Everyday life can be complex when next of kin of haemodialysis patients are preoccupied with taking care of the patient and his/her health, which implies the difficulties and requirements needed. The general aim of this thesis was to explore and describe everyday life among next of kin of haemodialysis patients with focus on the life situation, health, time and professional support. Two perspectives of the thesis was applied: a holistic perspective on the everyday life of next of haemodialysis patient and a social perspective with focus on human communication and understanding of next of kin’s experience of everyday life. A qualitative descriptive and explorative design, comprising a phenomenographic and content analysis was used in Studies I-IV. The data collected in the studies consisted of interviews with next of kin to haemodialysis patient and analysis of professional support for next of kin to chronic haemodialysis patients in nursing documentation from two hospitals in Sweden. The experience of time in everyday life among next of kin of haemodialysis patients demonstrated that time for them is minimised and life space contracted. Next of kin experienced ambivalence towards their own health, especially in cases of patients’ spouses When next of kin of haemodialysis patient’s became involved in the patients’ care, they experienced arduousness in relation to their own health as well as less uninterrupted time for themselves in everyday life, and their life situation was characterised by confinement and social isolation. They were aware of the prognosis of renal disease and the fact that haemodialysis is a life-sustaining treatment, which forced them to live for the moment. The everyday life among the next of kin changed when the family became involved in the care, which in turn lead to a changed life situation and restrictions in everyday life. Lack of knowledge in nursing documentation of professional support revealed necessity of the readiness of next of kin. It is therefore important to be familiar with this in the nursing process, especially when the patient and their next of kin need support and attention in everyday life. Original papers not included. / <p>Linköping University Medical Dissertation, 926, I. Ziegert K. &amp; Fridlund B. Conceptions of life situation among next of kin of haemodialysis patients. Journal of Nursing Management 2001; (9) 231-239. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2834.2001.00233.x, II. Ziegert K., Fridlund B. &amp; Lidell E. Health in everyday life among spouses of patients on haemodialysis; a content analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, Volume 20, Number 2, June 2006, pp. 223-228(6). DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2006.00400.x, III. Ziegert K., Fridlund B. &amp; Lidell E. Time in everyday life as experienced by next of kin of haemodialysis patients (Submitted for publication)., IV. Ziegert K., Fridlund B. &amp; Lidell E. Professional support for next of kin of patients receiving chronic haemodialysis treatment. A content analysis study of nursing documentation. Journal of Clinical Nursing, Volume 16, Number 2, February 2007, pp. 353-361(9). DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01597.x,</p>

The main purpose of the present study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of what the final phase of life was like for a group of gravely ill and dying cancer patients, with focus on autonomy, dependency and quality of life. The specific aims were to: 1) describe the patients' autonomy and how the attitudes of relatives and staff promoted/hindered patient participation in decision-making, 2) describe how the patients assessed their quality of life in two care cultures, 3) describe how members of the care team prognosticated the patients' remaining survival time, and 4) investigate continuity of care site in two different care cultures during the patients' final month of life. The theoretical framework consisted of Weisman's concept of an appropriate death, and an ethical perspective based on a dialogical ethic and truthfulness. The study comprised 56 consecutively selected adult cancer patients. Data was collected via retrospective interviews with relatives, quality of life assessments by the patients, prognoses/motivations from members in the care team, and register data on the utilisation of forms of care. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Four categories respecting autonomy were found; the dying patients exercised their autonomy as self-determiners, co-determiners, delegators and nonparticipators. The co-determiners and delegators practised "shared autonomy" in interaction with relatives and staff, and a dialogue characterised by truthfulness was typical of the interplay. In the assessment of quality of life, half of the patients assessed themselves as satisfied/somewhat satisfied with their situation. The "cognitive-" and "emotional functioning" differed least from that of a normal population, while "physical-", "role functioning" and "global health status/quality of life" differed most. The prognosticated and the actual remaining survival time were in agreement for 19/51 patients (± 0.5 months). Some resistance to prognosticating emerged. The members of the care team used different forms of knowledge to motivate their prognostication. Continuity in terms of care site was fairly high for the majority of dying patients. To a great extent, organisational and structural factors determined the choice of care form.

