(Sam)arbeid for sosial inkludering: En kvalitativ studie om samarbeidet mellom barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger med sosial inkludering av barn med særlige behov i barnehagen

Formålet med studien er å utvikle kunnskap om det tverrfaglige samarbeidet mellom barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger med sosial inkludering av barn med særlige behov i barnehagen. Betydningen av sosial inkludering begrunnes i internasjonale konvensjoner som Norge har sluttet seg til, samt føringer i rammeplan for barnehagens innhold og oppgaver (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2017) og barnehageloven (2005). Alle barn skal læres opp til å sosialiseres i et fellesskap som skal omhandle og ivareta mangfoldet ut fra barnets egne forutsetninger og bakgrunn (United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1994). Barn som mottar spesialpedagogisk hjelp, skal også inkluderes i det ordinære tilbudet i barnehagen. De skal delta i barnegruppen på lik linje med andre barn (Barnehageloven, 2005, § 31; Meld. St. 19 (2015-2016). På bakgrunn av dette ønsker Regjeringen å bygge et lag rundt barn som mottar spesialpedagogisk hjelp (Meld. St. 6 (2019-2020). Dette kan sees i lys av den utviklingsøkologiske modellen (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) som danner en del av det teoretiske grunnlaget i denne studien. Regjeringen ønsker også å styrke samarbeidet mellom ulike aktører som barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger for å kunne gi et tilbud av høy kvalitet (Meld. St. 6 (2019-2020). Studien har følgende problemstilling: Hvordan samarbeider barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger med sosial inkludering av barn med særlige behov i barnehagen? For å besvare denne, ble det gjennomført seks individuelle, kvalitative forskningsintervjuer med tre barnehagelærere og tre spesialpedagoger. På bakgrunn av studiens tema og formål, danner en hermeneutisk tilnærming utgangspunktet for dataanalysen, mens en tematisk analyse utgjør selve prosessen med å analysere innsamlet data (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Kvale & Brinkmann, 2015). Samlet sett vitner funnene om at en avklaring av forventninger, god kommunikasjon og bevissthet rundt potensielle utfordringer er sentrale aspekter ved det tverrfaglige samarbeidet. I studien kommer det frem at informantenes forståelse av begrepet sosial inkludering er nært knyttet til informantenes barnesyn, holdninger, kompetanse og arbeidsmåter. Forståelsen av begrepet sosial inkludering danner grunnlaget for organisering av den spesialpedagogiske hjelpen, samt valg av ulike tiltak for å oppnå sosial inkludering. Det fremkommer i studiens funn ulike utfordringer som barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger bør ta hensyn til for å lykkes med den sosiale inkluderingen av barn med særlige behov

(Sam)arbeid for sosial inkludering: En kvalitativ studie om samarbeidet mellom barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger med sosial inkludering av barn med særlige behov i barnehagen

Formålet med studien er å utvikle kunnskap om det tverrfaglige samarbeidet mellom barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger med sosial inkludering av barn med særlige behov i barnehagen. Betydningen av sosial inkludering begrunnes i internasjonale konvensjoner som Norge har sluttet seg til, samt føringer i rammeplan for barnehagens innhold og oppgaver (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2017) og barnehageloven (2005). Alle barn skal læres opp til å sosialiseres i et fellesskap som skal omhandle og ivareta mangfoldet ut fra barnets egne forutsetninger og bakgrunn (United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1994). Barn som mottar spesialpedagogisk hjelp, skal også inkluderes i det ordinære tilbudet i barnehagen. De skal delta i barnegruppen på lik linje med andre barn (Barnehageloven, 2005, § 31; Meld. St. 19 (2015-2016). På bakgrunn av dette ønsker Regjeringen å bygge et lag rundt barn som mottar spesialpedagogisk hjelp (Meld. St. 6 (2019-2020). Dette kan sees i lys av den utviklingsøkologiske modellen (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) som danner en del av det teoretiske grunnlaget i denne studien. Regjeringen ønsker også å styrke samarbeidet mellom ulike aktører som barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger for å kunne gi et tilbud av høy kvalitet (Meld. St. 6 (2019-2020). Studien har følgende problemstilling: Hvordan samarbeider barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger med sosial inkludering av barn med særlige behov i barnehagen? For å besvare denne, ble det gjennomført seks individuelle, kvalitative forskningsintervjuer med tre barnehagelærere og tre spesialpedagoger. På bakgrunn av studiens tema og formål, danner en hermeneutisk tilnærming utgangspunktet for dataanalysen, mens en tematisk analyse utgjør selve prosessen med å analysere innsamlet data (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Kvale & Brinkmann, 2015). Samlet sett vitner funnene om at en avklaring av forventninger, god kommunikasjon og bevissthet rundt potensielle utfordringer er sentrale aspekter ved det tverrfaglige samarbeidet. I studien kommer det frem at informantenes forståelse av begrepet sosial inkludering er nært knyttet til informantenes barnesyn, holdninger, kompetanse og arbeidsmåter. Forståelsen av begrepet sosial inkludering danner grunnlaget for organisering av den spesialpedagogiske hjelpen, samt valg av ulike tiltak for å oppnå sosial inkludering. Det fremkommer i studiens funn ulike utfordringer som barnehagelærere og spesialpedagoger bør ta hensyn til for å lykkes med den sosiale inkluderingen av barn med særlige behov

