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Medicalisation of hospice care has been discussed simultaneously with the development of palliative care into a medical speciality. However empirical knowledge of the role of medicalisation in hospice practice is underexplored. This paper considers hospice managers' perspectives on hospice care in the complex between values related to hospice philosophy and a specialised medical approach to hospice care. Focus groups and small group interviews were conducted with hospice managers from 16 out of the 19 Danish hospices. Drawing on hope as a theoretical framework, the study contributes to further understanding of the complexity of navigating hospice care in the impasse between an existential hope focused on meaning at the end of life and a medical hope for control of the dying body. Hospice care appeared as pulled between these dimensions of hope. The hospice managers took a pragmatic approach to medicalisation but their emphasis on dying as an existential event also points to a role for hospices as a critical voice against over-medicalisation of dying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the intersection of gender and class concerning welfare clients with medically unexplained symptoms. The study is conducted in Denmark using qualitative interviews with welfare officers and clients. The paper's focus is on how issues of gender and class intersect in the negotiation of illness among welfare officers and clients. The particular client group in question consists of individuals that are defined by their lack of a bio-medical diagnosis. Their 'lack' of identity accentuates how gender and class become central in the categorisation practices, constructing the ill person as either bio-medically sick or as a person who may be suffering but only from diffuse psychological problems. The paper shows that it is predominantly poorly educated women without a bio-medical diagnosis that welfare officers describe as suffering from psychological problems despite the fact that the women themselves focus on physical ailments in their illness stories. Men and better-educated women are described by the welfare officers as tired and exhausted or truly stressed after a long working life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosis constitutes a major categorisation tool in medicine. This paper adds to the paucity of knowledge about part of the work such a tool performs. It examines the ways in which diabetes epidemiology translates into attempts to prevent diabetes from occurring through screening and diagnosing, and then managing those categorised as ‘at high risk’. Using a qualitative design in the context of a small-scale Danish intervention study, the findings suggest that health professionals overinterpreted relative risk reductions and exaggerated treatment effects; simultaneously, prediabetics called into question the scientifically set thresholds. Nonetheless, arguments concerning changed behaviour’s benefits were sought to be incorporated into self-care routines. The data highlight how, by identifying a normatively set threshold, a diagnosis can determine health promotion messages’ impact in ‘high-risk’ prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hunters in the Western world today do not need to hunt to obtain food and other animal products. So why do they hunt? This paper examines the motives of hunters, the motives ascribed to hunters by members of the general public, and the role motives play for the moral acceptability of hunting among members of the general public. It draws on a nationally representative survey of the general public (n = 1,001) and hunters (n = 1,130) in Denmark. People with a negative attitude to hunting are more likely to take motives into account when they consider the acceptability of hunting. Three clusters of motives defining distinctive hunting motivational orientations were identified:action/harvest, management/care,andnatural and social encounters. The general public ascribedaction/harvestmotives to hunters more than hunters did. In a policy perspective, if hunters’ motives are misperceived, improved dialog may be needed to protect the legitimacy of recreational hunting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: During the 90 s and especially in the beginning of the 00 s research in youth, drug and alcohol consumption increased markedly in Denmark. Much of this research was applied and placed in a dilemma between reproducing existing social problem characterizations of youthful behaviors or providing genuine contribution to the sociological analysis and understanding of youth cultures. From the mid-00 s and forward however, a range of analytical tools were developed at Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research (CRF) in order to understand the relationship between youth, drug and alcohol use and to move beyond the applied perspective into a more social science analytical approach. Aim: The article investigates the relationship developments between drug and alcohol research and youth research in Denmark in general, with a special focus on research conducted at CRF. Specifically, we will focus on how analytical concepts like, e.g., cultural capital, identity, risk, recreational use, problematic use, and social integration have been developed in a Danish context, and how these concepts are informed by existing international research. Conclusion: Besides recounting the story of Danish research on youth, drug and alcohol from the perspective of CRF, this paper will conclude by providing a series of tentative conclusions on how research on youth cultures and drug and alcohol consumption can develop in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most previous studies about fertility knowledge and attitudes among men have been based on quantitative methods using questionnaires with fixed-choice response options. The aims of this qualitative study were to explore childless young men's reflections on fertility and infertility through semi-structured interviews. Danish (n = 17) and Swedish (n = 12) young childless men aged between 20 and 30 years in their last year of education were interviewed. