Bibliotek

In monkeys, the rostral part of ventral premotor cortex (area F5) contains neurons that discharge, both when the monkey grasps or manipulates objects and when it observes the experimenter making similar actions. These neurons (mirror neurons) appear to represent a system that matches observed events to similar, internally generated actions, and in this way forms a link between the observer and the actor. Transcranial magnetic stimulation and positron emission tomography (PET) experiments suggest that a mirror system for gesture recognition also exists in humans and includes Broca's area. We propose here that such an observation/execution matching system provides a necessary bridge from'doing' to'communicating',as the link between actor and observer becomes a link between the sender and the receiver of each message.

text och illustrationer: Elisabet Alphonce

barn/ungdom

En berättelse om hur en förälder kan vara när hon drabbats av depression.

Is early preventive intervention effective in enhancing parental sensitivity and infant attachment security, and if so, what type of intervention is most successful? Seventy studies were traced, producing 88 intervention effects on sensitivity (n = 7,636) and/or attachment (n = 1,503). Randomized interventions appeared rather effective in changing insensitive parenting (d = 0.33) and infant attachment insecurity (d = 0.20). The most effective interventions used a moderate number of sessions and a clear-cut behavioral focus in families with, as well as without, multiple problems. Interventions that were more effective in enhancing parental sensitivity were also more effective in enhancing attachment security, which supports the notion of a causal role of sensitivity in shaping attachment.

För personer med flerfunktionsnedsättning är livet ofta skört och anhöriga tvingas förhålla sig till tankar om döden på ett mer påtagligt sätt än de flesta andra. I denna skrift har vi på Nationellt kompetenscentrum anhöriga (Nka) samlat berättelser från familjer, yrkesverksamma och specialister med olika erfarenheter avseende detta ämne och sammanställt det i fem kapitel. Nka är ett nationellt kunskapscentrum för anhörigfrågor och anhörigstöd, vars huvudsakliga uppgift är att vara ett expertstöd till kommuner, regioner och enskilda utförare. I uppdraget ingår också att ge kunskapsstöd direkt till föräldrar och andra anhöriga till personer med flerfunktionsnedsättning. Verksamheten startade i januari 2008 och bedrivs på uppdrag av Socialdepartementet via Socialstyrelsen.
Vi hoppas att berättelserna ska bidra till att samtal om livet och döden för personer med flerfunktionsnedsättning ska få en mer naturlig plats inom familjen och dess omgivning, samt i mötet med vården, omsorgen och det övriga samhället.

Statistiken beskriver levnadsförhållanden för olika grupper i befolkningen 16 år och äldre i olika avseenden: boende, ekonomi, hälsa, fritid, medborgerliga aktiviteter, sociala relationer, sysselsättning och arbetsmiljö, trygghet och säkerhet.

Akademisk avhandling

Denna studie syftar till att via utformandet av en teoretisk modell nå ökad förståelse för hur människan erfar lidandet. Studien, som har en hermeneutisk ansats, fokuserar lidandet som drama och kamp, vilka beskrivs som lidandets form och substans.
Data insamlades genom samtal med informanter från två kontext. Den ena informantgruppen som utgjordes av nio personer med drogrelaterade problem valdes med utgångspunkt i ett antagande om att missbruket härrör från ett livslidande. De övriga informanterna (nio stycken) söktes inom ett till det yttre kontrasterande kontext, de hjärtopererade patienternas. De texter dessa samtal genererade tolkades sedan med utgångspunkt i en hermeneutisk ansats, som hämtat metodologisk inspiration av Ricoeur och Helenius. Tolkningen ägde rum i flera steg och det meningsbärande söktes genom naiv tolkning, analys av textens struktur samt genom ett sökande efter alternativa tolkningar. Tolkningsprocessen resulterade en uppsättning teser vilka relaterades till undersökningens teoretiska perspektiv samt till en begreppsanalys av 'kamp'.
Den teoretiska modellen tar fasta på lidandets kamp som en kamp mellan värdighet och skam, lust och olust. Denna kamp kan gestaltas i lidandets drama där människan på olika sätt söker lindring i lidandet. Detta kan ske genom att man försöker besegra lidandet, avtäcka det eller försonas med det. Ytterligare ett sätt att söka lindring är att ge upp lidandets kamp och resignera. I den teoretiska modellen gestaltas även hur människan kan förhålla sig till kampen på olika sätt beroende på vilket perspektiv hon har inför framtiden. Då människan uppfattar att framtiden präglas av ett hot om avskurenhet och död förhåller hon sig till livet på ett sådant sätt att lidandet dominerar. Om uppfattningen om framtiden präglas av liv och gemenskap kan hon förhålla sig till kampen som hälsa.
När lidandet blir outhärdligt förlorar människan sin förankring i tiden. I och med att människan isoleras i nuet kan lidandet bemästras och begränsas till en konkret situation. För att en rörelse i hälsoprocesserna skall äga rum måste människan emellertid relatera till tiden. Relationen till en annan människa och skapandet av en lidandeberättelse innebär en möjlighet till förankring i tiden och därmed också till helande.

Stroke medför en plötslig och påtaglig förändring av livet för den drabbade och för anhöriga. Efter sjukhusvistelsen för-sätts de i en ny livssituation och ställs in-för många nya problem. Eftersom antalet personer som lever efter genomgången stroke ökar, på grund av förbättrad över-levnad, medför det ökade insatser inom vårdens olika grenar, främst kommunala insatser men också ökade krav och för-väntningar på att anhöriga ställer upp som vårdare.Syftet var att öka kunskapen om stroke-patienters och deras anhörigas situation efter utskrivning från sjukhus. Studie-populationen bestod av 390 konsekutiva strokepatienter, 65 år eller äldre, samt anhöriga som gett hjälp och stöd åt pa-tienten.Den prognostiska förmågan hos sjukhus-personal, avseende patientens framtida hälsotillstånd, hjälpbehov samt boende-form, var signifikant bättre än slumpen. Personalen tenderade att vara alltför optimistisk i sina bedömningar. De fakto-rer som påverkade prognosens korrekthet var aktivitetsgrad och ensamboende före insjuknandet samt påverkad kognitiv för-måga och hjälpbehov vid utskrivningen. God uppfattning om prognosen är viktig såväl för patienter och anhöriga som för vårdpersonalen, bland annat i samband med utskrivningsplanering från sjukhuset.Risken för återinsjuknande och död mins-kade kraftigt från cirka 14% tidigt i efter-förloppet till en stabil nivå på 2-5% efter ett halvår. Cirka 2-3% av patienterna fick sjukhusvård vid ett givet tillfälle under det första året. Motsvarande vårdutnyttjande inom primärvården var 10% och i den kommunala äldreomsorgen 65%. Den kommunala vården svarade således för den största vårdinsatsen efter utskriv-ningen.De vanligaste intervjubaserade hälso-problemen under det första året gällde perception, rörlighet och sömn, medan de vanligaste journalbaserade problemen var smärta, inkontinens samt problem med andning och cirkulation. Kognitions-, rörlighets- och trötthetsproblem tende-rade att samvariera, vilket kan utnyttjas för att identifiera svårfångade problem. Nästan samtliga patienter rapporterade problem någon gång under året men få vid ett givet tillfälle. De faktorer som bestämde storleken av anhörigas insatser var patientens kogni-tiva förmåga, släktskap, given kommunal äldrevård, samt patientens kön. De an-hörigas upplevda börda ökade med den givna hjälpinsatsen, om kommunal äldre-vård getts, släktskap, låg kognitiv förmå-ga och patientens ålder. Både informell och formell vård ökade. Slutligen fanns det en påtaglig parallellitet avseende ång-est och depression samt livskvalitet, som innebar att ju mer ansträngd patientens situation var, desto värre var situationen för den anhörige

In this chapter, we describe the development and evaluation of the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), a theoretically derived intervention program for children who have experienced parental death. We first present a discussion of risk and protective factors for parentally bereaved children and discuss these within a general theoretical framework of resilience following adversity. We then discuss the modifiable risk and protective factors that were targeted for change in the FBP and the theoretical model underlying the program. Finally, we present evidence from the evaluation of the FBP, including assessment of mediators and moderators of program effects at posttest and short-term follow-up and findings from preliminary analyses at the 6-year follow-up. This research on a theoretically based intervention for bereaved children follows a similar program of research we have conducted with children from divorced families, and we discuss ways in which the findings with bereaved children replicate, and in some cases diverge from, findings regarding children in divorced families.

Purpose: This theoretical article outlines the deliberate process of applying a qualitative data analysis method rooted in Friedemann's Framework of Systemic Organization through the study of a web-based education and support intervention for stroke caregiving families. Methods: Directed by Friedemann's framework, the analytic method involved developing, refining, and using a coding rubric to explore interactive patterns between caregivers and care recipients from this 3-month feasibility study using this education and support intervention. Specifically, data were gathered from the intervention's web-based discussion component between caregivers and the nurse specialist, as well as from telephone caregiver interviews. Findings and Conclusions: A theoretical framework guided the process of developing and refining this coding rubric for the purpose of organizing data; but, more importantly, guided the investigators' thought processes, allowing them to extract rich information from the data set, as well as synthesize this information to generate a broad understanding of the caring situation.

This article analyses informal caregiving and volunteering in organizations over 17 years in Sweden, with a focus on links between these two forms of unpaid activities. The discussion is based on results from a national survey that was repeated four times in the period 1992–2009. Links were found between the different types of activities. In all four studies a substantial group of the population was involved both in informal caregiving and volunteering. This group of 'active citizens' are commonly also engaged in informal social networks. This 'double active' group had increased over time and they provide a substantial amount of hours of involvement. Patterns outlined in this article demonstrate that unpaid activities represent a multifaceted phenomenon, and that the boundaries between informal caregiving and volunteering as forms of engagement may be more fluid than has previously been acknowledged. The results challenge the literature in which informal caregiving is viewed as a major obstacle to volunteering. At the same time, however, informal caregiving in general was found to be increasing. There might be reasons to be cautious about the possible risk that too much pressure on citizens for informal caregiving might jeopardize the type of double involvement that is outlined in this article.

Denna artikel analyserar informellt omsorgsgivande och ideella insatser i frivilligorganisationer i Sverige i ett 17-årigt perspektiv. Diskussionen är baserad på resultaten från en nationell befolkningsstudie som genomförts fyra gånger 1992–2009. Resultaten visade att det fanns beröringspunkter mellan olika former av obetalda insatser. I alla fyra studier var det vanligt att vara engagerad både i informellt hjälparbete och ideella insatser. Denna grupp av 'aktiva medborgare' var vanligtvis också engagerad i informella sociala nätverk. Denna 'dubbel-aktiva' grupp har ökat över tid och de utför många timmar av engagemang per månad. Resultaten utmanar den litteratur som menar att informellt hjälparbete är ett omfattande hinder för att engagera sig i ideella insatser. En möjlig tolkning av de ganska flytande gränserna mellan informell omsorg och ideellt arbete är att välfärdens organisering i Sverige hittills har gett möjlighet för informella omsorgsgivare att ha utrymme och tid för engagemang i ideella organisationer och annat samhällsengagemang, liksom för de ideellt aktiva att utföra informellt omsorgsarbete. Det kan finnas skäl att uppmärksamma risken för att ett ökat tryck på medborgarna att utföra oavlönat arbete, framför allt av omsorgskaraktär, kan försvåra möjligheterna för denna typ av dubbla engagemang.

Traumatic brain injury can interrupt without warning the life story that any one of us is in the midst of creating. When the author's fifteen-year-old son survives a terrible car crash in spite of massive trauma to his brain, she and her family know only that his story has not ended. Their efforts, Erik's own efforts, and those of everyone who helps bring him from deep coma to new life make up a moving and inspiring story for us all, one that invites us to reconsider the very nature of "self" and selfhood.

Ruthann Knechel Johansen, who teaches literature and narrative theory, is a particularly eloquent witness to the silent space in which her son, confronted with life-shattering injury and surrounded by conflicting narratives about his viability, is somehow reborn. She describes the time of crisis and medical intervention as an hour-by-hour struggle to communicate with the medical world on the one hand and the everyday world of family and friends on the other. None of them knows how much, or even whether, they can communicate with the wounded child who is lost from himself and everything he knew. Through this experience of utter disintegration, Johansen comes to realize that self-identity is molded and sustained by stories.

As Erik regains movement and consciousness, his parents, younger sister, doctors, therapists, educators, and friends all contribute to a web of language and narrative that gradually enables his body, mind, and feelings to make sense of their reacquired functions. Like those who know and love him, the young man feels intense grief and anger for the loss of the self he was before the accident, yet he is the first to see continuity where they see only change. The story is breathtaking, because we become involved in the pain and suspense and faith that accompany every birth. Medical and rehabilitation professionals, social workers, psychotherapists, students of narrative, and anyone who has faced life's trauma will find hope in this meditation on selfhood: out of the shambles of profound brain injury and coma can arise fruitful lives and deepened relationships.

