Högskolan i Skövde

Introduction: Oral health is multi-faceted and influences a person’s daily life, and numerous potential barriers and factors can challenge and pose barriers to good oral health. Shortages of healthcare professionals or incorrect care practices can be barriers to performing good oral healthcare. A knowledge gap has been identified in qualitative research on description of healthcare professionals’ experiences of oral healthcare among older adults in municipal healthcare.

Aim: To describe healthcare professionals’ experiences of oral healthcare among older adults in Swedish municipal healthcare.

Design and methods: The study employed a qualitative design guided by a secondary qualitative analysis method comprising inductive qualitative content analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews with healthcare professionals.

Results: Good relationships and mutual trust create the conditions for delivering good oral healthcare. Knowledge provides confidence and trust in performing oral healthcare, experiences and strategies influence the individual adaptation of oral healthcare, and priorities and collaboration influence oral healthcare provision.

Conclusion and implications: The performance of oral healthcare is complex and cannot be achieved without establishing a relationship with the older adult who needs care. Oral healthcare includes prerequisites such as routines, sufficient time, work-time planning, and collaboration between healthcare professionals. Registered nurses positively experience opportunities to collaborate with other healthcare professionals regarding oral healthcare and are seen as leaders in the Fundamentals of Care and are sharing good examples of oral healthcare in palliative care.

Oral health care is essential, and digital training may influence healthcare professionals’ attitudes to and knowledge of oral health. The aim, therefore, was to evaluate the impact on attitudes to and knowledge of oral health after using a digital training module among Swedish healthcare professionals working within a municipality-run healthcare service for older adults. A secondary aim was to explore the healthcare professionals’ experiences of using the digital module. The study comprised a survey of healthcare professionals (registered nurses (RNs), assistant nurses, and care assistants) caring for older adults in a municipality in Sweden. Pre-post-tests were conducted to evaluate the outcomes for attitudes to and knowledge of oral health and of their experiences of completing the digital training module in oral health. These were statistically explored by comparing differences between the pre-post-tests, while the open-ended questions were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The findings of this study indicate that healthcare professionals had similar perceptions of their attitudes to and knowledge of oral health both before and after the digital training module in oral health. The study also indicates that healthcare professionals experienced that it is easier to perform practical oral health care after completing the digital training. The results also show that healthcare professionals value oral health knowledge and that the digital training module was easy to use and to disseminate knowledge throughout the municipality. The findings have implications for developing, implementing, and promoting healthcare professionals’ attitudes to and knowledge of oral health and in using a digital training module in combination with practical exercises in oral health in municipality health care.

Oral health is a complex issue associated with social and behavioral factors and general health. Therefore, this study aims to explore Swedish older adults’ perceptions of oral health and its influence on general health, based on the World Dental Federation's (FDI) definition and framework of oral health. The study adopted a descriptive qualitative design. Data were collected from semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with older adults (n = 23) and were analyzed with deductive direct content analysis. The study was evaluated using the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research (COREQ) checklist. The older adults described the importance of good oral health in the physical, social, emotional, and mental aspects of their daily lives. The findings also indicate that older adults described oral health as multifaceted and agreed with the FDI's definition and framework of oral health. Therefore, the study findings might provide healthcare professionals with new knowledge and further insight into older adults’ perceptions of oral health and its influence on their well-being and general health. 

BackgroundHealthcare professionals’ attitudes to and knowledge of oral health are fundamental to providing good oral health care to older adults. One instrument that assesses healthcare professionals’ attitudes to and knowledge of oral health in a Swedish context is the “Attitudes to and Knowledge of Oral health” (AKO) questionnaire. Two of the three item-groups of the AKO have previously been validated in a Swedish context. However, it is crucial that all three item-groups are validated, and beneficial to design a shorter, easy-to-use questionnaire for healthcare professionals while maintaining adequate integrity of its reliability and validity. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a short-form version of AKO and to secure its psychometric properties.

MethodsPsychometric evaluation with Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory to validate and shorten AKO with 611 healthcare professionals from a population of 1159 working in a municipality in an urban area in western Sweden.

ResultsOf the original 16 items in the AKO, 13 were shown to warrant retention in the abbreviated/shortened form. These showed acceptable validity and reliability for assessing healthcare professionals’ attitudes to and knowledge of oral health.

ConclusionThis validated short-form version of AKO shows acceptable validity and reliability after being reduced to 13 items, structured in a 3-part scale. The items are consistent with the total scale, indicating that the internal consistency is acceptable. Future studies should be performed to evaluate AKO in other groups of healthcare professionals, across cultures, languages, and so on, to investigate its use and strengthen its validity and reliability.

Background: In coming decades, the number of people affected by illnesses who need palliative care will rise worldwide. Registered Nurses are in a central position in providing this care, and education is one of the necessary components for meeting coming requirements. However, there is a lack of knowledge about palliative care in undergraduate nursing education curricula, including the extent of the education provided and the related pedagogical methods. Aim: The aim was to investigate the extent, content and pedagogical methods used and to explore lecturers’ experiences of being responsible for teaching and learning about palliative care for undergraduate nursing students on nursing programmes at Swedish universities. Setting: All 24 universities responsible for providing undergraduate nursing education in Sweden participated. Participants: One lecturer with in-depth knowledge about palliative care or end-of-life care education participated in the quantitative (n = 24) and qualitative (n = 22) parts of the study. Method: A mixed-method research study with an explorative design was used. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data, and content analysis for qualitative, with both also analysed integratively. Results: Few undergraduate nursing programmes included a specific course about palliative care in their curricula, however, all universities incorporated education about palliative care in some way. Most of the palliative care education was theoretical, and lecturers used a variety of pedagogical strategies and their own professional and personal experience to support students to understand the palliative care approach. Topics such as life and death were difficult to both learn and teach about. Conclusions: There is a need for substantial education about palliative care. Lecturers strive on their own to develop students’ understanding and increase the extent of palliative care education with innovative teaching strategies, but must compete with other topics. Palliative care teaching must be prioritised, not only by the universities, but also by the national authority. 

