Namn Erebouni Arakelian
Titel: Associate professor
Department: Department of Health Sciences
Phone: +46(0)8 - 587 516 85
E-mail: erebouni.arakelian@rkh.se
ORCID: 0000-0003-3790-3505
Dissertation year: 2011
Thesis: Operating Room Efficiency and Postoperative Recovery after Major Abdominal Surgery: The Surgical Team’s Efficiency and the Early Postoperative Recovery of Patients with Peritoneal Carcinomatosis. Uppsala University.
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erebouni-Arakelian-2
About Me
I am a Nurse Anesthetist and Critical Care Nurse, Associate Professor (Docent) in Caring Science, and currently Associate Professor (Biträdande Professor) in Nursing at the Swedish Red Cross University. I earned my nursing degree in 1996, specialized in Intensive Care in 1998, and worked for three years in Neuro-Intensive Care. In 2001, I completed a second specialist qualification in Anesthesia Care. I received my PhD from Uppsala University in 2011 and was appointed Docent in Caring Science in 2019.
My career spans both clinical practice and academia, providing insight into the challenges of both settings. At the Central Operating Department at Akademiska Hospital, I served as Director of Studies, Head Preceptor, and Team Leader. I was later appointed Director of Nursing Research within the Anesthesia, Operating Room, and Intensive Care (AnOpIVA) division and led the implementation and scientific evaluation of a model for systematic work environment management.
Since 2012, I have worked as a lecturer at Uppsala University, serving as course leader and examiner in specialist programs in Intensive Care Nursing and Anesthesia Care, as well as examiner for Master’s theses at the University of Gävle. I have also mentored colleagues in various educational contexts
Research Profile
My research encompasses two main areas. The first focuses on the individual, health, and nursing care practices, grounded in Virginia Henderson’s theory and supporting patients in achieving independence after surgery. Within this field, I have studied postoperative recovery following extensive peritoneal surgery with heated chemotherapy, prehabilitation before surgery, and quality of care from the perspective of patients with hip fractures. I have also explored person-centered care in anesthesia and surgery, particularly how patients and nurse anesthetists understand and practice participation.
The second area addresses the operating room environment, including staff and managerial well-being, efficiency, and productivity in team versus non-team settings, factors influencing decisions to remain in or leave the workplace, and the characteristics of a healthy work environment. This work is informed by Jean Watson’s theory of caritas and compassion toward oneself and one’s colleagues, emphasizing that healthcare professionals must care for themselves in order to care for their patients.
Additionally, I have studied the impact of digital documentation on cognitive ergonomics and the use of workarounds, as well as educational aspects of documentation in specialist nursing programs, identifying gaps in knowledge regarding its purpose and practice.
Brief facts
- Research in the perioperative context, including prehabilitation, postoperative recovery after surgery, and why perioperative nurses stay in or leave their positions
- Research on digitalization within the perioperative context
- Former Director of Nursing Research within AnOpIVA at Akademiska Hospital, Uppsala
- Project lead for the implementation and scientific evaluation of a model for systematic work environment management at AnOpIVA, Akademiska Hospital
- Served as the chair and a member of dissertation examination committees
- 30–40 scientific publications, one book chapter, and educational materials for students and newly employed staff within the perioperative context
Publications (selected)
Arakelian E, Gunningberg L, Larsson J, Norlén K, Mahteme H. Factors influencing early postoperative recovery after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Eur J SurgOncol 2011;37:897-903. PMID: 21783337.
Eriksson H, Swenne CL, Haglund K, Arakelian E. Patients’ experiences of post-operative health related to cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraoperative chemotherapy. J ClinNurs 2013 Jun 20. doi: 10.1111/jocn.12360.
Swenne CL, Cederholm K, Gustafsson M, Arakelian E. Postoperative health and patients’ perceptions of efficiency and quality of care after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, two to six months after surgery. Eur J OncolNurs 2015 Feb 6. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2014.05.007.
Leo Swenne C, Jangland E, Arakelian E. Patients’ experiences of their everyday life fourteen months after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy- a qualitative follow-up study. