Safety as a dimension of social sustainability : A quantitative research about adolescents' experience of public spaces

Social hållbarhet är ett mångdimensionellt begrepp där trygghet utgör en av dimensionerna och är en viktig faktor för att skapa god livskvalité. Det offentliga rummet utgör en nyckelfaktor i en hälsosam och välfungerande stad. En god omgivande miljö är en källa till att motivera medborgare till bättre hälsa och välbefinnande. Det offentliga rummet har även en stor inverkan på trygghet, god urban planering är essentiellt för att skapa en god miljö att leva och bo i. Hög grad av trygghet skapar också förutsättningar för att nå social hållbarutveckling. Bakomliggande drivkrafter till denna studie är att det offentliga rummet är en viktig plats där alla ska vara välkomna och känna sig trygga. Det offentliga rummet skapar möjlighet för sociala relationer, kunskapsutbyte samt utgör en viktig funktion i samhället. Det offentligarummet ska värna om människan, och människan ska värna om det offentliga rummet. Därmed syftar denna studie till att undersöka ungdomars upplevelse om det offentliga rummeti relation till social hållbarhet och trygghet. Den valda arenan utgörs av det offentliga rummet i Stenungsund. Metoden som använts i studien är av en kvantitativ ansats, enkäter har delats ut till gymnasieelever i årskurs 1-3 iStenungssunds kommun. Enkäten avslutades med möjligheten för respondenterna att markera på en karta över Stenungsund de platser respondenterna känner sig trygga, otrygga samt tycker om. Resultatet av studien visar att ungdomarna i Stenungsund överlag känner sig trygga i det offentliga rummet. Dock förekommer det skillnader mellan hur tjejer och killar upplever trygghet. Killar känner sig i högre grad trygga än vad tjejer gör. Eleverna i de olika årskurserna tenderar även att uppleva trygghet på olika sätt. Markeringarna på kartan visade således på en gemensam uppfattning om vilka platser som upplevs som både trygga, otrygga samt omtyckta.Social sustainability is a multidimensional concept in which safety is one of the dimensions, and is an important factor in creating a good quality of life. The public space is a key factor in a healthy and well-functioning city. A good environment is a source for motivating citizens to better health and wellness. Public space also has a great impact on safety, good urban planning is essential to create a good environment to live in. High level of safety also creates the conditions for achieving socially sustainable development. The driving forces behind this study is that the public space is an important place where everybody will be welcomed and feel safe. The public space creates the opportunity for social relations, exchange of knowledge and constitute an important function in society. The publicspace should protect and promote the citizen, and the citizen must take care and show respect for the public space. Thus, this study aims to investigate young people's experience of publicspace in relation to social sustainability and safety. The method used in the study is a quantitative approach, questionnaires have been distributed to high school students in Stenungssund. The survey ended with the possibility for respondents to mark on a map of Stenungsund the places they feel secure, insecure and like. The results of the study show that young people in Stenungsund generally feel safe in public spaces. However, there are differences between how girls and boys experience safety. Boys feel increasingly confident than girls do. Students in different grades also tend to experience safety differently. The markings on the map thus showed a common understanding of what places are experienced as both secure, insecure and liked

"There is no reward penny for going out and picking up youths" : issues in the design of accessible youth healthcare services in rural northern Sweden

Objective: There is a continuing challenge to ensure equitable access to youth healthcare services in small rural communities. Sweden’s ‘youth clinic’ system is an attempt to provide comprehensive youth health services from a single centre, but many small rural communities have not adopted the youth clinic model. This study uses one case study to examine what the issues might be in establishing a youth clinic in a small rural community. The objective of this paper is to examine the issues around youth healthcare access in one municipality without a youth clinic, and to explore whether and how a youth clinic model might contribute to access in this municipality. Results: Three categories emerged from the analysis; (i) rural closeness; both good and bad, (ii) youth are not in the centre of the healthcare organization, and (iii) adapting youth clinics to a rural setting. While limited to one case example, the study provides valuable insights into youth health service planning in particular types of rural communities. This paper identified structural barriers to developing youth-specific services, and some alternative approaches that might be more suitable to smaller communities

GPs' perspectives of the patient encounter : in the context of standardized cancer patient pathways

Objective: We aim to explore how GPs assign meanings and act upon patients’ symptoms in primary care encounters in the context of standardized cancer patient pathways (CPPs). Design, setting and subjects: Thirteen individual interviews were conducted with GPs, at primary healthcare centers (n = 4) in one county in northern Sweden. Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory method. The results were then linked to symbolic interactionism. Main outcome measures: GPs’ perspectives about assigning meanings to patients’ presented symptoms and perception about CPPs. Results: In the encounter, GPs engaged in two simultaneous interactions, one with patients’ symptoms – and the other with CPPs. The core category Disentangling patients’ care trajectory consists of three categories, interpreted as GPs’ strategies developed to assign meaning to symptoms. These strategies are carried out not in a straightforward manner but rather in a conflicting way, illuminating the complexity of GPs’ daily work. Conclusions: Interacting with patients is vital for assigning meaning to presented symptoms. However, nowadays GPs are not only required to interact with patients, they are also required to interact with CPPs. These standardized routines might create pressure and demands on GPs, especially for those experiencing a lack of information about CPPs. Beside of carrying out the challenging patient/person-centered dialogues and interpreting presented symptoms, GPs also need to link the interpreted symptoms to CPPs. Therefore, it is essential that GPs are given opportunities at their workplaces to continuously be informed and be supported in order to practice CPPs and thereby optimize trajectories for patients undergoing cancer diagnostics