PURPOSE: Exercise training is an effective and safe way to counteract cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL). High-intensity interval training has proven beneficial for the health of clinical populations. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to compare the effects of resistance and high-intensity interval training (RT-HIIT), and moderate-intensity aerobic and high-intensity interval training (AT-HIIT) to usual care (UC) in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was CRF and the secondary endpoints were HRQoL and cancer treatment-related symptoms.

METHODS: Two hundred and forty women planned to undergo chemotherapy were randomized to supervised RT-HIIT, AT-HIIT, or UC. Measurements were performed at baseline and at 16 weeks. Questionnaires included Piper Fatigue Scale, EORTC-QLQ-C30, and Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale.

RESULTS: The RT-HIIT group was superior to UC for CRF: total CRF (p = 0.02), behavior/daily life (p = 0.01), and sensory/physical (p = 0.03) CRF. Role functioning significantly improved while cognitive functioning was unchanged for RT-HIIT compared to declines shown in the UC group (p = 0.04). AT-HIIT significantly improved emotional functioning versus UC (p = 0.01) and was superior to UC for pain symptoms (p = 0.03). RT-HIIT reported a reduced symptom burden, while AT-HIIT remained stable compared to deteriorations shown by UC (p < 0.01). Only RT-HIIT was superior to UC for total symptoms (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: 16 weeks of resistance and HIIT was effective in preventing increases in CRF and in reducing symptom burden for patients during chemotherapy for breast cancer. These findings add to a growing body of evidence supporting the inclusion of structured exercise prescriptions, including HIIT, as a vital component of cancer rehabilitation.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov Registration Number: NCT02522260.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the experiences of the fundamentals of care for people with a cancer diagnosis, from diagnosis to after adjuvant treatment.

BACKGROUND: More focus is needed on the experience of people living with cancer, as current cancer care more emphasises on independence and resilience without fully acknowledging that there will be moments in the cancer journey where patients will need 'basic nursing care' to manage their symptoms and care pathways.

DESIGN: Secondary analysis of qualitative data.

METHOD: Secondary thematic analysis of interview data from 30 people with a diagnosis of breast (n=10), colorectal (n=10) or prostate (n=10) cancer was undertaken.

RESULTS: The findings revealed vivid descriptions of the fundamentals of care (i.e. basic needs) and participants described physical, psychosocial and relational aspects of the delivery of care. Both positive (e.g. supportive and kind) and negative (e.g. humiliating) experiences related to the relationship with the healthcare professionals were re-counted and affected the participants' experiences of the fundamentals of care. Participants' accounts of their fundamental care needs were provided without them identifying who, within the health care system, was responsible for providing these needs. Specific nursing interventions were seldom described.

CONCLUSION: Some people with a cancer diagnosis have to strive for help and support from the nursing staff to manage to regain control over their recovery. Nurses in cancer care need to focus on the patients' fundamental care needs to optimise their patients' recovery. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Background: In oncology, physical activity (PA) is recognized to improve psychological and physiological functions. Motivating women with breast cancer to sustain a physically active lifestyle is important for promoting positive health after diagnosis. To review and synthesize what is known about how women with breast cancer experience supervised and unsupervised PA during and after adjuvant treatment. PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched, yielding 994 citations. The final review included 17 articles published between 2004 and 2014 in English. The CASP (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme) instrument was used to appraise quality. Results: Exercise is experienced as a positive element with multiple benefits. However, maintaining a physically active lifestyle during and after chemotherapy is sometimes challenging. Reported benefits of PA include feeling empowered, and improving and reclaiming health. Facilitators to PA comprised exercising with peers and skilled instructors. Barriers included social factors and lack of information. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of incorporating PA programs from a patient experience perspective as routine treatment. Health care professionals play a crucial gateway role in providing information on implementation and benefits of PA. Providing support and educated advice about how to safely start or continue regular PA to minimize symptoms, reduce morbidity, and increase well-being during or after treatment is vital for women with breast cancer. Implications for Practice: Health care professionals need increased knowledge of the breast cancer patients' perspectives on facilitators and barriers to PA during and after treatment, in order to provide sufficient support for women to stay physically active during a breast cancer illness.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the experiences of using an app among older people with home-based health care and their nurses.

BACKGROUND: Few information and communication technology innovations have been developed and tested for older people with chronic conditions living at home with home-based health care support. Innovative ways to support older people's health and self-care are needed.

DESIGN: Explorative qualitative design.

METHODS: For 3 months to report health concerns, older people receiving home-based health care used an interactive app, which included direct access to self-care advice, graphs and a risk assessment model that sends alerts to nurses for rapid management. Interviews with older people (n = 17) and focus group discussions with home care nurses (n = 12) were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS: The findings reveal that a process occurs. Using the app, the older people participated in their care, and the app enabled learning and a new way of communication. The interaction gave a sense of security and increased self-confidence among older people. The home care nurses viewed the alerts as appropriate for the management of health concerns. However, all participants experienced challenges in using new technology and had suggestions for improvement.

CONCLUSIONS: The use of an app appears to increase the older people's participation in their health care and offers them an opportunity to be an active partner in their care. The app as a new way to interact with home care nurses increased the feeling of security. The older people were motivated to learn to use the app and described potential use for it in the future.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The use of an app should be considered as a useful information and communication technology innovation that can improve communication and accessibility for older people with home-based health care.