Boken samlar de kåserier och krönikor som RBU Stockholm publicerat i medlemstidningen Utsikt. Föräldrar till barn med funktionsnedsättningar kommer att känna igen sig i bokens kåserier och krönikor. Man påminns om sina egna upplevelser, skrattar med åt absurda situationer och känner ilskan mot tjänstemän och en oförstående omgivning. Svar på tal levereras!

This second edition of an important and essentially practical book is now fully updated and revised to take into account the significant developments that have been made in using symbols to support literacy. It is full of ideas and examples of the ways in which access to literacy can be enhanced through the use of symbols, based on the experience of the authors and many practitioners. Topics covered include how symbols are being used in schools, colleges and day care centers; ways in which symbols can help to enhance learning and independence; lots of new examples of good practice from practitioners; the results of the Rebus Symbol development project; how symbols fit in with the National Literacy Strategy; and how symbols can be used to make information more accessible.

Teachers in mainstream and special schools, teaching assistants, day-care workers and parents should find this book helps them understand how to use symbols to improve literacy and aid communication.

I boken Litet syskon - om att vara liten och ha en syster eller bror med sjukdom eller funktionsnedsättning är det barnen själva som berättar, det är deras röster vi hör. Barnen är mellan två och sex år och har syskon med autism, cancer, cystisk fibros, epilepsi, hjärtfel, muskelsjukdom, rörelsehinder, synskada och utvecklingsstörning.

I boken visar Christina Renlund många sätt som barn kan uttrycka sig på, många konkreta verktyg som är användbara för att hjälpa barn att berätta. Och barn behöver prata - i första hand i sin familj men det behöver även finnas konkreta arbetssätt för hur man pratar med barn om sjukdom/funktionsnedsättning inom förskola och vård.

Christina Renlund är leg. psykolog och psykoterapeut med mångårig erfarenhet av arbete med barn och unga med kronisk sjukdom/funktionsnedsättning och deras familjer. Hon har tidigare skrivit boken Doktorn kunde inte riktigt laga mig - barn om sjukdom och funktionshinder och om hur vi kan hjälpa.

Peter Brusén berättar i boken om sin kamp mot smärtan, sorgen och hur en svår kris kunde vändas till ett nytt oberoende liv. Författaren är chef för Socialstyrelsens handikappenhet och har före olyckan bland annat utvärderat handikappreformen. Olyckan har gett honom ett unikt "dubbelseende" som expert och idag också som en person med ett svårt funktionshinder. Han skildrar möten med vården, rehabiliteringen, handikappomsorgen och försäkringskassan. Boken ger kunskaper om bland annat behovsbedömning, handläggning och hur attityder påverkar dina handlingar.
Professor Johan Cullberg har skrivit bokens förord och Handikappombudsmannen Lars Lööw en avslutning.
Boken vänder sig till alla som arbetar inom vård, rehabilitering, handikappomsorg eller som i egenskap av politiker, handläggare eller chef möter människor med svåra funktionshinder. Men boken vänder sig i lika hög grad till alla som själv har ett funktionshinder eller är anhörig.

Boken ingår som en del i ett Arvsfondsprojekt som genomförs av Bräcke Diakoni tillsammans med patientföreningarna SÖF, Svenska Ödemförbundet, LymfS, Lymf- och lipödemföreningen i Stockholms län samt NKA, Nationellt kompetenscentrum för anhöriga.

Förhoppningen med projektet är att behandling av lipödem ska bli erkänd som en rättighet när diagnosen är ställd för den enskilda kvinnan. Då behövs kunskap överallt i vården och den plattform som också framställs i projektet kommer att finnas kvar som en kunskapskälla både för personal som vill erbjuda behandling samt för anhöriga och kvinnor som själva har lipödem.

En blandning av fakta, filosofi och poesi. Enkelt med få men väl vägda ord och vackra bilder berättas om början och slutet, och allt däremellan, livet. Att det är lika för allt levande, även om man är en blomma, en insekt, en fågel eller en människa, allas liv har en början och ett slut. Allt har en livtid, kort eller lång. Från 5-6 år.

