The life situation of a long-term psychiatric patient: some restrictions in, and possibilities of, open care

This paper describes and analyses, from a sociocultural viewpoint, the ways of life of discharged long-term psychiatric patients in northern Finland The paper focuses on subjectivity control of life and fundamental experiences in life The data consist of interviews with 25 outpatients who have moved to live in residential homes, rehabilitation centres or their own homes after receiving preparatory training in the psychiatric hospital The findings suggest that the way of life of the outpatients did not significantly differ from that of other people belonging to the same generation of Finns With respect to control of life, a conspicuous feature was the strong tendency to let themselves be led by others, and to self-sacrifice for the good of others For the patients, independence was the best aspect of open care Fear for being branded as a psychiatric case or as a former mental patient threatened the patients'external control of life The central element of control of life of the Finns is work The outpatients thought work a matter of honour and they did not find their present, inactive way of life satisfactory     

Professional nursing care in Tanzania: a descriptive study of nursing care in Ilembula Lutheran Hospital in Tanzania

The purpose of this ethnonursing study is to find new knowledge of the professional nursing care practised in a Bantu cultural context in Tanzania The main questions are How do Bantu nurses describe nursing? What components are there in professional nursing care in Ilembula Lutheran Hospital? The data were collected through participant observation, interviews and personal working diaries in Ilembula Lutheran Hospital Six Tanzaman nurses were interviewed The findings indicated that nursing was based on formal training on one hand, and on a natural mother-child relationship on the other hand The idea of respect towards life, which is central to the Bantu philosophy of life, guided nursing care In professional nursing care there emerged curing and caring components Protection, encouragement and comfort were distinguished as the main constructs of caring     

Changes in nursing students' perceptions of nursing as they progress through their education

Nursing education has shifted from the biomedical approach towards using a human scientific model. At the same time, the traditional role of nurses has changed towards professionalism owing to the development of nursing science. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine Finnish nursing students' perceptions of nursing after 6, 18 and 30 months of education and at the end of the education programme. The sample consisted of 158 students selected by means of stratified sampling from six specialities in nursing. Data were collected with a questionnaire from 26 institutes. The summarized variables were based on factor analysis and analysed by one-way analysis of variance. The students had assimilated nursing as activity which promotes human health and well-being and is based on professionalism. The medical-technical model was not predominant at any phase of the education. The students of six specialities differed only slightly from each other. The students' development was congruent with the aims outlined in the curriculum.     

Nurses' role in informing breast cancer patients: a comparison between patients' and nurses' opinions

The present study was conducted to determine which nursing care activities in informing breast cancer patients are considered important by the patients themselves and their nurses. One hundred and nine breast-operated women and 125 nurses participated in the study. All patients had contracted breast cancer in the previous 3 years but not within the previous 3 months. Ward and clinical nurses from one university and six area hospitals were contacted. The patients considered that the information that they had received and their level of knowledge of their own situation was not conducive to good recovery. The nurses' opinions were in agreement, although their overall assessment of the situation was more positive.     

Caring from the point of view of a Finnish mental health nurse: a life history approach

Finnish mental health care went through a major change in the 1980s. Its institutions were being run down and there was a shift to a caring system that stresses non-institutional practices. The schooling and work of the mental health nurse had to adapt to the new situation. The purpose of my study was to describe and analyse the mental health nurse's work, i.e. caring, as it is experienced by a nurse in the preparation of long-term psychiatric patients for non-institutional care. The data consist of repeated interviews with Vuokko, who has been a mental health nurse for about 30 years and is now approaching her retirement. In the light of the data, the central features of caring are caring about and taking an overall responsibility for the patient, and teaching the patient to cope with everyday life. Caring is based on practical knowledge, the essential elements of which are intimacy and feelings.