Background: Students with foreign backgrounds can face challenges in the study environment linked to language, cultural roles, norms, and ethnicity. It is important to increase knowledge about students' own health-promoting resources and social study factors, to optimize a good study environment. Objective: This study aimed to describe and investigate changes in health-promoting resources and social study factors in, respectively, the first and final semesters, for students with and without foreign backgrounds, in nursing and social work programs in Sweden. Methods: The study had a repeated cross-sectional multicentre design at the group level. Students at six Swedish universities answered a web-based questionnaire in the first (n = 665) and final semester (n = 296) of nursing and social work programs. The questionnaire measured health-promoting resources (SOC-13; SHIS; OBQ), and social study factors (QPSNordic). Statistics were conducted through descriptive, correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses. Results: At baseline, students with foreign backgrounds reported significantly lower health-promoting resources, including SOC total (p < .004), SHIS (p < .004), and social study factors (p < .004), compared to other students. By the final semester, disparities between the two groups persisted in two items of social study factors. In the final semester, students' relationships and the value of group work predicted health-promoting resources for the entire student cohort. Conclusion: Social relationships were central to health-promoting resources for Swedish nursing and social work students. The results indicated the value of targeted actions, in the study environment, especially among students with foreign backgrounds.

Background: To support and strengthen parenting skills, it is mandatory for municipalities in Sweden to offer parental education programmes to all parents. One such programme is the Circle of Security-Parenting (COS-P), in which parents participate in eight weekly group sessions, each lasting 90 minutes. COS-P helps parents recognise and respond to their child’s emotional needs for attachment. The programme focuses on enhancing parents’ understanding of their child’s behaviour, enabling them to address emotional needs effectively and foster security to benefit the child’s overall development. Objective: This study aimed to explore parents’ experiences of participating in COS-P parental education programme from a health-promotive perspective. Design: Qualitative design using an inductive approach. Setting: The COS-P programme was conducted in a medium-sized town in Sweden. Method: Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis of the data resulted in one latent theme: from uncertainty and chaos to consciously empowering qualities; and five categories with it – parents’ understanding of the child needs developed; parents learned to handle conflicts and set boundaries; parents’ ability to reflect increased; parents’ inner security and calmness was strengthened; and parents’ stress was reduced. Conclusion: The findings show that the COS-P is a relevant programme for municipal authorities to offer parents as the result point at the programme’s ability to empower parenting and strengthen the attachment between parent and child. The programme contributed to increased self-efficacy, well-being and confidence in parenting and could therefore be seen as a useful health promotion intervention. © The Author(s) 2025.

Background: Virtual patients are an educational technological approach used in healthcare education. Its distinctive features have rendered virtual patient technology appealing for the training of medical and healthcare students, particularly in the enhancement of clinical reasoning. Virtual patients are less often applied for continuous professional development for practicing healthcare providers, and there is a scarcity of studies exploring this possibility. This study aimed to assess the acceptability of nurses for using virtual patients as a continuous professional development approach. Method: The study used a quasi-experimental posttest setup design. The study was conducted in ten primary healthcare settings in Rwanda. Among 76 nurses who consented to participate in the study, 56 completed the intervention and responded to the study questionnaire. Following a one-week program of continuous professional development on four non-communicable diseases, the study used a self-administered questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model 3 to collect data. Descriptive analysis served as the primary method for analyzing participants’ responses. The study also used a correlation test to assess the relationship of variables. Results: Across all items in the questionnaire, the median response tended towards either agree or strongly agree, with only a minority number of participants expressing strong disagreement, disagreement, or neutrality. The results indicated a significant positive correlation between perceived usefulness and behavior intention (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings indicate an acceptability and behavioral intention of adopting virtual patients as an alternative continuous professional development approach among nurses working at health centers in Rwanda or other locations with similar contexts. © The Author(s) 2024.

Background: In Rwanda, nurses manage all primary care at health centres, and therefore are their clinical reasoning skills important. In this study, a web-based software that allows the creation of virtual patient cases (VP cases) has been used for studying the possibility of using VP cases for the continuous professional development of nurses in primary health care in Rwanda. Previous studies in pre-service education have linked VP cases with the enhancement of clinical reasoning, a critical competence for nurses. This study investigated the feasibility of continuous professional development through VP cases to further train in-service nurses in clinical reasoning. Method: The study used a pre-post test design. Initially, seventy-six participants completed a questionnaire as part of the pre-test phase, subsequently invited to engage with all four VP cases, and finally responded to the post-test questionnaire evaluating clinical reasoning skills. Fifty-six participants successfully completed the entire study process and were considered in the analysis. The primary outcomes of this study were evaluated using a paired t-test for the statistical analysis. Results: The results show that the mean score of clinical reasoning increased significantly from the pre-test to the post-test for all four illness areas (p < 0.001). The study findings showed no statistically significant difference in participants’ scores based on demographic factors, including whether they worked in urban or rural areas. Conclusion and recommendation: Utilizing VP cases appears to significantly enhance the continuous professional development of nurses, fostering a deliberate learning process that enables them to reflect on how they manage cases and, in turn, refine their clinical reasoning skills. This study strongly recommends incorporating VP cases in the continuous professional development of nurses at the primary health level (health centers). This is especially pertinent in a context where nurses are required to perform diagnostic processes similar to those employed by physicians. © The Author(s) 2024.

Background: It has been suggested that the university environment, to improve students' health status and educational outcomes, should be based on a health promoting approach. More knowledge is needed about health promoting resources and lifestyle factors that may be of value for students in higher education and their future work-life balance. The aim of this study was to explore health-promoting resources, general health and wellbeing, and health promoting lifestyle factors among fourth and final semester students in higher education in healthcare and social work.

Methods: This longitudinal study is based on self-reported data collected through a web-based questionnaire that included questions about general health, wellbeing, and healthy lifestyle factors and made use of instruments: the Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale, the Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale (SHIS), and five questions from the General Nordic Questionnaire (QPS Nordic). The questionnaire was distributed among students enrolled in seven different healthcare and social work programmes at six universities in Sweden. Data was collected when students were in their fourth (2019/2020) and final (2020/2021) semesters analysed with multiple linear and logistic regressions.

Results: The survey included responses from students during the fourth (n = 498) and the final (n = 343) semester of higher education programmes in health and social work. Total SOC scores decreased between the fourth semester and the final semester. The prevalence of the health promoting lifestyle factor of physical exercise decreased between the fourth and final semesters. Students in their final semester reported valuing group work more highly than did students in their fourth semester. Despite this, students in both the fourth and the final semester reported high SOC, low levels of good general health and perceived wellbeing, and sleeping problems.

Conclusions: Students' report of good general health were associated with wellbeing, high-intensity physical training, and no sleeping problems A high SOC level was associated with good general health, perceived wellbeing, and no sleeping problems. A higher SHIS level was also associated with wellbeing and no sleeping problems. Therefore, we suggest further research focusing on how to prepare students in healthcare and social work during higher education for a future work-life in balance targeting effects on sleep quality.

© The Author(s) 2024.

Objective: The aim was to explore whether occupational balance is associated with health, health-promoting resources, healthy lifestyle and social study factors among students during higher education within healthcare and social work.

Design: The study has a multicentre repeated cross-sectional design. Data were collected via a self-reported, web-based questionnaire based on the validated instruments: the 11-item Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ11), the Sense of Coherence (SOC) Scale, the Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale (SHIS) and five questions from the General Nordic Questionnaire (QPS Nordic) together with questions about general health and lifestyle factors.

Setting: Students at six universities in western Sweden at one of the following healthcare or social work programmes: biomedical scientists, dental hygienists, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiology nurses and social workers.

Participants: Of 2283 students, 851 (37.3%) participated.

Results: The students experienced that occupational balance increased during education. The total OBQ11 score was higher among students in semesters 4 and 6/7, compared with semester 1 students. Students with higher OBQ11 also reported higher SOC throughout their education, while health seemed to decrease. Students who reported higher levels of OBQ11 reported lower levels of health and well-being in semesters 4 and 6/7, compared with semester 1. There was an opposite pattern for students reporting lower levels of OBQ11.

Conclusions: The association between higher levels of OBQ11 and lower levels of health and well-being is remarkable. There is a need for more research on this contradiction and what it means for students’ health and well-being in the long run.

© 2024 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Introduction: Research has described improved health for persons with Parkinson's Disease (PD) who participate in dance classes. However, few studies focus on how relatives experience their life together with a partner who has PD and how the impact of Dance for Parkinson's Disease (DfPD) influences everyday life.

Objective: The aim of the study was to identify and describe the impact of DfPD on subjective experiences of well-being and functioning in daily living as experienced by dancers and their relatives.

Methods: The study used a descriptive method design combining a questionnaire for the dancers at the end of the dance semester and focus group interviews with relatives during a national dance camp.

Results: Most of the dancers experienced DfPD as improving their balance, and both the dancers and relatives experienced increased joy and happiness in life. The results highlight health factors such as improved body movements and social interactions, which makes life easier and raises awareness of the importance of DfPD.

Conclusion: Dancers and relatives consistently experienced being part of a joyful and healthy exercise, testifying to the positive effects that DfPD has on subjective well-being and body functioning for persons with PD and their relatives. © 2024 The Authors

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread around the world, Swedish municipalities were unprepared. Different guidelines on how to act in relation to the disease varied and protective equipment was lacking. This study aims to describe the experiences of health and social care providers of working at municipality level during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 12 assistant nurses, 13 registered nurses, and three physicians were interviewed, individually or in groups, between fall 2020 and spring 2021. The interviews were semi-structured and were analyzed using thematic analysis, utilizing a design following the COREQ-checklist. Three main themes were identified as follows: ‘Initial chaotic situation and uncertainty regarding how to deal with the pandemic’; ‘Continuous changes in organization and work routines’, and ‘Management of the pandemic has become the new normal’. Though health and social care workers eventually managed to embed dealing with COVID-19 as a routine feature of their daily work, municipalities must prepare for future crises. © The Author(s) 2022

Background: Continuous professional development (CPD) is necessary for every healthcare professional, but it is even more important in developing countries. In addition to the traditional need for CPD to keep improving the quality of service delivery, in developing countries, some health professionals work in remote areas where they lack the experience of senior colleagues. In this regard, online CPD is among the strategies that can improve the quality of health care services delivery. Aim: Thus, this study assessed the needs, facilitators, and barriers of using online learning for continuous professional development among nurses, midwives, and physicians in Rwanda. Design: The study used a cross-sectional study design and a survey to collect quantitative data from physicians, nurses, and midwives on their views about online learning for continuous professional development needs, facilitators, and barriers. Method: The study used proportionate stratified random sampling strategy to collect quantitative data from 261 participants from 51 health institutions. The major analysis used was descriptive statistics in terms of describing the responses of participants in percentages and frequencies. Results: The findings indicate that 97.3% of participants consider the importance of CPD, 71.6% prefer blended approach for CPD, and 86.5% use smartphones. About the internet status, 28.0% of participants reported to have fast and stable internet, 57.1% to have fast but not stable internet, and 14.2% reported to have not fast and stable internet. Conclusion: Nurses, midwives, and physicians perceive online learning as a good source of continuing professional development, but its implementation must depend on improved internet access, compatible technology with smartphones, or increasing the availability of computers and tablets at health institutions. © 2023 The Author(s)