Search results

Background: The aim of the study was to illuminate users' experiences of a website aimed at helping relatives of persons with depression. Material: Data was collected through forum posts, a usability scale and focus groups, and was analyzed using content analysis. Discussion: The diary and forum seemed to fill different and valuable functions (i.e. think tank, exchange of stories), allowing communication with the self and others. Conclusions: The website www.sommarregn.se has the potential to work as an empowering self-help instrument online, representing a viable medium to help relatives cope. Its usability can be enhanced through further development.

Background: Families living with mental illness experience added burden and need information and support. Aim: This aim of this study was to explore the experiences of families living close to a depressed individual. Methods: Eighteen persons were interviewed individually or in focus groups. Data was analysed using a grounded theory-inspired methodology. Results: Most participants expressed a feeling of not living their own life, struggling to balance relationships, adapting to and re-evaluating their life circumstances, and struggling to voice their ill relatives' and their own needs. Conclusions: More can be done to help and sustain hope in the relatives of persons with depression.

ABSTRACTIn 2021, we were designing a research study in Sweden in which we planned to use newspaper articles focusing on children and adolescents under the age of eighteen during the Covid‐19 pandemic as empirical material. As we developed this study, an ethical question arose: do studies using journalistic articles that may contain health information about individuals as empirical material have to be approved by an ethics review committee? Sweden, in contrast to other countries, requires the approval of an ethics review committee for the use of publicly available material in research when such material might include sensitive personal data such as health‐related information. This case study calls for harmonized laws and policies that support global research by clarifying what kinds of empirical material and what types of research must be assessed by national ethics review committees, including with consideration for children's safety and rights.

Based on experiences from multiple international research projects, spanning several decades and utilizing various forms of collaborative ethnographic approaches, this article aims to reflect on challenges and potentials regarding language and communication when researching across jurisdictions. Thematically, the research projects that we draw on in this paper, are concerned with aging and healthcare, while the primary focus of the paper remains on the methodological implications of conducting international, collaborative, and time-intensive ethnography. Moreover, the aim is to contribute to enhancing researchers' awareness of and preparedness to meet and address such challenges in future research endeavors. The article discusses how English often serves as a lingua franca for Western-dominated international research collaborations, having implications for researchers and study participants alike, as well as the use of interpreters and potential linguistic pitfalls. In the article, we argue that attention and reflection on language and communication in research are significant for how collaboration in research transpires, the opted methodical choices, and, ultimately, for research quality, while often being under-appreciated. International ethnographic fieldwork requires thorough preparation and reflection to properly handle linguistic and cultural competencies, nuances, and understandings incorporated in the researchers, with subsequent consequences for research processes and outcomes.

Based on experiences from multi-sited, rapid ethnographic fieldwork about age-friendly communities, the article aims at shedding light and reflecting on the encountered challenges and potentials regarding language and communication. Moreover, the aim is to contribute to enhancing researchers' awareness of and preparedness to meet and address such challenges in future research endeavors. As English often serves as a lingua franca for Western-dominated international research collaborations, the implications thereof for researchers/participants, the use of interpreters, and linguistic pitfalls are discussed. Such attention is significant for international collaboration, methodical choices, and research quality. International rapid ethnographic fieldwork requires thorough preparation and reflection to properly handle linguistic and cultural competencies, nuances, and understandings incorporated in the researchers, with subsequent consequences for research processes/ outcomes.