Adolescent girls today suffer from internalizing problems such as somatic symptoms and mental health problems at higher rates compared to those of previous decades, and effective interventions are warranted. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of participating in an 8-month dance intervention. This qualitative study was embedded in a randomized controlled trial of a dance intervention for adolescent girls with internalizing problems. A total of 112 girls aged 13–18 were included in the study. The dance intervention group comprised 59 girls, 24 of whom were strategically chosen to be interviewed. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. The experiences of the dance intervention resulted in five generic categories: (1) An Oasis from Stress, which represents the fundamental basis of the intervention; (2) Supportive Togetherness, the setting; (3) Enjoyment and Empowerment, the immediate effect; (4) Finding Acceptance and Trust in Own Ability, the outcome; and (5) Dance as Emotional Expression, the use of the intervention. One main category emerged, Finding Embodied Self-Trust That Opens New Doors, which emphasizes the increased trust in the self and the ability to approach life with a sense of freedom and openness. The central understanding of the adolescent girls’ experiences was that the dance intervention enriched and gave access to personal resources. With the non-judgmental atmosphere and supportive togetherness as a safe platform, the enjoyment and empowerment in dancing gave rise to acceptance, trust in ability, and emotional expression. Taken together, this increased self-trust and they discovered a new ability to “claim space.” Findings from this study may provide practical information on designing future interventions for adolescent girls with internalizing problems.

An 8-month dance intervention can improve self-rated health for adolescent girls with internalizing problems. The improvement remained a year after the intervention.

This is the unspecified version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link AcknowledgementsWe convey our thanks to the Swedish Institute for their support. We also acknowledge Professor PerOlof Sandman for valuable comments on the manuscript. FundingThis study was supported by a stipend from the Swedish Institute and by internal funding from the Karolinska Institutet. The sponsors did not have any role in the design, execution, report writing, or decisions regarding the publication of the research reported in this paper. Conflict of interestNone reported. 1 ABSTRACT Aim and objective:To describe people's experiences of living with dementia in Iran.Background: A knowledge gap exists regarding the experiences of living with dementia in

An education programme for individuals with Parkinson's disease. People with Parkinson's disease (PD) have to face a lot of ongoing sickness - depending on limitations in daily life and society. Ability for optimal living demands knowledge about the sickness, medications, side-effects and knowledge about the best way to go on living with PD. In this study, 43 persons with PD participated in an outpatient programme based on the structure of connection model. The programme consisted of two weekly 2-h sessions for 5 weeks. Each session consisted of 1 h of dialogue and 1 h of physical performance. The two teachers in the programme were registered nurse and registered physiotherapist. The programme was evaluated with focus on participants' psychosocial situation, mobility and activity in daily living. Participating in the programme gave these individuals an improved psychosocial situation and improved mobility pattern. However, these improvements were not transferred to habitual daily life, which suggests that task-oriented training provides the best solution.

A chronic disorder affects all members of the family in various ways. The aim of this study is to elucidate the next of kin's (N= 36) experiences when an adult family member has muscular dystrophy. The relationships were partner (36%, n= 14), parent (18%, n= 7), child (21%, n= 8), sibling (15%, n= 6), and other relative (3%, n= 1). Latent content analysis is employed and involves an interpretation of the interviewtext. The results showthe meaning of being close to a person with muscular dystrophy through the themes that emerged: exposure of the family; the span between obligation and love; being vigilant, protective, and supportive; and striving for an ordinary life. This study reveals a need for healthcare staff to understand the next of kin's narrated meaning of changes when a family member has a progressive disease.