0000000000038420

AUTHOR

Geir Arild Espnes

Living alone, receiving help, helplessness, and inactivity are strongly related to risk of undernutrition among older home-dwelling people

Solveig T Tomstad1, Ulrika Söderhamn2, Geir Arild Espnes3, Olle Söderhamn21Department of Social Work and Health Science, Faculty of Sciences and Technology Management, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway and Centre for Caring Research – Southern Norway, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway; 2Centre for Caring Research – Southern Norway, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway; 3Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources HiST-NTNU, Department of Social Work and Health Science, Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, NTNU, Trondheim, NorwayBackground: Being at risk of und…

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Return to work after vocational rehabilitation: does mindfulness matter?

Solveig Vindholmen,1 Rune Høigaard,2 Geir Arild Espnes,3 Stephen Seiler41Department of Psychosocial Health, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway; 2Department of Public Health, Sport and Nutrition, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway; 3Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources, Department of Social Work and Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; 4Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, NorwayPurpose: Mindfulness has become an important construct in return-to-work (RTW) rehabilitation. The aim of this study was …

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Experiences faced by next of kin during their older family members’ transition into long-term care in a Norwegian nursing home

Aims and objectives To describe and explore experiences of next of kin during the older persons’ transition into long-term care. Background Moving into long-term care is a challenge for both resident and next of kin. Next of kin experience transitions at the same time as they play significant parts in their family members’ transition into long-term care placement. Design Constructivist hermeneutical design. Methods Ten next of kin to newly admitted eight residents were recruited by purposeful sampling and interviewed. Periodic participant observation periods following new residents on arrival day and the first week after admission and some written documentation were the backdrops to the int…

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Lived experiences of self-care among older, home-dwelling individuals identified to be at risk of undernutrition

Solveig T Tomstad,1,2 Ulrika Söderhamn,2 Geir Arild Espnes,3 Olle Söderhamn21Department of Social Work and Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; 2Centre for Caring Research – Southern Norway, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway; 3Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources HiST-NTNU, Department of Social Work and Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NorwayIntroduction: In a society where most older people live in their own homes, it may be expected of older individuals to exercise their potential to take care of themselves in daily life. Nutrition is a central aspect of se…

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Lived experiences of self-care among older physically active urban-living individuals

- Published article -cc-by-nc Background: Promoting physical activity is a public health priority in most industrial countries, and physical function is an important factor when taking into consideration older people’s self-care and health. Despite the increasing challenges associated with urbanization and the aging population, urban life appears to be positive in many ways for urban dwellers. However, the manner in which older people live in urban settings and how this influences their ability to take care of themselves should be considered important knowledge for health professionals and politicians to acquire. The aim of this study was to describe the lived experiences of self-care and f…

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Being old and living alone in urban areas: the meaning of self-care and health on the perception of life situation and identity

- Published article -cc-by-nc Background: Living alone in urban areas when getting old is an important and necessary field for research as the growth of the urban population worldwide increases, and due to the fact that people live longer. How older people manage their self-care and health, and how this might influence their identity and life situation may be very important to understand when planning for a new, upcoming older generation. The aim of this study was to elucidate the meaning of self-care and health for the perception of life situation and identity among single-living older individuals in urban areas in southern Norway. Methods: A phenomenological–hermeneutic approach inspired …

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Nutritional self-care in two older Norwegian males: a case study

Solveig T Tomstad,1,2 Ulrika Söderhamn,2 Geir Arild Espnes,1,3 Olle Söderhamn21Department of Social Work and Health Science, Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 2Centre for Caring Research-Southern Norway, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad, 3Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources, Department of Social Work and Health Science, Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NorwayBackground: Knowledge about how to support nutritional self-care in the vulnerable elderly living in their own …

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Nursing staff interactions during the older residents' transition into long-term care facility in a nursing home in rural Norway: an ethnographic study

Background: Future challenges in many countries are the recruitment of competent staff in long-term care facilities, and the use of unlicensed staff. Our study describes and explores staff interactions in a long-term care facility, which may facilitate or impede healthy transition processes for older residents in transition. Methods: An ethnographic study based on fieldwork following ten older residents admission day and their initial week in the long-term care facility, seventeen individual semi-structured interviews with different nursing staff categories and the leader of the institution, and reading of relevant documents. Results: The interaction among all staff categories influenced th…

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Has life satisfaction in Norway increased over a 20-year period? Exploring age and gender differences in a prospective longitudinal study, HUNT.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the change in overall life satisfaction for different age groups and between genders over a 20-year period. Methods: Data from 1984 to 2008 were extracted from a large prospective longitudinal health study of Nord-Trøndelag (HUNT), Norway. The study included more than 176,000 participants ranging from 20 to 70+ years of age. Data were analysed using logistic regression and adjusted for gender. Results: The analyses revealed an increase in life satisfaction for all age groups from 1984–1986 (HUNT 1) to 1995–1997 (HUNT 2), with the highest levels being reached at 2006–2008 (HUNT 3). For all age groups, the data showed an increase of about …

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Change and stability: Within-person life satisfaction over a 20-year period using data from the HUNT survey

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate within-person life satisfaction (LS) dynamics for two age groups, 20–29 and 30–39 years, from 1984 to 1986 and to follow them over a 20-year period. Methods: Data from 1984 to 2008 were extracted from the large, prospective, longitudinal North-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), Norway. This paper includes data from more than 14,500 persons. Data were analysed using logistic regression, and LS dynamics were modelled using gender, time and self-rated health. Results: The analyses revealed that about 20% of people in these age groups had a stable level in LS, also known as set point. Long-term LS change, defined as ⩾2 SDs, was reported f…

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Ability for self-care in urban living older people in southern Norway

- Published article -cc-by-nc Background: The number of older people living in urban environments throughout the world will increase in the coming years. There is a trend in most European countries towards improved health among older people, and increased life expectancy for both women and men. Norway has experienced less increase in life expectancy than some other European countries, and it is therefore important to investigate older urban Norwegian people’s health and ways of living in a self-care environment, with special regard to health promotion. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe self-care ability among home-dwelling older (65+ years) individuals living in urban areas in sout…

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Age groups changes in self-rated health: A prospective longitudinal study over a 20-year period using Health Survey of North Trøndelag data.

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate changes in self-rated health (SRH) between different age groups and sexes over a 20-year period. Methods: Data were retrieved from the large longitudinal Health Survey of North Trøndelag, Norway, which includes data collected from more than 190,000 participants aged 20–70+ years between the years 1984 and 2008. Data were analysed using logistic regression and adjusted for sex. Results: From 1984 to 2008, the odds of scoring higher on SRH decreased by 46% in the youngest age group (20–29 years) and increased by approximately 35% in the middle-aged and older age groups (40–70+ years). When considering sex differences, women in most age grou…

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Self-care telephone talks as a health-promotion intervention in urban home-living persons 75+ years of age: a randomized controlled study

- Published article -cc-by-nc Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a telephone-based self-care intervention among urban living individuals 75+ years of age by comparing self-reported perceived health, mental health, sense of coherence, self-care ability, and self-care agency before and after the intervention. Materials and methods: In a randomized controlled study, 15 persons answered a questionnaire about perceived health, mental health, sense of coherence, self-care ability, and self-care agency. In a sex- and age-matched control group (n=15), the same questions were answered. Data were collected before and after intervention. An open-ended question about experiences …

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