Fibromyalgia and instrument development
The main focus of my research has been studies of women with fibromyalgia. My principal interest has been their working situation, and what the situation is for recently diagnosed women.
Additionally, work on developing instruments is going on in the field – instruments that assess the impact of symptoms on daily life as well as an instrument to measure quality of life. Instrument development will also be the subject of further research, from a cultural perspective.
Research projects
Another long term disease is coeliac disease, and in this area I have now, in collaboration with other researchers, sent out a questionnaire to a large number of people in Östergötland county. This will contribute to increasing knowledge about what it is like to live with coeliac disease.
A third-cycle project concerned with girls and women with Rett syndrome is investigating the daily-life activity patterns of people with multiple functional disabilities.
Another project, of which I am the assistant supervisor, is studying different dimensions of pain – not just the physical one – and the development of self-care measures in clients with head and neck cancer, and their families.Teaching on the Occupational Therapy programme
I lecture future occupational therapists on gender theory and diary methodology. Further consequences in living with chronic pain and on the occupational therapist’s work tasks for clients with chronic pain.
Supervision of doctoral students
I am the main supervisor of Åsa Sernheim, a doctoral student on the research project “Activity and severe multiple disabilities – Rett syndrome ”.
I am assistant supervisor of two research projects:
- ”Pain related to head and neck cancer: identifications, implementation and evaluation of self care measures due to the illness”, doctoral student Anne Schaller, the Department of Medical and Health Sciences (IMH).
- “Instrument development for cultural competence”, doctoral student Jane Holstein, the Department of Social and Welfare Studies (ISV).
