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The purpose of this study was to analyse the actual routines surrounding the use of peripheral cannulae and the occurrence of complications. Thirty surgery patients and 30 internal medicine patients were observed daily at a medium-sized hospital. The patients were followed from the time the cannula was inserted until after withdrawal and until both the insertion site and the vein were free from pain. The results showed that most of the cannulae were placed on the upper side of the hand and sizes most frequently used were 1.0 and 1.2 mm. The fixation was unsatisfactory in 23 cases already after the second day. Twenty-three cannulae were removed after 24 hours. Thirty-seven (62%) patients were stated to have thrombophlebitis phlebitis in different degrees. Only seven cannulae fulfilled the criteria for good cannula care and handling. The frequency of complication was especially high when fructose-glucose, antibiotics or anticoagulants were given. There was no documentation in the patient record, according to current laws in Sweden. The complications observed were redness, swelling, haematoma, subcutaneous swelling and suppurating infection. The study showed that the longer the cannula had been in situ, the greater were the complications (very distinct after 24 hours). The care and handling was unsatisfactory to very unsatisfactory in 52% of the cases. Complications can last for a very long time. In this research, pain was noted up to 5 months after the cannulae were removed.

The ageing of populations has been a topic of discussion during the last few decades, but how is this subject represented in the media, and what images of old age are produced? In this article we present the results of a quantitative content analysis that investigates how the concept of population ageing has been represented in Swedish local and national daily news press between 1988 and 2009, and the old age positions that are offered in these representations. We also use discourse analysis in order to qualitatively examine the ways in which the concept of population ageing is articulated in these news press articles and the old age positions that are thereby constituted. The results show that the concept is constituted as a naturalised expert concept, and is primarily used in order to contextualise articles about future political and economical difficulties or even crises. By articulating population ageing with both political policies, political economy and older people's (as a group) reported need for care and services, population ageing was constituted as a political economic concern rather than a problem for the aged individual.

Deficient routines in use, care, handling and documentation of peripheral intravenous vein cannulae (PIV) have previously been reported, and complications have been noted in 50-75% of the patients. The aim of the study was to examine whether specially trained nurses change their actions to decrease complications when using cannulae. The study included 36 nurses assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group followed an education programme explaining how to use and take care of a PIV. To evaluate the intervention document analysis, observations and patient interviews were performed in 99 patients with 172 PIVs in situ for less than 24 h. After the education programme, fewer complications, more carefully performed care and handling, and better documentation and information were found in the experimental group. Nurses in the control group followed current routines, which resulted in a greater degree of complications. Education in evidence-based care and handling gives nurses the opportunity to improve their ability to use theoretical knowledge in clinical problems.

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a b s t r a c tA recurring question in regional and national politics in Sweden is how Norrland e a sparsely populated and partly declining region in the north of the country e will be able to survive in the long run. The answer to this question varies between different political parties. With Swedish parliamentary material (non-government bills) as the point of departure this paper examines how the region of Norrland is used and created in political rhetoric. Four discourses were identified that all tried to fixate Norrland in different ways. The paper argues that pro-Norrland arguments may be counterproductive on a discursive level due to how they are organised. By identifying two dominant logics that traversed the different discourses and affected the processes of meaning making, we describe how pro-Norrland arguments that differ ideologically and/or employ different discourses reproduced a common view of Norrland as an inherently rural, remote and problematic area.

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