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The purpose of this paper is to investigate aspects related to difficulty to retain nursing assistants at nursing homes in Sweden related to perceived work environment characteristics.

To reveal aspects related to difficulty to retain nursing assistants, the paper uses the BIKVA model, sense of coherence and New Public Management (NPM). In total, three focus groups with nursing assistants at three nursing homes are interviewed with corresponding individual interviews with their senior managers and users. The purpose is to analyze the situation from the affected group of nursing assistants. The focus of this study is how nursing assistants discuss related to recruit and retain nursing assistants at nursing homes and elderly care and the response from senior management related to those aspects.

The main conclusions are that nursing assistants consider their job as meaningful, but limited latitude and direct involvement in managing their daily tasks in a continuous communication with management affect negatively. Furthermore and combined with wage levels, aspects related to scheduling, working hours, shift work, split shifts and understaffing generate a burdensome and stressful environment affecting the possibility to retain staff in a negative direction.

The research uses a new approach utilizing the BIKVA model, sense of coherence and NPM. The study shows that central in retaining nursing assistants at nursing homes relates to aspects such as wages, staffing, shift work and split shifts and continuous communication between nursing assistants and management.

This study aims to describe nurse leaders’ experiences of work-related well-being and its association with background variables, working conditions, work engagement, sense of coherence and burnout.

An electronic survey design was used. Data was collected between December 2015 and May 2016 with an instrument that included demographic questions and four internationally validated scales: the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, QPS Nordic 34+, the shortened Sense of Coherence scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Data was analysed using statistical methods.

A total of 155 nurse leaders completed the questionnaire, giving a 44% response rate. Most of them worked as nurse managers (89%). Participants’ work-related well-being scores ranged from 8 to 10. Statistically significant relationships were found between participants’ work-related well-being and their leadership skills, current position, sense of coherence and levels of burnout. In addition, there were statistically significant relationships between work-related well-being and all dimensions of working conditions.

This study underlines the fact that work-related well-being should not be evaluated based on a single factor. The participants’ perceived work-related well-being was high, although almost half of them reported always or often experiencing stress. The results suggest that nurse leaders may have resources such as good leadership and problem-solving skills, supportive working conditions and a high sense of coherence that prevent the experienced stress from adversely affecting their work-related well-being.

Prediction of increased risk of suicide is difficult. We had the opportunity to follow up 20 patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) because of severe depression. They filled in the Antonovsky sense of coherence test (SOC) and Beck depression inventory (BDI) before and after a series of ECT treatments. Seventeen surviving patients had a mean observation time of 20.6 months, whereas the three deceased patients had 11.3 months. There was a lower mean age at onset of illness and a longer mean duration of disease in the deceased. Other clinical parameters did not differ. The surviving patients had a significant decrease on the BDI from 35 to 18 (P<0.001) and an increase on the SOC test after ECT from 2.45 to 3.19 (P<0.001), indicating both less depression and better functioning in life. The deceased had a larger change on the BDI from 32 to 13, not attaining significance because of the low number of deceased. The SOC test, however, did not increase to a purported normal level; that is, from 2.43 to 2.87. Although the SOC scale has been shown to predict mortality in substance abusers, the SOC test has not been part of earlier reviews of predictive power. Tentatively, a low pathological score on the SOC test may indicate low sense of coherence in life that might increase the propensity for suicide. These preliminary results need replication in larger studies.

The levels of work-related stress and the incidence rates of subsequent related illnesses are increasing in our society, leading to high individual and socioeconomic burdens. Mindfulness training has been shown to be an effective method of improving stress resilience. This paper aims to investigate the efficacy of nature-based mindfulness training in professionals with high levels of work-related stress.

In this controlled pilot study, a total of 56 volunteers completed a nature-based mindfulness training progam and were compared to 8 participants (waitlist controls). Psychometric assessments were performed at baseline and after two and four months of training.

After two months of training, the scores for self-efficacy, sense of coherence, level of mindfulness and overall psychiatric symptom load had significantly improved in the intervention group, while the control group did not show any significant improvements. A comparison between the intervention and control groups showed a significant difference regarding the sense of coherence only.

Since this was an exploratory study with a small control group, further studies are needed to verify our findings.

In conclusion, nature-based mindfulness training seems to be a promising tool for the improvement of resilience and overall psychological health in professionals.

This was the first study to systematically investigate effects of nature-based mindfulness training in people with high work-related stress.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate changes in, and associations between, sense of coherence (SOC) and emotional distress in women who participated in an accredited motivational program (VINN) in correctional institutions in five countries.

A prospective study with a pre- and post-test design included 316 participants from Sweden, Estonia, Denmark, Russia and Norway. Global emotional distress was measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. SOC was measured using the 13-item Orientation to Life Questionnaire. One-way analysis of variance and multilevel regression models were used in the statistical analyses.

An increase in SOC was associated with a decrease in emotional distress. Emotional distress decreased significantly −3.80 points (95 percent CI (−4.61, −2.97)), and SOC significantly improved from pre- to post-measurement by 1.82 points (95 percent CI (0.72, 2.92)), regardless of country and correctional institution.

The results add new knowledge regarding a coherent theoretical foundation of a motivational program for women. The ability of a program promoting health is important for researchers, health-care workers and facilitators delivering programs for women in correctional facilities. An increase in SOC can act as a protective factor in order to manage stressors and risk factors among women serving in correctional facilities.

The present study indicates that enhancing women’s coping resources and providing income alternatives to crime is fundamental to their capacity to desist from criminal behavior.

