Search

This cross-sectional study investigates the shifts in anxiety levels among Swedish employees throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, with data gathered in 2016, 2018, and 2020. Work-related anxiety was assessed through two metrics: General Work Anxiety (WA) and Work Performance Anxiety (WPA). Overall, there was a decline in both average WA and WPA over the five-year period. However, this trend did not apply uniformly across all social groups. Specifically, WA saw a significant decrease among older men, while it showed an increase among younger women. Additionally, the reduction in WPA was more pronounced among managers than employees during the pandemic. High-income individuals and those with advanced education levels also experienced a greater decrease in WPA. These findings underscore the role of employment conditions in shaping the impact that the pandemic might have had on workers’ mental health.

Hur kan kulturaktiviteter komplettera den vanliga vården när det gäller att förbättra människors hälsa? En uppföljande studie av en försöksverksamhet, ”Rehabilitering med kultur”, i Stockholm betonar att kulturaktiviteter kan komplettera, men inte ersätta, sjukvård och rehabilitering. Grundläggande är att olika kunskapsparadigm – studier av mätbara effekter samt kvalitativa studier av de omätbara ges utrymme sida vid sida. I den kvalitativa studien diskuteras mötet mellan två perspektiv. Det ena är performansorienterat och innebär att uppmärksamma människors framträdanden. Det andra perspektivet gäller vad vi menar med hälsa. Förståelsen av hälsa utgår från ett begrepp som tar fasta på människors handlingsförmåga och välbefinnande som det mest användbara i sammanhanget. I artikeln presenteras en performansorienterad modell, som kan tillämpas för att synliggöra hur människor kan mobilisera och ta vara på sina egna resurser.

Contemporary notions of health are discussed in relation to social movements and as an expression of a growing medical pluralism. In the attempt to take the pulse of general debates on health, a tesselated picture of today's society appears. In rapid succession, themes about a growing number of elusive health problems and sick-listings appear from a working life that is termed stressful, fickle, and constantly lacking in time. Further, there are discussions that illustrate the confidence in new pharmaceuticals, in the benefits of biogenetic research, and the good future that is promised by them. Since the middle of the 1990s there are increasingly features on so called alternative treatments, which in their turn claim to show the way to a better life. By calling for individual body awareness, extended self-treatment, a calmer pace and the need for rest and reflection in a much too pressured and splintered daily life, modern man hopes to increase resistance to the side-effects of modern life styles. Hence, health is a plastic, spacious concept that holds a consistent understanding as well as a sensitivity to trends and potential for change. Lack of health is considered a threat in the present-day as well as in past societies.

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the distinct challenges and opportunities biotechnology poses to women's health. I begin with a brief exploration of some of the reasons to be concerned about many biotechnologies. I then propose some conceptual tools that can help us decide how to evaluate some of the ethical dimensions of different forms of biotechnology. I conclude with reflections on the question of who bears responsibility for the regulation and management of biotechnology. I approach this topic from a distinctly feminist perspective: that is, I believe that the ethical evaluation of a practice or policy requires us to consider the likely impact of that practice on existing patterns of oppression. Hence, when exploring the development and management of different types of biotechnology it is essential to consider whether these activities are likely to reduce or to increase the disadvantages now experienced by women and other vulnerable social groups.

What are the (cultural) meanings of pain? From the perspective of individual life stories, chronic pain may be analysed as a common idiom for communicating personal and interpersonal problems. In this paper we read the story of Anna, a Swedish woman, and her life in chronic pain, expressed by herself both as an inner, private feeling and as a social, public phenomenon.