The forest as a classroom: preparing for mental health practice.

Background: Positive effects of physical activity, health promotion and disease prevention, in treatment of mental illnesses are well documented. Mental health practice for nursing students highlights the important connection between physical activities and mental health. This study aims to examine the outcome from nursing students' participation using The forest as a classroom.

Stages of Change--continuous measure (URICA-E2): psychometrics of a Norwegian version.

Aim: This paper is a report of research to translate the English version of the Stages of Change continuous measure questionnaire (URICA-E2) into Norwegian and to test the validity of the questionnaire and its usefulness in predicting behavioural change.

Background: While the psychometric properties of the Stages of Change categorical measure have been tested extensively, evaluation of the psychometric properties of the continuous questionnaire has not been described elsewhere in the literature.

Method: Cross-sectional data were collected with a convenience sample of 198 undergraduate nursing students in 2005 and 2006.

Reactions of primary caregivers of frail older people and people with cancer in the palliative phase living at home.

Aim: This paper is a report of a study conducted to (1) compare means of the single items and the dimensions of the Caregiver Reaction Assessment among caregivers of frail older people and caregivers of cancer patients in the palliative phase; (2) examine gender differences for the scoring parameters in the Caregiver Reaction Assessment within each group and (3) examine the demographic variables' association with the caregiver groups' scores for the dimensions of the Caregiver Reaction Assessment.

Background: Limited research has focused on the caregiver situation in the home-care setting among primary caregivers of frail older people, and caregivers of patients with cancer in the palliative phase.

Methods: A convenience sample of 224 caregivers of frail older people, and 85 caregivers of patients with cancer in the palliative phase was recruited between 2002 and 2005.