The background to this thesis lies in the great changes that have occurred in the disability field during the last threes decades. The purpose of this thesis is to describe, analyze and try to understand how these changes impact on life conditions for adult persons with mild intellectual disabilities. The main focus in this study is to listen to the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities themselves. The questions addressed in the study are; how do people with intellectual disabilities experience participation, citizen-ship, social exclusion and social inclusion in society? Where are their daily arenas and what characterizes those arenas in terms of citizenship, exclusion and inclusion? What type of experiences do they have from encountering people in the community, from encountering the organisations and staff that provide support and service and from the consequences of disability policies in practise? How do staff close to them work to reach the goals of participation? What role can professionals play in supporting participation? Which possibilities and barriers do the staff experience? Empirical data for the study has been gathered by qualitative methods, mainly participant observations and interviews but also from document analysis of local authority documents, official guidelines, laws and national and international disability policy documents. The theoretical framework is based on theories about citizenship and participation. Social exclusion and social inclusion are the sensitizing concepts in this study. For the interpretation and analysis theories about citizenship, participation and categorization were used. In the light of the empirical findings the results of the study show that three main themes were promi-nent. The first theme concerned the daily arenas, were there were both excluded arenas and included are-nas with various forms of interaction with the society. The arenas for support and service in housing and daily activities are described as excluded arenas with mainly internal social interaction. On the other hand the new arenas such as daily activity centres, located in the community, such as cafés, shops run by peo-ple with intellectual disabilities together with staff had frequent interaction with other people in the soci-ety. The second theme concerned the content in the encounters between respondents with intellectual disabilities and different actors in the community. The informants had both positive and negative experi-ences of these encounters. The encounter with the disability policy was, according to this dissertation, that the user informants hade many experiences of lacking social citizenship but also that they experienced structural inclusion when politicians listen to them and answered their questions. The third theme con-cerned how the staff works to reach the goals of participation where both possibilities and barriers exist on structural and individual levels. This study illustrates the user informants’ many experiences of citi-zenship and social exclusion but also examples of social inclusion. In the concluding chapter the results are discussed and analyzed in relation to the theoretical frame-work, where the concept of categorisation was very important. Finally, the description of the process clearly illustrates the difficulties for disability service organisations to develop support and services that are adapted to the actual disability policy. The results shed light on the gap between theory and practise. Some of the most positive changes towards inclusion in society for people with intellectual disabilities come from services run by users and staff close to them. Final conclusions and reflections of the results in the study are that support and service also can be discussed in terms of universalism in order to reduce the process of categorisation.

The overall aim of this thesis is to describe and analyse the age-related life experiences of elderly retired people and in relation to this to problematise ageism as an analytical concept in order to present a more dynamic understanding of the phenomenon of ageism in everyday life. Related to the overall objective three overarching research questions are addressed. How do elderly individuals relate to “age” in life and how do they express this in contexts in which standpoints are made in relation to age-codes? What can be generally said to represent the foundation of elderly people’s experiences of ageism? What all-embracing picture of ageism and age-coding is made visible when the phenomenon is examined using different kinds of methods for collecting and analysing empirical material? Research within the field of ageism is presented in terms of how it has been examined: as an ideology, as an “ideology” that is possible to deconstruct and as manifestations in everyday life. The hegemonic way of defining ageism is to associate it with prejudice, stereotyping and discriminationbased on age. This is viewed to be insufficient in order to understand ageism in everyday life. The positioning of the thesis in relation to the research field is therefore seen as problematising ageism as an analytical concept. The thesis consists of three different studies that are based on three different empirical materials. Life-stories, a questionnaire and focus group interviews are used to collect empirical material on the subject of elderly people’s age-related life experiences. The empirical materials and the studies connected to them are distinct ways of investigating ageism. Tentatively, methodtriangulation is applied in order to analyse the topic of ageism in everyday life from differenttheoretical perspectives. The most important conclusion is that ageism can be understood more dynamically as a practise that is exceptionally close to us individuals in everyday life. It is suggested that ageism is not only associated to age. Informants use alternative age-markers or time-markers in relation to which theyascribe meaning. When individuals tell their life-story the experiences are for example not tied to age. Age is hardly ever mentioned. In its place meaning is constructed around and ascribed to timemarkers such as for example “young”, “old”, “year”, “month”, “elderly” and so on. The use of and ascription of meaning to time-markers is also applicable in the other studies in the thesis. These alternative time-markers are suggested as something that also indicate ageism. Experiences and meaning are not solely focused on age. However, the meaning constructed in relation to the alternative markers is not unanimous, even if it sometimes appears to be. The experienced meaning takes many different forms and can by no means be fixated once and for all. An important conclusion is also that we cannot disregard gender in the understanding of ageism. It seems imperative to practice intersectional reasoning in order to understand the dynamics of ageism. Gendered ageism or gendered time-coding is essential in comprehending what people experience in everyday life.

