A man, his spouse and the malignancy. The needs of spouses of men treated with hormonal therapy for prostate cancer

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked FilesTilgangur: Hormónahvarfsmeðferð vegna blöðruhálskirtilskrabbameins fylgja víðtækar hliðarverkanir sem hafa áhrif á líðan sjúklings og samband hans og maka hans. Lítið er vitað um sértækar þarfr þessara maka hérlendis. Tilgangur rannsóknarinnar var að skoða vandamál þeirra og þarfr fyrir upplýsingar og stuðning. Aðferð: Blönduð aðferð; lýsandi þversniðsrannsókn og eigindleg viðtöl. Þýðið var makar karla á hormónahvarfsmeðferð vegna blöðruhálskirtilskrabbameins. Rannsóknargögnum var safnað með spurningalista og djúpviðtölum. Gögnin voru greind hvor í sínu lagi og niðurstöður samþættar. Niðurstöður: Spurningalista svöruðu 29 konur og 11 viðtöl voru tekin við 6 þeirra. Helstu vandamál þátttakenda voru: Ótti vegna óvissu um framtíð (n=15), breytingar á persónuleika maka (n=14), ótti um eigin heilsu (n=13) og að sætta sig við veikindi sjúklings (n=13). Helstu vandamál, sem þátttakendur vildu frekari upplýsingar um, voru andlegar breytingar (n=16), persónuleikabreytingar (n=13), líkamleg vandamál sem búast má við (n=13) og líkamlegar breytingar (n=13). Niðurstöður viðtalanna studdu þessar niðurstöður. Þar kom fram að konurnar vildu vera þátttakendur í sjúkdómsferli makans til að geta stutt hann sem best en þær voru of lítt undirbúnar fyrir áhrif meðferðar á makann: persónuleikabreytingar, depurð og niðursveifur, hlédrægni, minnkandi nánd og missi karlmennskunnar. Flestar álitu manninn undir traustri læknishendi og lögðu áherslu á að meðferðin gæf þeim meiri tíma saman, en fundu jafnframt til óvissu um framvindu sjúkdómsins. Aðgangur að stuðningi og upplýsingum skipti miklu. Ályktanir: Makar karla á hormónahvarfsmeðferð fnna margháttaðar breytingar og erfðleika í tengslum við meðferðina. Mikilvægt er að viðeigandi stuðningur og fræðsla af hendi fagfólks sé efd og boðin frá upphaf meðferðar. Lykilorð: blöðruhálskirtilskrabbamein, forvarnir, fræðsla, hormónahvarfsmeðferð, makarAim: Adverse effects of hormonal therapy for advanced prostate cancer affect the relationship and wellbeing of the patient and his spouse. Scarce information exists on the specific problems and needs of spouses for information and support. The study aim was to explore these problems and needs. Method: Mixed method study design; cross-sectional and qualitative interviews. The population were spouses of men receiving hormonal therapy for advanced prostate cancer. A questionnaire and interviews were used for data collection. Data was first analysed separately by descriptive statistics (questionnaire) and thematically (interviews) and then integrated. Results: The questionnaire was answered by 29 women and 11 interviews were conducted with six women. Their main problems were; uncertainty about the future (n=15), changes in personality of the man (n=14), fear for own health (n=13) and accepting the patient’s disease (n=13). Informational needs concerned mental changes (n=16), changes of the patient’s personality (n=13), physical problems (n=13) and what physical changes should be expected (n=13). The interviews supported these results. The women experienced uncertainty and wanted to be more involved in the treatment’s course. Many were unprepared for the treatment’s consequences; depression and downturns, social withdrawal, and loss of intimacy and masculinity. Most believed their husbandsreceived adequate treatment and emphasised that the treatment gave them more time together. More support and information was requested. Conclusion: This group of spouses is confronted with various treatment related changes. Support and information should be improved and holistic service and participation offered from the beginning of the treatment. Keywords:

