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Assistant nurses caring for older adults with immigrant backgrounds are on the front lines of a practical, theoretical, and policy battlefield. They need to implement culturally sensitive care provision while not overstating the importance of culture, thereby, contributing to a negative picture of older immigrants as especially problematic. One proposed way to strike such a balance is the welfare theory of health (WTH). In this article, we let assistant nurses apply the WTH to a series of questions in four different vignettes representing the life stories of older persons who characterize typical dilemmas described by the theory. The results show that, through the lens of the WTH, assistant nurses looked for individual care preferences rather than stereotypical ideas about cultural characteristics. Further, the assistant nurses expressed a desire to get to know the persons more deeply to better interpret and understand their individual preferences. Thus, the theoretical framework is useful not only for exposing vulnerabilities to which some older adults with immigrant backgrounds may be exposed, but also for finding ways to mitigate the vulnerability by illuminating vital life goals and using them as a framework to organize care. This approach allows for mitigating the gap between the vital life goals and available resources to achieve a holistic state of health.

Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) affect people’s physical and mental health. The aim was to examine changes in PA and SB in a Swedish population: at three time points: 2019, 2020, and 2022, i.e., before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-pandemic PA and SB, i.e., 2019, were assessed retrospectively in 2020. Associations between PA and SB with sex, age, occupation, COVID-19 history, weight change, health, and life satisfaction were also examined. The design was repeated cross-sectionally. The main findings demonstrate the PA levels decreased between 2019 and 2020, and between 2019 and 2022, but not between 2020 and 2022. The SB increase was most evident between 2019 and 2020. Between 2020 and 2022, results showed a decrease in SB, but SB did not reach pre-pandemic levels. Both sexes decreased their PA over time. Although men reported more PA sex, they did not have any association with PA changes. Two age groups, 19–29 years and 65–79 years, decreased their PA over time. Both PA and SB were associated with COVID-19, occupation, age, life satisfaction, health, and weight change. This study underlines the importance of monitoring changes in PA and SB as they have relevance for health and well-being. There is a risk that the levels of PA and SB do not return to pre-pandemic levels in the population.

Care providers for older immigrants in Sweden find themselves in a paradox. Individuals and associations call for culturally sensitive elderly care. However, implementing this comes at the risk of over-culturizing needs and behaviours, drawing a negative picture of ‘the problem of immigrants’ that needs to be solved with special interventions. To find a balance in this paradox, we applied the welfare theory of health to grasp a new understanding of the phenomena and draw a holistic picture of a person’s needs and resources available to achieve good ageing, reaching beyond the cultural paradox. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with older adults with immigrant backgrounds in Sweden. The interviews were analysed using content analysis. Combining welfare theory of health with immaterial capital theories offered a holistic theoretical approach to good ageing. This took its departure from the agency of older adults, mitigating the gap between their vital life goals and available resources to reach these goals. Although informants wanted caring interventions from close family, we identified distinct responses to mitigate the diminished trust older adults had in the capability of welfare institutions to provide adequate elderly care.

Governments have enforced measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 with varying degrees of success, which could affect people’s physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior. This study aimed to examine changes in PA levels, types of PA, and sedentary behavior in the Swedish population before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Associations between changed PA levels and demographical and behavioral determinants were also investigated. In December 2020, 1035 individuals (18–79 years old) completed a survey about their PA and sedentary behavior before and during the pandemic. Factors influencing their PA were also explored. Fifty-one percent of the sample reported reduced total PA, 18% had no change, and 31% increased their PA. Overall, organized PA decreased the most and sedentary behavior increased. The youngest and oldest age groups reported the greatest reduction in PA, while middle-aged groups reported the most increased PA. Men reported a larger increase in sedentary behavior than women. Mental and physical capability was associated with change in PA. In conclusion, this study indicates that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of the Swedish population have decreased PA levels with a concurrent increase in sedentary behavior, which may have negative health consequences. Interventions are recommended to address both PA and sedentary behavior, specifically to strengthen people’s ability to perform PA and focusing on the youngest and oldest age groups. 

Syftet var att beskriva människors oro, psykisk hälsa och förtroende för sam-hällsfunktioner under covid-19 i relation till kön och ålder, utifrån två datain-samlingar; april–maj, 2020 och februari-mars, 2021. Kvinnorna skattade mer rädsla än männen, gällande att själv eller någon nära anhörig skulle bli allvar-ligt sjuk eller få ekonomiska konsekvenser till följd av covid-19. Unga vuxna skattade mer psykiska besvär vid båda mättillfällena jämfört med de andra åldersgrupperna. Förtroende för samhällsfunktioner minskade vid andra un-dersökningen oavsett kön. Kvinnorna hade dock högre förtroende än männen. Förtroendet minskade för samtliga åldersgrupper, men var högst hos de äldre. Kunskaper om hur gruppers oro, psykiska hälsa och förtroende påverkas är viktiga för att identifiera riskgrupper, samt att utveckla anpassade stödinsatser till de med störst behov vid eventuella kommande kriser.

Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) is a systematic education programme aimed at addressing gender inequality and preventing violence among boys and men. The programme originates from Canada and the USA, and since 2015 has been introduced in a number of Swedish schools. Whereas most evaluations of MVP and other programmes addressing gender-based violence focus on broad changes, we argue that these evaluations fail to provide insight into where and for whom the programmes are or are not effective. By identifying the participants with knowledge and attitudes furthest away from the target assumptions of the programme and following them throughout the programme, we can see what effects the programme has on those with the most problematic knowledge and attitudes. The study shows that MVP does not seem to contribute to a more positive development for the group of students whose knowledge and attitudes are furthest from the programme’s target assumptions. Moreover, the study shows that the comparison group shows a more positive development over time than the MVP group. This leads to the conclusion that MVP seems to have limited potential to change the specific group with low levels of knowledge about violence and most problematic attitudes towards violent behaviour.

BackgroundInternational migration and aging populations make for important trends, challenging elderly care regimes in an increasingly globalized world. The situation calls for new ways of merging active aging strategy and cultural sensitivity. This study aim to illuminate the gap between cultural sensitivity and active aging to identify perceived thresholds by Swedish municipal officials in the understanding of older late-in-life-immigrants situation. MethodsDelphi methodology in three rounds. Twenty-three persons in municipal decision-making positions participated and generated 71 statements, of which 33 statements found consensus. ResultsThe 33 statements show that the decision makers prefer not to use cultural sensitivity as a concept in their work, but rather tailor interventions based on individual preferences that may or may not be present in a certain culture. However, as the complexity of care increases, emphasis drifts away from personal preferences toward text-book knowledge on cultures and activity.

There is already a large body of research on the dramatic negative effects of COVID-19 on peoples’ mental and physical health. Millions of people have died, and the pandemic has negatively influenced the lives of billions of people. Luckily however, the vast majority of people infected with the virus, recovers. The happiness and wellbeing of these people have not been extensively studied. In the current paper, we ask the question: Are people who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection happier than those who have not been infected at all? Building on previous research on hedonic adaptation and counterfactual thinking, we hypothesize, and find, that those who have had an infection appear slightly happier than others.  The study relies on two surveys conducted in Sweden during the pandemic in 2020 (n=1029) and 2021 (n=1788).

Background: Despite the proven health benefits of physical activity (PA), more than a quarter of the world’s adult population is insufficiently physically active, which increases the risk of diseases and premature death. During the COVID-19 pandemic governments have implemented enforced measures to limit the spread of the virus, which could affect people’s PA.  Aim: This study aimed to examine changes in PA levels, types of PA, and sedentary behavior in the Swedish population before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Associations between demographical and behavioral determinants, and changes in PA were also investigated. Method: In December 2020, 1.035 individuals (18-79 y) completed a survey about PA and sedentary behavior, at present and before the pandemic. Factors influencing their PA were also explored.  Results: Fifty-one percent of the sample reduced total PA, 18% had no change and 31% increased PA. Overall, organized PA, for example at fitness centers and sport training, decreased the most, and sedentary behavior increased. The youngest and the oldest age groups reported the greatest reduction of PA, while the middle age groups reported the most increased PA. Mental and physical capability was associated with PA change. Conclusion: During the pandemic, most of the Swedish population have decreased PA levels with a concurrent increase in sedentary behavior. This may have both a short-and long-term negative health impact on individuals’ and populations’ health.  Implications for caring in a changing world: As physical inactivity already is a global public health problem during non-pandemic circumstances this study’s findings call for further actions during and after the pandemic to support people in maintaining or increasing daily PA and decreasing sedentary behavior. Interventions in health care are recommended to strengthen peoples’ ability to perform PA, focus on the youngest and oldest age groups, and be applied on an individual basis as well as in organizational contexts.

Although many studies have been conducted on the effects of COVID-19 on individual lives, only a few focus on the changes in mental health and views of public institutions during the pandemic. This study aimed to investigate how mental health, i.e., life satisfaction, worries, and psychological distress, and views on public institutions' communication and activities have changed among Swedes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether this was moderated by age and sex. In April-May 2020 (survey 1) and in January-February 2021 (survey 2), 2554 adults and 1904 newly recruited adults, respectively, anonymously completed online surveys. We found that life satisfaction and psychological distress did not change from survey 1 to survey 2. However, the level of worries increased, and the positive views of the public institutions decreased. Moreover, worries and psychological distress increased more in young adults than older adults. Finally, the change in the views of the public institutions was not related to the change in worries. Our results highlight the COVID-19 long-term impacts on individual mental health and call for the need for future research concerning the consequences for the population, especially among young adults. The results also indicate that the views on activities of public authorities decreased over time, especially among men. Given that loss of this trust can have vastly negative effects, for instance, on the vaccine campaign, it is important to monitor this trend, to increase awareness among Swedish authorities. The results also stress for institutions to provide adequate support both during the COVID-19 pandemic and in a future crisis.