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To evaluate if a brief educational intervention for primary health care staff regarding endometriosis gives sustainable knowledge of endometriosis symptoms and if a brief questionnaire for women seeking care for common symptoms is feasible in the Swedish primary care context. Design: Pilot study. Setting: 3 primary care centres (PCCs) in Sweden. Exploring knowledge among staff about endometriosis at baseline and 3 months after an information workshop. Evaluation of feasibility of a brief questionnaire for women seeking care for common symptoms For PCC personnel: knowledge about endometriosis at baseline and after 3 months. For patient questionnaire: whether adequate, understandable, acceptable, and feasible. Participants: Females in primary care centre waiting room, and staff members at participating PCCs. Results: The knowledge level of endometriosis was improved or sustained after 3 months compared to baseline among staff at PCCs. Over 90% of the patients stated that the questionnaire was adequate, understandable, acceptable, and feasible. Conclusion: We found that an educational programme improved the staff's knowledge about endometriosis. The programme together with the patient questionnaire could be a way to enhance knowledge about endometriosis among PCCs. This combined effort might facilitate earlier detection and treatment of women with endometriosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this paper was to study primary care staff members' experiences and perceptions of participating in a randomized controlled trial concerning Internet therapy. Methods: Data were collected via five focus groups, each containing four to eight nurses or general practitioners. The systematic text condensation method described by Malterud was used for thematic analysis of meaning and content of data across cases. Results: The informants believed it was important to conduct research within the primary care setting, but it was difficult to combine clinical work and research. They stressed also that there was a need for continuous information and communication between primary care centers and researchers as well as internally at each primary care center. Conclusion: Staff members' experiences of participating in a research study were positive, although associated with various difficulties. It is important to include staff members when designing clinical studies; information should be given continuously during the study and communication facilitated between different occupational groups working at the primary care center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate possible association between mental stress and psychosomatic symptoms, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, as well as incident mortality in a middle-aged female population followed over 37 years. Methods: A prospective observational study initiated in 1968-1969, including 1462 women aged 60, 54, 50, 46, and 38 years, with follow-ups in 1974-1975, 1980-1981, and 2000-2001, was performed. Measures included self-reported mental stress as well as psychosomatic symptoms and smoking, physical activity, total cholesterol, S-triglycerides, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, blood pressure, socioeconomic status and mortality. Results: Smoking, not being single, and not working outside home were strongly associated with reported mental stress at baseline. Women who reported high mental stress in 1968-1969 were more likely to report presence of abdominal symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39-2.46), headache/migraine (OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.53-2.72), frequent infections (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.14-2.70), and musculoskeletal symptoms (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.30-2.23) than women who did not report mental stress. Women without these symptoms at baseline 1968-1969, but with perceived mental stress were more likely to subsequently report incident abdominal symptoms (OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.39-3.34), headache/migraine (OR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.48-3.48) and frequent infections (OR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.12-4.36) in 1974-1975 than women without mental stress in 1968-1969. There was no association between perceived mental stress at baseline and mortality over 37 years of follow-up. Conclusion: Women reporting mental stress had a higher frequency of psychosomatic symptoms than women who did not report these symptoms. Not working outside home and smoking rather than low socioeconomic status per se was associated with higher stress levels. Perception of high mental stress was not associated with increased mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coronary heart disease has been reported to be the major cause of death of postmenopausal women in industrialized countries. The risk for women of dying from myocardial infarction is significantly greater than the risk of dying from cancer. The aim of this study was to compare previous observations regarding causes of death with the results from the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg. We also examined how causes of deaths vary among different age cohorts. Methods: This follow-up report based on the prospective observational Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, Sweden was confined to mortality in two age cohorts: 180 women born in 1914 and 398 women born in 1918. These women were representative of the female population in Gothenburg in these age groups. Women were followed for 32 years, from 1968-1969 to 2000-2001. During the follow-up period, data on mortality were obtained from the population registry and the Cause of Death Register. Women's death certificates were also examined. Results: In women aged between 60 and 80 years, cancer accounted for 30% of deaths, myocardial infarction for 19%, and stroke for 14%. In women who died after the age of 80 years, myocardial infarction was a more common cause of death than cancer. Conclusions: Cancer accounts for most years lost from a woman's normal life span. Myocardial infarction was a more common cause of death than cancer only in women above the age of 80 years. Although myocardial infarction is a common cause of death among women, cancer is a more common cause of death at younger ages. This should be emphasized when planning care, prevention, and research involving women's health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate if a brief educational intervention for primary health care staff regarding endometriosis gives sustainable knowledge of endometriosis symptoms and if a brief questionnaire for women seeking care for common symptoms is feasible in the Swedish primary care context., Design: Pilot study., Setting: 3 primary care centres (PCCs) in Sweden. Exploring knowledge among staff about endometriosis at baseline and 3 months after an information workshop. Evaluation of feasibility of a brief questionnaire for women seeking care for common symptoms For PCC personnel: knowledge about endometriosis at baseline and after 3 months. For patient questionnaire: whether adequate, understandable, acceptable, and feasible., Participants: Females in primary care centre waiting room, and staff members at participating PCCs., Results: The knowledge level of endometriosis was improved or sustained after 3 months compared to baseline among staff at PCCs. Over 90% of the patients stated that the questionnaire was adequate, understandable, acceptable, and feasible., Conclusion: We found that an educational programme improved the staff's knowledge about endometriosis. The programme together with the patient questionnaire could be a way to enhance knowledge about endometriosis among PCCs. This combined effort might facilitate earlier detection and treatment of women with endometriosis., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflict of interest., (© 2024 Öberg Westin et al.)