Accessibility to and awareness of rheumatology care provided by a nurse – a pilot study

Introduction: Good medical care depends both on the access to specialists and awareness of patients and healthcare professionals. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the accessibility to rheumatology outpatient care and the awareness of patients with inflammatory joint diseases with regard to the types of sources and preferences of sources for obtaining information related to their disease and treatment, as well as to establish the extent to which this information is useful to patients. Materials and methods: A pilot, cross-sectional, single center, anonymous study was conducted among adult patients with inflammatory joint diseases who were monitored in an outpatient rheumatology room at St George Diagnostic and Consultative Center in Plovdiv. A total of 56 patients were monitored. The questionnaire contained 56 questions, divided into 5 main groups: 1. questions about the disease, 2. questions about the sociodemographic profile of the patients, 3. questions about accessibility to specialized healthcare, 4. questions about the role of the nurse in the training of patients with inflammatory joint disease, and 5. questions evaluating the attitude to the monitoring medical team. The data were analyzed with IBM SPSS V.26, at a statistical significance level of p<0.05 for all analyses. Results: Women predominated among the patients under observation (37, 66%), as well as patients in the age group of 50-79 years (46, 82%). Twenty-four (42.9%) were the patients attending the consulting room twice a year. On-the-spot booking in the consulting room was preferred mainly among patients who lived within 50 km (3/16, 19%), while the rest of the patients preferred booking appointments by phone. Forty-five (80%) patients of the total number of patients used subcutaneous biological agents. Among them, the patients whose first application was performed by a nurse in a rheumatology room predominated (44 patients, 96%). All respondents (56, 100%) indicated that they had received self-injection training from a healthcare professional. Conclusion: Patients with inflammatory joint diseases need information to help them manage issues related to their disease and treatment, as well as cope with their physical and psychological needs. Our study shows that patients most commonly use a combination of information sources – they get information from a doctor or from a healthcare professional, i.e. a nurse. We highlighted in the study the crucial role of nurses in improving the access of patients to specialized rheumatology care and satisfying patients’ information needs

Composite polyelectrolyte multilayers for biofunctionalization of medical devices

Polyelectrolyte multilayer coatings (PEM) are prepared by alternative layer-by-layer deposition of cationic and anionic polyelectrolyte monolayers on charged surfaces. The thickness of the coatings ranges from nm to few μm. Their properties such as roughness, stiffness, surface charge and surface energy can be precisely tuned to fulfil different technical or biological requirements. The coating process is based on self-assembly of polyelectrolytes. Advantages of these coatings are their easy handling, no harsh chemistry and the possibility for coatings on complex geometries. The PEM coatings can be prepared from a variety of suitable polyelectrolytes. Their stability varies from very durable PEM coatings that are only soluble in strong solvents to quickly degradable, which may be applied as drug release system. One example of such a degradable PEM system is the one based on the polyelectrolyte pair Hyaluronan (HA) and Chitosan (CHI). These biopolymers originate from natural sources and show low toxicity towards human cells. However, HA/CHI multilayers show only weak adhesiveness for human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). In this article, we summarize our approaches to enhance the HA/CHI multilayer by incorporation of a non-polymer substance –graphene oxide– to improve the cell adhesion and keep such properties as low cytotoxicity and biodegradability. Different approaches for incorporation of graphene oxide were performed and the cellular adhesion was tested by metabolic assay

