Christina Melin-Johansson

Forskningsområde

The main research area is approaches to palliative care with a focus on existential aspects and conversations in health care and education.

Bakgrund

Classic existential questions are meaning, death, freedom and loneliness, and can be linked to the physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, labour and educational dimensions. When life is threatened by severe illness, these issues come to the fore and become 'real'.

Forskningsområden

The focus of the research area is conversations when severe illness and existential aspects as questions of meaning for patients and their relatives, as well as students in health and social care. Research in healthcare and education has not routinely related to existential aspects in palliative care, although these are of importance in relation to individuals' well-being, ability to cope with illness, caring and students' learning. The project is interdisciplinary and is carried out in co-operation with higher education institutions in Sweden and Iceland. The goal is to use quantitative and qualitative methods and complex interventions to increase patients' well-being, deepen knowledge about conversations in palliative care and its implementation, and increase nursing students' knowledge of existential issues.

Forskning

The research group brings together researchers and teachers who have an interest in developing and deepening palliative care with a focus on existential issues in a pallitive nursing and learning context. The research programme: Talk for life - conversations in palliative care includes four sub-projects:
1. Health care professionals' experiences of discussing existential issues with seriously ill people in specialised palliative care and in nursing homes, more information in Swedish crb.uu.se/2025/03/25/existentiella-samtal-inom-palliativ-vard/
2. Palliative care consultants' experiences of being consulted by colleagues on existential issues,
3. Health care professionals' experiences of discussing existential issues with children and adolescents and their families,
4. Doctors' and nurses' perceptions of the HOPE form
usefulness as a conversation tool and how existential support is experienced in the care of patients with palliative care needs.

Other ongoing projects:
- Palliative education intervention in Bräcke Diakoni's elderly care programme elderly care in collaboration with the Betania Foundation and Ersta Sköndal Bräcke Sköndal Bräcke University College - development, introduction and
evaluation
- Nursing students' attitudes in undergraduate and postgraduate education to care for dying patients
- Palliative care during Covid-19 - an AFA project on the
the impact of the work environment on the quality of care and health of healthcare professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Undervisning

Postgraduate education
-Qualitative methodology
Advanced level - Master in nursing
- Philosophy of science, ethics and evidence-based nursing

Övrigt

Akademiska meriter och examen

I am affiliated to Marie Cedershiöld university college

2020 Professor at the Department of Nursing Mid Sweden University, Campus Östersund.

2018 Professor in nursing science with a specialisation in palliative care Marie Cedershiöld University.

2016 Associate Professor in Nursing

2007 PhD

2001 Specialist nurse specialising in the community

1999 Specialist nurse specialising in surgery

1996 Registered nurse