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Few informants had considered their own fertility, and most were positive towards fertility treatment. The young men had inadequate knowledge about factors that can potentially impair male and female fertility. On average, the young men each mentioned three different factors they believed influence male and female fertility: (i) health behaviour; (ii) factors beyond personal control; and (iii) age. None mentioned sexual transmitted infections (STIs) but most appeared aware of the effect of increasing age on fertility. The results of this study highlight the need for educational strategies to improve young men's knowledge about fertility and the factors that influence it, particularly about the potential adverse effect of STIs on fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Drawing upon data collected within 20 focus groups with consumers from five European countries, in this article we investigate how perceptions of human health risk and current anxieties regarding agricultural food production affect citizens' acceptance of the use of an emerging biotechnology, synthetic biology, in the development of vaccines for animals bred for food production. In focus group discussions in Austria, the UK, Poland and Denmark, participants tended to value the positive potential of synthetic vaccines if they could solve existing problems. Participants argued that the technology could be beneficial for animal welfare and was a potential solution to the problem of risks to human health posed by the use of antibiotics on livestock. The perceived drawbacks of antibiotic use affected the discussions towards acceptance of synthetic biology and the use of vaccines in meat production despite concerns over the potential risks. The participants from Spain stood out in that their acceptance of the synthetic vaccine appeared to be disconnected from concerns about risks related to the use of antibiotics. Participants from all countries found the vaccine to have potential uses, but also expressed concerns about health risks for consumers. In general consumers were perceived as those bearing the heaviest burden of risk, while pharmaceutical companies were perceived as likely to benefit most from production of the vaccine. We found that institutional trust and national contexts of (dis)engagement with science influenced the participants' understandings of the degree to which the synthetic livestock vaccine had a fair risk-benefit balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assistive technologies in care work are expected to alleviate the challenges related to population aging, namely the pressure on public budgets and a shortage of care professionals. This study examines how various stakeholders view the potentials of assistive technology in an institutionalized care setting in Denmark. Using ethnographic field observations, interviews, and document analysis, we explore the residents', the staff's, and the municipality's perspectives on the technologies and analyze whether they live up to the stated expectations. We identify three parallel narratives representing each of the stakeholder's perspectives. The municipality's triple-win narrative emphasizes expected gains in terms of efficiency, improved working conditions, and better quality of care. The staff's ambiguity narrative contains both negative views regarding the motive for using technologies to save resources and positive accounts of how technologies have reduced work-related pain. The residents' limited agency narrative reflects an internalization of the staff's perspectives. We conclude that, despite both the staff and the municipality highlighting the residents' well-being and comfort as important outcomes of assistive technologies, the residents' wishes have limited influence on whether and, if so, how assistive technologies are used. Different stakeholders' views on assistive technology vary and are closely connected to their respective institutional interests and roles. These perspectives are important for a successful implementation of assistive technologies. Understanding the positions of staff and older care recipients, and differentiating between their respective perspectives can help both scholars and product developers understand the potentials and risks of AT in a more nuanced way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Strengthening primary healthcare with highly qualified nurses in acute care units or teams is a new Danish initiative intended to detect acute diseases and the deterioration of chronic diseases and to develop treatment for outpatients. This study explores healthcare professionals' experiences with this initiative. Qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted in 2019–2020. Analysis was conducted with a systematic text condensation. This study is based on an acute care team in one Danish municipality called Acute Team Odense (ATO). ATO delivers acute nursing in patients' own homes (including nursing homes) in collaboration with different healthcare professionals. Individual interviews with general