Læknablaðið : fylgirit - 01.08.2003, Síða 53

ABSTRACTS / 27TH NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC CONGRESS I
taped and analysed according to the hermeneutic-phenomeno-
logical approach, grounded theory, and discourse analysis.
Recovery is a unique and personal journey; a way of living,
satisfied, hopeful and contributing to society despite limitations
caused by illness. Seven keys of recovery were identified, both
individual and environmental characteristics which empower re-
covery. The findings are consistent with international research on
recovery which has implications for policy, practice and research.
Mental health service outcome measures are needed to generate
comparable data across counlries. Findings could promote develop-
ment of services driven by client perspective on recovery. Client-
based research provides a unique and challenging vision on the
journey of recovery for the mental health system.
S-XXIV/3 Saturday 16/8,11:00-12:30
Depressed women and silencing of the self
Bergþóra Reynisdóttir, Psychiatric Nurse Specialist, Liljan ehf, Vallargerði 10, 200
Kópavogi, Iceland
Hljan@isl.is
Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate how women who have
been diagnosed with depression experience their relationship with
health care professionals. Hermeneutic phenomenology was chosen
as a methodology for the study. This method aims at exploring,
explaining, and presenting how people experience, interpret and
give meaning to incidents occurring in their lives. Nine Icelandic
women, aged 39-68, participated in the study. Data was collected
with interviews and four main themes emerged from the interpreta-
tion of the data: 1) understanding emotional disturbance, 2) “silen-
cing the self', 3) prejudice, 4) finding own way out of emolional iso-
lation.
Results: The findings of this study indicate that women’s emotion
strongly effects their communication with health care professionals.
They found it most important that the health care professionals
showed them respect and empathy, and that they assisted them to
overcome emotional sufferings. All the participants described
experience of impersonal communication on behalf of the health
care workers, conimunication in which they were neither heard nor
listened to. The women found that decisions concerning their
treatment were taken without their consent.
Conclusion: It is concluded that from the perspective of these
Women, fundamental principles in ethics and communication are
not upheld by the health care professionals.
words: depression, tvomen, health care professionals, communication, emotional
suffering.
S-XXIV/4 Friday 16/8,11:00-12:30
The worker role interview - a powerful tool in icelandic
work rehabilitation
Hín Ebba Ásmundsdóttir. Chief Occupational Therapist, University Hospital,
Psychiatry, Laugavegi 53A. 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
ehhaQPIan dsp itali. is
A pilot-study using the Worker Role Interview (WRI) was conduc-
ted to gather information from clients attending a work-rehabilita-
tion programme in an Icelandic psychiatric centre. The work reha-
bilitation programme traditionally used a performance-capacity-
oriented assessment (PCA) to evaluate clients’ work readiness.
Clients scoring 90% or higher on the PCA were considered able to
re-enter the job market. However, scoring over the cut off of 90%
did not result in automatic return to work for the majority of clients.
As a result many questions were proposed about the effectiveness
of the PCA to predict client ability to re-enter the work force. A
pilot study using the Worker Role Inlerview was conducted with an
aim to gain insight into what barriers prevented clients from enter-
ing the work force. Ten clients scoring 90% or over on the PCA
were interviewed using the WRI. Qualitative methods were used to
analyze the data. Results from the WRI indicated that clients failed
to join the work force due to a number of psychosocial factors such
as lack of personal causation and self-efficacy combined with
environmental factors. The WRI provided clients with an opportu-
nity to express their attitudes and opinions towards work. Informa-
tion gained through the WRI also gave new direction in goal setting
for the work rehabilitation programme and validated the need to
expand occupational therapy services.
S - XXIV / 5 Saturday 16/8, 11:00-12:30
Psychosocial impact of automatic implantable
cardioverter defibrillators on lcelandic patients
Sveinn Eggertsson, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, University of Iceland, Odda
við Sturlugötu, Reykjavík, Iceland. Margrét Leósdóttir, Davíð Ottó Arnar, Engil-
bert Sigurðsson.
sveinne@hi.is
The objective of this study was to assess the psychosocial impact of
automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) on Ice-
landic patients. Interviews were conducted wilh 11 ICD recipients,
who were asked to describe their experiences of having an ICD;
how it has affected the quality of their lives, images of self and
future aspirations. Most of the people interviewed accepted the
presence of the ICD as necessary and positive, giving them a feeling
of security. In a general sense the ICD was not a focus of preoccu-
pation for most of the people interviewed, other aspects of their
lives, such as ill state of health, social isolation or loss of mernory
being of greater concern.
S-XXIV/6 Saturday 16/8,11:00-12:30
Imagination? - The image-making faculty and clinical
assessment
Haukur Ingi Jónasson, MPhil, Psychoanalyst, Union Theological Scminary (Colum-
bia University), Garðastræti 17,101 Reykjavík, Iceland
haukuringi@hotmail.com
The current reductionistic biochemical trend within psychiatry is of
undeniable value. However, it is of vital importance to emphasize
within the profession the need to assess mental disturbances as they
get manifested in the subjective experience of the patient and work
with his/her imagination accordingly. If not, modern psychiatry
might run the risk of creating a generation of psychiatrist and
mental care workers that are incapable of utilizing the clinical tools
LÆKNABLAÐIÐ / FYLGIRIT 48 2003/89 53