This thesis is based on an empirical study carried out as a case study at a nursing home ward in the region of Stockholm. The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the conditions of ageing and dying for the old persons living in a nursing home, as well as for their relatives. Different methods were used: participant observations, informal conversations with the elderly residents, with the staff and with visiting relatives. Furthermore, twenty-one (in-depth) interviews with eighteen relatives were also conducted.From the results it became clear that the two major features embedded in the overall experience of the nursing home setting were: a sense of waiting and the presence of dying and death. For the residents a major part of daily life was marked by their dependency on others and on their bodily decline. It is argued that the institutional features contribute to reinforcing the images/pictures of bodily decline. As such, the nursing home also had a significant impact on the experiences of the relatives. The compact environment of frailty and death could arouse feelings of anxiety and worries among the relatives about their own ageing and death.Analyses of the data based on the interviews with relatives indicated a number of central patterns: accompanying each other, understanding the old person's health and needs, recreating roles, sharing the care and preparing for dying and death. These also form the theoretical structure of the thesis. A finding of the study was that the relationship between the old person and the relative underwent important changes. Not only the placement in itself but also the poor health of the old person contributed to this change. As a consequence new roles emerged within the relationship, as well as with the staff. Many relatives continued to visit and also contributed to the care even though this care work could vary and mostly was quite limited in both content and extent. One group among the relatives not only visited, but they truly shared the old person's daily life. It was found that relatives, irrespective of the caring role, try to guard and maintain the identity and dignity of the old person.Based on an analysis of the different themes/processes found in the data, four core categories emerged: time, space, body and dignity. They all constitute the existential condition that affects the lives of the old persons and their relatives in an institutional setting. They also embrace the complexity and contradictions that characterise the data. Therefore, in the concluding chapter, the spatial and temporal contradictions of the nursing home are discussed. Another issue concerned the bodily themes found in the data and how these illuminate the diverse meanings and the, sometimes, contradictory images of the body. These themes led to the conclusion that it is not death, but the bodily disintegration and unboundedness that the old persons and their relatives fear most. Finally, it is argued that the "light care work" carried out by the relatives is so much more than sporadic visits. Instead, these visits can be seen as 1) rituals contributing to a sense of continuity and coherence, 2) representations of the relationships and 3) a way in which relatives can maintain and guard the old person's identity and dignity.

This thesis is based on an empirical study carried out as a case study at a nursing home ward in the region of Stockholm. The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the conditions of ageing and dying for the old persons living in a nursing home, as well as for their relatives. Different methods were used: participant observations, informal conversations with the elderly residents, with the staff and with visiting relatives. Furthermore, twenty-one (in-depth) interviews with eighteen relatives were also conducted.From the results it became clear that the two major features embedded in the overall experience of the nursing home setting were: a sense of waiting and the presence of dying and death. For the residents a major part of daily life was marked by their dependency on others and on their bodily decline. It is argued that the institutional features contribute to reinforcing the images/pictures of bodily decline. As such, the nursing home also had a significant impact on the experiences of the relatives. The compact environment of frailty and death could arouse feelings of anxiety and worries among the relatives about their own ageing and death.Analyses of the data based on the interviews with relatives indicated a number of central patterns: accompanying each other, understanding the old person's health and needs, recreating roles, sharing the care and preparing for dying and death. These also form the theoretical structure of the thesis. A finding of the study was that the relationship between the old person and the relative underwent important changes. Not only the placement in itself but also the poor health of the old person contributed to this change. As a consequence new roles emerged within the relationship, as well as with the staff. Many relatives continued to visit and also contributed to the care even though this care work could vary and mostly was quite limited in both content and extent. One group among the relatives not only visited, but they truly shared the old person's daily life. It was found that relatives, irrespective of the caring role, try to guard and maintain the identity and dignity of the old person.Based on an analysis of the different themes/processes found in the data, four core categories emerged: time, space, body and dignity. They all constitute the existential condition that affects the lives of the old persons and their relatives in an institutional setting. They also embrace the complexity and contradictions that characterise the data. Therefore, in the concluding chapter, the spatial and temporal contradictions of the nursing home are discussed. Another issue concerned the bodily themes found in the data and how these illuminate the diverse meanings and the, sometimes, contradictory images of the body. These themes led to the conclusion that it is not death, but the bodily disintegration and unboundedness that the old persons and their relatives fear most. Finally, it is argued that the "light care work" carried out by the relatives is so much more than sporadic visits. Instead, these visits can be seen as 1) rituals contributing to a sense of continuity and coherence, 2) representations of the relationships and 3) a way in which relatives can maintain and guard the old person's identity and dignity.

