Kulturelle aktiviteter - Et nyt initiativ indenfor forebyggelse af stress

Abstract

Baggrund: Stress er et stigende folkesundhedsproblem. I Danmark ses der en stigende prævalens af stress til trods for, at der er et stort udbud af stressforebyggende tiltag. Stress medfører konsekvenser for både samfundet og det enkelte individ og anses for at være et komplekst begreb, da det er individuelt, hvad der forårsager stress. Ydermere er det individuelt og afhængig af individets ressourcer, hvordan stress håndteres. Det tyder på, at de nuværende tiltag ikke formår at rumme den kompleksitet, hvorved der opstår et forandringspotentiale. Indenfor forebyggelse af stress ses der en ny tilgang med et salutogenetisk fokus, der inddrager kulturelle aktiviteter. Formål: Dette speciale har til formål at undersøge, hvordan kulturelle aktiviteter kan øge individets mestringsevne i forhold til stress. Herunder belyse muligheder og begrænsninger ved inddragelse af kulturelle aktiviteter i kommunale forebyggelsestiltag, således at kommunernes handlemuligheder indenfor forebyggelse af stress forandres. Metode: Medical Research Council Guidelines anvendes som den overordnede ramme, og der tages udgangspunkt i Antonovskys teori om oplevelse af sammenhæng (OAS) samt Banduras teori om self-efficacy. For at afdække problemstillingen tages der udgangspunkt i en case Kulturvitaminer ved Aalborg Kommune. Der udføres deltagende observationer af to aktiviteter og foretages individuelle interviews af fire deltagere fra tiltaget. Derudover laves der et litteraturstudie med udgangspunkt i en systematisk bloksøgning for de enkelte aktiviteter for at belyse, hvilken evidens der findes ved anvendelse af kulturelle aktiviteter i relation til stress. Der anvendes endvidere en hermeneutisk analysestrategi for at skabe en dybere forståelse af fænomenet mestring af stress. Resultater: De kvalitative undersøgelser viser, at de kulturelle aktiviteter øger mestringevnen igennem gode oplevelser, øgede ressourcer samt en styrket tro på egne evner blandt andet fordi, der ikke er fokus på sygdom. Jobcenterets funktion, i relation til rekruttering af deltagere, kan forbedres, da deltagerne oplever mangelfuld information fra jobcenteret. Derudover fremkom det, at Kulturkoordinatoren, Kulturguiderne og de andre deltagere er af stor betydning for mestringsevnen. Ydermere kan selve tiltagets koncept medvirke til øget mestring ved gentagne aktiviteter, længere forløb og færre kursusgange om ugen. Flere af informanterne efterspørger dog konkrete redskaber til at håndtere deres situation med. I litteraturstudiet fremkommer der få artikler, og litteraturen peger på, at kulturelle aktiviteter ikke kan stå alene i et stressforebyggende tiltag. Konklusion: I forebyggelsen af stress ses et forandringspotentiale i forhold til at inddrage kulturelle aktiviteter. Disse kan dog ikke stå alene, hvorved der skal inkluderes redskaber, som kan understøtte mestring af stress. Der er dog manglende evidens omkring anvendelse af kulturelle aktiviteter til forebyggelse af stress, og der anbefales derfor yderligere forskning.

Abstract Background: Stress is an increasing problem to public health. There is increasing prevalence of stress in Denmark, despite a massive range of stress preventive interventions. Stress is having an impact on both society as a hole and the individuals within it. Stress is also a complex term, since the cause of stress is different for each person. Furthermore, it is individual and dependent on the individual's resources, how stress is handled. This indicates that the current interventions fail to accommodate the complexity of stress, this creates a potential for change. Within the field of preventive interventions against stress, there is a new tendency towards a salutogenic focus that uses cultural activities. Aim: The purpose of this master is to study how cultural activities can improve the individuals copingstrategy. In addition, illuminate the options and limitations in the use of cultural activities as a preventive intervention for a municipal, for the municipal to change its cause of action in the field of stress preventive interventions. Method: Medical Research Council Guidelines is used as the main framework, and is based on Antonovsky’s theory sense of coherence (SOC) and Bandura’s theory of Self-efficacy. To cover the problem, this master is based on a case Culturevitamins at the municipality of Aalborg. Participative observations are made of two activities and individual interviews are conducted by four participants from the intervention. In addition, a literature study is conducted based on a systematic search strategy including the individual activities. This is done to illustrate what evidence exists regarding use of cultural activities in relation to stress. Furthermore, a hermeneutic analysis strategy is used for a deeper understand the phenomenon of stress management. Results: The qualitative studies show that the participants of the cultural activities can increase their copingstrategy through good experiences, increased resources, as well as strengthen the belief in their own abilities, partly because there is no focus on illness. The function of the employment center, regarding recruitment of participants for the Culturalvitamins, can be improved as the participants experience inadequate information. The studies also show, that social relations between participants and the cultural coordinator, the cultural guides and the other participants are of great importance to coping with stress. Moreover, the concept of the intervention can by repetitive activities, longer courses and fewer sessions per week contribute to an increased ability to cope with stress. However, several of the informants request concrete techniques to handle their own situation. Few articles emerged from the literature review, and the literature suggests that cultural activities can’t stand alone when coping with stress. Conclusion: There is a potential for change by using cultural activities as a preventive intervention of stress. However cultural activities can’t stand alone, techniques in coping with stress must support the activities. There is little evidence regarding use of cultural activities as a preventive measure of stress, and further research is recommended.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Kulturelle aktiviteter - Et nyt initiativ indenfor forebyggelse af stress

[Cultural activities - A new initiative in preventing stress]