About me
I'm currently working as a post-doctoral research associate at Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation, King's College London, and can primarily be reached at therese.johansson@kcl.ac.uk.
In my doctoral thesis I explored competence related to end-of-life care and communication about dying and death from a new public health perspective using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research, such as longitudinal participatory action research, qualitative interview studies, instrument validation, survey studies, and causal inference.
I have a broad interest in several research areas that relate to health, illness, and treatment, from an individual as well as a societal perspective - including health care science, public health, psychology, and sociology.
My educational background is in psychology and I have a BSc(Hons) from University of Stirling (UK) and a MSc in Applied Forensic Psychology from University of York (UK). I have previously worked as a research assistant in several projects at the Department of Psychology and the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University.
Research description
A primary ambition of high-quality end-of-life (EOL) care is to enable people to be involved in, and make decisions for, their own care. Discussing issues related to the EOL in advance, known as EOL conversations, can serve as preparation for future decision-making and may increase the likelihood of value-concordant care. These conversations have been suggested as particularly relevant in the residential elder context, which is one of the major EOL care providers in Sweden today.
Even though older people are generally positive to discuss their preferences for the EOL, the topic is rarely addressed in residential care homes. Care staff can play a key role in initiating EOL conversations with residents and relatives. However, previous research has identified a multitude of barriers for EOL conversations and highlighted a need for staff competence-building.
In my PhD project, we explored staff perspectives on EOL communication in residential elder care and investigate means for promoting and supporting staff engagement in EOL conversations in practice. We use an participatory action research approach to actively engage participants and generate practically relevant knowledge while simultaneously empowering participants through development of competence and skills.
Teaching portfolio
I have taught service development, implementation, and evaluation in the course Leadership for nurses at the department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics (KI). Previous teaching experiences include undergraduate courses in statistics and research methods at the department of Psychology, Stockholm University.