Symptoms of anxiety and depression in surgical patients at the hospital, 6 weeks and 6 months postsurgery : A questionnaire study

The study was funded by the University of Iceland Science Fund, the Landspitali University Hospital Science Fund and the Icelandic Nurses Association Science Fund. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons LtdAims: To describe prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in surgical patients at three time points: at hospital postsurgery (T1), 6 weeks (T2) and 6 months (T3) postdischarge from hospital; and detect situations and experiences that predict symptoms of anxiety and depression at T2 and T3. Design: Prospective, explorative two-site follow-up study. Methods: Patients having selected surgeries from January–July 2016 were invited to participate. Final participation was 390 patients. Participation involved answering questionnaires, including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). A stepwise multiple linear regression model was employed to calculate predictors of anxiety and depression. Results: The proportion of patients presenting with moderate-to-severe anxiety or depression ranged from 5.4%–20.2% at different times. Major predictors of anxiety at both times were not feeling rested upon awakening and higher scores on HADS-Anxiety at T1 and T2 and at T2 also experiencing more distressing postoperative symptoms. For depression, the major predictors were at both times higher scores on HADS-Depression at T2 and T3 and also at T2 not feeling rested upon awakening and at T3 reporting delayed or very delayed recovery. The four models explained from 43.9%–55.6% of the variance in symptoms of anxiety and depression. Our findings show that patients presenting with psychological distress at the hospital are in a vulnerable position. Also, that benefits of good sleep during the recovery should be emphasized during hospital stay.Peer reviewe

Pain rehabilitation’s effect on people in chronic pain : A prospective cohort study

Funding Information: Funding: The University of Akureyri Research Fund (R1508, R1609, R1705, R1906), Research Fund of Ingibjörg R. Magnúsdóttir, Memorial Fund of Kristín Thoroddsen, and KEA Research Fund are thanked for funding. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Multidisciplinary long-term pain rehabilitation programs with a team of healthcare professionals are an integrated approach to treat patients with chronic non-malignant pain. In this longitudinal prospective cohort study, we investigated the long-term effects of multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation on the self-reported causes of pain, pain self-management strategies, sleep, pain severity, and pain’s interference with life, pre-and post-treatment. Eighty-one patients, aged 20–69 years, with chronic pain responded. The two most frequently reported perceived causes of pain were fibromyalgia and accidents. The difference in average self-reported pain severity decreased significantly at one-year follow-up (p < 0.001), as did pain’s interference with general activities, mood, walking ability, sleep, and enjoyment of life. At one-year follow-up, participants (21%) rated their health as good/very good and were more likely to state that it was better than a year before (20%). No change was found in the use of pain self-management strategies such as physical training at one-year follow-up. The intervention was effective for the participants, as reflected in the decreased pain severity and pain interference with life.Peer reviewe

Pain, sleep, and health-related quality of life after multidisciplinary intervention for chronic pain

Funding: The University of Akureyri Research Fund (R1508, R1609, R1705, R1906), Research Fund of Ingibjörg R. Magnúsdóttir, Memorial Fund of Kristín Thoroddsen, and KEA Research Fund are thanked for funding. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Multidisciplinary pain-management programs have the potential to decrease pain intensity, improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and increase sleep quality. In this longitudinal prospective cohort study, the aim was to investigate the long-term effects of multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation interventions in Iceland. More precisely, we (a) explored and described how individuals with chronic pain evaluated their pain severity, sleep, and HRQOL at pre-treatment and at one-year follow-up and (b) examined what predicted the participants’ one-year follow-up HRQOL. Seventy-nine patients aged 20–68 years, most of whom were women (85%), responded. The participants scored their pain lower at one-year follow-up (p < 0.001). According to their response, most of them had disrupted sleep, mainly because of pain. One year after the treatment, more participants slept through the night (p = 0.004), and their HRQOL increased. Higher pre-treatment mental component summary (MCS) scores and having pursued higher education predicted higher MCS scores at one-year follow-up, and higher pre-treatment physical component summary (PCS) scores predicted higher PCS scores at one-year follow-up. Sleep problems, being a woman, and having children younger than 18 years of age predicted lower MCS scores at one-year follow-up. These findings are suggestive that patients should be examined with respect to their mental status, and it could be beneficial if they received some professional support after completing the intervention.Peer reviewe

