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Introduction: Nurses' well-being at work (WAW) is important for overall health care outcomes. Nurses often navigate complex roles, contending with time constraints, ethical challenges and societal undervaluation, underscoring the necessity of addressing their WAW., Methods: The aim of this systematic review was to analyse the interventions that potentially improve nurses' WAW in care settings for older people. The ultimate goal is to provide an understanding of this field and advance the development of WAW interventions. We performed a systematic review which was registered in PROSPERO and conducted according to PRISMA guideline. We conducted a comprehensive literature search across five scientific databases and one platform in February 2023., Results: Out of 5975 records, we included 21 full-text articles in the review. Interventions were typically complex and focused on (a) nurses' health, (b) nursing care, (c) care facilities and (d) management. Interventions resulted in a range of outcomes on the (a) physical, (b) psychosocial and (c) environmental dimensions of WAW, with most interventions leading to positive outcomes, albeit with instances of negative and neutral results., Conclusions: Interventions focusing on nurses' health or care facilities can be promising to improve WAW of nurses working in care settings for older people. Interventions aimed at improving the WAW have focused on various aspects. Despite the mainly positive outcomes, some interventions can also compromise nurses' WAW., Implications for Practice: Strategies and interventions aimed at improving nurses' WAW are needed in practice as nurses' WAW is crucial in recruiting to and retaining nurses in care settings for older people. Promoting WAW also contributes to the quality of care for older people and the provision of ethically high-quality health services., Trial Registration: The review protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, PROSPERO (CRD42023399478)., (© 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Older People Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Foot health services for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are an important part of their comprehensive care. However, little is known about the perceptions of people with RA have about foot health services. This study aimed to explore how people with RA perceive foot health services., Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was applied. The electronic survey data were collected in April 2023 from people with RA through a national patients' association (N = 2400, response rate 24%, n = 565). The statistical data were analysed using descriptive statistics and textual data with thematic analysis., Results: Most of the respondents (n = 322, 59%) had used foot health services provided by chiropodist or podiatrist. Those who had used services were mostly satisfied but considered patient education about foot health insufficient. One third reported no visits to foot health services at all because of personal and health service system-related factors., Conclusions: Those people with RA who have access to foot health services value and appreciate the services. However, many people with RA do not use foot health services because they perceive availability of such services limited and thus unequal and hard to access. There is a need to develop foot health services for people with RA so that they are easy to access, correspond to their foot health needs and have seamless care paths at different levels of the health care system., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Podiatry Association and The Royal College of Podiatry.)

Background: Person-centred care requires that nurses are competent in this approach to care. There may be an association between person-centred care competence and person-centred care climate, but it has not been demonstrated in the literature. This is the justification for the survey study to gain staff's perceptions of such a relationship., Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyse the levels and associations between person-centred care competence and the person-centred care climate as assessed by professional nurses in long-term care settings for older people., Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey design with cluster sampling was used to recruit professional nurses of different levels from six long-term care institutions for older people. Data were collected using the Patient-centred Care Competency scale (PCC) and the Person-centred Climate Questionnaire staff version (PCQ-S) in September 2021 and analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics., Results: The mean score on the PCC was rated at a good level of 3.80 (SD 0.45), and the PCQ-S was rated at a good level of 3.87 (SD 0.53). The correlation between PCC and PCQ-S total scores (r = .37, p < .001) indicated that person-centred care competence and person-centred care climate were associated. No associations were detected between nurses' educational levels and PCC (p = .19) or PCQ-S (p = .13) or in terms of age or work experience., Conclusions: The results provide insights into competence and climate levels of person-centred care and preliminary evidence of an association between nurses' assessed competence in person-centred care and the perceived person-centred care climate in long-term care. Nurses' individual characteristics did not appear to affect the level of person-centred care competence or climate. In the future professional nurses of different levels could benefit from effective continuing education in person-centred care. This study design serving for the future