practitioners (GPs) (n = 15), five focus-group interviews with nurses and nursing assistants from the municipality (n = 19) and one focus-group interview with staff from the emergency department (ED) (n = 10). Experiences of different healthcare professionals' experiences with ATO. In general, all of the participants were very satisfied with the new acute care team and the cross-sectorial possibilities. The GPs usually referred ATO to assessments in which paraclinical equipment, competencies, accessibility, response time and communication were important. The municipal nurses and nursing assistants tended to use ATO if they needed second opinions or acute nurse assistance. The ED most often used ATO to assist with intravenous therapy after an ED visit. All participants reported that ATO increased what could be assessed and treated in patients' homes, which is central to preventing unnecessary hospitalisations. ATO created new possibilities in patient's homes which potentially might prevent unnecessary hospitalisations. Acute care units or teams are mandatory in Danish health care, but limited knowledge in the area is found. Healthcare professionals found that the acute care teams provided new possibilities to assess and treat patients in their own homes. Healthcare professionals experienced that the acute care team potentially prevented hospitalisations by fast clinical nurse assessments with paraclinical tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing secularism generates considerable interest in the manifestations of religious unbelief. In this study, conducted in Finland, Denmark, and the Netherland (N = 4404), we asked participants which of the following terms best describes their religious/spiritual identity: religious believer, spiritual but not religious, spiritual seeker, atheist, anti-religious, agnostic, nonbeliever, secular, or other. We also examined the participants' God beliefs and their attitudes toward religion. While connotations of identity terms varied considerably across individuals and countries, the nonreligious identification groups consistently differed in the strength and certainty of God belief, and by the valence, ambivalence, importance, and reflection of the attitudes toward religion. The anti-religious had the most negative and unequivocal attitudes, and the agnostics, seculars, and spiritual seekers had the most uncertain God beliefs. By associating distinct attitude profiles with non-religious self-identification labels, the findings improve our understanding of why people choose a specific label in surveys on non-religiosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this qualitative study is (a) to explore and compare the beliefs and values of the stakeholders working in different national dual career environments, and (b) to enhance the understanding of the relationship between athletes' dual career trajectories and the respective environments. Twelve semi-structured interviews with key informants involved in dual career from Switzerland, Denmark, and Poland were used to discussing benefits, obstacles and best practices of their national dual career settings. Interviews were content analysed in a deductive-inductive way using (Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons) cultural framework. Besides the differences in support for elite athletes in higher education across the national contexts, the key informants expressed divergent values and attitudes, which were due to their opinions on how dual careers should be organised. These values were found to be linked to the ideologies of the welfare regimes in the given country. Since dual career practices and programmes are based on different underlying basic assumptions in the three contexts studied, divergent dual career trajectories are proposed to athletes as the typical way to combine elite sport and education. Based on the results of our cross-cultural comparison, we assert that culture is not only an influential but also a constituting factor in the development of dual career environments. Thus, we propose a culturally sensitive approach towards the dual career of athletes and invite professionals (e.g. coaches, career advisors, and educational programme leaders) to critically reflect on their contextualised values about how to support dual career athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study examined the ways in which citizens who have self-identified as having problem drug use experienced welfare state encounters in Denmark and considered the findings in the context of the social investment paradigm. Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews with 106 Danish citizens who identified as having a problem drug use. The interviews were transcribed and coded in Nvivo to classify different types of welfare state encounters experiences. Results: Previous research has documented extensive prevalence of drug-related stigmatization in welfare state encounters; however, approximately two-thirds of the citizens in this study did not recount this kind of stigmatization as predominating. Three prevailing narratives were conveyed by these participants: (1) narratives describing encounters where welfare state authorities approached the participant as 'a whole person,' (2) narratives depicting encounters where the participants were submissive, and (3) narratives about welfare state authorities who discredited the significance of the participants' drug problems and imposed expectations considered unrealistic by the participants, e.g. expectations related to labor market performance. In the third type of encounter, participants experienced incongruence between their actual and virtual identities; not because problem drug use was granted master status but because their self-identified severe drug problems were downplayed by the welfare state authorities. Conclusion: Encountering welfare state authorities who downplayed the importance of drug problems gave rise to a form of stigmatization which we conceptualize as 'neo-stigmatization' to emphasize the contrast to drug related stigmatization where the importance of drug use is elevated to the point of master status. Neo-stigmatization emerges as politically productive in the context of the social investment paradigm that increasingly ties social worth to labor market value. Alleviating neo-stigmatization requires a political-economic framework that recognizes the value of citizens as not just workers but also caregivers and care receivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study investigates the relationship between openness and identity among 15 adoptees. Several studies have argued that a high degree of openness is important for the identity of adoptees. However, few have explored this relationship. Two types of openness (biographical knowledge and communicative openness) are used to categorize the empirical material, making it possible to shed light on how different types of openness influence identity. The findings suggest that there is no direct link between a high degree of openness and positive identity formation. Rather, the relationship appears to be situational and changeable as adoptees come of age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined an intervention, which aimed at improving the dual diagnosis treatment at eight Danish mental health centres. The intervention included training in dual diagnosis treatment to program champions who were intended to implement at their workplace the knowledge gained from training. The study used mixed methods (questionnaires, interviews, and field observations) to examine whether there was a change in the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the colleagues of the program champions following the intervention. Results showed that the intervention overall yielded improvement in knowledge and attitudes, while the impact on assessment and treatment practices was limited. Possible factors that might have affected the implementation of the intervention as well as the weaknesses of the intervention and the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:This study aimed to explore if and why the return-to-work (RTW) experiences of various workplace stakeholders in the Netherlands and Denmark differ between physical and mental health conditions, and to understand the consequences of potentially different experiences for the RTW process in both health conditions. Methods:We studied 21 cases of long-term sickness absence, and held a total of 61 semi-structured interviews with the various actors involved in these cases. Results:Physical cases were seen as “easy” and mental cases as “difficult” to manage, based on the visibility and predictability of health complaints. On this ground, assessing work ability and following required RTW actions were perceived as more urgent in mental than in physical cases. Despite these perceptions, in practice, the assessment of work ability seemed to impair the RTW process in mental cases (but not in physical ones), and the (non-)uptake of RTW actions appeared to have similar results in both mental and physical cases. Conclusions:With these outcomes, the effectiveness of a differential approach is questioned, and the relevance of a bidirectional dialog on work ability and a phased RTW plan is highlighted, regardless of the absence cause. Our study also demonstrates how policymakers need to strike a balance between obligatory and permissive legislation to better involve workplaces in RTW issues.Implications for rehabilitationBoth physically and mentally sick-listed employees could benefit from a bidirectional dialog on work ability as well as from a phased RTW plan.A greater role for employers in the RTW process should be accompanied with a support for sick-listed employees, in both physical and mental sickness absence cases.Dutch and Danish RTW legislation could be improved by carefully balancing obligatory and permissive rules and regulations to involve workplaces in RTW matters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Based on data from a survey (n = 3291) and 14 qualitative interviews among Danish older adults, this study investigated the use of, and attitudes toward, information communications technology (ICT) and the digital delivery of public services. While age, gender, and socioeconomic status were associated with use of ICT, these determinants lost their explanatory power when we controlled for attitudes and experiences. We identified three segments that differed in their use of ICT and attitudes toward digital service delivery. As nonuse of ICT often results from the lack of willingness to use it rather than from material or cognitive deficiencies, policy measures for bridging the digital divide should focus on skills and confidence rather than on access or ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use and purchase of electric bicycles (e-bikes) is emerging in many countries. Existing knowledge about changes in cycling patterns and car replacement after gaining e-bike access is limited and partly contradictory. Based on an online survey among e-bike users in Denmark (n= 427), this study looked into these effects by differentiating between different segments of e-bike users. We distinguished four age groups as well as three segments based on cycling attitudes and motives for the use and purchase of e-bikes: (1)enthusiastic e-bikersshowed the most positive attitudes toward e-bikes and mainly bought an e-bike to increase cycling frequency; (2)utilitarian e-bikersalready cycled regularly before having access to an e-bike and used the e-bike particularly for practical purposes and to reduce travel time; (3)recreational e-bikerswere very positive about e-bike use but used it less regularly and mainly for long-distance recreational trips. Enthusiastic e-bikers reported the highest increase in overall cycling. Half of the enthusiastic e-bikers agreed that they bought the e-bike to replace a car. Differences between the four age groups were less pronounced. Nevertheless, we found that e-bike access decreased age differences in self-reported cycling frequency, whereas it increased differences in self-reported distances. Measures to increase e-bike use should primarily focus on potential enthusiastic e-bikers. Possible interventions include promotional campaigns at workplaces, intended to address not only instrumental but also affective motives of e-bike use. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BackgroundIn Denmark patients are entitled to rehabilitation regardless of socio-economic status (SES). During this process therapists have to balance cost effectiveness with providing equal treatment.AimTo investigate whether occupational therapists and physiotherapists were influenced by the patient’s SES.Material and methodAn experimental factorial vignette survey was used. Four different vignettes describing fictitious patient cases with different SES variables were randomly allocated to therapists working in somatic hospitals. Thereafter, the therapists judged specific clinical situations and general attitudes in relation to the patient’s SES. Chi-square was used to test the statistical association between the variables.ResultsNo statistically significant associations were found between the specific clinical situations and the patient’s SES. A statistical significant association was found between general attitudes and the patient’s SES. Subgroup analysis revealed a statistically significant association between the therapist’s gender, age, and the therapeutic judgement in relation to SES.ConclusionIn the specific clinical situations, Danish therapists seem to maintain their professional ethical principles, although they might face ethical dilemmas during their clinical decision-making. In order to prevent and resolve these dilemmas, they have to be made explicit. However, further research on how SES influences the health care professional’s judgement is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The context of care in assertive community treatment (ACT) can be precarious and generate ethical issues involving the principles of autonomy and paternalism. This focus group study examined case managers’ situated accounts of moral reasoning. Our findings show how they expressed strong moral obligation towards helping the clients. Their moral reasoning reflected a paternalistic position where, on different occasions, the potential benefits of their interventions would be prioritised at the expense of protecting the clients’ personal autonomy. The case managers’ reasoning emphasised situational awareness, but there was a risk of supporting paternalistic interventions and denying the clients’ right to autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses upon the processes whereby individuals reframe their career goals and career direction mid-way through their working lives. Three cases, drawn from Denmark, Germany and Italy, are used to exemplify these processes. The cases are part of a larger study which included the development of a model that could accommodate the different ways in which learning could support labour market transitions across the life-course, where these transitions may involve shifts away from initial occupational identities. The model was used to inform the case analysis whereby career reframing processes could be viewed from three perspectives: reframing as a process of identity development, as a form of relational, emotional, practical and cognitive development and taking place within particular opportunity structures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Infertility and fertility treatment have the potential to impact and disrupt a couple's overall life. In order to study the associations between the impact of childlessness on one's life, and men and women's attitudes towards fertility treatment continuation and/or adoption, we analysed data from a one-year follow-up questionnaire in a prospective, longitudinal cohort study of consecutive couples initiating fertility treatment in Denmark. The study comprised 302 couples with no children at baseline and no joint children at one-year follow-up. In total, 71.9% of women and 72.5% of men reported that they wished to continue fertility treatment, while 20.2% of women and 19.2% of men reported that they wished to pursue adoption. The attitudes of nearly 8 in 10 couples were congruent towards further fertility treatments, while nearly 7 in 10 couples were congruent in their attitudes to pursuing adoption. Significantly more men who reported a lower impact of childlessness on their daily life wished to continue fertility treatment, compared with those reporting that childlessness had a greater impact on their life. Among women, significantly more were undecided about whether or not to pursue adoption when reporting a greater impact of childlessness on social life, compared with those reporting a lower impact of their childlessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents and discusses three different approaches to the exploration of the cross-media challenges facing news audiences, as they seek access to, navigate in and make sense of the multitude of news sources across print, broadcasting, online and mobile media platforms. From a modernized uses and gratifications perspective, based on the notion of “worthwhileness” as the determinant of people's everyday selections from the “supermarket of news”, the article first reports from a longitudinal survey study in Denmark in which the author's foundational mapping of cross-media news consumption in pre-mobile 2008 is compared with replicating mappings carried out in 2011 and 2012, in a collaborative project between academics and news publishers. The analytical interest here focuses on the fluctuations between traditional news media and the surging digital news outlets of the internet and mobile devices. Secondly, the article summarizes the findings of a qualitative study of citizens' news repertoires, which was fortified with a quantitative factor analysis in order to find patterns in people's news consumption. Thirdly, findings are presented from a 2013 study that explored ubiquitous news consumption, asking respondents to specify the nexus of news platform and location of use. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, two new theoretical perspectives on poverty in modern welfare societies have emerged: the perspective of ‘cumulative disadvantage’ and poverty individualisation. Both perspectives challenge traditional class-based poverty definitions. This article notes certain limitations that pertain to the relatively few empirical tests that have been performed to support these theories. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate that the results obtained depend largely on the type of poverty definition applied (income or deprivation), the actual data used (national or comparative) and the extent to which these data represent an observation period that is long enough to provide a reliable basis for testing the theories in question. The article concludes that because only few Danes experience long-term poverty and social exclusion, the combination of class and individual biography is important. In other words, structural conditions and, to a lesser degree, group risks drive individuals to the social margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we explore the construction of risk in government guidelines on alcohol intake during and before pregnancy in four Nordic countries given that there is no sound evidence linking a low level of alcohol intake during pregnancy to foetal harm. In the article we draw on two sources of data to examine the rationale behind the advice given to pregnant women: health education materials and other government documents, such as guidelines for professionals. We found that in all the four countries the government guidelines advised pregnant women to completely abstain from alcohol consumption, but there was some variation between the countries in the advice for non-pregnant women. The guidance in the four countries also differed in the extent to which they discussed the lack of evidence behind the abstinence advice and the precautionary approach on which the advice was based. In all the four countries the printed and widely circulated health education materials did not explain that the abstinence advice was not based on actual evidence of harm but on a precautionary approach. The other government documents adopted varying strategies for justifying the abstinence advice including not offering information about the uncertainty of the knowledge base, implying that there was evidence that low alcohol consumption was harmful to the foetus, acknowledging that a safe level of alcohol intake during pregnancy could not be specified and explaining the precautionary approach to risk. In this article we argue that the shift from ‘estimation of risk’ to the ‘precautionary principle’ is a part of a wider socio-cultural push towards broader employment of the precautionary principle as a strategy to manage uncertainty, and in the context of pregnancy, it is a part of the symbolic struggle to protect the purity of the foetus and construct the ‘perfect mother’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this study was to determine with whom Turkish and Danish school principals engage in reflective practice and how this interaction helps to develop them as reflective practitioners. A phenomenological approach was followed in the study. Data were collected from 37 school principals (24 from Istanbul and 13 from Copenhagen) who were serving in a variety of secondary schools (gymnasium) in Istanbul and Copenhagen during 2009–2010. The interview technique was used for data collection. The qualitative data obtained through interviews were analyzed employing the content analysis technique. According to the results of the study, school principals from both countries engage in reflective practice and develop their reflective thinking skills individually, with their colleagues/friends, mentors and administrative teams, and by participating in academic research as co-researchers. Danish principals (11/13) also engaged in reflective practice with their spouses (husband/wife/life partner/girl friend/boy friend), professional coaches, school boards, networks, and people from other sectors. The study led to the development of a conceptual framework of Principals’ Levels of Reflection and Network of Reflection. Based on the findings of the study, a framework of ‘Principals’ Levels of Reflection and Network of Reflection’ was proposed at the end of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Breast screening with mammography can be contentious because of its unintended harmful repercussions. A false-positive mammography is one of the most frequent harms and can encompass both short- and long-term psychosocial implications. Based on eight qualitative in-depth interviews with women who reported negative psychosocial consequences following a false-positive mammography, this article explores how women in the study experienced having a false-positive and how these experiences manifested themselves in a long-term perspective. This article draws on data from in-depth interviews with eight women in Denmark, in 2009, who had had false positive screening results approximately 5 years before the interview. Despite all participants having a self-perception of low risk of breast cancer, they regularly participated in screening. When receiving the recall letter and in the interim, the women perceived themselves as and identified with cancer patients and feared dying. When further investigation indicated that they did not have cancer, the women in the study treated this as an acquittal and expressed gratitude for the screening programme. However, their confrontation with an initial positive breast cancer diagnosis created concerns that the women still experienced and had to manage 4 to 5 years after the initial false-positive mammography. We argue that the psychosocial consequences of having the false-positive mammography contributed to the women’s view of themselves as being subjects at constant risk. However, the women did not blame the medical technology for its inaccuracy and inflicted worries, and the false-positive mammography did not lead to them losing confidence in screening. The women in the study strove for means to control the latent anxiety that was introduced with the false-positive mammography, by continuously seeking medical confirmation of their well-being and desiring more frequent screening. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: This article compares British and Danish promotion of well-being through participation in art activity to empower the individual. It examines the influence of national, social and political contexts on art and health community projects by comparing practice and project outcomes.Method: Based on two case studies, the article draws on specific evidence in Britain and Denmark. The approach taken is one of the psychosocial inquiries allowing reflection on practice including participants' testimonies.Results: The two cases showed comparable problems with restricted resources, funding and organisational limitations to service delivery. The British case study shows a bottom-up approach in contrast to the Danish case study where the approach is top-down. Although the benefits from participation in art activities in the two countries were influenced by a complex set of different interacting factors, outcomes were typically similarly positive: finding identity, feeling a sense of well-being and increased self-confidence.Conclusion: In terms of practice, policy and research and in the recognition of value of art participation, the comparison demonstrates how different stories, contexts and institutions engage in different ways to facilitate and enable service users as well as generating different challenges; recognising the benefits of developing best practice guidelines in art practice in health settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we examine how risk discourses related to health and physical activity are used and understood by the young people in a Danish school setting. We aim to give a detailed account of students’ experiences and to present their views on how they understand and comprehend matters concerning their own health. The study on which this article is based was designed to form the basis of an intervention through action research in the school setting. To undertake such an intervention, we needed to know what kind ofmeaningsthe students of upper secondary school impute tohealth,riskandphysical activityand to understand the dominant discourses of health in this setting. The article draws on four focus group interviews with secondary school students (N = 30 students). Groupings were created with equal numbers of boys and girls between the ages of 15 and 17 years, and all of the students are from middle class families. The focus group interviews were developed as group interviews that enabled participants share their views on health, risk and physical activity. We drew on risk sociology to analyse participants’ accounts of the opportunities and challenges provided by sports and physical activity in the upper secondary school setting. For the young people in our study, risk could be both enabling and constraining aspects of risk. Their everyday life was not marked by avoidance of risk and health issues. They pictured an ‘ideal of the civilised body’ – one that was not being fat – and they disciplined their action by doing fitness activities regardless of whether they liked them or not. For these young people, the sports and partying (including alcohol consumption) cultures were not in conflict but were part of the same culture of optimism and components of their prefered lifestyle. Such findings indicate that future health messages about sports/physical activity for young people should focus on positive contributions to life rather than judgement, deprivation and asceticism and that health promotion should be considered in terms of anaesthetic interest in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermarried couples in Denmark face a range