Comparative Treatment Outcomes for Patients With Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadImportance: Surgical treatment comparisons in rare diseases are difficult secondary to the geographic distribution of patients. Fortunately, emerging technologies offer promise to reduce these barriers for research. Objective: To prospectively compare the outcomes of the 3 most common surgical approaches for idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS), a rare airway disease. Design, setting, and participants: In this international, prospective, 3-year multicenter cohort study, 810 patients with untreated, newly diagnosed, or previously treated iSGS were enrolled after undergoing a surgical procedure (endoscopic dilation [ED], endoscopic resection with adjuvant medical therapy [ERMT], or cricotracheal resection [CTR]). Patients were recruited from clinician practices in the North American Airway Collaborative and an online iSGS community on Facebook. Main outcomes and measures: The primary end point was days from initial surgical procedure to recurrent surgical procedure. Secondary end points included quality of life using the Clinical COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) Questionnaire (CCQ), Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10), Eating Assessment Test-10 (EAT-10), the 12-Item Short-Form Version 2 (SF-12v2), and postoperative complications. Results: Of 810 patients in this cohort, 798 (98.5%) were female and 787 (97.2%) were white, with a median age of 50 years (interquartile range, 43-58 years). Index surgical procedures were ED (n = 603; 74.4%), ERMT (n = 121; 14.9%), and CTR (n = 86; 10.6%). Overall, 185 patients (22.8%) had a recurrent surgical procedure during the 3-year study, but recurrence differed by modality (CTR, 1 patient [1.2%]; ERMT, 15 [12.4%]; and ED, 169 [28.0%]). Weighted, propensity score-matched, Cox proportional hazards regression models showed ED was inferior to ERMT (hazard ratio [HR], 3.16; 95% CI, 1.8-5.5). Among successfully treated patients without recurrence, those treated with CTR had the best CCQ (0.75 points) and SF-12v2 (54 points) scores and worst VHI-10 score (13 points) 360 days after enrollment as well as the greatest perioperative risk. Conclusions and relevance: In this cohort study of 810 patients with iSGS, endoscopic dilation, the most popular surgical approach for iSGS, was associated with a higher recurrence rate compared with other procedures. Cricotracheal resection offered the most durable results but showed the greatest perioperative risk and the worst long-term voice outcomes. Endoscopic resection with medical therapy was associated with better disease control compared with ED and had minimal association with vocal function. These results may be used to inform individual patient treatment decision-making.Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute - PCOR

„Hver er þynnsta bókin sem þú átt?“ : hver eru tengslin á milli skólasafna og skólastarfs í grunnskólum Fjarðabyggðar, fer þar fram kennsla eða snýst starfið um þjónustu yfir borðið?