intervention study registered to the ClinicalTrials.goc NCT04833153., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Supporting spirituality is an essential aspect of the holistic nursing care of older people living with dementia. Spirituality is defined as a search for answers to questions about the meaning and purpose of life and the individual's relationship with the sacred or transcendent. This relationship may or may not involve an affiliation with a specific religion., Objective: To understand how older people living with dementia and their family members experience spirituality and its support in nursing care., Design: A qualitative study informed by the principles of Ricoeurian hermeneutic phenomenology., Settings: We conducted the study in home care and long-term care settings in Southern Finland., Participants: We collected data between 2017-2020 from a purposive sample of 10 older people living with dementia and their 9 family members (n = 19)., Methods: We used interviews to collect data and adapted and used Ricoeur's theory of interpretation as a method for analysis., Results: The findings of this study show that older people living with dementia need spiritual support in nursing care based on their personal understanding of spirituality. The four elements of this spirituality that emerged were: religion, meaningful relationships, nature, and art. The participants addressed some challenges to spiritual support in the nursing care of older people living with dementia including: the competence and abilities of nursing, time available, presence and experience., Conclusions: Older people living with dementia and their family members consider spiritual support an important aspect of nursing care. To support the spirituality of these older people, the elements of spirituality need to be understood as these are central to each person's spiritual position. Additionally, spiritual support requires understanding knowledge, experience, time and presence, to manage all four elements with individuals., (© 2022 The Authors. International Journal of Older People Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Neglecting to provide older people with the care they need in residential care settings leads to human suffering and increased service needs. Research is lacking on neglect in older people's residential care and one way to assess the key issues is to study complaints. The aim of this study was to analyse official complaints related to allegations of neglect in residential care settings caring for older people in Finland. The data covered 317 complaints that were recorded in the national database in 2018 and 2019. The analysis of the complaints yielded 2,922 observations of neglect in older people's care in residential care settings. Based on our results, most of the complaints were made by family members when the patients were alive and their motivation was to improve the care their relative received, as well as the care of others, in the residential care home. The complaints focused on neglecting clinical care, including restricting older people's movements, not providing daily activities and not paying sufficient attention to their hygiene and secretions. Other complaints included issues relating to nutrition, medication, communication and issues that compromised their privacy, respect and dignity. Nearly three of four complaints identified staffing issues in relation to neglect and most of the complaints concerned private, rather than public, residential care homes. Although the complaints only concerned a small proportion of the annual care provided, more attention should be paid to care practices that prevent neglect in residential care and to multi-level monitoring for dignified care., (© 2021 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Nurses play a crucial role in enabling older people's autonomy in residential care. However, there is a lack of synthesised knowledge about how nurses can support older people., Objective: The aim of this study was to identify and synthesise nursing support for older people's autonomy in residential care., Methods: An integrative review was carried out by searching the CINAHL, Philosopher's index, PubMed, SocINDEX, Scopus and Web of Science databases, supplemented by manual searches. The searches focused on peer-reviewed scientific empirical research papers published in English, without date limitations. The constant comparison method was used for the analysis., Results: The review identified 24 papers, and these showed that older people's autonomy was based on dignity. Nurses protected older people's autonomy in eight different ways. They protected their right to make their own decisions, acted as advocates, respected their wishes, provided opportunities for autonomy, fostered independence, gave information to residents and relatives, provided individualised care practices and protected older people's safety. However, there were also barriers that needed to be overcome., Conclusions: Nurses used multiple, individually tailored activities to support older people's autonomy, but they also had different reasons for supporting or hindering it. Work and leadership structures are needed to ensure that older people's autonomy is driven by ethical practices., Implications for Practice: The results of this review can help nurses who provide residential care for older people to recognise the different nursing activities that can be used to support older people's autonomy and to develop strategies to apply them in different daily care situations. However, further research is needed to determine how these activities can be realised in daily care and how they cover different aspects of older