Exploring experiences of ageing in older adults living with HIV in Sweden: a qualitative study.

PURPOSE: The number of people living and ageing with HIV is increasing. Insight into their well-being is lacking. The present study was conducted to explore needs, psychosocial issues and experiences of ageing in older adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Sweden. METHODS: A qualitative approach was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 22 participants aged 65 years or older living with HIV in Sweden. Thematic analysis based on descriptive phenomenology was used. RESULTS: Being an older adult living with HIV emerged as a multifaceted experience. The meaning and impact of HIV varied from minimal to substantial, and ageing could overshadow the significance of HIV in everyday life. Three themes emerged: 1) increasing age in the foreground, 2) internalizing HIV in everyday life, and 3) socioemotional impact on everyday life. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest a need for a more holistic approach to care of older adults living with HIV, recognizing the broader context of healthy ageing. While participants experienced good health, challenges related to ageing persist, and experiencing HIV-related stigma. The findings highlight the importance of empowering older adults living with HIV.

Occupational balance and associated factors among students during higher education within healthcare and social work in Sweden: a multicentre repeated cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to explore whether occupational balance is associated with health, health-promoting resources, healthy lifestyle and social study factors among students during higher education within healthcare and social work. DESIGN: The study has a multicentre repeated cross-sectional design. Data were collected via a self-reported, web-based questionnaire based on the validated instruments: the 11-item Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ11), the Sense of Coherence (SOC) Scale, the Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale (SHIS) and five questions from the General Nordic Questionnaire (QPS Nordic) together with questions about general health and lifestyle factors. SETTING: Students at six universities in western Sweden at one of the following healthcare or social work programmes: biomedical scientists, dental hygienists, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiology nurses and social workers. PARTICIPANTS: Of 2283 students, 851 (37.3%) participated. RESULTS: The students experienced that occupational balance increased during education. The total OBQ11 score was higher among students in semesters 4 and 6/7, compared with semester 1 students. Students with higher OBQ11 also reported higher SOC throughout their education, while health seemed to decrease. Students who reported higher levels of OBQ11 reported lower levels of health and well-being in semesters 4 and 6/7, compared with semester 1. There was an opposite pattern for students reporting lower levels of OBQ11. CONCLUSIONS: The association between higher levels of OBQ11 and lower levels of health and well-being is remarkable. There is a need for more research on this contradiction and what it means for students' health and well-being in the long run.

A qualitative analysis of child and family complaints related to child mental health services.

PROBLEM: Little is known about issues of patient-reported problems, in particular within psychiatric services for children with mental ill health. Child and family complaints related to child mental health services can be analyzed and discussed in light of the universal human right to health and healthcare. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze child and family complaints related to child mental health services. METHODS: A retrospective, descriptive design was used. Child and family complaints were analyzed with a qualitative thematic analysis. FINDINGS: The findings were described in three themes describing lack of access to care, inadequate communication between services and children with mental ill health and their families, and lack of clarity of who is responsible for care, leading to neglect of children's needs. These issues place a huge responsibility on parents or relatives. CONCLUSION: Better communication within mental health services, and better collaboration with other services such as school and social services, could limit children's suffering. Healthcare services with named professionals who specialize in child mental health and provide continuity in care, are required. General human rights principles should guide planning and care of children.

The patient's first point of contact (PINPOINT) - protocol of a prospective multicenter study of communication and decision-making during patient assessments by primary care registered nurses.

BACKGROUND: A major challenge for primary care is to set priorities and balance demands with available resources. The registered nurses in this study are practice nurses working in primary care offices, playing a large role in initial assessments. The overall objective of this research is to investigate practices of communication and decision-making during nurses' initial assessment of patients' health problems in primary care, examine working mechanisms in good practices and develop feasible solutions. METHODS: Project PINPOINT aims for a prospective multicenter study using various methods for data collection and analysis. A purposive sample of 150 patient‒nurse consultations, including 30 nurses and 150 patients, will be recruited at primary care centers in three different geographic areas of southwest Sweden. The study will report on outcomes of communication practices in relation to patient-reported expectations and experiences, communication processes and patient involvement, assessment and decision-making, related priorities and value conflicts with data from patient questionnaires, audio-recorded real-time communication, and reflective interviews with nurses. DISCUSSION: This research will contribute to the knowledge needed for the guidance of first-line decision-making processes to best meet patient and public health needs. This knowledge is necessary for the development of assessments and decisions to be better aligned to patients and to set priorities. Insights from this research can empower patients and service providers and help understand and enhance feasible person-centered communication strategies tailored to patients' level of health literacy. More specifically, this research will contribute to knowledge that can strengthen nurses' communication, assessments, and clinical decision-making in primary care. In the long term, this will contribute to how the competencies of practice nurses and other professionals are organized and carried out to make the best use of the resources within primary care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06067672.

