Nurses are to be aware of sensory stimulation as a possible intervention to improve persons' quality of life.

The aim of this study was to explore undocumented migrant women's subjective experiences of their health conditions and access to health care. The study is based on eight qualitative interviews with undocumented migrant women and eight qualitative interviews with health personnel at a health center for undocumented migrants in Oslo. The women were recruited by self-selection from patients at the health center. Both the women and the health professionals related the women's health problems to their living conditions. Even though all of the women had extremely difficult living situations, their living conditions varied. Some lived in an apartment with a partner. Some had to move among the homes of various friends and had to be out all day while those friends were at work. The women with paid work had more structured daily lives than the others, with living situations that gave them some opportunities for rest and privacy. Domestic work in the black market for labor was associated with health problems due to the heavy and repetitive tasks performed while cleaning private homes. Limited rights to health care, fear of being reported, financial difficulties and poor language skills were mentioned as barriers to health care. These barriers lead to delay in seeking medical care and use of alternative health-seeking strategies. Factors that indirectly affected the health of the women included a lack of knowledge of both their rights and the available services in Norway. The pregnant women were unaware of their right to receive prenatal care.

There is a need for a systematic approach to provide sufficient support to spouses throughout their partners' dementia progressions to assist their ongoing involvement.

Healthcare personnel must recognise the severity of some spouses' experiences of losing couplehood and be aware of how these experiences can fluctuate and be situation dependent.

The experience of homelessness not only affects physical health, but can also constrain access to required health care. In a number of European countries, national strategies to tackle homelessness have sought to deliver integrated solutions across housing, health and other social policy areas. This article examines approaches to meeting the health care needs of homeless people in relation to such strategies, drawing upon recent research in Norway and Scotland. The article presents a comparative analysis of approaches to service provision in relation to welfare models and the concepts of universal and specialist provision. The analysis suggests a cross-national shift in the conceptualisation of appropriate responses to the health care needs of those who experience homelessness. The provision of some specialist health services, while reflecting a selective model of welfare, need not be solely interpreted as conflicting with a more universal model of ensuring access to mainstream services. Rather, the challenge is to recognise the need for a process approach which supports an effective transition from the (sometimes necessary) use of specialist services for this group, towards (the ideal of) full integration into mainstream health care.