Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Timothy D. Keane / This thesis documents an exploratory design process that examines the efficacy of a framework for designing dementia gardens based on: theory, Stephen and Rachel Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory (A.R.T.), (Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989) and Roger Ulrich’s Theory of Supportive Gardens (Ulrich, 1999); John Zeisel’s (2007) process for designing dementia gardens; and design details, Claire Cooper Marcus’ Garden Audit Tool (2007) and Moore’s analysis of exemplary dementia gardens (2007). It documents the integration of theory that is not specific to dementia gardens (Kaplans’ A.R.T. and Ulrich’s Theory of Supportive Gardens) with process (Zeisel) and programming elements that are specific to dementia gardens (Cooper Marcus’ Garden Audit Tool Kit and Moore’s exemplary dementia gardens). The framework was developed during an illustrative courtyard design project for a retirement center whose clientele included patients with varying need levels. Throughout the illustrative design project, knowledge of the four A.R.T. characteristics (Being Away, Fascination; Compatibility and Extent) guided design decision-making in an effort to create an engaging environment, where improved health outcomes and restorative person-environment interactions could occur.

Syftet med studien var att belysa och problematisera framställningarna i och problematisera framställningarna i åtgärdsprogram inom matematik samt att få insikt i pedagogernas bild av hur de arbetar med åtgärdsprogrammen i verkligheten och vilken syn de har på åtgärdsprogram. Vidare syftade studien till att ta fram riktlinjer för skrivandet av åtgärdsprogram för att det ska bli ett levande dokument som blir ett stöd för eleverna och pedagogerna. Studien genomfördes med två metoder, dokumentanalys och halvstrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer. Först genomförds en textanalys av fyra åtgärdsprogram och sedan följdes analysen upp av intervjuer med två speciallärare i matematik samt två klasslärare. Respondenterna kom från två olika skolor. Resultatet av studien visar att det är en signifikant skillnad mellan pedagogerna och speciallärarna i matematik kring hur de ser på åtgärdsprogram. Pedagogerna anser inte att det arbetas med åtgärdsprogram på ett effektivt sätt men speciallärarna i matematik tycker att det är ett levande dokument. Alla fyra respondenterna anser att det nuförtiden är enklare och bättre att arbeta med åtgärdsprogram sedan de började använda det digitala verktyget UNIKUM. Alla de fyra eleverna i denna studie har ett åtgärdsprogram där insatserna är att gå till specialläraren i matematik för intensivträning. Under denna intensivundervisning är fokus på den grundläggande taluppfattningen och att hjälpa eleven att få en bättre självkänsla och motivation inom matematik. Ett annat resultat av studien var att flera skolor som kontaktades inte hade några upprättade åtgärdsprogram inom matematik. istället skedde de insatserna genom att göra generella anpassningar för alla elever i klassrummet. / The aim of the present study was to illuminate and problematize supportive educational measures in mathematics and to examine how they are applied in reality and how they interpret educational measures. Further, it aims at finding guidelines for how Supportive educational measures should be written to become a living document to be a support for the students and teachers. The study was conducted with two methods, document analysis and semi-structured qualitative interviews. First an analysis of four supportive educational measures was performed and then the analysis was followed up by interviews of two special educators in mathematics and two teachers. The respondents came from two different schools. The results of the study indicate that there is a significant difference between teachers and special educators in mathematics about how they think about supportive educational measures. The teachers don’t think that they work with the supportive educational measures in an efficient way but the special educators in mathematics find it to be a living document. But all four respondents found that it nowadays is easier and better to work with supportive educational measures since they started it use the digital tool UNIKUM. All four students in this study were offered supportive education measures, where they had several appointments per week with the special educator in mathematics. At these appointments the students receive individual, intensive training regarding basic numeracy and worked together with the educator to achieve the goal of a higher level of mathematics self esteem and motivation. Another result of the study was that several schools that was contacted didn’t have any supportive educational measures written in mathematics. Instead their efforts where maid by doing general adjustments for all students in the classroom.

Population ageing has been taking place all over the world, being estimated that 2.1 billion people will be aged 60 or over in 2050. Healthcare Supportive Home (HSH) Systems have been proposed to overcome the high demand of remote home care for assisting an increasing number of elderly people living alone. Since a heterogeneous team of healthcare professionals need to collaborate to continually monitor health status of chronic patients, a cooperation of pre-existing e-Health systems, both outside and inside home, is required. However, current HSH solutions are proprietary, monolithic, high coupled, and expensive, and most of them do not consider their interoperation neither with distributed and external e-Health systems, nor with systems running inside the home (e.g., companion robots or activity monitors). These systems are sometimes designed based on local legislations, specific health system configurations (e.g., public, private or mixed), care plan protocols, and technological settings available; therefore, their reusability in other contexts is sometimes limited. As a consequence, these systems provide a limited view of patient health status, are difficult to evolve regarding the evolution of patients health profile, do not allow continuous patients monitoring, and present limitations to support the self-management of multiple chronic conditions. To contribute to solve the aforementioned challenges, this thesis establishes HomecARe, a reference architecture for supporting the development of quality HSH systems. HomecARe considers HSH systems as Systems-of-Systems (SoS) (i.e., large, complex systems composed of heterogeneous, distributed, and operational and managerial independent systems), which achieve their missions (e.g., improvement of patients quality of life) through the behavior that emerges as result of collaborations among their constituents. To establish HomecARe, a systematic process to engineer reference architectures was adopted. As a result, HomecARe presents domain knowledge and architectural solutions (i.e., architectural patterns and tactics) described using conceptual, mission, and quality architectural viewpoints. To assess HomecARe, a case study was performed by instantiating HomecARe to design the software architecture of DiaManT@Home, a HSH system to assist at home patients suffering of diabetes mellitus. Results evidenced HomecARe is a viable reference architecture to guide the development of reusable, interoperable, reliable, secure, and adaptive HSH systems, bringing important contributions for the areas of e-Health, software architecture, and reference architecture for SoS. / O envelhecimento da população é um fenômeno mundial e estima-se que no ano 2050, 2,1 bilhões de pessoas terão 60 anos ou mais. Sistemas de casas inteligentes para o cuidado da saúde (em inglês Healthcare Supportive Home - HSH systems) têm sido propostos para atender a alta demanda de serviços de monitoramento contínuo do número cada vez maior de pacientes que vivem sozinhos em suas residências. Considerando que o monitoramento do estado de saúde de pacientes crônicos requer a colaboração de equipes formadas por profissionais de várias especialidades, é fundamental que haja cooperação entre sistemas eletrônicos de saúde (por exemplo, sistemas de prontuário eletrônico ou sistemas de atenção de emergência), sendo eles externos ou internos à residência. Entretanto, as soluções de HSH existentes são comerciais, monolíticas, altamente acopladas e de alto custo. A maioria delas não considera a interoperabilidade entre sistemas distribuídos e exteriores ou internos à residência dos pacientes, como é o caso de robôs de companhia e monitores de atividade. Além disso, os sistemas de HSH muitas vezes são projetados com base em legislações locais, na estrutura do sistema de saúde (por exemplo, público, privado ou misto), nos planos de cuidados nacionais e nos recursos tecnológicos disponíveis; portanto, a reusabilidade desses sistemas em outros contextos é não é uma tarefa trivial. Em consequência, os sistemas de HSH existentes oferecem uma visão restrita do estado de saúde do paciente, são difíceis de evoluir acompanhando as mudanças no perfil de saúde do paciente, impossibilitando assim seu monitoramento contínuo e limitando o suporte para o paciente na autogestão de suas múltiplas condições crônicas. Visando contribuir na resolução dos desafios apresentados, esta tese estabelece a HomecARe, uma arquitetura de referência para apoiar o desenvolvimento de sistemas de HSH de qualidade. A HomecARe considera os sistemas de HSH como Sistemas-de-Sistemas (do inglês Systems-of-Systems - SoS) (ou seja, sistemas grandes e complexos formados por outros sistemas heterogêneos, distribuídos e que apresentam independência em seu gerenciamento e operação), que cumprem suas missões (por exemplo, melhoria da qualidade de vida do paciente) mediante o comportamento que emerge resultante da colaborações entre seus sistemas constituintes. Para estabelecer a HomecARe, foi adotado um processo sistemático que apoia a engenharia de arquiteturas de referência. Como resultado, a HomecARe contém o conhecimento do domínio, bem como soluções arquiteturais (por exemplo, padrões arquiteturais e táticas) que são descritas usando os pontos de vista conceitual, de missão e de qualidade. A HomecARe foi avaliada por meio da condução de um estudo de caso em que a arquitetura de referência foi instanciada para projetar o DiaManT@Home, um sistema de HSH que visa apoiar pacientes diagnosticados com diabetes mellitus na autogestão de sua doença. Os resultados obtidos evidenciaram que a HomecARe é uma arquitetura de referência viável para guiar o desenvolvimento de sistemas de HSH reusáveis, interoperáveis, confiáveis, seguros e adaptativos, trazendo importantes contribuições nas áreas de saúde eletrônica, arquitetura de software e arquiteturas de referência para SoS.

As transformações observadas nos últimos vinte anos no mercado cafeeiro para diferenciar o produto com base em parâmetros de qualidade atendem a novos valores associados ao consumo. Mais do que uma estratégia de concorrência para agregar valor, a diferenciação de cafés reorganiza as relações sociais em todo sistema produtivo, desde a produção e o comércio dos grãos até a torrefação e a distribuição para os consumidores, por meio de ações cooperativas que viabilizam a coexistência das novas formas de organização com os mercados tradicionais. A qualidade do café pode assumir uma ampla gama de conceitos, sendo os mais tradicionais relacionados a fatores como clima, solo, altitude, sistema de produção e beneficiamento. Os novos parâmetros dos cafés diferenciados, chamados de especiais, apresentam tanto dimensões materiais - que incorporam atributos de natureza física e sensorial, e geralmente se traduzem em qualidade superior da bebida quanto dimensões simbólicas, relacionadas a uma nova ética associada a características ambientais e sociais da produção, como no caso dos cafés orgânicos, sombreados e do comércio solidário, definidos como cafés sustentáveis. Tendo em vista a forte associação entre a qualidade dos cafés e a dos vinhos, esta pesquisa investiga a organização social do mercado de cafés sustentáveis, para responder porque, em meio a uma proliferação de selos de qualidade, os mecanismos de certificação sustentável de café se estruturam de tal modo que não consideram a origem dos plantios. O eixo temático está nos processos de padronização e de certificação de qualidade. Estes novos mercados vêm sendo construídos para expressar novas relações de poder no segmento de cafés especiais, e transformam o mercado com atores anônimos em mercados onde eles têm identidades. A valorização material e simbólica de parâmetros ambientais e sociais da produção e comércio é capaz de formar redes de cooperação que funcionam dentro de uma lógica distinta da estrutura vigente, e proporciona maiores ganhos a atores sociais que estavam em alguma desvantagem no mercado de commodities por não terem a qualidade e identidade de seus produtos devidamente recompensada e reconhecida. Estudos desta natureza exigem uma análise que inclua a sociologia dos mercados para avaliar o emaranhado de relações sociais na vida econômica. A abordagem teórica da sociologia econômica fornece elementos para avaliar o processo de construção social dos mercados, especialmente os novos, por meio de quatro pilares que lhes dão sustentação: os direitos de propriedade, as estruturas de governança, as regras de troca e as concepções de controle. O enfoque político-cultural enfatiza a perspectiva histórica dos mercados para compreender o papel dos grupos dominantes e desafiantes em arenas de ação, considerando a participação de atores sociais como governos, firmas e consumidores, entre outros, e seus incentivos para ações cooperativas a partir dos laços cognitivos que os unem. O estudo empírico focalizou duas regiões geograficamente delimitadas, pioneiras no cultivo, comércio e certificação de cafés sustentáveis: a Serra de Baturité, no Ceará, onde se cultiva o café em sistema sombreado e os municípios de Machado e Poço Fundo situados no Sul de Minas, no estado de Minas Gerais, onde se encontram cafés orgânicos e do comércio solidário. Estes casos foram escolhidos pois, ao contrário de outras regiões produtoras de cafés especiais, os cafeicultores destas regiões mostram evidências informais de valorização da origem dos plantios e estão submetidos a um conjunto de regras e de controles específicos que os diferenciam como sustentáveis. / Over the last twenty years, the coffee market has been transformed by moves to differentiate products through the construction of quality standards that embrace new values associated with consumption. More than a value-adding competitive strategy, coffee differentiation reorganizes social relations across the production system, from grain production and trade to roasting and consumer distribution by means of cooperative actions that enable the coexistence of new organizational forms with traditional markets. Coffee quality is a function of a wide array of concepts, with those related to climate, soil, altitude, production systems and processing being the most traditional. The new parameters for differentiated coffees, called special or specialty, present not only material dimensions - incorporating physical and sensory attributes generally translated into a superior kind of beverage - but also symbolic dimensions, concerning a new ethic which is allied to social and environmental production characteristics, such as the case with organic, shade-grown and fair-trade coffees, defined as sustainable coffees. Taking into account the strong association between quality of coffee and quality of wine, this research investigates the social organization of the sustainable coffee market in order to answer the question of why, amidst a profusion of quality seals, the mechanisms for certifying sustainable coffee are structured so as not to consider the origin of the crops. This work focuses on the quality standardization and certification processes as its pivotal theme. These refer to emerging markets being built to express new power relations in the segment of specialty coffees that transform markets populated with anonymous agents into markets where these agents have identities. The material and symbolic valuation of social and environmental parameters of production and trade not only form cooperative networks operating on a logic different from that currently in force, but also provide higher gains to social actors who were disadvantaged in the commodities market for not having the quality and identity of their products duly rewarded and recognized. Studies of this nature require an analysis that includes