Living with children with a disability is often perceived as a permanent stressor to the family and it affects all aspects of family life including the well-being of family members. Since little is known about parenting teenage daughters diagnosed with ADHD, the aim of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of the main problem involved using a grounded theory approach. Interviews were carried out with 12 parents, 11 mothers and 1 father, of teenage daughters diagnosed with ADHD. The parents´situation was conceptualized as living at the edge of one´s capability with the properties having the sole parental responsibility, fighting for professional support, being on duty around the clock and trying to solve family conflicts. Parents described how their health was negatively affected by their life situation.

Living with children with a disability is often perceived as a permanent stressor to the family and it affects all aspects of family life including the well-being of family members. Since little is known about parenting teenage daughters diagnosed with ADHD, the aim of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of the main problem involved using a grounded theory approach. Interviews were carried out with 12 parents, 11 mothers and 1 father, of teenage daughters diagnosed with ADHD. The parents´situation was conceptualized as living at the edge of one´s capability with the properties having the sole parental responsibility, fighting for professional support, being on duty around the clock and trying to solve family conflicts. Parents described how their health was negatively affected by their life situation.

Abstract:
Despite the well‐known associations between local environment and health, few studies have focused on environment and healthcare utilisation, for instance healthcare seeking behaviour or adherence. This study was aimed at analysing housing type, behaviour based on perceived local outdoor safety, social support, informal caregiving, demographics, socioeconomics, and long‐term illness, and associations with health‐seeking and adherence behaviours at a population level. This study used data from the Swedish National Public Health Survey 2004–2014, an annually repeated, large sample, cross‐sectional, population‐based survey study. In all, questionnaires from 100,433 individuals were returned by post, making the response rate 52.9% (100,433/190,000). Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regressions were used to investigate associations between explanatory variables and the outcomes of refraining from seeking care and non‐adherence behaviour. Living in rented apartment, lodger, a dorm or other was associated with reporting refraining from seeking care (adjusted OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.00–1.22), and non‐adherence (adjusted OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.13–1.31). Refraining from going out due to a perceived unsafe neighbourhood was associated with refraining from seeking care (adjusted OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.51–1.67) and non‐adherence (adjusted OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.17–1.36). Social support and status as an informal caregiver was associated with higher odds of refraining from seeking medical care and non‐adherence. This study suggests that living in rental housing, refraining from going out due to neighbourhood safety concerns, lack of social support or informal caregiver status are associated with lower health‐seeking behaviour and non‐adherence to prescribed medication.

Palliative care is an integral part of care and takes place in many settings—including the home, special accommodations, and hospitals. However, research shows that palliative care often ends with a death in the hospital due to the heavy burden on the primary caregiver. This study explores the meaning of being the primary caregiver of a close one who is terminally ill and is based on qualitative interviews with six primary caregivers of a terminally ill individual at home. The findings are discussed in the light of the theoretical concepts of liminality, lived body, and power. A potential impending risk exists of being abandoned when one is the primary caregiver to a close one who is terminally ill. This situation calls for professional caregivers to take responsibility and to respond to these, often unspoken, needs. This is particularly important concerning bodily care and the medical treatment regimen. In addition, when friends and relatives are absent, there is an ethical demand on professional caregivers to compensate for this lack and to compensate for this need. Palliative home care demands care that is person-centered—including the individual's history, family and loved ones, and individual strengths and weaknesses.

OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the relationships between characteristics of the living situation in the community and subjective quality of life and social network among community-based individuals with schizophrenia.
METHOD:
A total of 418 individuals with schizophrenia from 10 sites were interviewed with regard to quality of life, psychopathology, social network and needs for care. Characteristics of the living situation investigated were: living alone or not, living with family or not, and having an independent or a sheltered housing situation.
RESULTS:
An independent housing situation was related to a better quality of life concerning living situation and living with the family to a better quality of life concerning family relations. An independent housing situation was associated with a better social network regarding availability and adequacy of emotional relations.
CONCLUSION:
People with schizophrenia with an independent housing situation have a better quality of life associated with more favorable perceptions of independence, influence, and privacy. Their social network is better irrespective of whether they live alone or not, or with family or not