Sense of meaning in life among the oldest old people living in a rural area in northern Sweden.

Background: Having meaning in life is important for all people, and according to Erikson's developmental theory, this is especially true for older adults. However, there are few studies about meaning in life focusing on the oldest old.

Aim: The aim of our study was to illuminate the sense of meaning in life in the oldest old living in northern Sweden.

Being a preceptor-a Nordic qualitative study.

Background: Positive preceptor experiences enhance learning and even affect the decisions of students to remain in nursing. In light of this, nurse managers have a responsibility, besides maintaining staff competence, to assess whether preceptors live up to their professional obligations.

Aim: The aim of this Nordic qualitative study was to gain a deeper understanding of the perceived experiences of preceptorship used to support undergraduate student nurses during their clinical education.

Perspectives on good preceptorship: A matter of ethics.

Background: Clinical education is an essential part of the Bachelor's program in Nursing and a keystone of professional nursing education. Through clinical experiences, the student nurses acquire nursing knowledge and essential skills for professional practice. The preceptor plays a vital role in the development of student nurses becoming professional nurses.

Inner strength in relation to age, gender and culture among old people--a cross-sectional population study in two Nordic countries.

Objectives: The theoretical framework for the study was the Model of Inner Strength, and the Inner Strength Scale (ISS)developed based on the Model was used. The aim was to examine inner strength in relation to age, gender and culture among old people in Sweden and Finland.

Method: This study forms part of the GErontological Regional DAtabase (GERDA)-Botnia project that investigates healthy ageing with focus on the dignity, social participation and health of old people.

Inner strength as a mediator of the relationship between disease and self-rated health among old people.

Aim: To explore inner strength as a mediator of the relationship between disease and self-rated health among older people.

Background: Qualitative research has indicated that inner strength is an essential resource for an individual affected by disease. A hypothesis of inner strength as a mediator of the relationship between disease and self-rated health was proposed.

Quality of clinical education--comparison of experiences of undergraduate student nurses in Finland and Sweden.

The purpose of this study was to compare the experiences of three groups of undergraduate student nurses on the quality of clinical education over time. The study is part of a longitudinal research and development project in Finland and Sweden. The sample (n = 109) consisted of three subgroups of student nurses: the first in a Swedish faculty (SWE) (n = 53), the second in a Finnish faculty (FIN1, n = 42), and the third in another Finnish faculty (FIN2, n = 14).

Finnish and Swedish nursing students' experiences of their first clinical practice placement--a qualitative study.

Background: Nursing is a practice-based discipline. Clinical practice settings are important in preparing undergraduate nursing students for the role of registered nurse.

Aim: The aim of this Nordic qualitative study is to illuminate first year undergraduate nursing students' experiences of clinical practice during their first clinical placement, with a focus on preception, reflection, and the link between theory and practice.

Psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the selection, optimization, compensation questionnaire.

Background: The model of selection, optimization and compensation has been proposed as a model of adaptive management strategies throughout the lifespan.

Aim: The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of a translated Swedish version of the 12-item selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) questionnaire.

Method: The 12-item SOC questionnaire is composed of four subscales: elective selection (ES), loss-based selection, optimization and compensation.

Changes in sense of coherence in old age - a 5-year follow-up of the Umeå 85+ study.

Objective: This study aims to describe the changes in sense of coherence (SOC) over time and relate these changes to negative life events among very old people.

Design: Prospective and longitudinal study.

Subjects: 190 old women and men participated, of whom 56 could be included in the 5-year follow-up.

Inner strength in relation to functional status, disease, living arrangements, and social relationships among people aged 85 years and older.

Inner strength is described as an important resource that promotes well-being. We used data from a sample of 185 people in the Umeå 85+ cohort study to relate inner strength and its attributes to objective health variables. The Resilience, Sense of Coherence, Purpose in Life, and Self-Transcendence scales were used to assess aspects of inner strength, and strong correlations between the scales were found.

Development and psychometric properties of the Inner Strength Scale.

Background: Four dimensions of inner strength were previously identified in a meta-theoretical analysis: firmness, creativity, connectedness, and flexibility.

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop an Inner Strength Scale (ISS) based on those four dimensions and to evaluate its psychometric properties.

Method: An initial version of ISS was distributed for validation purpose with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the resilience scale, and the sense of Coherence Scale.

Sense of coherence (SOC) related to health and mortality among the very old: the Umeå 85+ study.

We describe associations between sense of coherence (SOC) and sense of well-being, diseases, physical function and the predictive value of SOC on depression and mortality. The study included 190 participants, aged 85-103 years. Linear correlation analysis was used for relationships between SOC scores and continuous variables.

Psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Purpose in Life scale.

The aim of this study was to test the theoretical assumptions beyond the Purpose in Life (PIL) scale, and to elucidate the underlying structure of the Swedish version of the PIL. The PIL, originally created by Crumbaugh and Maholick, is a 20-item scale of the Lickert type with possible scores ranges from 20 to 140, the higher score, the stronger PIL. The analysis was based on 449 participants, 62% of whom were women, from five different samples, ranging from 19 to 103 years old.

Inner strength--a theoretical analysis of salutogenic concepts.

Background: Theoretical and empirical overlaps between the concepts of resilience, sense of coherence, hardiness, purpose in life, and self-transcendence have earlier been described as some kind of inner strength, but no studies have been found that focus on what attributes these concepts have in common.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to perform a theoretical analysis of the concepts of resilience, sense of coherence, hardiness, purpose in life, and self-transcendence, in order to identify their core dimensions in an attempt to get an overarching understanding of inner strength. PRINT METHOD: An analysis inspired by the procedure of meta-theory construction was performed.

Admission profile is predictive of outcome in acute hospital care.

Background And Aims: The purpose of this study is to describe predictors for discharge and one-year outcomes of acute-care hospital patients, 75 years of age or over, based on admission status information. We carried out a prospective study of a randomly selected patient population, from one urban acute-care hospital in each of the Nordic countries. 763 persons aged 75+ were randomly selected from acute admissions to the participating hospitals.

Vision and hearing impairments and their associations with falling and loss of instrumental activities in daily living in acute hospitalized older persons in five Nordic hospitals.

Background: Many older people believe sensory problems are inevitably, a part of growing old, and avoid assessment and help. Such problems are often also overlooked by health professionals. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of hearing and vision impairment and their associations with loss of instrumental activities in daily living (IADL) and risk of falling in patients aged 75 years or older, admitted to a medical ward in an acute hospital in each of the five Nordic countries.

Comparison of nurses' and physicians' documentation of functional abilities of older patients in acute care--patient records compared with standardized assessment.

Aim: To compare nurses' and physicians' documentation of geriatric issues and explore double documentation and undocumented areas of importance in an acute care setting in two Nordic countries.

Method: 158 participants, aged 75+, of whom the Minimum Data Set for Acute Care (MDS-AC) instrument was conducted at admission and from which 56 variables were taken in comparison with notes from patient records documented by nurses and/or physicians in two acute care hospitals, in Finland and Iceland.

Findings: Documentation of the impairment of personal Activities of Daily Living (ADL) was missing in 40-60% of the nurses' reports and 80-97% of the physician's reports.