim of this study was to investigate how articles from two well-known Swedish evening newspapers describe the violence that men use against women in close relationships. Furthermore, the study examined which causal explanations the newspaper articles use in the descriptions of the violence. This is done through a qualitative text analysis of newspaper articles' descriptions of violence. The results of the study have been thematized with a theoretical approach through the socio-ecological model and the National Board of Health and Welfare's definition of violence in close relationships. The media has proven to play a significant role in helping people understand social issues as what is described in the media often becomes people's reality. Therefore, it is important that the media provide a fair and correct picture of the large and widespread phenomenon that violence in close relationships constitutes. The results show that physical violence is the most described violence of newspaper articles. Furthermore, most causes of men's violence against women are described by newspaper articles with a structural perspective. Only one of all included newspaper articles describes men's violence against women in close relationships through all four perspectives of the socioecological model. The model which, in accordance with the National Board of Health and Welfare, is of great importance for obtaining a comprehensive description of men's violence against women in close relationships.