During the last decades, the work of homecare nurses has been affected by several changes, including an aging population, the decentralization of health care, nursing recruitment crises and the scarcity of public resources. Few scholars have analyzed how these changes have impacted homecare nursing. In this article, we describe and discuss aspects of homecare nurses’ work, with specific focus on nurses “organising work.” We outline three phenomena that are increasingly occurring: (a) homecare nurses are frequently involved in negotiating care level and, consequently, what kind of care the patient will receive; (b) homecare nurses’ clinical practice has become increasingly advanced; and (c) and homecare nurses play an important role in coordinating care among interdependent actors. The article draws on material from participant observation and interviews with homecare nurses in two Norwegian studies. Changes in work practice increase the demand for nurses to be competent and have excellent organizational and collaborative skills.

Psychiatric rehospitalisation is often seen as a negative outcome in terms of healthcare quality and cost, as well as potentially hindering the process of recovery. The purpose of our study was to explore psychiatric rehospitalisation from a service-user perspective, paying attention to how rehospitalisation can be avoided. Eight focus groups, including a total of 55 mental health service users, were conducted in six European countries (Austria, Finland, Italy, Norway, Romania, and Slovenia). The results were analysed using systematic text condensation. All participants had been in touch with mental health services for at least one year, and had experienced more than one psychiatric hospitalisation. Participants emphasised the importance of discharge planning and psychoeducation both during and after the hospital stay, as well as the benefits of structured plans, coping strategies, self-monitoring techniques, and close contact with local community services.Social contacts and meaningful activities were also considered to be critical, as was support from peers and family members. Efforts to avoid psychiatric rehospitalisation should include actions that support a functional day-to-day life, improve coping strategies, and build on cross-sectoral collaboration. The study emphasises the need for psychoeducational and psychosocial interventions, starting already during the inpatient stay.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the structural mechanisms that facilitate or counteract collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and other providers of municipal healthcare. Good collaboration between these actors is crucial for high-quality care, especially for persons in need of coordinated services. Material and methods: The study is based on semistructured interviews with 12 healthcare providers in four Norwegian municipalities: four GPs, six nurses and two physiotherapists. Results: GPs are key collaborating partners in the healthcare system. Their ability to collaborate is affected by a number of structural conditions. Mostly, this leads to GPs being too little involved in potential collaborative efforts: (i) individual GPs prioritize with whom they want to collaborate among many possible collaborative partners, (ii) inter-municipal constraints hamper GPs in contacting collaboration partners and (iii) GPs fall outside the hospital-municipality collaboration. Conclusions: We argue a common leadership for primary care services is needed. Furthermore, inter-professional work must be a central focus in the planning of primary care services. However, a dedicated staff, sufficient resources, adequate time and proper meeting places are needed to accomplish good collaboration.

Psychiatric re-hospitalisation is considered costly and disruptive to individuals. The perspective of the mental health service user is largely unexplored in literature. The purpose of our study was to explore service users’ experiences of psychiatric re-hospitalisation across six countries in Europe. Eight focus groups were conducted in Romania, Slovenia, Finland, Italy, Austria and Norway. A total of 55 service users participated in the study. All participants had been in receipt of mental health services for at least 1 year, and had experienced more than one psychiatric hospitalisation. The experience of re-hospitalisation was considered: (1) less traumatising than the first hospitalisation, (2) to be necessary, and a relief, (3) occurring by default and without progress, (4) part of the recovery process. Psychiatric re-hospitalisation was considered inevitable by the study participants, in both positive and negative terms. Striking similarities in service user experiences were found across all of the six countries, the first experience of psychiatric hospitalisation emerging as especially significant. Findings indicate the need for further action in order to develop more recovery and person-centred approaches within hospital care. For psychiatric inpatient care to be a positive part of the recovery process, further knowledge on what therapeutic action during the hospital stay would be beneficial, such as therapy, activities and integration with other services.