the sociology of markets in order to assess the mesh of social relations within economic life. The theoretical approach of economic sociology, which provides elements to evaluate the process of, particularly new, social market construction, is dependent upon four essential factors: property rights, governance structures, rules of exchange and conceptions of control. The political-cultural approach emphasizes the historic perspective of the markets to understand the role of dominant groups and challengers in action arenas and considers the participation of social actors like governments, firms and consumers, among others, and their incentives for cooperative actions based on the cognitive ties that bind them. The empiric study focused on two geographically-delimited regions which pioneered the cultivation, trade and certification of sustainable coffees: the Baturité Mountain Range in the state of Ceará where shade-grown coffee is cultivated and the municipalities of Machado and Poço Fundo, located in southern Minas Gerais state, where organic and fair trade coffees are found. These cases were chosen because, unlike other locales producing specialty coffee, these are regions where coffee growers display informal evidence of adding value to the origin of the coffee crop, submitting as they must to a set of specific rules and controls that differentiates them as sustainable.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:30:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marilda Massucatto Braga.pdf: 11642171 bytes, checksum: 33925c86beae9a2730f76493fab80c9b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-23 / This research is linked to the program of Pós Graduação em Educação: Currículo da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC/SP), specifically the research line new Technologies in Education. In this study, we investigate the gains and difficulties in using the environment to support learning for in-service training of teachers of basic education in public schools. Greater knowledge about the implementation and enforcement of this domain, it will help other experiences may arise associated with the use of technology in virtual environment, renewing the universe of forms of learning and teaching in basic education. The theoretical assumptions that have underpinned the analysis and other acts of this study was based on issues facing teacher education, online education and curriculum. The methodology adopted for the development of this research is based on qualitative research in a mode of action research, called action research, training, since the researcher also assumes the role of trainer at work. A public school in Sao Sebastião, SP, and a municipal school in São Paulo, Brazil, are the main referents of the study that presents itself. The results allowed for an effective contribution to the in-service training of teachers of these schools to the educational work in an environment of learning support. The difficulty converging to the insufficient presence of the school in this digital culture today / A presente investigação está vinculada ao programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação e Currículo da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC/SP), mais especificamente à linha de pesquisa novas Tecnologias em Educação. Nesse estudo, investigou-se os ganhos e dificuldades na utilização do ambiente de apoio à aprendizagem para a formação em serviço dos professores da Educação Básica em escolas públicas. Um maior conhecimento sobre a implantação e aplicação deste domínio contribuirá para que outras experiências possam surgir associadas ao uso de tecnologia em ambiente virtual, renovando o universo das formas de aprender e ensinar na Educação Básica. Os pressupostos teóricos que embasaram as análises e demais ações deste estudo pautaram-se em temáticas voltadas para a formação de professores, educação online e currículo. A metodologia adotada para o desenvolvimento desta investigação baseia-se na pesquisa qualitativa, em uma modalidade da pesquisa-ação, denominada pesquisa-ação-formação, uma vez que o pesquisador também assume o papel de formador no trabalho. Uma escola municipal, em São Sebastião/SP, e uma escola municipal em São Paulo, Capital, são os principais referentes do estudo que se apresenta. Os resultados obtidos propiciaram uma efetiva contribuição na formação em serviço de docentes das referidas escolas, para o trabalho pedagógico em ambiente de apoio à aprendizagem. As dificuldade convergiram para a insuficiente adequação da escola na cultura digital presente na atualidade

The thesis, or more precisely its theoretical part, introduces the field of Neonatology, namely the specification of premature newborns concerning supportive care for them. In the thesis, the basic concepts of Neonatology are presented as well as the system of neonatological care, including the needs of premature newborns, which are part of everyday nursing care. Following the above chapters, the thesis describes not only the nursing care as such but also the possibilities of psychosocial care in Neonatology. For a more comprehensive presentation of the issue of premature newborns, the thesis also includes findings concerning ethical issues in Neonatology and it introduces some organizations in the Czech Republic, which are an integral part of the supportive care. The character of the thesis should correspond with the program of nursing care, namely nursing in selected clinical disciplines - the module of paediatrics. In the empirical part of the thesis, qualitative research by interviewing has been used. Despite this scientific approach is more time-consuming, the author considered this method more meaningful and natural concerning the chosen topic because it concerns the support of the lives of these children and their families. Premature newborns are unique, affecting and enriching human being as such. The target of the thesis was firstly to find out how supportive care in premature newborns is perceived by its providers, secondly to disclose the considerations of the care providers regarding premature newborns in České Budějovice. The research was effectuated in connection with the above objectives, which have importance and a significant value for the author. Conclusions of the Thesis: The informants assumed that society didn't have enough information about the provided services. Almost all the informants collaborated on some research or project. As service providers, the respondents acknowledged the comments from the clients. The informants were interested in improving or enhancing the services. The addressed people have specified many factors and difficulties that make their work difficult. The informants concretized foreign experience. The respondents felt considerate enough. The informants expressed sincerely that there was a lot of space for improvement in their profession. The respondents mostly took a partner and gentle stand to the premature newborns and their families. The service providers gave due reasons for a specific approach in their statements. The informants expressed their respect for premature newborns and their families, giving a specific justification. They mostly expressed respect for the needs of the families, for the biorhythms of the baby, for the naturalness, the intuition and the personal pace of the baby. The thesis can be seen as a source of information for both the general and professional public, which could improve current practice. Based on the presentation of the issue through the thesis, the author has published a guide on premature newborns.

Although the public-private partnership (PPP) concept in health and social health has been politically accepted as the best pathway to improving health outcomes in many developing nations, implementation lacks leadership synergy. Lack of awareness and engagement of community leaders about PPP interventions and their benefits affect accountability and ownership of health and social care interventions. The purpose of this study was to better understand factors that could promote partnership leadership synergy to enhance ownership and accountability for community health and social welfare initiatives in Tanzania. A qualitative empirical case study design was used; diffusion of innovation and the public-private integrated partnership module constituted the theoretical framework. A purposeful sample of 26 participants responded to in-depth, 1-on-1 interviews; they were guided with semi-structured questions; the related document was reviewed. NVivo software was used to facilitated data management and content analysis. The key findings indicated that integrated supportive supervision, teamwork, and strategic communications promote partnership leadership synergy. Also, findings show that a lack of clear roles and responsibilities, poor quality data, a lack of understanding the benefits of PPP in health at the community level hinder ownership and accountability in the implementation of PPP health interventions. The results of this study yield insight into the national PPP technical and leadership team that could support the priorities in the implementation of the partnership projects. These results may contribute to social change through an increase in awareness and understanding of PPP in health at the community level and, in turn, promote ownership and accountability.

Studiens utgångspunkt var skollagens bestämmelser sedan år 2014 om att stöd till elever kan ges i form av extra anpassningar och särskilt stöd (Prop.2013/14:160; SFS 2010:800. Enligt gymnasieutredningen behövs mer kunskap kring den praktiska tillämpningen av dessa bestämmelser (SOU 2016:77). Studiens syfte var att beskriva och analysera hur lärare upplever arbetet med stödinsatser för gymnasieelever. Som metod för datainsamling valdes kvalitativa intervjuer och tio lärare intervjuades. Lärarna uttryckte att extra anpassningar ansvarar ordinarie lärare för och de består exempelvis av uppläst material samt anpassade läromedel och uppgifter. Som särskilt stöd uppgavs bland annat stödundervisning utanför den ordinarie undervisningen. Resultatet visade att de två skolorna där lärarna arbetar skiljer sig bland annat genom organiseringen av stödundervisning. Studien fann att relationer och kommunikation mellan elever och lärare samt lärare och övrig skolpersonal är betydelsefulla faktorer i arbetet kring stödinsatser. / The starting point of this study is the regulations in the Swedish Education Act of 2014 about how support for students can be given in the form of extra adaptations and special support (Prop.2013/14:160; SFS 2010:800). According to a survey about the Swedish upper secondary school, there is a need for more knowledge on the practical application of these regulations (SOU 2016:77). The aim of this study was to analyze and describe how teachers perceive the work with supportive actions for students in upper secondary schools. As a method for data collection, qualitative interviews were chosen and ten teachers were interviewed. The teachers stated that the responsibility for extra adaptations lies with regular teachers and mentioned examples of adaptation such as access to read material and adjusted study material and tasks. Special support was mentioned, among other things, as a support for teaching outside of the regular teaching. The result showed that one difference between the two schools where the teachers work is the organization of this support teaching. The study found that relationships and communication between students and teachers, and as well as between teachers and other school staff, are important factors in the work around suppoortive actions.

