"Strålbehandlingen är absolut ingenting att vara rädd för" : en kvalitativ studie i hur cancerpatienter upplever strålbehandlingen som behandlingsmetod

Syftet med vårt examensarbete var att redogöra hur cancerpatienten upplever strålbehandlingen som behandlingsmetod. Målet var att göra ett informationsblad till andra strålbehandlingspatienter om hur andra upplevt den. Denna studie är kvalitativ, där vi analyserat och vidare kategoriserat fem stycken intervjuer och tre frågeformulär. Frågorna besvarades via intervju, telefon eller med hjälp av en elektroniskt frågeformulär. Frågeställningen som använts var: Hur upplevde patienten strålbehandlingen? Har patienten fått tillräcklig information? Hur har patienten blivit bemött? Respondenterna valde som teoretiska utgångspunkter trygghet och information eftersom information är viktigt för att patienten skall känna trygghet och bli delaktig i sin vårdprocess. Vi valde som teoretisk bakgrund cancer och strålbehandling. Information söktes i litteratur, vetenskapliga forskningar och internet källor. Resultatet visade överlag att bemötandet var varmt och informationen tillräcklig på strålbehandlingen. Slutsatsen är att informanterna upplevde att de blev bra omhändertagna och att de fick svar på alla sina frågor.Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli tutkia, kuinka syöpäpotilaat kokevat sädehoidon hoitomuotona. Tavoitteena oli luoda potilasesite tuleville potilaille, siitä miten muut potilaat ovat kokeneet sädehoidon. Tutkimus on kvalitatiivinen ja olemme analysoineet viisi haastattelua sekä kolme kyselylomaketta jakaen ne edelleen kategorioihin. Kysymyksiin vastattiin haastatteluissa, puhelimitse tai elektronista kysymyslomaketta käyttäen. Tutkimuskysymykset olivat seuraavat: Miten potilas koki sädehoidon? Onko potilas saanut tarpeeksi tietoa hoidosta? Miten potilas koki tulleensa vastaanotetuksi? Valitsimme teoreettiseksi lähtökohdaksi turvallisuuden tunteen ja informaation, koska tieto hoidoista on keskeinen tekijä potilaan turvallisuuden ja -osallisuuden tunteen varmistamisessa osana hoitokulkua. Teoreettisessa taustassa tarkastelemme syöpää ja sädehoitoa. Olemme käyttäneet lähteinä kirjallisuutta, aikaisempia tutkimuksia ja internetiä. Tulokset osoittavat, että vastaanotto sädehoidossa on koettu lämpimäksi ja tietoa tarjotaan riittävästi. Tuloksista voimme siis päätellä, että vastaanotto oli lämmin ja potilaan kysymyksiin vastattiin.The purpose of this thesis was to provide a view of the experiences of patients who have undergone radiotherapy as a method of treatment. The aim was to create an information leaflet to share the experiences of existing radiotherapy patients with new patients who are about to undergo radiotherapy. This was a qualitative study, in which we analyzed the experiences of patients using eight interviews and three questionnaires across different categories. The questions where answered face to face, through phone or using an electronic questionnaire. Our research questions were: How did the patient experience radiotherapy? Did the patient receive enough information? How was their experience during their admission for treatment? We chose safety and information as our theoretical frame, because information is important to ensure a patient can feel both safe and involved during their treatment process. As the theoretical background, we chose cancer and radiotherapy. We have been using literature, scientific research articles and websites as research sources. Results shows that the process for admission has been very thorough and informative, with patients receiving answers to all of their questions

A paper waste prediction model

The aim of this paper is to develop a model predicting the collected amount of waste paper at the regional level of municipalities. Leaming about the factors that influence the amount of collected paper is a prerequisite for the evaluation and reorganization of collection systems. We hypothesize that the amount of collected paper depends on both, the waste potential and factors which influence the convenience such as the density of collection sites. For this study, we use a sample of 649 municipalities. The data show a high variance in terms of the collected waste paper per person and year between the municipalities. We develop a multivariate regression model providing valuable insights about the relationship between demographic parameters and the amount of collected waste paper. Furthermore, in this novel approach we found a significant positive impact of the convenience of the collection system

1991 outlook: mild recession, mild recovery

A summary of the January 18, 1991 Fourth District Economists' Roundtable, noting the panelists' forecasts for the economy in the wake of uncertainties surrounding the Persian Gulf War.Business forecasting

Mild behavioral impairment in Parkinson's disease: Data from the Parkinson's disease cognitive impairment study (PACOS)

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) have been frequently described in Parkinson's disease (PD), even in the earliest stages of the disease. Recently the construct of mild behavioral impairment (MBI) has been proposed as an at-risk state for incident cognitive decline and dementia. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the prevalence and associated factors of MBI in PD. Cross-sectional data from 429 consecutive PD patients enrolled in the PArkinson's disease COgnitive impairment Study (PACOS) were included in the study. All subjects underwent neuropsychological assessment, according to the MDS Level II criteria. NPS were evaluated with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate clinical and behavioral characteristics, which are associated with PD-MBI. The latter was ascertained in 361 (84.1%) subjects of whom 155 (36.1%) were newly diagnosed patients (disease duration ≥1 year) and 206 (48.0%) had a disease duration <1 year. Furthermore, 68 (15.9%) out of 429 subjects were PDw (without MBI). Across the MBI domains, Impulse Dyscontrol was significantly more prevalent among PD-MBI with disease duration <1 year than newly diagnosed patients. The frequency of Social Inappropriateness and Abnormal Perception significantly increased throughout the entire PD-MBI sample with increasing Hoehn andYahr (H&Y) stages. PD-MBI in newly diagnosed PDwas significantly associated with H&Y stage (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.05-5.24) and marginally with antidepressant drug use (OR 2.94, 95% CI 0.91-9.47), while in patients with a disease duration >1 year was associated with UPDRS-ME (OR 3.37, 95% CI 1.41-8.00). The overall MBI frequency in the PACOS sample was 84% and 36% among newly diagnosed patients. The presence of MBI mainly related to motor impairment and disability

The conceptual relevance of assessment measures in patients with mild/mild-moderate Alzheimer\u27s disease

Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the conceptual relevance of four measures of disease activity in patients with mild/mild-moderate Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD): (1) the Alzheimer\u27s Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive Subscale; (2) the Alzheimer\u27s Disease Cooperative Study–Activities of Daily Living Inventory; (3) the Neuropsychiatry Inventory; and (4) the Dependence Scale. Methods: A conceptual model depicting patient experience of mild AD was developed via literature review; concepts were compared with the items of the four measures. Relevance of the concepts included in the four measures was evaluated by patients with mild AD in a survey and follow-up interviews. Results: The four measures assessed few of the symptoms/impacts of mild AD identified within the literature. Measured items addressing emotional impacts were deemed most relevant by participants but were included in the measures only superficially. Discussion: The four assessment measures do not appear to capture the concepts most relevant to/important to patients with mild/mild-moderate AD. © 2018 The Author

Wettability characteristics of carbon steel modified with CO2, Nd:YAG, Excimer and high power diode lasers

Interaction of CO2, Nd:YAG, excimer and high power diode laser (HPDL) radiation with the surface of a common mild steel (EN8) was found to effect changes in the wettability characteristics of the steel, namely changes in the measured contact angle. These modifications are related to changes in the surface roughness, changes in the surface oxygen content and changes in the surface energy of the mild steel. The wettability characteristics of the selected mild steel could be controlled and/or modified by laser surface treatment. A correlation between the change of the wetting properties of the mild steel and the laser wavelength was found

On the mechanisms of wetting characteristics modification for selected metallic materials by means of high power diode laser radiation

This work elucidates and analyses the factors responsible for modifications to the wettability characteristics of metallic materials after high power diode laser (HPDL) treatment. It was found that interaction of EN3 and EN8 mild steel with HPDL radiation resulted in the wettability characteristics of the mild steels altering to various degrees depending upon the laser processing parameters. Such changes in the wettability characteristics of the mild steels were found to be due essentially to: (i) modifications to the surface roughness; (ii) changes in the surface O2 content and (iii) the increase in the polar component of the surface energy. All of these factors were seen to influence the wettability characteristics of the mild steels, however, the degree of influence exerted by each was found to differ. Work was therefore conducted to isolate each of these influential factors, thereby allowing the magnitude of their influence to be determined. This analysis revealed that surface roughness was the primary influential factor governing changes in and hence the wettability characteristics of the mild steels. Surface energy, by way of microstructural changes, was also shown to influence to a lesser extent changes in the wettability characteristics, whilst surface O2 content, by way of process gas, was found to play a minor role in inducing changes in the wettability characteristics of the mild steels