The Impact of an education intervention on nurses knowledge of and attitudes towards HIV and willingness to take care of HIV-positive people in Lithuania

The overall goal of the study was to identify the areas which need to be improved in order to develop the quality of nurse education related to HIV infection and HIV-positive people. The hypothesis for the study was as follows: education intervention increases nurses' knowledge level, their positive attitudes, and their willingness to care for HIV-positive people or those with AIDS. The study was conducted in three phases during the period of 2006 to 2010. First, an international descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of registered nurses in Finland (n=322), Estonia (n=191), and Lithuania (n=168) (the total n=681). Second, a descriptive literature review related to nurses education interventions based on 16 articles was performed. Third, a randomized control trial (RCT) with two experimental groups and one control group was done in Lithuania. The baseline data consisted of 206, and the follow-up data of 185 participants. The international cross-sectional survey revealed that there were some differences in the knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to care for people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA) between Finland, Estonia and Lithuania, with Lithuanian nurses showing the lowest knowledge level and less positive attitudes compared to the others. The literature review did not allow draw the conclusions as to what type of education intervention would be best to have a beneficial impact on nurses HIV and AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to care of HIV-positive people. However, it is clear that different teaching methods in nurses supplementary education should be combined.Based on the randomized controlled trial (RCT), a two-day education intervention, combined with written materials, increased the nurses' knowledge level and positive attitudes, thus confirming a hypothesis. Contrary to expectations, it did not increase the nurses willingness to care for HIV-positive people or those with AIDS. The distribution of written materials alone did not improve the nurses knowledge level, their positive attitudes towards people with HIV, and their willingness to provide care for them. In order to improve nurses HIV and AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to care for HIV-positive patients in an effective way, several educational methods should be combined. The using of written materials alone in continuing education is undoubtedly cheaper, but it is insufficient to achieve a positive effect on nurses knowledge level in the present context. The study produced information on the areas which need to be improved in order to develop the quality of nurse education related to HIV and HIV-positive people. it demonstrated changes in nurses knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to take care of HIV-positive patients. The knowledge can be used to offer better preventive care services and health care for HIV-positive patients. The study offers implications for different fields including nursing practice, education, clinical research, and nursing scienc

Young adults in changing welfare states Prolonged transitions and delayed entries for under-30s in Finland, Sweden and Germany in the '90s

Die Autorin untersucht die Bildungs- und Berufsuebergaenge von jungen Erwachsenen im internationalen Vergleich der Laender Finnland, Schweden und der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Neben den Uebergaengen in der Schule und Familie richtet sich ihr Interesse vor allem auf den Uebergang in das Beschaeftigungssystem und die Erreichung wirtschaftlicher Unabhaengigkeit der 18-29Jaehrigen. Sie gibt zunaechst einen Ueberblick ueber die Entwicklungstrends der Uebergaenge in den 90er Jahren. Im Anschluss daran stellt sie die familien- und arbeitsmarktpolitischen Merkmale und Beguenstigungen fuer junge Erwachsene und Studenten in den drei Laendern dar. Die Uebergangsmodelle diskutiert sie abschliessend unter dem Aspekt einer 'sozialen Staatsangehoerigkeit' junger Erwachsener. (ICI)German title: Junge Erwachsene in sich aendernden Wohlfahrtsstaaten; verlaengerte Berufsuebergaenge und aufgeschobene Berufseintritte bei Leuten unter dreissig in Finnland, Schweden und Deutschland in den 90er JahrenAvailable from UuStB Koeln(38)-2000106122 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

The social construction of lone mothers A case study of the welfare service in Venice

'This paper examines how the welfare services of the municipality of Venice deal with lone-mother clients in a welfare system that has no provisions specifically for lone mothers. The analysis is based on interviews with six social workers operating in different districts of the city. The paper interprets discursive and ideological dimensions of social policies, highlighting the mechanisms by which the welfare programs and practices define the needs of lone mothers. It outlines the dynamics of negotiation in the welfare services, which try to reconcile the legislative and administrative norms with the social workers' professional practices and the lone mothers' claims. The analysis rejects the commonplace view that social welfare beneficiaries are exclusively people in 'extreme discomfort', and presents two biographical pathways through which lone mothers turn to welfare services. The social workers' image of the two subcultures of lone mothers influences their attitudes and the strategies they set in motion for lone mothers. Despite the Veneto region's universal law on social assistance, access to economic support is determined more selectively through proving a 'qualifying need'. Interpreting lone mothers' claims as qualifying needs along psycho-social and educational dimensions serves to transform their expressed claims into claims that can be dealt with institutionally. Social workers prefer to supply 'professional' psycho-social support for lone mothers, using their major discretion in that area. They explicitly aim at helping mothers to recover their resources so that they are able to maintain themselves and their children through paid work. Lone mothers seem to acquire a specific position among users of welfare services, as social workers perceive their problems as more complex and sound than those of other users. Therefore lone mothers are provided with a broader range of discretionary support. Social workers' discretion in supporting lone mothers in maternity and in accommodating paid employment and family compensates for the gaps left by national and local welfare policies.' (author's abstract)Die Studie berichtet ueber Interviews mit sechs Sozialarbeitern aus verschiedenen Stadtteilen Venedigs ueber die Beduerfnisse alleinziehender Muetter in Bezug auf ihre soziale Situation, berufliche Taetigkeit und die Erziehung ihrer Kinder. Dargestellt und interpretiert werden ferner die ideologischen Dimensionen der Sozialpolitik und die Mechanismen von Wohlfahrtsprogrammen fuer alleinerziehender Muetter. Die unterschiedlichen Positionen der Sozialarbeiter gegenueber denen der Muetter in Bezug auf die Ansprueche auf finanzielle und psychosoziale Unterstuetzung werden diskutiert. (pra)German title: Die soziale Situation alleinerziehender Muetter: eine Fallstudie des Wohlfahrtsdienstes in VenedigSIGLEAvailable from UuStB Koeln(38)-980106312 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

The big leap to the west The impact of EU on the Finnish political system

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Auswirkungen eines moeglichen EU-Beitritts Finnlands auf das politische System dort. Im Gegensatz zu Daenemark und Schweden scheint die finnische Regierung entschlossen, den Beitritt rasch zu vollziehen. Wie ist dieser Pragmatismus und Integrationswille zu erklaeren? Akzeptiert die Bevoelkerung das Vorgehen der Regierung? Die Autoren gehen davon aus, dass die finnische Integrationspolitik zum grossen Teil nationalen wirtschaftlichen und sicherheitspolitischen Interessen geschuldet ist. Der Beitrag geht zunaechst detailliert auf die Gruende ein, die Finnland veranlassen, die Mitgliedschaft in der EU zu beantragen. Im dritten Abschnitt wird das Referendum von 1994 beleuchtet. Im vierten Abschnitt analysieren die Autoren die Auswirkungen des Beitritts auf politische Parteien und Verwaltung. Die Europaeisierung der finnischen Politik und oeffentlichen Meinung ist Inhalt des fuenften Kapitels. Abschliessend werden kurz die Hauptaspekte finnischer Integrationspolitik, unter besonderer Beruecksichtigung der zukuenftigen Entwicklung der EU, untersucht. (ICD2)German title: Der grosse Sprung nach Westen: der Einfluss der EU auf das politische System FinnlandsAvailable from http://www.zei.de/download/zei dp/dp c89 wiberg.pdf / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman