Complexity in Non-Pharmacological Caregiving Activities at the End of Life: An International Qualitative Study

In a qualitative study reported by Olav Lindqvist and colleagues, the range of nonpharmacological caregiving activities used in the last days of a patient's life are described

"Voffor gör di på detta viset?" - en didaktisk studie av förskollärares kompetens om högläsning

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att undersöka vilken kompetens förskollärare har om högläsning. Vi har valt att göra studien, då vi finner att högläsning oftast inte är en pedagogiskt prioriterad aktivitet och därför ville vi undersöka hur några förskollärare ser på högläsning som en pedagogisk aktivitet. Vi analyserade med hjälp av ett didaktiskt perspektiv och utgick från grundfrågorna: varför, hur, när och var, för att synliggöra förskollärarnas tankar och kunskaper kring högläsning. För att vi ska uppnå syftet med studien använde vi oss av enkäter som metod. Vi vände oss till förskollärare på två förskolor och empirin består av 14 besvarade enkäter. Empirin bearbetades i relation till tidigare forskning och ovannämnda perspektiv. Resultatet visar att alla förskollärare i studien är medvetna om vilken betydelse högläsning har för barn, men visar också att förskollärarna har olika tankar om varför, hur och när de utför högläsning. Vi kan också se skillnader i var förskollärarna placerar verksamhetens böcker. Slutsatsen av undersökningen vittnar om att förskollärarna vet vad högläsning ger, men svaren i enkäterna tyder på att deras praktiska utförande skiljer sig från aktuell och relevant forskning

Patterns of reported problems in women and men with back and neck pain : similarities and differences

Objective: To examine similarities and differences in problem areas reported by women and men who seek physiotherapy for back or neck pain. Methods: Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to analyse questionnaire data including demographics, pain, domestic work, stress, health status, physical disability, psychosocial and physical workload, kinesiophobia and self-efficacy. Most of the questions were recruited from a number of scales, e.g. EuroQol (EQ-5D), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ), Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, and Functional-Efficacy-Scale. Results: A total of 118 patients (84 women, 34 men) completed the questionnaire. Men and women scored similarly on physical disability, functional self-efficacy and kinesiophobia, but women scored higher on stress reactions and pain intensity. PCA showed that questions about physical disability and functional self-efficacy comprised the first component and explained most of the variance in this patient group. Questions about stress and social support at work constituted the second component. Questions about domestic workload and pain comprised the third component. Gender differences were found in the second and third components. Conclusion: In general, women and men answered questions similarly, but there were differences: more women reported stress, pain and low support at work and more men reported a lower domestic workload

Isolation and characterization of variant IGF-1 as well as IGF-2 from adult human brain

AbstractThe forms of somatomedin present in the adult human brain have been characterized in this study. Two peptides were purified by acidification, size exclusion chromatography, affinity chromatography, FPLC and HPLC. structural analysis identified these peptides as the variant form of IGF-1 with a truncated N-terminal region earlier isolated from human fetal brain and IGF-2. The presence of the truncated IGF-1 variant and IGF-2 in the human CNS suggests their role as neuropeptides

Issues and needs in end-of-life decision making: An international modified Delphi study

Background: end-of-life decision making is an important aspect of end-of-life care that can have a significant impact on the process of dying and patients' comfort in the last days of life. Aim: the aim of our study was to identify issues and considerations in end-of-life decision making, and needs for more evidence among palliative care experts, across countries and professions. Participants: 90 palliative care experts from nine countries participated in a modified Delphi study. Participants were asked to identify important issues and considerations in end-of-life decision making and to rate the need for more evidence. Results: experts mentioned 219 issues in end-of-life decision making related to the medical domain, 122 issues related to the patient wishes and 92 related to relatives' wishes, regardless of profession or country (p > 0.05). In accordance, more than 90% of the experts rated the comfort and wishes of the patient and the potential futility of treatment as important considerations in end-of-life decision making, although some variation was present. When asked about issues that are in need of more evidence, 87% mentioned appropriate indications for using sedatives and effects of artificial hydration at the end of life. A total of 83% mentioned adequate communication approaches. Conclusions: palliative care experts from different professions in different countries encounter similar issues in end-of-life decision making. Adequate communication about these issues is universally experienced as a challenge, which might benefit from increased knowledge. This shared experience enables and emphasizes the need for more international research