Mental health, encompassing self-esteem, confidence, physical activity, and social interaction, is essential for the well-being of children and adolescents and supports executive functions crucial for school performance. Mental ill health among young people is increasing in Sweden, with rising rates of self-reported problems, psychiatric diagnoses, and prescriptions of psychotropic medication. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) among children and adolescents with anxiety-related mental ill health in southern Sweden. A qualitative design using reflexive thematic analysis was employed. Participation in an equine-assisted intervention was experienced as fostering a sense of “being good enough.” The findings were presented through three interrelated themes. Participants described how a non-demanding, stress-free environment promoted relaxation and emotional safety. Interaction with the horse supported experiences of inner harmony, emotional regulation, and increased confidence. Participants also reported feeling more competent and authentic in managing everyday situations. These experiences developed gradually through interconnected aspects of the intervention rather than as a single outcome. Participation in EAI was experienced as providing a safe and supportive environment that promoted emotional regulation, confidence, and a sense of competence among youth. © 2026 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

A self-reported psychological distress and mental health diagnoses as well as use of psychotropic medication is rising among children and adolescents globally. Mental health aspects such as self-esteem, self-confidence, physical activity, and social interaction are crucial for children’s and adolescents’ well-being and school performance. Parents of children with mental illness often experience heavy care burden, social stigma, and financial strain affecting their physical, psychological, and social health. The study uses reflexive thematic analysis to describe nine parents’ experiences of their mentally distressed children’s participation in a 12-week equine-assisted therapeutic intervention conducted in accordance with Engels biopsychosocial model in southern Sweden. The results revealed the overarching theme “From deepest despair to a ray of hope,” comprising three themes: “Experiencing crisis without getting any help,” “An oasis of ease without stress,” and “New spark of life and faith in the future.” In conclusion, parents emphasized the importance of relaxation and confidence in their own and their children’s abilities, gained through participation in the equine-assisted intervention (EAI). Integrating EAI into regular mental healthcare for children could strengthen mental health and resilience among the young and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as childhood mental well-being is fundamental to health and life expectancy. © 2026 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Projektet undersökte det vetenskapliga stödet för hästunderstödda insatser vid schizofreni samt effekter och erfarenheter av en hästunderstödd intervention för personer med schizofreni och psykostillstånd. Projektet omfattar fyra studier och inleddes med en litteraturgenomgång. Tjugo personer med psykos deltog i en hästtunderstödd intervention i grupper om 5 deltagare vid 20 tillfällen. En enkätstudie avseende deltagarnas självskattade effekter av interventionen, en intervjustudie med deltagare, och en intervjustudie med deltagarnas närstående genomfördes. Resultaten visar att hästunderstödda insatser kan bidra till generell hälsa, välbefinnande och stärkt funktion hos personer med psykosdiagnos. Effekter av hästunderstödda insatser för personer med psykosdiagnos behöver undersökas i större studier.

Introduction: Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide. Following a suicide attempt, many patients receive suicide follow-up interventions (SFI) from outpatient mental health care services, where outpatient mental health nurses play a crucial role. There is an urgent need to raise awareness of improvements and opportunities for development in this aspect of care to gain insights into potential areas for improvement and opportunities for development. Aim: To investigate outpatient mental health nurses' experiences of SFI. Method: A qualitative interview study was conducted with 10 outpatient mental health nurses. Conventional content analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Three categories emerged: connecting with and understanding suicidal patients, being dependent on adequate conditions for SFI, and feeling competent but vulnerable in SFI. Discussion: Providing structured training for nurses to address patients with particularly challenging conditions is vital, as SFI entails complex and challenging situations. Training that incorporates proven methods from other interventions, involving the expertise of those with lived experience, employers, and academics, can offer significant advantages. Promoting increased collaboration can enhance the safety of assessments. Implications for Practice: Team-based SFI can enhance suicide follow-up intervention services in psychiatric outpatient care. © 2025 The Author(s).

BACKGROUND: Mental ill health among children and adolescents has increased worldwide. Mental health difficulties from a young age are associated with school absence and educational underachievement. A holistic perspective of treatments besides medical treatment is essential Thus, there is a need for research regarding equine-assisted intervention (EAI).

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to understand the outcomes of an equine-assisted intervention for children and adolescents with mental ill health from the perspectives of parents and close relatives.

METHODS: This study used a qualitative research design informed by Charmaz's Grounded Theory, with a purposive sample including six in-depth interviews.

RESULTS: The theory "building up bit by bit" was constructed, explaining the recognition that their children/adolescents were built up bit by bit and created a stronger self-identity. The participants referred to changes in the child's or adolescent's way of being and emotional regulation, which constituted building blocks leading to the child's or adolescent's increased Harmony, enhanced Self-identity, and improved Capability.

CONCLUSION: Parents and close relatives experienced that their child or adolescent was built up bit by bit and gained a stronger foundation to stand on. This led to increased harmony in everyday life with stronger self-worth, better performance, and reduced school absenteeism.

Common mental disorders such as anxiety, depression and stress-related disorders are increasing worldwide, resulting in long-term sick leave and lower quality of life. Traditional treatment is often insufficient to facilitate the recovery process, and the need for holistic interventions that enable successful recovery is evident. Equine-assisted interventions have shown promising results in health promotion among people with mental disorders, and further research is needed to implement them within the range of available care. The aim of the study is therefore to describe experiences of a therapeutic equine-assisted group intervention for people with common mental disorders on sick leave. The study has a descriptive qualitative design with an inductive approach. Ten participants with common mental disorders on sick leave were interviewed after participating in a 12-week equine-assisted intervention and the data were analysed with conventional content analysis. The analysis generated the overall theme “The equine-assisted group intervention facilitates recovery,” which summons the four categories “The environment of the horses contributes to relaxation and an ability to be in the present,” “The presence of the horses facilitates supportive relationships in the group,” “Interplay with the horses entails physical activity and bodily improvements” and “Emotional interactions with the horses strengthen inner power.” In conclusion, equine-assisted interventions have the potential to facilitate recovery for people with common mental disorders by providing relaxation, promoting the ability to be in the present, cultivating supportive relationships and providing physical activity and bodily improvements as well as emotional interactions that strengthen the participants’ inner power. © 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Texterna i denna arbetsrapport bygger på presentationer vid Det Fjärde Nordiska Forskningsseminariet om Hästunderstödda Insatser som ägde rum den 16–17 september 2022 på Stall Kungsgården, Drottningholm, Stockholm. Seminariet organiserades i ett samarbete mellan Stiftelsen Hippocampus (Stall Kungsgården), Marie Cederschiöld högskola och Organisationen för hästunderstödda insatser. Seminariets titel Häst och lärande – ett område under utveckling var temat för seminariet som samlade cirka 70 nordiska deltagare. I den här rapporten presenteras 9 av de 13 bidragen i reviderad form.

Redaktörerna för den här rapporten, Henrik Lerner, Henrika Jormfeldt och Gunilla Silfverberg, har alla tre forskat kring hästunderstödda insatser inom hälso- och sjukvården.

KAPITEL

• Lärande och häst. Gunilla Silfverberg
• Synen på hästen – en nyckelfaktor i HUI och annan hästverksamhet. Susanne Larsson
• Expanding the toolbox and stories to share - animal assisted therapy learning by doing. Aurora Brønstad, Anne-Grethe T. Berg, Ingela Enmarker och Tobba Sudmann
• Kursen djur i vård på sjuksköterskeprogrammet: hur kunskap om hästunderstödda insatser kan berika lärandet. Henrik Lerner
• If it’s safe and it’s successful, then it’s ok: om upplevelsebaserat lärande som en nyckelfaktor i hästunderstödda insatser. Mia Harri
• Häst och människa tillsammans – lärande under aktivitet riktad till personer med intellektuell funktionsnedsättning. Marie Gustavsson och Charlotte Lundgren
• Fallstudier och utforskande partnerskap – en modell för lärande och systematisk kunskapsutveckling inom hästunderstödda insatser. Margareta Håkanson, Kristina Nietsche och Lena Sundén
• Närståendes bidrag till professionellt lärande i en hästunderstödd intervention för personer med schizofreni eller liknande psykossjukdom. Linda Fridén, Sally Hultsjö, Marie Lydell och Henrika Jormfeldt
• Samordningsprocess hästunderstödda insatser 2021–2022. Karolina Lagerlund och Elin Leeapple

Background: Wellness is a holistic, multidimensional, and process-oriented property on a continuum. It has been used interchangeably with and is undifferentiated from concepts such as health and well-being without an in-depth clarification of its theoretical foundations and a reflection on its meaning. The concept of wellness is frequently used, but its definition remains unclear.

Aim: To conceptually and theoretically explore the concept of wellness to contribute to a deeper understanding in caring science.

Method: Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis was applied to the theoretical investigation of data from publications of international origins. The focus was on antecedents, attributes, consequences, surrogate and related terms, and contextual references. A literature search was performed through a manual review of reference lists and an online search in CINAHL and PubMed via EBSCO, and in ProQuest. Abstracts were examined to identify relevant studies for further review. The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed papers in English; papers published in scientific journals using the surrogate terms ‘wellness’, ‘health’, ‘health care’, and ‘health care and wellness’; and papers discussing and/or defining the concept of wellness. Twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria.

Results: Based on the findings from this concept analysis, a definition of wellness was developed: ‘a holistic and multidimensional concept represented on a continuum of being well that goes beyond health’. Implications for nursing practice were correspondingly presented.

Conclusion: Wellness is defined as a holistic and comprehensive multidimensional concept represented on a continuum of being well, that goes beyond health. It calls attention by applying the salutogenic perspective to health promotion in caring science. It is strongly related to individual lifestyle and health behaviour and is frequently used interchangeably with health and well-being without an in-depth clarification of its theoretical foundation. © 2023 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic College of Caring Science.

Mental health care tends to be dominated by a biomedical perspective at the expense of a more recovery-oriented approach. Research on nurse-led interventions intended to strengthen the patient’s ability to manage anxiety is sparse in this context. The aim of this study was to describe nurses’ experiences of the use of anxiety communication notes in nursing patients experiencing anxiety in mental health inpatient care. Data were collected by interviewing twelve nurses working in two mental health inpatient care wards in southwestern Sweden. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings showed that the use of anxiety communication notes was perceived to provide a nursing structure to foster the development and practice of adaptive anxiety management through a visual representation for mutual understanding of the patient’s anxiety pattern. The nurses could also use the anxiety communication notes to support nurse-patient communication and facilitate increased participation and empowerment in the patients’ anxiety management. © 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

People with psychotic disorders have a significantly increased risk of physical diseases and excessive mortality rates. The aim of the study was to investigate relationships between changes in physical activity, levels of salutogenic health, and glycated hemoglobin among people with psychotic disorders after participation in an individualized lifestyle intervention. The results from analyses showed that self-reported increased physical activity was positively associated with the level of salutogenic health and negatively associated with the level of HbA1c on an individual level. The results indicate that coordinated, individualized, holistic and health-promoting nursing care is crucial to enabling enhanced lifestyle within this vulnerable target group. © 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.