Morphometric and Nanomechanical Screening of Peripheral Blood Cells with Atomic Force Microscopy for Label-Free Assessment of Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs) are complex, multifactorial disorders with significant social and economic impact in today’s society. NDDs are predicted to become the second-most common cause of death in the next few decades due to an increase in life expectancy but also to a lack of early diagnosis and mainly symptomatic treatment. Despite recent advances in diagnostic and therapeutic methods, there are yet no reliable biomarkers identifying the complex pathways contributing to these pathologies. The development of new approaches for early diagnosis and new therapies, together with the identification of non-invasive and more cost-effective diagnostic biomarkers, is one of the main trends in NDD biomedical research. Here we summarize data on peripheral biomarkers, biofluids (cerebrospinal fluid and blood plasma), and peripheral blood cells (platelets (PLTs) and red blood cells (RBCs)), reported so far for the three most common NDDs—Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). PLTs and RBCs, beyond their primary physiological functions, are increasingly recognized as valuable sources of biomarkers for NDDs. Special attention is given to the morphological and nanomechanical signatures of PLTs and RBCs as biophysical markers for the three pathologies. Modifications of the surface nanostructure and morphometric and nanomechanical signatures of PLTs and RBCs from patients with AD, PD, and ALS have been revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM is currently experiencing rapid and widespread adoption in biomedicine and clinical medicine, in particular for early diagnostics of various medical conditions. AFM is a unique instrument without an analog, allowing the generation of three-dimensional cell images with extremely high spatial resolution at near-atomic scale, which are complemented by insights into the mechanical properties of cells and subcellular structures. Data demonstrate that AFM can distinguish between the three pathologies and the normal, healthy state. The specific PLT and RBC signatures can serve as biomarkers in combination with the currently used diagnostic tools. We highlight the strong correlation of the morphological and nanomechanical signatures between RBCs and PLTs in PD, ALS, and AD

Hofmeister anions effect on the thickness and morphology of polyelectrolyte multilayers for biofunctionalization of cardiovascular stents

The effect of Hofmeister anions on the surface properties of polyelectrolyte multilayers built from hyaluronan and chitosan by layer-by-layer deposition is studied by ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy. The thickness, roughness and morphology of the resulting coatings were found to depend on the type of the anion. Relationship between the surface properties and the biological response of the polyelectrolyte multilayers is established by assessing the degree of protein (albumin) adsorption

Accessibility to and awareness of rheumatology care provided by a nurse – a pilot study

Introduction: Good medical care depends both on the access to specialists and awareness of patients and healthcare professionals. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the accessibility to rheumatology outpatient care and the awareness of patients with inflammatory joint diseases with regard to the types of sources and preferences of sources for obtaining information related to their disease and treatment, as well as to establish the extent to which this information is useful to patients. Materials and methods: A pilot, cross-sectional, single center, anonymous study was conducted among adult patients with inflammatory joint diseases who were monitored in an outpatient rheumatology room at St George Diagnostic and Consultative Center in Plovdiv. A total of 56 patients were monitored. The questionnaire contained 56 questions, divided into 5 main groups: 1. questions about the disease, 2. questions about the sociodemographic profile of the patients, 3. questions about accessibility to specialized healthcare, 4. questions about the role of the nurse in the training of patients with inflammatory joint disease, and 5. questions evaluating the attitude to the monitoring medical team. The data were analyzed with IBM SPSS V.26, at a statistical significance level of p<0.05 for all analyses. Results: Women predominated among the patients under observation (37, 66%), as well as patients in the age group of 50-79 years (46, 82%). Twenty-four (42.9%) were the patients attending the consulting room twice a year. On-the-spot booking in the consulting room was preferred mainly among patients who lived within 50 km (3/16, 19%), while the rest of the patients preferred booking appointments by phone. Forty-five (80%) patients of the total number of patients used subcutaneous biological agents. Among them, the patients whose first application was performed by a nurse in a rheumatology room predominated (44 patients, 96%). All respondents (56, 100%) indicated that they had received self-injection training from a healthcare professional. Conclusion: Patients with inflammatory joint diseases need information to help them manage issues related to their disease and treatment, as well as cope with their physical and psychological needs. Our study shows that patients most commonly use a combination of information sources – they get information from a doctor or from a healthcare professional, i.e. a nurse. We highlighted in the study the crucial role of nurses in improving the access of patients to specialized rheumatology care and satisfying patients’ information needs

Regulation of the growth, morphology, mechanical properties and biocompatibility of natural polysaccharide-based multilayers by Hofmeister anions

Herein the optimization of the physicochemical properties and surface biocompatibility of polyelectrolyte multilayers of the natural, biocompatible and biodegradable, linear polysaccharides hyaluronan and chitosan by Hofmeister anions was systematically investigated. We demonstrated that there is an interconnection between the bulk and surface properties of HA/Chi multilayers both varying in accordance with the arrangement of the anions in the Hofmeister series. Kosmotropic anions increased the hydration, thickness, micro- and macro-roughness, and hydrophilicity and improved the biocompatibility of the films by reduction (2 orders of magnitude) of the films stiffness and complete anti-thrombogenicity