people's lives in residential care., (© 2021 The Authors. International Journal of Older People Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aim: To validate a Finnish version of the Sheffield Care Environment Assessment Matrix (S-SCEAM) instrument for assessing the physical environment of long-term care settings and to describe the current status of the environmental quality of long-term care settings for older people in Finland., Background: The importance of providing a well-designed physical environment for older people is supported by the research literature. There is limited research of the physical environments of long-term care settings from the perspective of nursing science and nor is there much research into the instruments for assessing them., Design: A descriptive, correlational and observational study., Methods: Forward and back translation process was used followed by structured observations with S-SCEAM-Fin in 20 long-term care units in intensive residential care facilities for older people with 24-h nursing assistance and with extensive support for daily activities. Spearman's rho correlation, Cohen's kappa, percentage of agreement and Kuder-Richardson formula coefficients were calculated to assess psychometric properties of the translated S-SCEAM-Fin. S-SCEAM-Fin standardised scores were calculated to describe the current status of the environmental quality., Results: Inter-scale (domain) correlations showed low to moderate correlations between the domains. Consistency was acceptable in four of the domains. Cohen's kappa values indicated good (0.796 and 0.648) intra-rater and inter-rater (0.910 and 0.553) reliability. The overall mean of the standardised scores was 57.00, but there was variation between domains. Small units received the highest scores in the six domains., Conclusions: S-SCEAM-Fin was useful in assessing environmental quality. Assessment of the environmental quality disclosed deficiencies in ensuring settings adequate for older people., Implications for Practice: The increasing numbers of older people with health conditions are residing in long-term care settings. It is essential to create supportive physical environments. The instrument can be useful when planning new facilities or proposing new recommendations for institutional living environments., (© 2021 The Authors. International Journal of Older People Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Foot and ankle problems are especially common in patients with RA, causing significant disability and limitation in daily activities. Previous studies have mainly focussed on foot problems in the adult population whilst the evidence of foot health in the older population is scarce., Objectives: The aim of the study was to analyse self-assessed foot health and associated factors in older people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)., Methods: The study applied a descriptive cross-sectional survey design and recruited older people with RA from the member register of one patient association. We collected the data in January 2019 with the Self-administered Foot Health Assessment Instrument, and sociodemographic and foot-related background questions and analysed the data with descriptive and inferential statistics., Results: Older people with RA had many self-reported foot problems. The most common problems were foot pain, dry skin and thickened toenails. In addition, structural deformities of the foot were prevalent. The level of foot health associated with the amount of daily walking or standing, and using walking or running shoes outdoors. Individuals who had consulted a physician due to their foot problems had more structural deformities in the foot. Foot problems limited their ability to perform daily activities., Conclusions: This study demonstrates that older people with RA not only live with a long-term health condition, but they also live with complex foot problems. Older people with RA need healthcare services due to their foot problems. There is a need to develop and implement care practices to alleviate foot pain and support and promote foot health and functional ability in older people with RA., Implication for Practice: Understanding the nature and consequences of foot problems in older people with RA allows healthcare professionals to perform more accurate clinical foot evaluations and develop effective interventions to prevent further foot problems., (© 2021 The Authors. International Journal of Older People Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: The aim of the study was two-fold: (1) to test the psychometric properties of the Person-Centered care Climate Questionnaire-Patient-Finnish version (PCQ-P-Fin), and (2) to examine the associations between older patients' perceptions of the PCC climate and their perceptions of individuality in care delivered within acute care settings for older people., Design: An exploratory, correlational, cross-sectional survey design., Methods: The study was conducted within acute care settings for older people with heart failure (n = 111, response rate 54%). Data were collected with self-completed questionnaires, the Person-Centered care Climate Questionnaire-Patient version (PCQ-P-Fin) and the Individualized Care Scale-Patient (ICS-Patient-B), between 6/2016 and 5/2017. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficients, exploratory factor analysis and a Rasch analysis., Results: The PCQ-P-Fin showed satisfactory structural, construct and concurrent validity and high reliability. The ICS-B-Patient and the PCQ-P-Fin correlated strongly positive suggesting an association between the perceptions of individuality in care and the care climate., Conclusion: The PCQ-P-Fin is a useful, reliable and valid tool. Characteristics of the care environment, especially the climate and the extent to which this is perceived to be person-centred, may be used to enhance perceptions of individualised care., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aim: The aim of this review was to examine the relevant health literature, to describe safety in the homes of older and older people's perceptions and understanding of their safety at home based on current literature., Background: Safety is a multifaceted, basic need of older people living at home. Many studies are hospital focused and few focus on safety at home. Research on the safety of older people at home appears to be under-researched., Methods: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus and Web of Science databases from the earliest to August 2017 were investigated. The integrative literature review was conducted in December 2017. The full text of the remaining n = 93 papers was then screened for relevance by inclusion and exclusion criteria which reduced the number by 59 to n = 34., Results: Four dimensions of safety at home were discovered, namely physical, social, emotional and mental, and cognitive safety. Safety dimensions had both positive and negative components. Older people's main wish was to be able to live in their own home for as long as possible. Their perceptions of safety at home was categorised as active living, coping at home, managed living and the knowledge of the existence of disease., Conclusions: The safety of older people at home is a worldwide concern. Identification of safety issues can assist in developing measures to help people stay at home for longer as they age. The management of this would need to take account of all four dimensions of safety, in ways that promote ageing at home., Implications for Practice: Learning, understanding and developing new strategies about safety affect everyone who visits the home of older people, and stakeholders have an important role to identify safety risks., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Foot health is an important aspect of general health, and it can be maintained and promoted through foot self-care. However, little is known about older people's experiences of caring for their feet. The aim of this study was to gather knowledge about experiences of foot self-care from the perspective of healthy older people in order to improve their welfare and their management of foot health., Methods: A qualitative descriptive design with focus groups was used. Seventeen older people recruited from daytime activity centres participated in the focus groups ( n  = 4). The data were analysed using inductive content analysis., Results: The participants described their foot self-care as including various activities, but they were hindered by the following factors: physical (e.g. changes in nail structure), external (e.g. seeking help from multi-level professionals) and internal (e.g. related to ageing). Foot self-care was considered to be important, but it was not systematically carried out. The participants thought that health-care professionals neglected patients' feet., Conclusions: Older people use a variety of methods to care for their feet. However, several factors hinder their ability to do so. Older people need advice, education and support to maintain their foot health. Future research is needed to identify effective ways to support older people in foot self-care and improve their welfare as active citizens., Competing Interests: Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University of Turku, Finland (16/2013). Permission for the study (12755–2013, decision number 9/10) was obtained according to organisation’s policies. Each participant also gave informed written consent to participate prior to entering the study.Not applicable.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Aim and Objective: To investigate older patients' perceptions of respect in hospital nursing care and to test a newly developed instrument measuring the phenomenon., Background: Respect manifests itself in the older patient-nurse relationship in terms of nurses being with and doing for the patient. Empirical studies investigating respect from the older patients' perspective are rare. There is a need to maintain respectful behaviours and attitudes within hospital-based nursing practice. Furthermore, there is a lack of instruments measuring respect in the care provided by nurses., Design and Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional explorative survey design was used. Data were collected between February and May 2016 by interviewing face-to-face 196 older patients in two hospitals in Finland. Respect was measured using the ReSpect scale (Parts A and B) developed for this study. Respect is based on the two dimensions of respect, nurses' Being with and Doing for patients. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods including the psychometric testing of the new instrument., Results: Older patients perceived respect in their care frequently and to a great extent, although there were also shortcomings. The findings highlight the need to improve respect to patients in care delivery by showing an interest in their views, acknowledging them positively and supporting their individual capacities. A two-factor structure of the ReSpect scale Part A and a four-factor structure of the Part B were confirmed., Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that older hospital patients perceived respect by nurses overall, but the area where there is the most room for improvement is that of listening and encouraging. The psychometric analysis demonstrated that the ReSpect scale shows promise in measuring respect., Implications for Practice: The ReSpect scale could be a useful tool to measure respect, an important element of value-based health care., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The aim of this study was to describe hospitalised cancer patients' perceptions of individualised care in four European countries and compare these perceptions using the patients' socio-demographic characteristics and the Individualized Care Scale. The patients' socio-demographic characteristics used were: education, age, gender, type of hospital admission, previous hospitalisation and hospital length of stay. The Individualized Care Scale has two parts (1) nurses' support of individuality and (2) patients' receipt of individuality. Data (n = 599) were collected in Cyprus (n = 150), Finland (n = 158), Greece (n = 150) and Sweden (n = 141). Multivariate analysis of variance models were constructed and differences in perceptions of individualised care were analysed using the patients' socio-demographic characteristics as covariates. The level of support for individuality and receipt of individualised care was reported as moderate and good respectively. Generally, the highest assessments were made by the Swedish respondents and the lowest by those in Greece. This study revealed some between-country differences in patients' perceptions of care individualisation. These differences, for example, conceptual, educational, based in clinical practice or in the health organisation, require further research. Enquiry into the individualised care perceptions of health care providers and the families of cancer patients would also be useful., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aim: To analyze the level of nurses' foot health and its associations with work well-being., Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was applied to a random sample of Finnish nurses (n = 411). The data were collected between May 18 and June 21, 2015 using a self-administered Foot Health Assessment Instrument and analyzed using descriptive statistics and parametric tests., Results: Nurses had a variety of foot problems. Dry skin, foot pain, and corns or calluses were the most prevalent foot problems. Long-term diseases, the need for a physician's appointment due to foot problems, and decreased working ability were all associated with foot health. This finding was also supported by multivariate analysis., Conclusions: Foot problems are common among nurses and are associated with individual and work-related factors. Prevention of foot problems in nurses should be prioritized to promote their working ability and predisposing factors identified as potential intervention targets., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate and analyse the connection between the level of quality of nursing care and knowledge received by patients (N = 266, n = 226), response rate was 85%. The data were collected using two structured instruments: one measuring the quality of nursing care experienced by patients (The Good Nursing Care Scale, GNCS) and one measuring the received knowledge of hospital patients (RKHP). The data were collected at one (out of five) Finnish university hospitals, in all medical wards during 5 weeks in 2009. A clear association between the level of the quality of nursing care and the level of received knowledge was found: on the total level of instruments, correlation was strong (r = 0.705). Support of empowerment (GNCS) had statistically significant strong correlation between biophysiological knowledge (RKHP), (r = 0.718), and experiential knowledge (r = 0.633), (P ≤ 0.01). Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between nursing activities and biophysiological knowledge (r = 0.637). Higher age, sufficient advance information and better self-perceived health status were associated both with the level of the quality of nursing care and level of received knowledge. In the future, a special attention should be paid to the sufficient information for patients before their hospital stays., (© 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the association between nurses' characteristics (educational level, country, work title, gender, type of work, age, and length of working experience) and their assessments of individualized care., Design: A cross-sectional comparative survey using questionnaires was employed to sample nurses from seven countries., Methods: Data were collected from orthopedic and trauma nurses from Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States (N= 1,163, response rate 70%) using the Individualized Care Scale-Nurse (ICS-Nurse) and a sociodemographic questionnaire in 2008. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and general linear models., Results: When compared with practical nurses, registered nurses, length of working experience, and the country of the nurses were associated with assessments of the support of patient individuality in specific nursing activities (ICS-A-Nurse) and country assessments of individuality in the care provided (ICS-B-Nurse). The background and experience within nursing teams together with the country affect the delivery of individualized care., Conclusions: Overall, our findings suggest that nurses' personal attributes have important effects on their assessments of individualized nursing care that will be useful when making context-dependent recruitment decisions., Clinical Relevance: The characteristics of nurses contribute to the care delivered in healthcare organizations. Recognition of these nurse-related factors may help nurse leaders in the development and management of clinical practice., (© 2012 Sigma Theta Tau International.)