Negotiating bodily sensations between patients and GPs in the context of standardized cancer patient pathways : an observational study in primary care

BACKGROUND: How interactions during patient-provider encounters in Swedish primary care construct access to further care is rarely explored. This is especially relevant nowadays since Standardized Cancer Patient Pathways have been implemented as an organizational tool for standardizing the diagnostic process and increase equity in access. Most patients with symptoms indicating serious illness as cancer initially start their diagnostic trajectory in primary care. Furthermore, cancer symptoms are diverse and puts high demands on general practitioners (GPs). Hence, we aim to explore how presentation of bodily sensations were constructed and legitimized in primary care encounters within the context of Standardized Cancer Patient Pathways (CPPs). METHODS: Participant observations of patient-provider encounters (n = 18, on 18 unique patients and 13 GPs) were carried out at primary healthcare centres in one county in northern Sweden. Participants were consecutively sampled and inclusion criteria were i) patients (≥18 years) seeking care for sensations/symptoms that could indicate cancer, or had worries about cancer, Swedish speaking and with no cognitive disabilities, and ii) GPs who met with these patients during the encounter. A constructivist approach of grounded theory method guided the data collection and was used as a method for analysis, and the COREQ-checklist for qualitative studies (Equator guidelines) were employed. RESULTS: One conceptual model emerged from the analysis, consisting of one core category Negotiating bodily sensations to legitimize access, and four categories i) Justifying care-seeking, ii) Transmitting credibility, iii) Seeking and giving recognition, and iv) Balancing expectations with needs. We interpret the four categories as social processes that the patient and GP constructed interactively using different strategies to negotiate. Combined, these four processes illuminate how access was legitimized by negotiating bodily sensations. CONCLUSIONS: Patients and GPs seem to be mutually dependent on each other and both patients' expertise and GPs' medical expertise need to be reconciled during the encounter. The four social processes reported in this study acknowledge the challenging task which both patients and primary healthcare face. Namely, negotiating sensations signaling possible cancer and further identifying and matching them with the best pathway for investigations corresponding as well to patients' needs as to standardized routines as CPPs

The association between sociodemographic factors and time to diagnosis for colorectal cancer in northern Sweden

OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether sociodemographic factors, including distance to hospital, were associated with differences in the diagnostic interval and the treatment interval for colorectal cancer in northern Sweden. METHODS: Data were retrieved from the Swedish cancer register on patients (n = 446) diagnosed in three northern regions during 2017-2018, then linked to data from Statistics Sweden and medical records. Also, Google maps was used to map the distance between patients' place of residence and nearest hospital. The different time intervals were analysed using Mann-Whitney U-test and Cox regression. RESULTS: Differences in time to diagnosis were found between groups for income and distance to hospital, favouring those with higher income and shorter distance. The unadjusted regression analysis showed higher income to be associated with more rapid diagnosis (HR 1.004, CI 1.001-1.007). This association remained in the fully adjusted model for income (HR 1.004, CI 1.000-1.008), but not for distance. No differences between sociodemographic groups were found in the treatment interval. CONCLUSION: Higher income and shorter distance to hospital were in the unadjusted models associated with shorter time to diagnosis for patients with CRC in northern Sweden. The association remained for income when adjusting for other variables even though the difference was small

Accessibility and factors associated with utilization of mental health services in youth health centers. A qualitative comparative analysis in northern Sweden

Abstract Background Youth-friendly health care services can facilitate young people’s access to health care services and promote their health, including their mental health. In Sweden, a network of youth health centers exist since the 1970s, incorporated within the public health system. Even if such centers take a holistic approach to youth health, the focus has been in sexual and reproductive health care, and the extent of integrating mental health care services is less developed though it varies notably between different centers. This study aims to analyse the various conditions that are sufficient and/or necessary to make Swedish youth health centers accessible for mental and psychosocial health. Methods Multiple case study design, using qualitative comparative analysis to assess the various conditions that makes a youth health center accessible for mental and psychosocial issues and mental health. The cases included 18 youth health centers (from a total of 22) in the four northern counties of Sweden. Results In order to enhance accessibility for mental health services, youth health centers need to be trusted by young people. Trust was necessary but not sufficient, meaning that it had to be combined with other conditions: either having a team with a variety of professions represented in the youth health center, or being a youth health center that is both easy to contact and well-staffed with mental health professionals. Conclusions Differentiated, first-line services for youth can play an important role in promoting youth mental health if certain conditions are fulfilled. Trust is necessary, but has to be combined with either multidisciplinary teams, or expertise on mental health and easy accessibility