"Green structure" as activity and as object - implications for urban planning

Theme: Tools for urban plannin

Struggling for existence—Life situation experiences of older persons with mental disorders

Older persons with mental disorders represent a vulnerable group of people with extensive and complex needs. The older population is rapidly increasing worldwide and, as a result of deinstitutionalization in mental health care, older persons are remaining at home to a greater extent. Although they constitute a large proportion of the population, older persons with mental disorders have been neglected in research as well as in care organizations. As there is little previous knowledge concerning older persons’ experiences of their own situations, this study aimed to illuminate the meaning of the life situation as experienced by older persons with mental disorders (excluding dementia disorders). Interviews were conducted with seven older persons and the text was analyzed using a phenomenological hermeneutical research method, inspired by the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur. “Struggling for existence” emerged as a main theme in the older persons’ narratives, understood as a loss of dignity of identity and involving being troubled and powerless as well as yearning for respect. The older persons fought to master their existence and to be seen for who they are. The study highlights the importance for caregivers, both formal and informal, to avoid focusing on the diagnoses and rather acknowledge the older persons and their lifeworld, be present in the relation and help them rebuild their dignity of identity. This study brings a new understanding about older persons with mental disorders that may help reduce stigma and contribute to planning future mental health care

The social organization of assistance in multilingual interaction in Swedish residential care

In this article, we explore the organization of assistance in multilingual interaction in Swedish residential care. The data that form the basis for the study cover care encounters involving three residents with a language background other than Swedish, totalling 13 hours and 14 minutes of video documentation. The empirical data consists of a collection of 134 instances where residents seek assistance with the realization of a practical action. For this article, three examples that involve the manipulation of an object have been selected for analysis. We use the concept of ‘recruitment’ to encompass the various methods by which assistance is sought in the care encounter. In the first example, the need for assistance concerns the transfer of an object that is recognizable and physically available for both participants. This, in combination with the resident’s gestural work that pinpoints the description of the action, facilitates its realization. In the second and third examples, the realization of the action becomes more difficult because the object involved is not recognizable for the caregiver. The article highlights the collaborative ways in which residents manage to support their talk through bodily practices, and the strong and empathetic engagement with which caregivers become involved in interpreting the meaning of these practices. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for care provision in multilingual circumstances.Peer reviewe

Health-related quality of life determinants among Rwandan women after delivery: does antenatal care utilization matter? A cross-sectional study

Background: Despite the widespread use of antenatal care (ANC), its effectiveness in low-resource settings remains unclear. In this study, self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was used as an alternative to other maternal health measures previously used to measure the effectiveness of antenatal care. The main objective of this study was to determine whether adequate antenatal care utilization is positively associated with women\u2019s HRQoL. Furthermore, the associations between the HRQoL during the first year (1\u201313 months) after delivery and socio-economic and demographic factors were explored in Rwanda. Methods: In 2014, we performed a cross-sectional population-based survey involving 922 women who gave birth 1\u201313 months prior to the data collection. The study population was randomly selected from two provinces in Rwanda, and a structured questionnaire was used. HRQoL was measured using the EQ-5D-3L and a visual analogue scale (VAS). The average HRQoL scores were computed by demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The effect of adequate antenatal care utilization on HRQoL was tested by performing two multivariable linear regression models with the EQ-5D and EQ-VAS scores as the outcomes and ANC utilization and socio-economic and demographic variables as the predictors. Results: Adequate ANC utilization affected women\u2019s HRQoL when the outcome was measured using the EQ-VAS. Social support and living in a wealthy household were associated with a better HRQoL using both the EQ-VAS and EQ-5D. Cohabitating, and single/unmarried women exhibited significantly lower HRQoL scores than did married women in the EQ-VAS model, and women living in urban areas exhibited lower HRQoL scores than women living in rural areas in the ED-5D model. The effect of education on HRQoL was statistically significant using the EQ-VAS but was inconsistent across the educational categories. The women\u2019s age and the age of their last child were not associated with their HRQoL. Conclusions: ANC attendance of at least four visits should be further promoted and used in low-income settings. Strategies to improve families\u2019 socio-economic conditions and promote social networks among women, particularly women at the reproductive age, are needed

Malmbanan Diaries

This booklet is a report for a case study visit during four day field trip, a group of nine PhD students and their supervisors – all part of the National Research School for Architecture and Planning in the Urban Landscape, APULA – set out to explore what may be considered the outback of Western Europe’s conurbations, the transnational region of Kiruna -Narvik.Both “remote” and “resourceful”, “threatened” and “thriving” (equally relative notions), this region seemed to offer possibilities to reflect upon many of the current tendencies influencing contemporary planning practice and research

Klimatmedveten landskapsarkitektur

Klimatet håller på att förändras, vilket kommer att påverka vårt samhälle, våra näringar och vårt kunskapsbehov. SLU:s utbildningar måste få delvis nya inriktningar för att hålla sig à jour med utvecklingen - en klimatförändring accentuerar i hög grad behovet av just den forskning och den utveckling som pågår vid SLU

Land and Landscape; Linking Use, Experience and Property Development in Urban Areas

This article brings together the concepts of land and landscape, tightly linked in urban transformative situations, but rarely used for the purpose to strengthen strategic planning for sustainability. They are investigated as a combined base for land use deliberations, in early phases of planning processes, in practices of different scale, especially in a European context, drawing on planning and landscape policies generally agreed upon, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This article argues for taking into consideration the landscape as experienced human habitat, in relation to the understanding of land as both a common resource, and as pieces of property. This is motivated partly by the more or less global political trend and the turn from state interventions to individualistic capitalism (calling for new methods to solve common challenges), but also by a changing planning profession, increased collaborative planning processes, increased significance of public space as a scarce resource in densified cities, the need for holistic perspectives in sustainable urban development and the need for unifying concepts for urban and rural land at a local and regional scale. A new concept "around-scape" is suggested, in order to make visible the subjective binding between available perceived resources and spatial transformation

Haavanhoidon hygieniaprosessi Helsingin kotihoidossa

Tiivistelmä: Hygienian tärkeys kotihoidon haavanhoidossa on merkittävä tekijä asiakastyössä hoitotyön potilasturvallisuuden ja laadun kannalta. Haavanhoidon hoitotyön toimenpiteisiin kuuluu huomioida aseptinen toiminta, koti hoitoympäristönä, haavasidosten ja instrumenttien jälkikäsittely, käsihygienia ja suojakäsineiden oikea käyttö. Aseptisten ohjeiden noudattaminen koskee kaikkia hoitajia jotka osallistuvat haavanhoitoon kotihoidossa. Haavojen laadukas ja kustannustehokas hoito edellyttää yhtenäisiä hoitolinjoja jotka perustuvat kliiniseen kokemukseen ja tutkimusnäyttöön. Opinnäytetyön tarkoitus on arvioida kotihoidon kehitteillä oleva ohjeistus teorian ja käytännön tasolla. Tavoitteena on tuottaa tietoa kotihoidon työryhmälle ja perustelut ohjeistuksen valittuihin/ehdotettuihin hoitokäytäntöihin. Aineiston keräys ja työni pohjana on kirjallisuuskatsaus ja tutkimustietoa aiheesta sekä käytännön näkemyksenä kyselylomake terveydenhoitajalle/sairaanhoitajalle. Kyselylomake jaettiin kaikille kotihoidon suuralueelle. Valitsin arpomalla kolme lähipalvelualuetta jokaisesta suuralueesta, eli yhteensä 21 vastausta. Vastausprosentti tutkimuksessa oli 51 %. Kyselyn tuloksista käy ilmi että hoitajat kokevat että ohjeistus on selkeä (90 %), ohjeistuksen toimivuus (54 %) ja 81 % hoitajista koki että ohjeistuksesta ei puuttunut mitään. Hoitajat kokevat toimivansa erittäin aseptisesti, vaikka puutetta oli instrumenteista ja työvaatteita käytettiin vain osittain. Hankalana kotihoidossa koettiin työergonomia ja instrumenttienpuute.Sammandrag: Hygienen är betydelsefull faktor i behandling av sår i hemvården, särskilt då vårdarbetets patientsäkerhet och kvalitet beaktas. Till sårvårdens vårdåtgärder hör aseptiska riktlinjer, hemmet som vårdmiljö, sårförbandens och instrumentens efterbehandling, handhygien och korrekt användning av skyddshandskar. Aseptiska riktlinjer gäller alla vårdare som deltar i sårvårdsbehandling i hemvården. Kvalitetsmässig och kostnadseffektiv sårbehandling kräver gemensamma vårdriktlinjer som bygger på klinisk erfarenhet och forskningsresultat. Syftet med denna studie är att utvärdera hemvårdens föreslagna riktlinjer både i teori och i praktiken. Målet är att ge information till hemvårdens arbetsgrupp och motivera de utvalda vårdriktlinjerna. Arbetet bygger på litteraturgenomgång och forskningsresultat om ämnet. Enkät utdelades till hemvårdens sjukskötare/hälsovårdare, med avsikten att få en uppfattning om praktiken angående hygien i sårvården. Enkäten skickades via lottning till tre serviceområden inom alla sju storområdena, totalt 21 stycken. Svarsfrekvensen var 51 %. Resultatet av enkät undersökningen var att sjukskötarna/hälsovårdarna ansåg att sårvårdens hygienriktlinjer var tydlig (90 %), vårdarens uppfattning att riktlinjerna kan tillämpas i vårdverklighen (54 %), 81 % av sjukskötarna/hälsovårdarna upplevde att ingenting fattades från direktivet/skriftliga riktlinjerna. Vårdarna upplevde att de fungerade ytterst aseptiskt fastän det var brist på instrument och användningen av arbetskläder var bristfällig. Som mest problematiskt i hemvården ansågs arbetsergonomin och bristen av instrumentvara.Abstract: The importance of hygiene in wound care in client related home care settings is a major factor when nursing is considered from the view of patient safety and quality. Wound care management includes paying attention to aseptic function, home care environment, dressings and instruments post treatment, hand hygiene and the correct use of protective gloves. Aseptic guidelines apply to all nurses involved in wound management in home care. Qualitative and cost-effective treatment regards consistent management based on clinical experience and research evidence. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the developed wound care instructions from both a theoretical and practice perspective. The aim is to provide information to the homecare working group and show the reason for selected/proposed management. The study is based on a review of the literature and research as well as a questionnaire to nurses. The questionnaire was distributed to three local service area of each of seven sub-areas, a total of 21 responses. The response was 51 %. The questionnaire study results indicate that nurses felt that the instruction is clear (90%), the guidance function is good (54%), and 81 % of nurses felt that the guidance did not lack anything. Nurses experienced that they functioned very aseptically although they had a lack of instruments and used working clothes only partially. Difficulties they experienced in home care settings was working-ergonomics and the lack of instruments

Content-based image retrieval with Haar transformation

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate 7 different search strategies for content-based image retrieval with respect to retrieval effectiveness. The strategies are based on different levels of resolution implemented by the Haar transformation. The result of the study shows an improvement in both mean average precision and mean recall in strategies based on lower levels of resolution.Uppsatsnivå: