Caring in Community Care – Zarina Nahar Kabir's research group

The group’s research encompasses community care in the context of ageing, e-Health and mental health from a caring science and public health perspective. Social support including care by informal or family caregivers is a crucial and integral component of care of older persons in a society. The focus of the research group is to address multidimensional challenges of ageing globally, including support to family caregivers, their health and e-nursing.

Our mission is to:

  1. support older persons in promoting and sustaining health,
  2. support families (caregivers) to promote and sustain family health and well-being,
  3. support health and social care professionals and facilitate sustainable development within care organizations,
  4. generate knowledge and evidence for policy making and practice regarding care of older persons, family caregiving and family health. 

Core values of the group include having global as well as local perspective, inter-professionalism, cross-disciplinary with special attention to sustainability and equity with a futuristic outlook.

Some of the research topics addressed by the group are family caregiving, ageing in the community, family participation in patient care, digital health interventions, solutions, health promotion, quality care (Swedish: god vård), family centered care, dignity, empathy/compassion, social inclusion.

Research focus

The focus of the research group is to address multidimensional challenges of ageing globally, including support to family caregivers, their health and support using digital health interventions solutions. Use of digital health interventions in community settings, e.g., health and social care services for older persons in primary care setting is a major research focus of the group. 

  • Ageing and family caregiving: Global population is ageing as never before. Human ageing is complex with multidimensional health challenges of older persons. Organisation of primary health care is set up at different levels in Sweden, such as the county and municipality level, to meet the needs of older persons in the community.  Social support including care by informal or family caregivers is a crucial and integral component of care of older persons in a society. 
  • Digital health interventions in community care: Given the rapidly increasing digital literacy in Sweden and globally, digital health interventions offer a practical platform for health care professionals, by using electronic processes and communication, in providing timely support to populations across the life span including adolescents, youth, young and older adults and as well as family caregivers. Use of digital health interventions in community settings in both urban and rural areas, e.g., care services for older persons at municipalities, schools, youth clinics, and particularly from the perspective of health promotion and disease prevention is an evolving research focus of the group.

The research group Caring in Community Care consists of researchers in various stages of their career. It is a multi-disciplinary group representing, geriatric nursing, public health, gerontology, family nursing, epidemiology, occupational therapy, paediatric nursing, psychology and social work.

Publications

Selected publications

All publications from group members

Funding

Grants

  • m-Health based intervention by community workers to support family caregivers to persons with dementia living at home
    Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research
  • Yoga and hypertension
    Trygfonden
  • Use of mHealth in caring of family caregivers of persons with dementia
    Karolinska Institutet
  • Scholarship for doctoral studies
    Karolinska Institute
  • Care of Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia (CAFCA): Mobile Application to Reduce Stress and Improve Quality of Life
    Karolinska Institutet
  • Family caregivers in caring of older persons and use of m-health
    Karolinska Institutet
  • Care of Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia (CAFCA): Mobile Application to Reduce Caregiver Stress and Improve Quality of Life
    Strategic Research Area-Care Sciences, (SFO-V), Karolinska Institute
  • Stress Alleviating Mobile Application for Caregivers (SAMAC): A Feasibility Study
    Karolinska Institutet
  • Engaging Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia and Nurses in the Development of Stress Alleviating Mobile Application for Caregivers
    Karolinska Institutet
  • Care of Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia (CAFCA): Mobile Application to Reduce Caregiver Stress and Improve Quality of Life
    Strategic Research Area-Care Sciences, (SFO-V), Karolinska Institute
  • Building partnership for better health
    European Commission
  • International Network on Public Health and Aging (INOPA)
    Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research
  • Dementia in Bangladesh
    Stiftelsen för ålderssjukdomar
  • Poverty and health in ageing in rural Bangladesh
    Swedish International Development Corporation/Swedish Research Link
  • Primary Health-care in Later Life: Improving Service in Bangladesh and Vietnam (PHILL)
    European Commission
  • Intervention at Primary Health Care Level to Improve Quality of Life of Elderly People in a Low-income Country
    Forskarskolan i vård och omsorg, Karolinska Institutet
  • Future of the Elderly in Bangladesh: A Study on the Influence of Traditional Norms and Changing Demographics on Social Support
    Swedish International Development Corporation
  • Future of the Elderly in Bangladesh: A Study on the Influence of Traditional Norms and Changing Demographics on Social Support
    Swedish International Development Corporation
  • Care of Older Caregivers: Mobile Application to Alleviate Stress and Improve Quality of Life of Older Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia
    Kamprad Foundation

Staff and contact

Group leader

All members of the group

Other people connected to the group

  • Moberg, Cecilia
  • Tyrrell, Marie
  • Hawajri, Omar
  • Tiitinen, Mekhail Kirsi
  • Konradsen, Hanne
  • Boström, Anne-Marie
  • Vikström, Sofia
  • Stenwall, Ewa
  • Craftman, Åsa
  • Dorell, Åsa
  • Akenine, Ulrika
  • Anderberg, Patricia

Visiting address

Karolinska Institute, Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, Huddinge, 14183, Sweden

Postal address

Karolinska Institute, Dept. Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, Huddinge, 14183, Sweden

Collaboration

Angela Leung, Professor, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 

Hashima E Nasreen, Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan Campus, Malaysia.

Jessica Longhini, University of Verona, Italy.

Pankaj Bhardwaj, Professor of Community Medicine & Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Sajida Foundation, Bangladesh, sajidafoundation.org

Exchange student/Guest researcher/Research intern

Jessica Longhini, UNIVERSITA’ DEGLI STUDI DI UDINE, Italy (PhD exchange student, April-June 2022)

Kayla Gauthier, Western University, Canada (Research intern, May-June 2022)

Caitlin Eve Mungall, Western University, Canada (Research intern, Spring 2023)

Guilia Marini, University of Verona, Italy (Visiting PhD student, Spring 2024)

Natalie Rondilla, Western University, Canada (Research intern, Spring 2024)

Projects

Ongoing projects

m-Health based intervention by community workers to support family caregivers to persons with dementia living at home

Research team (Sweden): Zarina N Kabir (PI), Hanne Konradsen, Kirsi Tiitinen Mekhail, Marie Tyrrell, Åsa Craftman. Research team (India): Pankaj Bhardwaj (PI), Manoj Kumar Gupta, Nitin Joshi, Rupali Gupta, Shruti Goyal, Suresh Sharma, Vipin Joshi

  • The aim of the joint research collaboration between Indian and Swedish partner institutions is to improve care of older persons with dementia by strengthening skills of family caregivers with support from community workers via mobile health in India and Sweden. 
  • Financed by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, and the Indian Council of Medical Research, this randomized controlled study will be conducted in India and Sweden.

Impact of iSupport on improving knowledge on dementia and dementia care among family caregivers to persons with dementia and formal caregivers in Bangladesh: a non-randomized feasibility study 

Research team (Sweden): Zarina Nahar Kabir (PI), Hanne Konradsen, Marie Tyrrell. Research team (Bangladesh): Mohammad Nazmul Islam (PI), Antara Roy, Asibul Islam Anik, Parsa Musarrat

  • This study is the first in Bangladesh to evaluate iSupport's impact on improving knowledge about dementia among family and formal caregivers, and reducing stress related to caregiving among family caregivers. 
  • World Health Organization’s iSupport manual for family caregivers taking care of persons with dementia is translated into Bangla and contextualised for use in Bangladesh. 
  • This will be tested in a non-randomised feasibility study.

Care of Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia (CAFCA): Support through Mobile Application to Alleviate Stress and Improve Quality of Life 

Research team: Zarina N Kabir (PI), Hanne Konradsen, Cecilia Moberg, Åsa Dorell, Aber Sharon Kagwa, Sofia Vikström

  • The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of providing professional support through a mobile application (app) in reducing stress depressive symptoms, and loneliness thus improving quality of life of family caregivers of persons with dementia living at home in Sweden. 
  • Financed by the Kamprad Foundation and Strategic Research Program in Health Care Sciences (SFO-V), this intervention study is conducted mainly in Stockholm Region of Sweden and with initial collaboration with Umeå University and Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.

GEDOC: Receiving care for Covid-19 at a Geriatric Clinic – Experiences of Patients and relatives 

Research Team: Ewa Stenwall, Anne-Marie Boström och Nana Waldréus

  • The overall purpose of the GEDOC project is to follow up the experiences of older patients in hospital care during Covid-19 pandemic. The project will also describe how their relatives experienced the situation during this period.

Telephone delivered psychoeducational intervention: a model for reduction of psychophysical burden among homebound dementia caregivers in east and west coasts of Malaysia 

Research Team at KI: Zarina Nahar Kabir (Co-PI), Åsa Craftman, Marie Tyrell, Sofia Vikström

  • This study will assess the efficacy of a telephone delivered psychoeducational intervention by health care professionals on reduction of caregiving burden, depressive symptoms, and enhancing the self-efficacy and quality of life of family caregivers to persons with dementia. 
  • A single-blinded randomized controlled trial with family caregivers of dementia patients has been conducted in east and west coasts of Malaysia. The psychoeducational intervention has been adopted to the socio-cultural context of Malaysia and delivered by the health care professionals over the phone over a period of 3 months.

Perceived symptoms and coping strategies in carers to people with Lewy Body Dementia and Alzheimer´s disease 

PI: Ewa Stenwall

  • The aim of this study is to investigate and describe the experiences of carers to people with Lewy Body Dementia and Alzheimer´s disease to identify similarities and differences between the symptoms and chosen coping strategies.
  • The data collection is completed. Data analyses and writing of publications are ongoing.

Older Persons’ Exercise and Nutrition (OPEN) study

PI: Anne-Marie Boström, Ewa Stenwall, Sofia Vikström

  • The aim of the OPEN study is to evaluate the effects of the sit-to-stand exercise, in combination with a protein-rich nutritional supplement, on physical function and independence in frail older persons living in nursing homes. 
  • The older person’s perceptions and experiences of the intervention and the staff’s experiences of supporting the older person to complete the intervention will also be explored. 
  • The data collection is completed. Data analyses and dissemination activities are ongoing. The study protocol for the OPEN study was published in 2018.

Rapid Response Research on COVID19 in Bangladesh 

PI at KI: Zarina N Kabir

  • The study is conducted in Bangladesh and aims to investigate: 
  1. the socio-demographic factors associated with COVID19 infections; 
  2. post-recovery consequence of COVID19 on mental and physical health of patients; 
  3. knowledge, attitude and practice in relation to Coronavirus and COVID19 among family members of COVID19 patients and frontline health workers in Bangladesh.

Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) 

Responsible at KI: Anne-Marie Boström

  • TREC is a Canadian research program led by Professor Carole Estabrooks, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. 
  • The aim of the program is to develop solutions for improving the quality of care provided to nursing home residents, enriching the work life of their caregivers, and enhancing system efficiency. 
  • TREC is a research partnership of researchers, knowledge users, policy makers, and citizens which aims to produce knowledge that improves elder care. Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC)

Completed projects

Families in Nursing Care 

Research team: Hanne Konradsen (PI), Anne-Marie Boström, Zarina Nahar Kabir

  • The study aimed to explore nurses' attitudes towards involving families in nursing care. Data was collected in Sweden, Canada and China using social media as a tool to recruit sample of nurses across the countries. 
  • This study was conducted in collaboration with Hong Kong University of Technology and University of Toronto. Furthermore, a study exploring changes in nurses’ attitudes in a Swedish context from 2011 to 2019 were analysed in collaboration with Linnaeus University and resulted in two publications.

In Conversation with a Frontline Worker of a Care Home in Sweden 

Research team: Zarina N Kabir, Hanne Konradsen, Anne-Marie Boström

  • As the world heard the historic declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic in March 2020, countries had to act rapidly with no previous experience to draw upon. Unlike many countries, Sweden did not impose a lockdown but advised its citizens on precautionary measures, including forbidding visits to care homes. 
  • To explore how the pandemic was experienced in the first few months by the frontline workers who found themselves in the midst of the storm, we engaged in a dialogue with one such nurse. This project documented personal experience of a nurse working at a care home in Stockholm during the pandemic.

SAMAC in Denmark 

Research team: Hanne Konradsen (PI), Zarina Nahar Kabir

  • The aim of this study is to explore caregivers’ and dementia coordinators’ experiences of using technology in dementia care in everyday life. 
  • The study will furthermore be used to evaluate the possibility of conducting a study in Denmark, testing the same mobile app SAMAC. This project is the result of collaboration with the University of Copenhagen.

Family living with heart failure: An international study focusing on family functioning, family health and social support from nurses 

PI: Hanne Konradsen

  • The aim was to examine if family functioning and family health in patients with heart failure and their partners was associated with their own and their partners’ perceived social support from nurses. 
  • The aims of the project were i) to explore the experiences of family functioning in relation to heart failure among Iranian immigrant families, and ii) to compare the family functioning, family health and social support from nurses among Danish, Icelandic and Iranian patients with heart failure and their family members. 

Transitions related to early onset dementia. From diagnosis to end of life

PhD student: Malin Aspö, Co-supervisor: Anne-Marie Boström, Berit Seiger Cronfalk

  • The overall objective for the project is to increase knowledge and understanding on how to facilitate transitions for people living with early onset dementia. We aim to do so by identifying critical points during the disease trajectory and describe individuals’ experiences of going through transitions that are inherent to dementia. 
  • The main part of the project consists of a longitudinal study, collecting data by means of yearly interviews and questionnaires assessing quality of life among younger persons with dementia during a period of five years from receiving the diagnosis. 
  • One study in the project is focusing on the perspective of family members of persons with early onset dementia, living at nursing homes. 

Stress Alleviating Mobile Application for Caregivers (SAMAC): A Feasibility Study 

Research team: Zarina N Kabir (PI), Hanne Konradsen, Cecilia Moberg

  • The study aimed to assess feasibility of providing professional support via a mobile application, Stress Alleviating Mobile Application for Caregivers (SAMAC), by collecting views of caregivers of persons with dementia on its use to alleviate stress. 
  • Specific objectives of the study included: to explore caregivers’ views on stress alleviation through a mobile application; explore caregivers’ preference of the features of the SAMAC; test the feasibility of the use of the SAMAC for 8 weeks; test usability of health assessment measures in the SAMAC by caregivers. 
  • This project is the result of collaboration with the Faculty of Nursing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Implementation of Evidence Based Knowledge in Home – Care 

Anne-Marie Boström (PI), Ewa Stenwall

  • The goal of this project is to implement and evaluate a model (the KISAM model) for a strategic framework for promoting competence in continuing translation of evidence-based knowledge to improve the quality of care provided to persons in home care. 
  • The project is targeted to identify knowledge gap in care providers’ competence for practicing evidence-based knowledge translation on a routine basis. This project is investigating a strategic framework for the practice of translating research-based knowledge into care for older adults. 
  • The data collection is finished. Data analyses and writing of publications are ongoing. 
Keywords:
Aging Community Health Nursing Family Nursing Gerontology, specialising in Medical and Health Sciences (specialising in Social Sciences to be 50999) Global Health Show all
ZN
Content reviewer:
Zarina Nahar Kabir
24-09-2024