Adolescents' and young people's experiences of social relationships and health concerns during COVID-19.

PURPOSE: To illuminate the meaning of social relationships and health concerns as experienced by adolescents and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted. Data reported from 172 adolescents and young people aged 12-24 years in five countries; Chile, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States collected from May 2020 to June 2021 were analysed via thematic analysis. RESULTS: Adolescents and young peoples' experiences of social relationships and health concerns were described in seven themes: Family proximity, conflicts and frustration; difficulties and challenges related to limited living space; peer relations and maintaining friendship in times of social distancing; the importance of school as a place for interaction; vulnerability, emotional distress and uncertainty about the future; health concerns and sense of caring for others; and worries and concerns related to financial hardship. These reports show that the changes to everyday life that were introduced by public responses to the pandemic generated feelings of loneliness, vulnerability, and emotional distress, as well as increased sense of togetherness with family. CONCLUSIONS: The everyday lives of adolescents and young people were restricted and affected more by the consequences of the pandemic than by the COVID-19 virus. These experiences had various impacts on well-being and mental health, where some individuals felt more exposed and vulnerable to emotional distress and loneliness than others. Family and peer relationships could be protective and support a sense of togetherness and belonging. Hence, social relationships are important to provide emotional support. Support for adolescents and young people should be tailored accordingly around social and emotional concerns, to encourage health and well-being.

The onset of sepsis as experienced by patients and family members: A qualitative interview study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the onset of sepsis based on patients' and family members' experiences. BACKGROUND: Knowledge about the onset of sepsis is limited among patients and their families, which makes early recognition of sepsis difficult. Previous studies argue that their stories are important to recognising sepsis and reduced suffering and mortality. DESIGN: A descriptive design with a qualitative approach was used. METHODS: In total, 29 patients and family members participated in 24 interviews with open-ended questions, including five dyadic and 19 individual interviews. The interviews were conducted during 2021, and participants were recruited from a sepsis group on social media. A thematic analysis based on descriptive phenomenology was performed. The study followed the COREQ checklist. FINDINGS: Two themes emerged from the experiences: (1) When health changes into something unknown, including the two subthemes; Bodily symptoms and signs being vague but still tangible and Feelings of uncertainty, and (2) Turning points when warnings signs are deemed as serious, including the two subthemes Passing borders when feeling out of control and Difficulties understanding the seriousness. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' and family members' stories of the onset of sepsis indicate that symptoms and signs appeared insidiously and then noticeably worsen. The symptoms and signs seemed not be attributed to sepsis; instead, there was uncertainty about what the symptoms and signs meant. It was mainly family members who possibly understood the seriousness of the disease. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND PATIENT CARE: Patients' experiences of their symptoms and signs and family members' unique knowledge of the patient, indicate that healthcare professionals should listen and try to understand what the patient and family members are telling and take their concerns seriously. How the condition appears, and family members' concerns are important pieces of the assessment to recognise patients with sepsis. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patients and family members contributed to the data collected.

Positive effects of a child-centered intervention on children's fear and pain during needle procedures.

To examine whether children experience less fear or pain using a child-centered intervention and if there were differences between the intervention group and the control group regarding heart rate, time required for the procedure, success rate for the cannula insertion, and patient satisfaction. A controlled single-center case study of observational design, with one control and one intervention group. Child self-reported fear or pain levels did not reveal any differences for those receiving the intervention compared with controls. However, according to a behavioral observation measure with the Procedure Behavior Check List, effects of the intervention were lower distress in relation to fear and pain during the cannula insertion. The time it took to perform the cannula insertion also decreased significantly in the intervention group. More children in the intervention group reported that they were satisfied with the needle procedure compared with the children in the control group. The child-centered intervention provides reduced observed distress related to fear and pain in children undergoing a cannula insertion and reduced total time by more than 50%. This study found that child involvement in care strengthen their ability to manage a needle procedure.

'Sometimes you need an eye-opener': A qualitative study on nursing assistants' experiences of developing communication skills through an educational intervention on person-centred communication.

AIM: To explore nursing assistants' (NAs') experiences of developing communication skills while participating in an educational intervention on person-centred communication. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted. METHODS: Data were collected from interviews and written assignments before, during and after an educational intervention on person-centred communication targeting NAs in home care services. The data were analysed using a phenomenological approach. A total of 25 NAs participated in the study. RESULTS: The findings describe NAs' experiences concerning the communication skills needed for building relationships with older persons and handling emotionally challenging situations. The educational intervention increased their knowledge and awareness of the importance of communication skills and how such skills are developed and refined.

Prediction of the Risk of Sepsis by Using Analysis of Plasma Glucose and Serum Lactate in Ambulance Services: A Prospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: The early recognition of patients with sepsis is difficult and the initial assessment outside of hospitals is challenging for ambulance clinicians (ACs). Indicators that ACs can use to recognize sepsis early are beneficial for patient outcomes. Research suggests that elevated point-of-care (POC) plasma glucose and serum lactate levels may help to predict sepsis in the ambulance service (AS) setting. STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the elevation of POC plasma glucose and serum lactate levels may help to predict Sepsis-3 in the AS. METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed in the AS setting of Gothenburg in Sweden from the beginning of March 2018 through the end of September 2019. The criteria for sampling POC plasma glucose and serum lactate levels in the AS setting were high or intermediate risk according to the Rapid Emergency Triage and Treatment System (RETTS), as red, orange, yellow, and green if the respiratory rate was >22 breaths/minutes. Sepsis-3 were identified retrospectively. A primary and secondary analyses were carried out. The primary analysis included patients cared for in the AS and emergency department (ED) and were hospitalized. In the secondary analysis, patients who were only cared for in the AS and ED without being hospitalized were also included. To evaluate the predictive ability of these biomarkers, the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were used. RESULTS: A total of 1,057 patients were included in the primary analysis and 1,841 patients were included in the secondary analysis. In total, 253 patients met the Sepsis-3 criteria (in both analyses). The AUC for POC plasma glucose and serum lactate levels showed low accuracy in predicting Sepsis-3 in both the primary and secondary analyses. Among all hospitalized patients, regardless of Sepsis-3, more than two-thirds had elevated plasma glucose and nearly one-half had elevated serum lactate when measured in the AS. CONCLUSIONS: As individual biomarkers, an elevated POC plasma glucose and serum lactate were not associated with an increased likelihood of Sepsis-3 when measured in the AS in this study. However, the high rate of elevation of these biomarkers before arrival in hospital highlights that their role in clinical decision making at this early stage needs further evaluation, including other endpoints than Sepsis-3.

Implementing A person-centred CommunicaTION (ACTION) educational intervention for in-home nursing assistants - a study protocol.

BACKGROUND: In this study, the focus is on how to support the competence development needed for nursing assistants in home care. Home care services for older persons can be challenging concerning the nature of the interpersonal interaction and communication needed to care for and respond to the diverse needs of older people who seek to live well in our communities. This implies a need to offer more person-centred care (PCC) to older persons. However, there is a lack of knowledge on how to develop such competence. We, therefore, developed A Person-centred CommunicaTION (ACTION) programme, which is a web-based educational intervention aimed at supporting competence development for nursing assistants. The research objective is to evaluate the ACTION programme with respect to participants' responses to and the effect of the intervention. METHODS: A multicentre case-control study with pre- and post-assessments was designed. The ACTION programme will be implemented at home care units, in two different geographic areas in Sweden. A total of 300 nursing assistants will be recruited: 150 for the intervention group and 150 for the control group. We will evaluate the impact measures and the process. Pre- and post-assessments will be performed with data collected via a) audio recordings of communication, b) a questionnaire on self-efficacy communication skills, PCC, empathy and job satisfaction, c) user data, evaluation forms, field notes and observations, and d) interviews. The data will be analysed with descriptive and analytic statistics and/or qualitative methods for meanings. DISCUSSION: This study has the potential to contribute to the evidence supporting competence development required to offer person-centred and quality home care to older persons and to meet upcoming needs for flexible and easily accessible competence development. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN64890826. Registered 10 January 2022, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN64890826.