4 research outputs found

    ”Vi er ikke syke mennesker - vi har bare et behov for å snakke". En kvalitativ studie av en internettbasert selvhjelpsgruppe for ungdom med en psykisk syk forelder.

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    Hensikten med avhandlingen er å utforske potensialet i internettbaserte selvhjelpsgrupper som støttetilbud for ungdom med psykisk syke foreldre. Avhandlingen er basert på en aksjonsforskningsstudie hvor det ble etablert en internettbasert selvhjelpsgruppe for ungdom (15-18 år) med en psykisk syk forelder. Studien ble gjennomført i samarbeid mellom Nasjonalt senter for samhandling og telemedisin v/Universitetssykehuset Nord-Norge HF og Avdeling for barn og unges psykiske helse v/Sørlandet sykehus HF. Selvhjelpsgruppen ble organisert som et anonymt passordbeskyttet diskusjonsforum, som del av en nasjonal nettjeneste for barn og unge med psykisk syke foreldre (www.morild.org) ved Sørlandet sykehus HF. Studien tar utgangspunkt i ungdoms perspektiver og erfaringer, og belyser betydningen av selvhjelpsforumet i deres hverdagslivkontekst. Avhandlingens fire artikler drøfter studiens overordnete forskningsspørsmål: Hva betyr en anonym internettbasert selvhjelpsgruppe for ungdom med psykisk syke foreldre, og hvordan kan det forstås i lys av sosiologiske perspektiver? 16 ungdommer har deltatt i studien. Avhandlingen har et barndomssosiologisk rammeverk, og er basert på kvalitativ metode gjennom deltakende observasjon i forumet over 2 år og dybdeintervjuer med 13 deltakere. Artiklene tematiserer ungdommenes hverdagsliverfaringer, deres status som risikogruppe og forumets betydning som støttetilbud. Siste artikkel diskuterer aksjonsforskerens dobbeltrolle, og hvordan aksjonsforskning kan bidra til kunnskap om internettbaserte selvhjelpsgrupper. I forumet delte ungdommene opplevelser, erfaringer og følelser, og ga hverandre råd og støtte. Studien peker på hvordan selvhjelpsforumet fungerte som endringsarena og mestringsressurs. Gjennom gjenkjennelse og åpenhet ble det skapt et fellesskap knyttet til en normaliseringsprosess, hvor ungdommene kunne omdefinere oppfatninger av pårørenderollen, egne muligheter og framtidsperspektiver. Dette bidro til et utvidet handlingsrom for å gjøre hverdagssituasjonen mer håndterbar. Betydningen av forumet kan forstås ut fra deltakernes hverdagslivserfaringer, og teknologien som muliggjørende for handling. Studien argumenterer for at potensialet i internettbaserte selvhjelpsgrupper drøftes i lys av deltakerne som sosiale aktører, teknologiens muligheter, og hverdagskonteksten teknologien benyttes i

    The dual role of the action researcher

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    This article aims to provide more insight into advantages and challenges of conducting action research with the intention to improve health care. Action research is distinctive in the sense that the researcher has a dual role as both researcher and implementer of the program studied. The article is based on two Norwegian action-oriented studies that aimed to explore the potential role of online self-help groups for breast cancer patients and adolescents with mentally ill parents respectively. We argue that action research can contribute both to the generation of knowledge, as well as a greater sense of ownership to the program among those who are intended to use it. Nonetheless, a potential conflict between the researcher's pursuit of data, and ethical considerations became apparent in the contexts studied here. Bearing these challenges in mind, we still conclude that action research offers an important contribution for the further development of health care services

    What do adults living with obesity want from a chatbot for physical activity? – a qualitative study

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    Background - Regular physical activity helps to reduce weight and improve the general well-being of individuals living with obesity. Chatbots have shown the potential to increase physical activity among their users. We aimed to explore the preferences of individuals living with obesity for the features and functionalities of a modern chatbot based on social media, Artificial intelligence (AI) and other recent and relevant technologies. Methods - In this study, we used qualitative methods. Focusing on individuals’ preferences for a chatbot to increase physical activity, we conducted both individual interviews and focus groups with nine adult patients staying at Evjeklinikken, a Norwegian rehabilitation clinic for individuals living with morbid obesity. The interviews were fully transcribed and then analysed inductively using thematic analysis. Results - Participants preferred motivational features such as social support, goal setting, physical activity illustrations, monitoring of physical activity behaviour and outcomes, and feedback, prompts and reminders. They also preferred features for connecting and synchronising with smartwatches and training device apps. Participants wanted a chatbot that is easy to use and allows for human assistance when needed. Regarding personalising the chatbot, the participants wanted to choose the language, number of messages, and turn functionalities on and off. Conclusions - Co-designing chatbots with potential users is essential to understand their specific needs and preferences. We gained valuable insight into a diverse set of features and functionalities relevant to designing physical activity chatbots for individuals living with obesity. Behaviour change techniques are equally important as personalisation features and the option for synchronising with third-party devices. In future work, we will consider the collected needs in the development of a physical activity chatbot to ensure acceptance and adherence to the digital health intervention

    Video-confidence: a qualitative exploration of videoconferencing for psychiatric emergencies

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    Background: In psychiatric emergencies in rural areas the availability of psychiatrists are limited. Therefore, tele-psychiatry, via real-time videoconferencing (VC), has been developed to provide advanced consultative services to areas that lack psychiatrists. However, there is limited research on the use of VC for psychiatric emergencies. The University Hospital of North Norway has been the first hospital in Norway to implement this type of service by developing a new on-call system for psychiatric emergency practice through which psychiatrists are accessible by telephone and VC 24 hours a day for consultations with patients and nurses at three regional psychiatric centres. This study explores patients’, psychiatrists’ and nurses’ experiences of using VC for psychiatric emergencies, as well as how the technology influenced their confidence. Methods: In this study, we used a qualitative explorative research design. With a particular focus on users’ experiences of VC, we conducted 29 semi-structured interviews with patients, psychiatrists and nurses who had participated in a VC consultation in at least one psychiatric emergency. Results: Our findings show that access to the VC system increased the experience of confidence in challenging psychiatric emergencies in four ways: (1) by strengthening patient involvement during the psychiatric specialist’s assessment, (2) by reducing uncertainty, (3) by sharing responsibility for decisions and (4) by functioning as a safety net even when VC was not used. Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that an emergency psychiatric service delivered by VC may improve the confidence of psychiatrists, nurses and patients in challenging psychiatric emergencies. VC can serve as an effective tool for ensuring decentralised high-quality psychiatric services for emergency care. Keywords: Psychiatry, Emergency care, Videoconferencing, Tele-psychiatry, Confidence, Qualitative study
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