of psychosocial challenges in the context of dominant discourses of homogeneity coexisting with ethnic diversity. This article deals with the couples’ managing of everyday life, mental health, well-being and implications for health promotion and counselling. The participants in this qualitative study (n = 10) are persons in mixed relationships where one partner is from South Asia and the other a native Dane, forming visibly ethnically different households [Phoenix, A. (2011). Psychosocial intersections: Contextualising the accounts of adults who grew up in visibly ethnically different households. In Lutz, V., & L. Supik (Eds.), Framing intersectionality: Debates on a multi-faceted concept in gender studies. Surrey: Ashgate]. The analysis indicates that internal, personal and family aspects, such as realistic plans, mixing everyday practices and focussing on the fun part, are in interplay with external aspects such as formal and informal acceptance of the intermarriage in society, dominant gender roles, recognition and inclusion for the mixed couples. Recognition of the significance of these aspects and practices is important for promoting positive mental health and well-being over the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores risk conceptions related to alcohol use among Danes who drink ‘too much’ (based on the National Health Board’s standards for safe drinking). It analyses drinking patterns and risk management strategies among interviewees from different socio-economic backgrounds, and explores the differences between the behaviours and conceptions of these individuals and the risk advice and definitions provided by health agencies. The article shows that people from different socio-economic backgrounds respond differently to the neo-liberal strategy of alcohol risk minimisation, with middle- and upper-class participants being more in tune with the public health ethos of alcohol consumer ‘autonomisation’ and ‘responsibilisation’. Cutting across socio-economic differences, though, are risk conceptions that clash with the public health model of risk prevention. While the risk communication of the health agencies builds on the logic of ‘a will to health’, drinkers at relatively high consumption levels tend to prefer other rationales, associating alcohol use with socialisation, pleasure and relaxation, and defining alcohol risks in terms of ‘addiction’ rather than detrimental health effects. The article contributes to the discussion of the ‘prevention paradox’, showing that rational initiatives at a general population level are not always comprehended as such at the individual level. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The powerful positive results of implementing teamwork are not always achieved. It has been suggested that attempts to implement theories regarding teamwork do not always lead to those theories being put into practice, and as a result positive outcomes are not always found. The participation of employees in the development and implementation of an intervention may help to ensure that changes take place. In this longitudinal study (N=583) of teamwork implementation in Denmark we examined the links between pre-intervention working conditions and well-being, levels of participation in planning and implementation, employees' reports of changes in procedures, and intervention outcomes. Pre-intervention levels of autonomy and job satisfaction predicted the degree of employee participation in the planning and implementation of the intervention. Pre-intervention well-being and social support were linked directly to the degree to which employees reported changes in existing work practices concerning teamwork. In addition, participation and changes in work procedures were significantly associated with post-intervention autonomy, social support and well-being. The results indicate that employee participation in intervention processes is crucial in what appears to be an important association with perceived changes in procedures and, therefore, in intervention outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

After a long history dominated by out-migration, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have, in the past 50 years, become immigration societies. This article compares how these Scandinavian welfare societies have sought to incorporate immigrants and refugees into their national communities. It suggests that, while the countries have adopted disparate policies and ideologies, differences in the actual treatment of and attitudes towards immigrants and refugees in everyday life are less clear, due to parallel integration programmes based on strong similarities in the welfare systems and in cultural notions of equality in the three societies. Finally, it shows that family relations play a central role in immigrants' and refugees' establishment of a new life in the receiving societies, even though the welfare society takes on many of the social and economic functions of the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender has largely been a hidden dimension in the Danish political debate about the European Community and Union. Yet, attempts have been made to construct a specific women's perspective, and to make space for it in the public debate. Focusing on the first four referendum campaigns held on the EC/ EU issue, the article describes the recurring features of these attempts and their changes in time. The more difficult bases for the definition of a common position "as women" in the 1990s, compared to 1972, are outlined, and the possible reasons for the difficulty discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]