Í þessari ritgerð er fjallað um hlutverk skólasafna í starfi grunnskóla og kannað hvernig starfi safna er háttað í grunnskólum Fjarðabyggðar. Höfundur fjallar um áherslur stjórnvalda í þessum málum og rýnir í lög og reglugerðir sem lúta að þessum málaflokki. Ákvæði í lögum þessa efnis að safn skuli vera í hverjum skóla, hvarf með nýjum grunnskólalögum árið 2007 og nú sjáum við frekar orðin upplýsingamennt og upplýsingalæsi í aðalnámskrá. Fjallað er um skilgreiningar á hugtakinu upplýsingatækni og hver merking þess er samkvæmt aðalnámskrá. Í aðalnámskrá eru aldurstengd markmið nefnd og er upplýsinga- og tæknimennt skipt í þrennt, upplýsingalæsi, tæknilæsi og menningarlæsi. Höfundur hefur í námi sínu farið í vettvangsferðir í grunnskóla á höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Sumir þeirra eru með ríka safnahefð og þar er vinna á safni orðin stór hluti af skólastarfinu. Þar vinna nemendur og kennarar að ýmsum verkefnum með safnakennara. Í ljósi þessa ákvað höfundur að gera könnun á starfsemi skólasafnanna í Fjarðabyggð, sinni heimabyggð. Mikil uppbygging hefur átt sér stað í grunnskólum sveitarfélagsins og eru flest öll söfnin í nýju eða nýlegu húsnæði. Í ritgerðinni er fjallað um vinnuaðstæður og starfsemi á þessum söfnum. Hlutverki starfsmanna og samvinnu þeirra við kennara skólanna er lýst. Byggt er á viðtölum við starfsmenn safnanna, miðstigskennara skólanna, heimsóknum í skólana fjóra og athugunum á vefefni og skólanámskrám. Helstu niðurstöður eru þær að skólarnir eru ekki að nota skólasöfnin sem hluta af skólastofunni. Mjög oft er skólasafnið eingöngu notað til útlána og lítil sem engin áhersla er á að kenna nemendum að nota leitarvélar. Í flestum skólanna er lítil sem engin áhersla lögð á markvissa kennslu í upplýsingalæsi, frekar er áhersla lögð á upplýsingatækni. Einnig hlýtur það að vera umhugsunarefni að allir kennararnir, sem rætt var við, utan einn kunnu ekki að nota leitarkerfi safnsins

Is Iceland’s equal pay management system fair to employees? : an Icelandic municipality case study

Employees’ perceptions of fairness in the workplace significantly impacts their behavior outcomes and attitudes, which clearly influences organizational success. The goal of this case study is to explore the overall fairness of the equal pay management system (EPMS) and what influences employees’ perception of the justice of this system. In this study, was explored the relationship between organizational justice dimensions and key employee behavioral outcomes; job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover. As well as explore whether or not genders perception of justice affects theses outcomes. A quantitative research method was used in this research project; the main data collecting tool was self-complete questionnaires. The survey was submitted to employees of a typical municipality in Iceland and it contained 52 close-ended questions, most measured on five-point Liker scale. The results of this case study show that employees ´perception of overall fairness of the equal pay management system is high and that there is no significant difference between genders. Employee attitudes regarding the equal pay management system and gender equality were very positive. Women perceived less distributive justice than men, but this was because they had less managerial responsibility and less authority to take wage decisions. Increased managerial responsibility was associated with higher procedural and informational justice. The relationship between organizational justice of the equal pay management system and behavioral outcomes job satisfaction and organizational commitment is positively correlated, however the relationship is negatively correlated to turnover intention. Gender does not alter the effect of perceived justice on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intention.Key words: Organizational Justice, Overall Fairness, Equal Pay Certificate, Equal Pay Management System, Gender Pay Gap, Human Resource Management, Organizational PsychologyHvernig starfsmenn upplifa sanngirni innan fyrirtækja hefur áhrif á hegðun þeirra og viðhorf, sem jafnframt hefur áhrif á velgengni skipulagsheildarinnar. Markmið rannsóknannar var að kanna upplifaða sanngirni innan fyrirtækja á jafnlaunakerfi ÍST 85 og hvaða það er sem hefur áhrif á upplifunina. Í þessari rannsókn var einnig kannað samband milli upplifaðs sanngirnis innan fyrirtækja við hegðunarbreyturnar, starfsánægju, hollustu við fyrirtæki og áformum um að ljúka störfum. Þá var einnig kannað hvort kyn miðlaði áhrifum sanngirnis á hegðunarbreyturnar. Megindleg rannsóknaraðferð var notuð við gerð rannsóknainnar og var stuðst við spurningarkönnun í gagnaöflun. Spurningakönnunin var lögð fyrir starfsfólk Sveitarfélagsins Árborgar og innihélt hún 52 spurningar, sem flestar voru mældar á fimm punkta Likert skala. Niðurstöður sýna að starfsmenn upplifðu hátt heildar sanngirni á jafnlaunakerfinu og ekki er marktækur munur á upplifun á milli kynja. Viðhorf starfsmanna til jafnlaunakerfis eru mjög jákvæð. Konur upplifðu lægri sanngirni í úthlutun en það er vegna þess að þær hafa minni stjórnendaábyrgð og minni heimildir til að ákvarða laun. Jákvætt samband er á milli aukinnar stjórnendaábyrgðar og hærra upplifaðs sanngirnis í verklagi og í upplýsingagjöf. Samband milli upplifaðs sanngirnis starfsmanna á jafnlaunakerfinu og hegðunarbreytanna, starfsánægju og hollustu við fyrirtækið, var jákvætt en neikvætt samband var við áformum starfsmanna um að ljúka störfum. Kyn hefur ekki miðlandi áhrif upplifaðs sanngirnis á hegðunarbreyturnar.Lykilorð: Sanngirni innan fyrirtækja, Heildar sanngirni, Jafnlaunavottun, Jafnlaunakerfi, Kynbundinn launamunur, Mannauðsstjórnun, Vinnusálfræð

