Coming theses from other universities
-
For better and for worse, till death do us part : Support needs of persons caring for a co-habitant spouse or partner with dementia
Link: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-47671
Background: Caring for a partner with dementia is typically stressful and challenging. Such carers can become overwhelmed by their responsibilities, neglecting their personal needs as well as their need for support as a carer. Receipt of support is low among spouse carers, while the support received may not be appropriate for their needs. More research is required to develop effective support for this important group of carers.
Overall aim: To explore the life- and caring situation of spouses caring for a partner with dementia and to increase the understanding of their needs and experiences of support.
Methods: This thesis consists of four papers (I-IV): I, Analysis of data on informal carers of persons with dementia (n=330) from a cross-sectional survey of a stratified random probability sample of adults in Sweden (N=30 009); II and III, a cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of people aged 65 years or older caring for a partner with dementia (N=175). Hierarchal regression models explored positive and negative aspects of caring (II), and principal component analysis examined carers’ perceptions of support (III); IV, a thematic analysis of semi-structured telephone interviews with 24 spouse carers, exploring their caring experiences.
Results: Compared to other carers, spouses of persons with dementia received less support from family or local authorities, while experiencing more negative impact from caring (I). Negative impact from, and positive value of, caring among spouses, were associated with different aspects of their situation (II). Support was perceived as important, yet spouses may not perceive support to themselves as more important than support to their partner (III). Spouse carers experienced a loss of self and felt confined in their situation, finding it hard to distinguish between their needs and those of their partner (IV).
Conclusion: Compared to other carers, spouses are more exposed to the negative aspects of caring, while being less supported. Support to spouse carers should focus on strengthening the positive aspects of caring to mitigate the negative aspects. As a spouse’s needs are conditioned by their partner’s, support should focus on spouses’ personal needs and their partners’ care needs.
-
Patients’ Access to Their Mental Health Records : Understanding Policy, Access, and Patient Experiences
Link: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-522720
ORA is the concept of patients' access to clinical information, which has become more widespread worldwide. When patients are provided online record access (ORA) to their health records, concerns have been raised by healthcare professionals, especially when it comes to patients with mental health diagnoses. In the general population, positive aspects appear to outweigh the negative, yet limited research has so far explored the impact of ORA in mental healthcare.
The overall aim of this thesis was to explore how patients experience ORA in mental healthcare through four studies: 1) a literature review aimed to explore the current literature on the experiences of ORA among mental healthcare patients, care partners, and healthcare professionals, 2) a document analysis combined with key stakeholder email interviews that aimed to explore to what extent ORA in mental healthcare has been implemented in Sweden including national and local policy regulations, 3) an online patient survey study aimed to understand mental healthcare patients' experiences with ORA in Sweden, Estonia, Finland, and Norway, and 4) an online patient survey study aimed to understand if and how patients with mental health conditions experiences of ORA differs from patients in other healthcare settings.
More patients reported positive experiences with ORA in mental healthcare than negative experiences. Common benefits of ORA included, among others, a greater sense of control over their care, improved understanding of their mental health diagnosis, and better adherence to appointments. Despite patients' predominant positive experiences, only 17 out of 21 regions in Sweden offered ORA in mental healthcare in 2021. Additionally, many patients experienced errors and omissions and felt offended by the content of their health records. Mental healthcare patients experienced this at a higher rate than patients in other healthcare settings.
In conclusion, mental healthcare patients have higher rates of negative experiences of ORA compared to patients in other healthcare settings. However, patients' experiences of ORA are still predominantly positive among both patient groups. Yet, in 2021, only 17 regions offered patients ORA in mental healthcare. Denying mental healthcare patients ORA to protect them from negative experiences could instead increase stigma in this patient group.
-
Taxane-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy among Early-Stage Breast Cancer Survivors : Prevalence, Risk Factors, Quality of Life and Genetic Prediction Models
Link: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-201635
Background: Taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) is a common and distressful side effect. Little is known on how long TIPN persist and its effect on health-related quality of life (HRQL). The overall aim of this thesis was to study the prevalence and severity of persistent TIPN, to investigate its impact on HRQL and to explore the clinical and genetic risk factors for TIPN among early-stage breast cancer survivors (ESBCS).
Methods: A population-based cohort of 884 recurrence-free ESBCS diagnosed 2010-2015 in the Southeast Health Care region, Sweden and 1768 control women without prior cancer, who received a postal questionnaire including EORTC chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN20) and QLQ-C30 instruments. Prevalence of TIPN symptoms and clinical risk factors were explored. Adjusted relative risks (RR) were estimated for ESBCS compared to control women. For impact on HRQL, adjusted mean scores of QLQ-C30 scales among ESBCS with and without TIPN were calculated. Blood samples from 362 ESBCS were whole-exome sequenced. We leveraged logistic regression models to develop and validate polygenic prediction models to estimate the risk of persistent PN symptoms in a training and test cohort.
Results: The response rate was 79% for ESBCS and 59% for controls. The median time post-taxane was 3.6 years. The adjusted RR for ESBCS vs. controls was highest (RR 1.8) for tingling in feet and numbness in feet. Individual sensory symptoms occurred in 9%-48% and motor symptoms in 7%-61% of ESBCS. The most prevalent symptoms were difficulty opening jar and cramps in feet. Paclitaxel, older age, overweight, diabetes mellitus, vibrating hand tools, smoking and autoimmune disease were independent risk factors (Study I). All 13 sensory and motor TIPN symptoms at increased risks among ESBCS had a significant impact on global health status, which worsened with increased severity of TIPN. Between 30%-93% of ESBCS with moderate-severe TIPN reported a clinically important impairment of functioning and personal finances. Moderate-severe difficulty climbing stairs and problems standing/walking were associated with medium-large clinically important differences (Study II). In the explorative sub-study, two of five prediction models based on genetic and clinical risk factors obtained AUC results above 60% in the test cohort. Using the model for numbness in feet (35 SNVs) in the test cohort, 73% survivors were correctly predicted. For tingling in feet (55 SNVs) 70% were correctly predicted (Study III).
Conclusions: Most sensory and motor symptoms are more common among taxane-treated ESBC survivors than in women from the general population, many symptoms persist ≥3.6 years. Persistent TIPN symptoms are associated with clinically relevant impairment of HRQL. Polygenic prediction models including clinical risk factors may be used to estimate the risk of persistent taxane-induced numbness in feet and tingling in feet.