Child Health Services (CHS) in Sweden are offered free of charge to all Swedish parents with children 0-5 years of age.  The regular service schedule includes home visits, health examinations, vaccinations and participation in parenting groups. The CHS should pay extra attention to disadvantaged families. The aim of this thesis was to investigate to what extent the CHS reaches groups of families with special needs, e.g. immigrant families, low income families, young and single mothers, with universal or selective measures, as well as to investigate the variation of two determinants of child health, second hand smoke and breastfeeding, in these groups of families. The thesis also aimed at investigating validity of data in the county CHS quality database (Basta). The thesis is based on data from Basta together with several national registers. The CHS equally reached all families with infants with the universal program except for participation in parenting group. Foreign born, young, single and low-income mothers had lower participation rates. Smoking rates were lower in foreign-born than in Swedish-born mothers and higher for foreign-born than in Swedish-born fathers. Smoking was more common among single and low income parents and young mothers. Young and single mothers had lower breastfeeding rates at 6 months. At 12 months the breastfeeding rates were higher among foreign-born mothers. The validity test of data in the Basta database showed sensitivity values for immunizations, breastfeeding and smoking at 90-100 % and for any home visit, participation in parenting group at any time, a minimum number of 6 visits at the Child Health Centre (CHC) and a minimum number of 11 visits at the CHC at 88 - 96 %. The sensitivity value for the exact match of number of CHC visits (+/- 3 visits) was 88 %. Conclusions: The universal programme was equally distributed in different immigrant and socio-demographic populations. However, the results did not indicate equality according to the assumption that some families need more input than others in order to achieve equity of outcome. Individual data routinely collected from CHS records to a quality database provides data of good quality that can be used for both quality surveillance and research.

Långtidsarbetslösa i Sverige har sämre hälsa och välbefinnande än andra grupper och befinner sig i en utsatt position i samhället. Arbetslösa i allmänhet har en lägre känsla av sammanhang i livet, KASAM. Syftet med studien var att beskriva långtidsarbetslösas livskvalitet samt deras upplevelser och önskemål om stödjande insatser för människor i denna situation. Data samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta långtidsarbetslösa som var inskrivna i ett projekt i sydvästra Sverige. Resultatet visade att socialt stöd, frihet och kreativitet i vardagen ansågs öka livskvaliteten. Hinder för en god livskvalitet uppgavs vara arbetslösheten, diskriminering, språksvårigheter samt ekonomiska svårigheter. Främjande aktiviteter som praktik, studiebesök, språkträning och hälsoaktiviteter upplevdes positiva och ett ökat utbud önskades. Detta ansågs kunna uppnås genom ökat samarbete med andra delar av samhället som företag, högskolor, föreningar och organisationer. Förslag till vidare arbete inom detta folkhälsovetenskapliga problemområde: Utvärdering av politiska mål kring arbetslösas situation, ökat språkstöd i svenska samt en kvalitativ studie av uppfattningen om stödjande insatser hos de personer som arbetar med långtidsarbetslösa. / The long-term unemployed people in Sweden are feeling unsatisfied than any other population groups and they are in a more vulnerable situation in society in comparison to others. Lowered health status and sense of coherence are often the situation for unemployed people. The purpose of this study was to describe how long-term unemployed people with economic support experience their quality of life and their experience and thoughts of supportive interventions. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with eight long-term unemployed people who were listed in a project in south-west Sweden. The results showed social support, freedom and creativity in everyday life appears to increase quality of life. Obstacles for quality of life were the unemployment, discrimination, language problems and economic difficulties. Encouraging activities like practical experience, study tours, Swedish language courses and health activities were experienced as positive and an increased selection of some selection was wished for. This could be reached through interventions and local authorities increased cooperation and networking with other parts in society such as companies, universities and non-profit organizations. An evaluation of political implementations and goals for the unemployed, an increased language support in Swedish and a qualitative study with people who work with the long-term unemployed, to get their point of view of supportive interventions, are recommendations for further studies within this health science field.