Health related quality of life and symptoms in patients after total hip arthroplasty: A prospective descriptive cohort study

Bakgrunnur: Þjóðin er að eldast, ekki bara hér á landi heldur þjóðir út um allan heim. Þessi fjölgun aldraðra leiðir meðal annars til aukningar einstaklinga með slæma slitgigt en þessi sjúkdómur veldur miklum sársauka, skertri hreyfigetu og skertum heilsutengdum lífsgæðum. Lokameðferð alvarlegrar slitgigtar í mjöðmum er liðskiptaaðgerð og er meginmarkmið þeirrar aðgerðar að draga úr sársauka, auka hreyfigetu og auka heilsutengd lífsgæði. Liðskiptaaðgerðir á mjöðm eru með algengustu aðgerðum á Íslandi í dag og bíða einstaklingar eftir slíkri aðgerð oft á tíðum í marga mánuði. Markmið rannsóknarinnar er að kanna heilsutengd lífsgæði og helstu einkenni eftir liðskiptaaðgerð á mjöðm á þremur tímapunktum eftir aðgerð. Þetta er framsýn og lýsandi ferilrannsókn framkvæmd á Landspítalanum og Sjúkrahúsinu á Akureyri. Þýðið voru allir þeir sem fóru í liðskiptaaðgerð á mjöðm frá 15. janúar til 15. júlí árið 2016. Þátttakendur svöruðu spurningalistum á þremur tímapunktum, á spítalanum, 6 vikum og 6 mánuðum eftir aðgerð. Notast var við SF-36 mælitækið til að mæla heilstuengd lífsgæði. Fjöldi þátttakenda sem samþykktu að taka þátt í rannsókninni voru 175, 101 svöruðu spurningalistum á öllum þremur tímapunktunum og svarhlutfall var því 58%. Karlar voru 48,5% þátttakenda og konur 51,5%. Meðalaldur þátttakenda var 66,23 ár og meirihluti aðgerðanna voru framkvæmdar á Landspítala (62,4%). Algengustu einkennin eftir liðskiptaaðgerð á mjöðm á öllum þremur tímapunktunum voru erfiðleikar með hreyfingu, verkir, þreyta og úthaldsleysi. Heilsutengd lífsgæði jukust milli tímapunktanna þriggja og er marktækt samband milli heilsutengdra lífsgæða og þreytu, úthaldsleysis og erfiðleika með hreyfingu. Niðurstöður þessarar rannsóknar sýna að heilsutengd lífsgæði batna eftir liðskiptaaðgerð á mjöðm og eru þær niðurstöður sambærilegar erlendum rannsóknum. Þar að auki glíma sjúklingar við ýmis einkenni eftir þessar aðgerðir sem tengjast heilsutengdu lífsgæðunum og þarf að rannsaka enn frekar. Því er mikilvægt að fylgjast vel með þessum helstu einkennum sjúklinga og eru hjúkrunarfræðingar í kjöraðstöðu til þess að sinna þessum einkennum og bæta heilsutengd lífsgæði. Lykilorð: Mjöðm, liðskiptaaðgerð, einkenni, heilsutengd lífsgæðiThe nation is getting older, not only in this country but all over the world. This increase leads among other things to an increase in individuals with severe osteoarthritis, but this disease causes great pain, decreased movement and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The end treatment for severe osteoarthritis of the hip is a joint replacement and the main goal of that operation is to reduce pain, increase movement and HRQOL. Hip replacement surgery is one of the most common operations in Iceland and individuals often wait for this operation for months. The aim of this study is to examine the HRQOL and the main symptoms of individuals after hip arthroplasty at three stages after surgery. This is a prospective descriptive cohort study conducted at the National Hospital of Iceland (Landspítali) and the Hospital of Akureyri (Sjúkrahúsið á Akureyri). The population were all of those who underwent hip replacement surgery from the 15th of January to the 15th of October 2016. Participants answered questionnaires at three stages, at the hospital, 6 weeks and 6 months post op and the SF-36 instrument was used to measure HRQOL. The number of participants who agreed to participate in the study were 175, 101 answered questionnaires at all three stages and the response rate was 58%. Men were 48,5% of participants and women 51,5% The average age was 66,23 years and the majority of the operations were performed at Landspítali (62,4%). The most common symptoms were difficulty with movement, pain, fatigue and lack of endurance. HRQOL increased between the three stages and there was a significant relationship between HRQOL and difficulty with movement, fatigue and lack of endurance. The results of this study revealed that health-related quality of life improves after hip replacement surgery and those results are comparable to foreign studies. In addition, patients experience various symptoms post-surgery and are they related to the HRQOL and they need further research. Therefore, it is important to monitor these symptoms closely and nurses are in an ideal position to treat these symptoms and improve the patients HRQOL. Key words: Hip, arthroplasty, symptoms, health related quality of lif

Jafnréttisstarf og innleiðing jafnlaunastaðals í skipulagsheildum sem hluti mannauðs- og breytingastjórnunar

