Background: Patients often relate preceding life events to the onset of alopecia areata (AA). This cohort study systematically examined number and type of life events together with experienced strain during two years before AA onset.

Methods: The study involved 100 patients with AA who reported life events through the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). Life event strain was examined using the Streiner model, a stress-based model in which strain is defined as undesirable, unanticipated and uncontrollable. SRRS readjustment rating and the rated strain for each life event were obtained. Percentages of strainful life events for each SRRS category were calculated. Associations between AA disease-variables, sociodemographic-variables, Beck Depression Inventory-scores and Beck Anxiety Inventory-scores were examined in relation to the number of SRRS events and the number of strainful events.

Results: Total life events reported were median (range) 7.0 (0–22), almost two times higher than lifetime population studies on life events. The most experienced life events were loss of health and separation. At least one strainful life event prior to the AA onset was reported by 82% of patients. The highest strainful ratings were found in the Family and Personal categories of SRRS, such as Major change in health of a family member and Major personal injury or illness. A comparison between SRRS life events and strain ratings showed that 60% of the life events were rated higher and 35% were rated lower than the standard SRRS readjustment weight order.

Conclusion: This study provides support for an inquiry into any strainful life event preceding AA onset in newly diagnosed patients with AA. Categories of highly strainful events and the importance of subjective strain are identified in patients with AA. This implies the need to address strain, which seems to be important for strain reduction thereby decreasing the burden among patients with AA. 

Background: Being playful and having the capability to play are considered fundamental aspects of being human and are closely linked to well-being in adulthood. Despite the health-promoting potential, being playful has, to our knowledge, not been explored in Scandinavian contexts in relation to older persons with functional impairments, such as those living in nursing homes.

Objective: This study, therefore, aims to explore older persons’ lived experiences of being playful in nursing homes, to gain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon and to contribute knowledge that may support person-centred care and well-being.

Methods: This phenomenological study is grounded in a reflective lifeworld research approach. Lifeworld interviews were conducted with 15 older persons aged 68–100 years.

Results: The essential meaning of the phenomenon emerges as getting in touch with an inner dynamic life force that enables and enhances well-being. This meaning is further illuminated through four constituents: engaging in timeless inner wanderings, adapting to bodily change, opening towards belonging, and navigating in a state of dependency.

Conclusions: In older persons´ playful mode of being, the inner dynamic life force opens up to a profound sense of existential well-being. However, ageing, bodily changes, and institutional constraints shape how playfulness is expressed and manifested in the lifeworld, thereby influencing well-being and human dignity. Taken together, these findings point to the potential value of acknowledging playfulness in future research and care practice as a fundamental aspect of being human and a contributor to both well-being and human dignity. 

There are both facilitating and hindering factors when it comes to screening for intimate partner violence (IPV). While research indicates that health-care providers’ emotions regarding screening serve as an influencing factor, there is little scholarly work that has systematically considered the role of emotions in inquiring about IPV. Addressing this research gap, the article explores the affective aspects of routinely asking questions about violence in women’s health care. The findings show that emotions serve as both antecedents and consequences of routine inquiry, indicating that the role of emotions should be viewed as integral to any effort to improve screening practices for IPV.

The aim of this study was to investigate child health nurses' experiences of routinely asking fathers about violence, focusing on how they relate to the two Swedish gender equality goals of achieving equal parenting and ending domestic violence. Focus group interviews with ten nurses were performed. The results show that nurses strongly support routinely asking fathers about violence in child healthcare. However, few fathers disclosed ongoing abuse directed towards them or the child, and none talked about being abusive to a current or former partner. Thus, the conversations on violence seldom resulted in information that required an intervention from the nurses to protect a child. The nurses nonetheless found asking about violence an important preventive measure, although riddled with ambiguity regarding whether fathers were possible victims or perpetrators. This study highlights a difficulty for nurses to balance between the two gender equality goals where fathers should, on the one hand, be as involved as mothers in parenting, and are, on the other hand, potential perpetrators of violence against women and of domestic violence. However, the principle of equal parenting seems to take precedence; the gendered aspects of domestic violence tend to disappear, and fathers are being constructed as mainly non-violent.