Depression is a usual comorbidity in patients with Parkinson's disease. It has been known for more than 50 years that electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) has a positive effect on the muscular symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Many countries do not allow giving ECT for this indication. We have recently treated a resident patient in an acute psychiatric facility referred to the hospital with moderate depressive symptoms and strong suicidal ideation. Before and after a series of ECT he filled out the Beck Depression Inventory and the Antonovsky Sense of Coherence test. The scores before ECT were 20 and 2.69, respectively, and after 12 treatments 14 and 3.38. Both test results indicate improvement regarding level of depression and coping in life. The physiotherapists treating him observed that his rigidity was reduced and his gait improved. Muscular tonus was reduced and increased his tendency of falling as he had less tonus in muscles close to joints. Self help efficiency in daily tasks improved. He got cognitive impairment during and in the weeks after ECT. Electroconvulsive treatment should be offered to more patients with Parkinson disease and depression in order to lessen the burden of both depression and Parkinson symptoms.

The purpose of this paper is to advance our understanding of identity play process by including the stories we live by in depth. Over the past decade, identity play literature has placed more emphasis on the role of self-narratives. Yet, the “stories we live by”, including the told or untold stories of past and imagined events of the future, have not been considered in depth in these self-narratives.

This conceptual paper draws on the personal construct theory, narrative identity and constructivist psychotherapy literatures and attempts to include the stories we live by in scholarly conceptualizations and explorations of identity play processes.

Drawing on the personal construct theory, narrative identity and constructivist psychotherapy literatures this paper offers a comprehensive conceptual model of how the stories we live by infuse individual identity construction processes. The model highlights the inter-connectivity among stories we live by, identity play, identity work, sensemaking and social validation. Looking through the lens of the personal construct theory and taking these inter-connectivities into account lead to the observation of temporality in identity construction and the plurivocality of self-narratives.

This paper looks at identity play through the lens of the personal construct theory. However, self-narratives are seen as a medium for manifestation of personal constructs. Thus, this paper also draws on the narrative identity literature and dialogical-self concept, which helps access the multiplicity of the self-narratives to widen our grasp of personal constructs. This paper combines discourse of deconstruction with the dialogical-self concept and provides more means for the explication of identity play.

Data science promises new opportunities for organizational decision-making. Data scientists arguably play an important role in this regard and one can even observe a certain “buzz” around this nascent occupation. This paper enquires into how data scientists construct their occupational identity and the challenges they experience when enacting it.

Based on semi-structured interviews with data scientists working in different industries, the authors explore how these actors draw on their educational background, work experiences and perception of the contemporary digitalization discourse to craft their occupational identities.

The authors identify three main components of data scientists’ occupational identity: a scientific mindset, an interest in sophisticated forms of data work and a problem-solving attitude. The authors demonstrate how enacting this identity is sometimes challenged through what data scientists perceive as either too low or too high expectations that managers form towards them. To address those expectations, they engage in outward-facing identity work by carrying out educational work within the organization and (paradoxically) stressing both prestigious and non-prestigious parts of their work to “tame” the ambiguity and hype they perceive in managers’ expectations. In addition, they act upon themselves to better appreciate managers’ perspectives and expectations.

This study contributes to research on data scientists as well as the accounting literature that often refers to data scientists as new competitors for accountants. It cautions scholars and practitioners alike to be careful when discussing the possibilities and limitations of data science concerning advancements in accounting and control.

The diagnostic process after referral to an acute psychiatric treatment facility consists of more than the clinical investigation and laboratory tests. Psychometric tests in a broad range of languages may be such an augmentation of our diagnostic armamentarium. Whether such tests are in use, and how they are distributed among different patient categories was the aim of the study. All referrals in one calendar year (N=1168), as they are depicted in the hospital computerized medical records, were investigated. Fifty-six (6.1%) out of 926 ethnic Norwegians and six (3.0%) out of 198 non-Western immigrants were tested, whereas none of the 44 Western immigrants. The difference between ethnic Norwegians and the immigrants was significant (Z=-3.05 and P=0.002). Psychometric tests were thus almost not in use, and even lesser so in immigrants. Mean number of resident days was higher among those tested, 11.7 (SD=11.2) versus those not tested, 7.4 (SD=10.4) days, t=2.97 and P=0.004. Length of stay for ethnic Norwegians did not differ from that for non-Western immigrants 11.4 versus 11.7, respectively. The patients tested were older than those not tested. Mean age was 43.0 (SD=14.4) versus 38.8 (SD=12.1), with a t=2.65 and P=0.03. The difference in resident days between all immigrants and ethnic Norwegians was significant with a Z=−2.232 and P=0.026. Level of testing was higher in ethnic Norwegians, and the tested patients stayed longer, maybe indicating more room for testing. Whether this low test-activity influences treatment quality is an unsettled question.

There is substantial research on the experiences, needs and well-being of unaccompanied refugee adolescents, but less is known about existential aspects of their lives. The purpose of the current study is to explore existential meaning-making among unaccompanied refugee children.

The informants in this study are young unaccompanied refugees (n = 30) living in Norway, and young Norwegians (n = 46). The authors undertook a secondary analysis of in-depth qualitative refugee interview data and a quantitative analysis of questionnaire data from Norwegian informants.

Both the refugee youths and the Norwegian youths expressed that social relationships and connections to others were most important for meaning. Moreover, both groups emphasized the importance of relatedness and generativity, i. e. commitment to worldly affairs beyond one’s immediate needs. The main differences between the two groups were related to the significance attached to religion and to loneliness.

The comparison between the two groups is only possible to some degree. Secondary analyses have some limitations, as well as strengths.

The findings may be useful for supporting young refugees, as they provide insights into less-studied aspects of their lives.

The originality of this study lies in the focus on and broad interpretation of meaning, of secondary data analyses, and of comparisons between youths that are refugees versus non-refugees.