BackgroundCardiovascular diseases estimate to be the leading cause of death and loss of disability-adjusted life years globally. Conventional risk factors for cardiovascular diseases only partly account for the social gradient. The purpose of this study was to compare the occurrence of the most frequent cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular mortality in two close cities, the Twin cities.MethodsWe focused on the total population in two neighbour and equally sized cities with a population of around 135 000 inhabitants each. These twin cities represent two different social environments in the same Swedish county. According to their social history they could be labelled a "blue-collar" and a "white-collar" city. Morbidity data for the two cities was derived from an administrative health care register based on medical records assigned by the physicians at both hospitals and primary care. The morbidity data presented are cumulative incidence rates and the data on mortality for ischemic heart diseases is based on official Swedish statistics.ResultsThe cumulative incidence of different cardiovascular diagnoses for younger and also elderly men and women revealed significantly differences for studied cardiovascular diagnoses. The occurrence rates were in all aspects highest in the population of the "blue-collar" twin city for both sexes.ConclusionsThis study revealed that there are significant differences in risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality between the populations in the studied different social environments. These differences seem to be profound and stable over time and thereby give implication for public health policy to initiate a community intervention program in the "blue-collar" twin city.

The health burden of myocardial infarction is rising for middle-aged women and they are underrepresented in research of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how life had been for middle-aged women before they suffered a myocardial infarction (MI). Through a health care register, we identified all women (n = 46) under 65 years of age in a defined region in southeast Sweden who had suffered an MI the past 2 years and a strategic selection of n = 16 women from these was made. These selected women were interviewed and their narratives were interpreted by qualitative content analysis. The qualitative interviews generated five general themes: "Serious life events", "Negative affectivity", "Loneliness", "Being a good girl" and "Lack of control". The interviews revealed that many of these women had been exposed to extreme and repeated traumatic life events in their lives. Many had a cynical attitude towards others, felt lonely and experienced a lack of social support. Many of these women endeavored to "be a good girl", which was a special psychosocial phenomenon found. This study uncovered that these women before they suffered an MI were affected by a variety of psychosocial factors. The study stresses the importance of psychosocial risk factors in the assessment of middle-aged women's risk profile for MI. A general conclusion for clinical practice is that in the assessment of the individual risk for myocardial infarction for middle-aged women, potential psychosocial factors might also be considered.

The study aimed to explore the experiences of participation among the next of kin of patients who had surgery for upper abdominal tumours. This study had a qualitative research design and data were analysed by thematic analysis. Eleven qualitative interviews were conducted with next of kin to patients who had surgery for liver, bile duct or pancreatic malignancy. The following themes emerged: from the shadows to an important role and an inviting and inhibiting environment for participation. Next of kin were a central part of their loved one’s care but often in the shadows. The next of kin described how they were not always invited and often they had to struggle to get involved. Next of kin often have a major psychosocial role to supporting the patient during and after discharge, and therefore need to be invited and involved in the whole care process.

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The World Health Organization (1998) defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not just the absence of illness and disability."Family is the composition of a self-defined group that includes two or more people. The bond between family members is not dependent on law or blood ties but is defined by a member's experience of belonging to a family (Whall, 1986). Family is self-defined and beyond blood ties, which thus opens a diversity of different family constellations. The feeling of a strong sense of belonging is fundamental (Wright & Leahey, 2013). The well-being of a family is intertwined between each member, and individual changes in members can create ill health in the whole family. Kakkinen and Hanson (2015, p. 5) define family health as "a dynamic changing relative state of well-being which includes the biological, psychological, spiritual, sociological and cultural factors of the family systems." To maintain perceived health, communication is a cornerstone that creates balance within the family and thereby the power to resist external influences. Each family has its own culture regarding function and structure, which can change over time. A nurse needs to understand the family's structure and culture to best support the family in a crisis (Kakkinen & Hanson, 2015).