The School as an Arena for Co-Creating Participation, Equity, and Well-Being—A Photovoice Study from Norway

Schools may play an essential role as an arena for co-creating community activities that enhance well-being, equity, and citizenship. Still, there is limited knowledge about physical and non-physical factors that contribute to well-being within such approaches. The aim of this study was to identify important factors for well-being as perceived by pupils, school employees, and parents in a community school in Norway. The participatory method photovoice was used, and seven pupils, six employees, and four parents participated by taking photos used as the basis for six focus group discussions. Transcripts of the discussions were analyzed using Systematic Text Condensation. The analysis showed that the participants experienced that the school’s built and natural environment, the activities happening there, and the human resources and organization at the school facilitated perceptions of safety, inclusion, and cohesion, which in turn contributed to well-being. Furthermore, the results showed that co-creating schools as a community arena could be an innovative way of ensuring participation, equity, and well-being in the community. Such an approach might be especially important in deprived areas or in multi-ethnic communities. An important prerequisite to succeed is the openness of the school’s staff to engage in co-creation with other stakeholders in the community.publishedVersio

Understanding the relationship between subjective health complaints and satisfaction with life for people in prevocational training in Norway

publishedVersio

Understanding the relationship between subjective health complaints and satisfaction with life for people in prevocational training in Norway

Background and aim: In Norway, a large part of the population is dependent on disability benefits. The main reasons for this are related to long-term musculoskeletal pain and psychological complaints. Prevocational rehabilitation, aimed at increasing participation in working life, targets people in need of a sheltered vocational environment. This group has been found to report a very high level of health complaints. Therefore, a better understanding of the psychological mechanisms affecting satisfaction with life for people who experience subjective health complaints could be important for tailoring more optimal vocational rehabilitation initiatives for these individuals. This study aimed to investigate the possible mediator role of basic psychological need satisfaction, described in self-determination theory, in the relationship between subjective health complaints and satisfaction with life. Methods: A total of 201 adult participants attending prevocational training on care farms in Norway answered a questionnaire, including demographic questions and standardised instruments on subjective health complaints, basic psychological need satisfaction and satisfaction with life. Analyses were conducted using a structural equation model. Results: Most of the participants had been out of work for more than one year, had a high prevalence of subjective health complaints and a low level of satisfaction with life. The structural equation model showed that basic psychological need satisfaction mediated the negative association between psychological health complaints and satisfaction with life. Conclusion: The results indicate that even though health complaints remain, prevocational programs can counteract some of the negative associations between subjective health complaints and satisfaction with life by creating contexts that support basic psychological needs that are important for well-being and functioning. Providing clients with understanding, guidance, positive feedback, meaningful tasks and a close, supportive social community, has been found to facilitate satisfaction of basic psychological needs in prevocational training on care farmspublishedVersio

The "myths" of low back pain: status quo in norwegian general practitioners and physiotherapists

Background. In 2001, several myths of low back pain still were alive in the general population in Norway, myths that were not in concordance with current guidelines. Objectives. To investigate perceptions about back pain in Norwegian general practitioners and physiotherapists and to compare these with perceptions in the general population. Methods. During June 2001, 436 general practitioners (mean age 44.8, range 26–69 years) and 311 physiotherapists (mean age 47.6, range 25–70) were asked to rate their agreement with 7 statements, corresponding to Deyo’s 7 myths that formulate 7 common misbeliefs on back pain. The corresponding data from the general population of 807 individuals (mean age 45.5, range 25–70) were sampled during early spring 2001. Results. There were significant differences between the general population, general practitioners, and physiotherapists for all myths, the general population being more likely to agree with all myths. The differences were maintained even after controlling for educational level in the general population. There were no differences between general practitioners and physiotherapists except for the myths “radiographs and newer imaging tests can always identify the cause of pain” and “back pain is usually disabling,” whereas general practitioners were less likely to disagree with the myths. Few gender and age differences were found in the professional groups. Conclusion. In Norwegian general practitioners and physiotherapists, Deyo’s 7 myths mostly seem to be dead and buried. However, it does not seem that this has extended to the public yet, as many myths still are alive in the general population

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Reproduced with permission from publisherpublishedVersio

Understanding the relationship between subjective health complaints and satisfaction with life for people in prevocational training in Norway

Background and aim: In Norway, a large part of the population is dependent on disability benefits. The main reasons for this are related to long-term musculoskeletal pain and psychological complaints. Prevocational rehabilitation, aimed at increasing participation in working life, targets people in need of a sheltered vocational environment. This group has been found to report a very high level of health complaints. Therefore, a better understanding of the psychological mechanisms affecting satisfaction with life for people who experience subjective health complaints could be important for tailoring more optimal vocational rehabilitation initiatives for these individuals. This study aimed to investigate the possible mediator role of basic psychological need satisfaction, described in self-determination theory, in the relationship between subjective health complaints and satisfaction with life. Methods: A total of 201 adult participants attending prevocational training on care farms in Norway answered a questionnaire, including demographic questions and standardised instruments on subjective health complaints, basic psychological need satisfaction and satisfaction with life. Analyses were conducted using a structural equation model. Results: Most of the participants had been out of work for more than one year, had a high prevalence of subjective health complaints and a low level of satisfaction with life. The structural equation model showed that basic psychological need satisfaction mediated the negative association between psychological health complaints and satisfaction with life. Conclusion: The results indicate that even though health complaints remain, prevocational programs can counteract some of the negative associations between subjective health complaints and satisfaction with life by creating contexts that support basic psychological needs that are important for well-being and functioning. Providing clients with understanding, guidance, positive feedback, meaningful tasks and a close, supportive social community, has been found to facilitate satisfaction of basic psychological needs in prevocational training on care farm