Objective

This study explores children’s and adolescents’ experiences and opinions of routine inquiries about violence within specialised outpatient care. Utilising a mixed method with a convergent parallel design, the research combines quantitative data from 184 respondents aged 6–17 collected through survey data and qualitative interviews with four participants aged 7–14. The data presented is a byproduct of an ongoing research project that evaluates a questionnaire designed to ask children about violence.

Results

Findings indicate that most children and adolescents view routine questioning about violence positively or neutrally. The study highlights the importance of healthcare professionals’ responses to disclosures of violence, emphasising that supportive and empathetic reactions can impact children’s willingness to disclose such experiences in the future. The results underscore the necessity for routine inquiries about violence in healthcare settings to ensure that affected children receive appropriate support and intervention.

The aim of this study was to describe the extent to which men in psychiatric care have experienced emotional, physical, and sexual abuse during the life course and the association between this experience and being a perpetrator oneself. The aim was also to identify who exposed them to abuse and whether there was an association between the category of abuser and being a perpetrator oneself. A cross-sectional study was performed using the self-administered NorVold Abuse Questionnaire for men. The study included 210 men and showed that there was a significant association between physical abuse both as a child and as an adult and being a perpetrator oneself. There was, furthermore, a significant correlation between having been subjected to physical and emotional family member abuse and being oneself a perpetrator of abuse. This study concludes that experiences of abuse among men in a Swedish psychiatric context can be associated with perpetration of abuse.

Purpose This study explores women's experiences of a novel prehabilitation intervention, integrating early vaginal dilator therapy before and during pelvic radiotherapy. Methods This qualitative study included sixteen women scheduled for pelvic radiotherapy. All participants received a pre-treatment intervention with individualized information and support to start vaginal dilator therapy prior to radiotherapy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all sixteen women before or during treatment. Of these, ten also participated in follow-up interviews after radiotherapy. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Four themes were constructed reflecting women's experiences of the new prehabilitation intervention: (1) Regaining control while facing the unknown, (2) Navigating identity, (3) Conceptualizing vaginal and sexual health, and (4) Building trust. Women found that vaginal dilator therapy during prehabilitation enabled a sense of control and readiness for upcoming sexual and vaginal health concerns. The early support was perceived as timely, acceptable, and empowering, regardless of women's initial motivation to engage. None of the women preferred to only receive the information after treatment, reflecting the value of proactive care . Conclusion Integrating vaginal dilator therapy into prehabilitation may enhance preparedness, promote self-care, and reduce distress during pelvic radiotherapy. Further research is needed to confirm benefits and tailor support to individual needs.

Experience of abuse as a life event is common among men in a psychiatric care context. Systematically charting life events and abuse plays a central role within psychiatric and mental health nursing and could improve the understanding of the patient's life situation. The aim of the study was to explore the life course of male psychiatric patients who had experienced domestic abuse as victims and as perpetrators. An interview study was performed with nine informants using a time-geographic method followed by a qualitative analysis approach. The analysis of life events resulted in four categories-living the everyday life, adverse life experiences, the lived experience of abuse exposure and perpetration, and systems of support. The categories were then synthesized and presented through a constructed case. The study reveals that the men faced severe domestic abuse, difficult home conditions, and a lack of support during childhood. Further, they encountered stressful events and mental health issues in adulthood. These findings offer deeper insights into the lives of men with abuse experiences. The knowledge obtained provides valuable information about important life events, including abuse and perpetration, of male psychiatric patients, which may encourage a patient narrative suitable for good psychiatric and mental health nursing practice.

The aim of this qualitative study is to present the experiences of family members bereaved by intimate partner homicide (IPH). The focus is on immediate and long-term consequences of the killing, and on the participants’ experiences of subsequently offered information and support. This includes interactions with healthcare, social services, the criminal justice system, and the media. Twenty-two interviews with parents, siblings, and adult children of IPH victims underwent thematical analysis. The bereaved mainly described the social support following the IPH as lacking or inadequate, and recounted that they had been left alone with handling practical and emotionally difficult tasks, such as cleaning up after the killing. More specifically, they felt that institutional responses had been lacking with regard to information, understanding, coordination between professionals, continuity, professionalism, and redress. These results indicate that a coordinated response to people bereaved by IPH is necessary and, if lacking, must be developed. © The Author(s) 2024.

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