No description available.

Dion (2001) observed that being the target of stigma and prejudice has a “demonstrable, negative effect upon the individual.” While blatant prejudice has lessened there has been little change in the rate of subtle forms of stigma and prejudice (Wilson, 1996). Recent trends in the literature acknowledge the importance of everyday reminders of difference or prejudice for women, racial minorities and ethnic groups (Swim, 2003). Jews with a long history as targets of stigma, prejudice and discrimination are an excellent example of a modern concealable stigma. Previous research into the Jewish experience has been influenced by concerns about group survival and has not included specific investigation of the experience of the target of stigma in interaction with perpetrators. Using a qualitative life history methodology this research sheds light on the experience of minority group members with a concealable stigma. Jewish adults with diverse backgrounds were interviewed using a semi-structured life history approach. The first layer of analysis identified six overarching themes – unshakeable loyalty to Jewish identity; importance of belonging; living Jewishness in a way that is meaningful; concerns about visibility of Jewishness; concerns about personal and group vulnerability including references to the Holocaust; and everyday encounters with prejudice. These themes share commonalities with Fiske’s (2004) social needs expressed in a Jewish context. The second layer of analysis developed a model of an encounter with everyday prejudice. This model identifies the overriding importance of contextual influences on perceptions of an encounter in turn influencing the reaction and response. Following the example of Miller and Kaiser (Miller, 2006; 2001b), these encounters are seen as stressful events which can be understood using the framework of the stress and coping model (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). The results show the subtle but important impact of everyday prejudice. As well as providing a means of understanding the experience of these individuals the results have implications for both therapeutic and psychoeducational interventions.

Dion (2001) observed that being the target of stigma and prejudice has a “demonstrable, negative effect upon the individual.” While blatant prejudice has lessened there has been little change in the rate of subtle forms of stigma and prejudice (Wilson, 1996). Recent trends in the literature acknowledge the importance of everyday reminders of difference or prejudice for women, racial minorities and ethnic groups (Swim, 2003). Jews with a long history as targets of stigma, prejudice and discrimination are an excellent example of a modern concealable stigma. Previous research into the Jewish experience has been influenced by concerns about group survival and has not included specific investigation of the experience of the target of stigma in interaction with perpetrators. Using a qualitative life history methodology this research sheds light on the experience of minority group members with a concealable stigma. Jewish adults with diverse backgrounds were interviewed using a semi-structured life history approach. The first layer of analysis identified six overarching themes – unshakeable loyalty to Jewish identity; importance of belonging; living Jewishness in a way that is meaningful; concerns about visibility of Jewishness; concerns about personal and group vulnerability including references to the Holocaust; and everyday encounters with prejudice. These themes share commonalities with Fiske’s (2004) social needs expressed in a Jewish context. The second layer of analysis developed a model of an encounter with everyday prejudice. This model identifies the overriding importance of contextual influences on perceptions of an encounter in turn influencing the reaction and response. Following the example of Miller and Kaiser (Miller, 2006; 2001b), these encounters are seen as stressful events which can be understood using the framework of the stress and coping model (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). The results show the subtle but important impact of everyday prejudice. As well as providing a means of understanding the experience of these individuals the results have implications for both therapeutic and psychoeducational interventions.

SAMMANFATTNING Bröstcancer är något som kvinnor i alla åldrar kan drabbas av. År 2011 insjuknade 8382 personer i hela Sverige. Bakgrunden: Det är männen som finns där för att stötta kvinnorna men även finnas där för barnen och ge trygghet. Barnen upplever en oro över att mista deras moder. Problem: Det är av största vikt att beskriva hur det är att drabbas av bröstcancer och samtidigt vara mor till minderåriga barn då detta kan medföra en komplex livssituation. Syfte: syftet var att beskriva mödrars upplevelser av att leva med bröstcancer samtidigt som de har minderåriga barn. Metod: Utifrån inklusionskriterierna söktes självbiografierna fram på respektive biblioteks katalog. En manifest innehållsanalys användes vid analysprocessen av de fyra självbiografierna för att besvara syftet. Resultat: Resultatet resulterade i sex kategorier. Dessa beskriver hur mödrarna upplever hur de ska klara av vardagen med minderåriga barn samtidigt som de kämpar mot bröstcancern. Slutsats: Att ha bröstcancer och samtidigt vara moder till minderåriga barn upplevs jobbigt då denna sjukdom medför en utmattning samt en känsla av otillräcklighet gentemot barnen. Mödrarnas största oro är inte bröstcancern utan hur barnen kommer klara sig om deras moder avlider.

Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka kvinnors upplevelser av att få en AD/HD diagnos i vuxen ålder och vilka sociala konsekvenser det ger. Då många studier inriktar sig på AD/HD ur ett neuropsykiatriskt perspektiv, anser vi det intressant att i stället ha ett socialt fokus. Den teori vi huvudsakligen använder oss av är social konstruktionism då vi tycker den är relevant i detta sammanhang. Vi undersöker i studien om, och i så fall hur kvinnorna upplever att diagnosen har förändrat deras vardag, bemötandet från myndigheter och arbetskamrater, självkänsla/självuppfattning och relationen till vänner och nära anhöriga. För att göra detta möjligt formulerade vi fyra frågeställningar som passade studiens syfte. I studien använde vi oss av kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer med fyra kvinnor, detta för att få fram deras upplevelser på bästa sätt. Det resultat vi funnit visar att diagnosen haft stor betydelse för kvinnorna i den meningen att den gjort dem mer medvetna om sina brister och som en frigörande förklaring på sin känsla av att vara annorlunda. För att kunna analysera texten använde vi oss av de teman som formades utifrån frågeställningarna för att kunna hitta mönster i kvinnornas berättelser. Därefter tolkade vi materialet med hjälp av tidigare forskning och relevanta teorier. Den slutsats vi kommit fram till är att diagnosen stärker kvinnornas självkänsla/självuppfattning vilket gör att de kan hantera sina liv och sin vardag på ett bättre sätt, men också att diagnosen i sig inte förändrar de faktiska bristerna i någon större utsträckning. / The aim of our studie is to examine womens experiences of recieving a diagnosis of AD/HD as an adult and what social consequences this brings. As many studies focus on AD/HD from a neuropsychiatric perspective, we regard it interesting to look at it from a social perspective rather then psychiatric. The theory we mainly used is social constructionism as we think it relevant in this coherece. In the study we examine if and in that case how these women feel that the diagnosis has changed there everyday life, treatment by authority and colleagues, self-esteem/self-perception and relation to friends and close relatives. To make this possible we worded four questions at issue that was suitable for the purpose of the study. In the study we used qualitative research interviews whit four women, this as to bring forward there experiences in the best possible way. The result we found show that diagnosis has had great importance for the women as it has made them more aware of there scarcity and as a liberating explanation of there feeling of being different. To be able to analyze the text we used the theme as shaped from the questions to be able to find a pattern in the womens story. We then interpreted the material with the help of prior and relevant theories. Our conclusion is that the diagnosis strengthens the womens self-esteem/self-perception which means that they can handle there everyday life in a better way, but also that the diagnosis in it self does not change the real lack in extent any greater.

The aim of this study is to discuss white collar industrial employee&rsquo / s alienation to urban life in Kocaeli. In this context, Lived Space of white collar industrial employees in a selected factory in the city is examined in terms of employees&rsquo / use and perception of the urban space. To this end, several expert interviews (local media representative, head of chamber of industry and head of the department of human resources of the selected factory) and subject group interviews were carried out and analyzed in combination with an application of a questionnaire conducted with 62 employees. At the micro level, the study shows that white collar industrial employees only feel limited &ldquo / urban attachment&rdquo / and perceive Kocaeli as a place they have put up with in order to gain a living. At the macro level, it is suggested that a spatial regime in which Kocaeli is the industrial periphery of the Istanbul Metropolitan Region is an important determinant of the assumed alienation of the subject group. In this context, the results attained from the field study show that although the white collar industrial employees use the urban space partially in their daily activities and establish some community relations, they are still alienated to the city in terms of their perception of the urban space and stuck in the centrifugal structure between the metropolitan centre and the industrial periphery.