Verkefnið er lokað til 22.5.2018.Breytingastjórnun felst í að bæta ferla innan skipulagsheildar til að hún verði skilvirkari og samkeppnishæfari. Mannauðsstjórnun felst í stjórnun á bæði starfsemi og starfsfólki, ásamt því að samþætta stafsmannamál við heildarstefnu skipulagsheildar og skapa þannig fyrirtækjamenningu sem þjónar markmiðum starfseminnar. Rannsóknir hafa sýnt að samband er á milli mannauðsstjórnunar og skilvirkni skipulagsheilda. Mannauður er ein lykilauðlinda skipulagsheilda og mikilvægt er að huga að mannauði þegar horft er til þess kostnaðar sem felst í að missa hæft og gott starfsfólk til samkeppnisaðila. Í þessu samhengi skiptir starfsánægja og fyrirtækjamenning miklu máli og verður, eins og kjarnastarfsemi skipulagsheildar, einn af þeim þáttum sem skapa skilvika skipulagsheild. Jafnréttisstarf eða innleiðing jafnlaunakerfis hefur flest einkenni hefðbundinnar breytingastjórnunar. Verkfæri breytingastjórnunar geta því reynst mikilvæg til þess að vinna gegn neikvæðu viðhorfi starfsmanna til vinnu með jafnréttismál í skipulagsheildum. Þau geta nýst til að breyta neikvæðu viðhofi starfsmanna til jafnréttisstarfs ásamt að vera leið til þess að breyta sterkum hefðum eins og kynbundinni starfaskiptingu innan skipulagsheildar. Í breytingaferlinu ber stjórnanda að sýna stafsmönnum fram á væntanlegan ávinning með breytingunum sem og að skapa staðfestu um jafnréttismarkmið í fyrirtækjamenningu skipulagsheildar. Viðhorf þeirra stjórnenda sem rætt var við í þessari rannsókn voru jákvæð til jafnréttisstarfs og jafnréttisáætlana. Unnið var með jafnréttisáætlanir innan skipulagsheildanna og stjórnendur töldu ávinning fólgin í að fá jafnlaunavottun. Ávinningurinn af innleiðingu jafnlaunavottunar töldu þeir vera fólginn í því að gera vinnustaðina betur samanburðarhæfa við samkeppnisaðila og að slík vottun gæti dregið úr tortryggni starfsfólks. Lykilorð: Breytingastjórnun, mannauðsstjórnun, starfsánægja, jafnréttisstarf, jafnlaunastaðall.Organizational change is a way to change and improve procedures and processes within organizations so that they become more efficient and competitive. Human resource management involves the management of managers and personnel, as well as the integration of corporate culture to align with organizational strategy. Studies have shown that there is a relationship between human resource management and organizational effectiveness. Employees are one of the key resources within organization and it is increasingly important to hold on to qualified employees. It can be expensive to lose employees to competitors. In this context job satisfaction and organizational culture becomes very important. The main purpose of this study is to explore the potential of utilizing human resource management and change management to implement gender equality plans and equal pay standards within organizations. According to the study’s results the methods of change management can be beneficial when minimizing resistance to the change involved in gender equality work. Change management can also work to implement goals pertaining to reducing gender segregation of work within organizations. Those involved with implementing change relating to gender equality work must take into consideration the need to communicate information about the benefits of the work being carried out. The study found, through interviews with two mangers of both a private company and a municipality, that management had a positive attitude towards gender equality work, both gender equality plans and equal pay standards. The benefits managers see regarding the implementation of equal pay standards involve the positive effect it would have on employee job satisfaction and the overall competitiveness of the organizations. Keywords: Change management, human resources, gender equality, job satisfaction, equal pay systems/standards

Þanþol kvenleikans. Konur á vöktum

Í gegnum söguna hafa hugmyndir samfélagsins um hlutverk kynjanna tekið talsverðum breytingum. Markmið ritgerðar þessarar er að kanna hvort hugmyndir um kvenleika hafi tekið meiri breytingum heldur en hugmyndir um karlmennsku og hvort og þá hvernig samfélagslegar aðstæður spila þar inn í. Afleiðingar kórónuveirufaraldursins hafa varpað ljósi á ójafna skiptingu hlutverka kynjanna innan veggja heimilisins og einnig haft áhrif á stöðuna á atvinnumarkaði. Með aukinni meðvitund um ójafnt álag hafa augu opnast fyrir vandamálum sem mögulega hafa alltaf verið til staðar en kannski vantað umfjöllun eða hreinlega heiti. Þetta speglast til dæmis í aukinni meðvitund um þriðju vaktina sem hefur fengið talsvert pláss í umræðunni nýlega. Í kjölfar samfélagslegra breytinga og aukinna kvenréttinda hafa konur markað sér meira pláss á opinberu sviði samfélagsins, svo sem innan menntastofnana og á vinnumarkaði. Áður einskorðuðust hugmyndir um hlutverk þeirra við heimilið og uppeldi barna og voru þannig takmarkaðar við einkasviðið. Valdastrúktúrar, svo sem kynjakerfið, gefa þó ekki auðveldlega eftir og gera sitt besta til að viðhalda undirskipun kvenna sem endurspeglast til að mynda í stöðu þeirra á vinnumarkaði