Aim and Objectives: To describe and compare the individualised care perceptions of older orthopaedic patients' and patients of working age., Background: Age has been found to influence perceptions of care and although individualised care is highlighted in the literature, it is seldom studied from an older person's perspective., Design: Descriptive and comparative., Methods: Data were collected using the Individualised Care Scale from orthopaedic patients (n = 420, response rate 84%). The participants were divided into two groups: those 65 and over (n = 149) and those under 65 and working (n = 271). Data analysis used descriptive and inferential statistics., Results: Patients expressed a desire for individualised care, and gave relatively good evaluations about the perceived support for their individuality and the realisation of individualised care. Differences in the perceptions of individualised care were found between, but not within, the two groups. The older patients were more positive in their evaluations., Conclusions: There is a need for programmes of individualised care that are age-adjusted., Relevance to Clinical Practice: As the older population rises worldwide individualised care becomes more important in the care of older people. These findings provide baseline data for the development of individualised nursing care from the patients' perspective., (© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

The effects of various vehicles, the occlusion time and the concentration of the test substances on the phototoxic reactions were studied using the Finn Chamber method in photoepicutaneous testing, with methoxsalen and coal tar as test substances. Petrolatum proved to be a suitable base for methoxsalen and carbowax for coal tar. The optimal concentration of coal tar was 5% and that of methoxalen 0.03-0.05%. The optimal occlusion time for methoxsalen was 1-2 hours and for coal tar 24 hours. It was concluded that in order to obtain the most reliable results, these parameters should be determined separately for every photosensitizing compound to be tested.

In a Finnish ski-stick factory with 293 employees, several persons had skin symptoms compatible with contact allergy. Epoxy resin proved to be the only potential allergen in the working environment. The results of the study point to the important rôle of ski-stick saw dust as the source of sensitizing, partly cured epoxy resin. The study also showed that not only hardeners, but also epoxy resin can cause immediate type of allergy.

Ultraviolet light (UV) tests with high irradiation doses from a dysprosium lamp were performed on the normal appearing skin of seven patients with benign familial chronic pemphigus (FBCP). The skin of the patients showed a more severe vulnerability when compared with the reactivity of the skin of four healthy control persons. In each case the damaged skin of the patients had, in addition to the destructive features, the diagnostic histological acantholysis of FBCP. There was great variation in individual responses to the provocative irradiation and thus the test cannot be considered practical for accurate diagnostic purposes.

The chamber test, so far successfully applied to epicutaneous testing, proved to be suitable for photoepicutaneous testing as well. A simple and reliable method was developed by dividing the test areas (after removing the tests from the skin) into two equal parts, one for ultraviolet irradiation and the other for dark control. Variations in the amounts of the test substances had a slight influence on the size but not on the strength of the reactions.

The effect of erythemic UV irradiation on the phototoxic reactions caused by topical methoxsalen + UVA exposure was studied on normal skin, normal-looking skin of vitiligo patients, and vitiliginous skin. Although only slight histological changes were detectable 9 days after irradiation with 5 MED of erythemic UV, this pre-irradiation did induce protection against photoxic reactions in all skin types. This protection was clinically equal in all skin types; the slight differences were not statistically significant. Histological evaluation, however, showed a most conspicuous protective effect on vitiliginous skin. In all skin types the influence of UV pre-irradiation was confined to epidermal protection; the dermal phototoxic changes were unaffected.

Experimental phytophotodermatitis was produced using crushed leaves from the gas plant, Dictamnus albus. The tests were made using the chamber method and irradiated with ordinary black light tubes. An occlusion time of not less than 30 min was needed to give a phototoxic reaction in all test subjects. An occlusion time 30-120 min gave the optimal results, but contact for 24 h produced only weak and inconsistent reactions. The phototoxic substance was readily absorbed into the skin within 10-15 min. The phototoxic tendency already began to disappear within 30 min after the tests were removed. UVA energy of 0.3 J/cm2 was enough to evoke a phytophotoreaction in all of the test subjects when other conditions were optimal. The reactions were enhanced by adding water to the test sites. Deep-freezing of the plant material did not destroy the phototoxicity within a 4-month period.

Methoxsalen (8-methoxypsoralen) was used as the photoxic substance in the study of the properties of various vehicles in photoepicutaneous testing. Macrogols as such were relatively poor bases, and positive reactions were seen only occasionally at a concentration of 0.05% methoxsalen. Increasing amounts of water in macrogols brought forth more numerous and stronger reactions. The photoxicity also increased when ethanol was added. The reactions were, however, weaker than to those with aqueous bases. Wool fat and glycerol as vehicles usually reacted in the same way as polyethylene glycols when water was added. An explanation of the mechanism of the changes in the properties of vehicles due to the addition of water/ethanol requires further investigation.