First, I would like to extend a special thanks to my thesis advisors for guiding me through my first steps in research; many thanks to dr. Anders Tengström, my main thesis advisor, for offering me the opportunity to pursue a PhD, and for teaching me how to be an independent researcher and surmount obstacles along the way. A warm thank you to my co-advisors for agreeing to step in as advisors even though I was mid- through; thank you dr. Jenny Eklund for always taking the time, being a meticulous reader, and providing insightful comments. Thank you professor Anders Romelsjö for the experienced advice, and for your helpful guidance when writing this thesis
introduction.
Thank you professor Sheilagh Hodgins for teaching me the art of writing a paper.
Thank you Agne Larsson for the invaluable statistical advice, the hilarious conversations, and for making me discover that statistics can actually be fun (who would have thought?).
Thank you Peter Larm and Malin Hemphälä for being my friends and confidents during seven years, and sharing this adventure with me. Thank you Peter for being a charmingly annoying office roommate and my partner in crime at FORUM. Thank you Malin for your stoic calm, and for being the one that always provides a sound
perspective on things. I hope that the three of us continue to be friends, and I look forward to following your further steps in research.
Thanks to our brilliant research assistants Kristina Sinadinovic, Anna Dahlström, and Jenny Torssander for the excellent help with the data collection, for courageously enduring the data collection in the stuffy archives with us, and for always showing a good sense of humour about it.
Thank you Luki Hagen for helping out with administrative matters, keeping track of everything practical, and always having a kind word for me.
Thanks to the staff at FORUM, past and present, for brightening up the work place. Thank you Giorgio Barbareschi for becoming a friend during your postdoc at
FORUM, and for sharing my adventures on the highways. Thank you Eva Samuelsson for all the tips, and for being so much fun to hang out with at courses and conferences. A very special thanks to my fellow doctorate students at FORUM - Anna-Karin
Danielsson, Mariana Dufort, Therese Åström, Camilla Jalling, Frida Fröberg, and Jessica Bergkvist - for the moral support, and for the helpful suggestions during the
process of writing this thesis. I hope that you know how much I appreciated it!
A big thanks to Josef Isung for providing medical advice on one of the papers, and to
Gillian Smith for taking the time of your busy schedule to give me helpful comments
on my work (and for sharing my aspiration on world domination!). Thanks to
interesting article, answering a question, or providing another perspective to view matters. I have learned so much along the way from interacting with brilliant minds.
Thanks to the Stockholm County Council for funding for this study, and to Maria
Ungdom for the added support. Thanks to the Archive of Public Medical Services
and to the City Archives for providing the archival documents for this study.
To my mother Segunda and my father Felix; my most heartful thanks for encouraging me to be myself and find my own way, for teaching me how to stand up for myself, and for always supporting me in whatever I do. My academic studies would never have been possible without your help and encouragement. ¡Os quiero mucho!
Thanks to my brother Iván for always teaching me something new and inspiring a thirst for knowledge. I hope that I get to spend more time with you, Diana, and Rocco now that this ordeal is over.
To my family all over the world - the Moleros, Plazas, Faye-Wevles, Samuelsons,
Hellstens, and Elgstrands - thank you for opening your hearts and homes for me. I am
truly grateful to be part of your families.
My godmother Rosario and my late godfather Antonio; thank you for always taking good care of me, and treating me like your own child.
To my wonderful friends – Jessica, Jocke, Peter, Ia, Calle, Eva, Mikko, Anna,
Adam, Hanna, Kim, Therese, and everybody else – thanks for listening, for the
encouragement, and for all the laughs. You bring so much fun and joy into my life, and the few breaks from work to hang out with you guys have been dearly appreciated. A very special thanks to Lena for being my best friend for almost 30 years and never giving up on our friendship.
Thank you Beenie, Nigo, Konrad, Blackie, and the loving memory of Texas, for your unconditional love and for constantly reminding me of what is truly important.
Last and foremost, all my love and appreciation to my beloved husband Nille. Thank you for planting the idea of pursuing a PhD, for believing in me and encouraging me to move forward, for your immense patience and understanding, for instilling calm during times of stress, for giving me hope when it was desperately needed, and for always being able to make me laugh. Thank you for taking care of everything practical while I was finishing this thesis, for proofreading, and for making all of the arrangements for the best vacation ever, mahalo! Above all, thank you for comforting me when the outlook was black. This work would never have been possible to complete without you, and for that I will never be able to thank you enough.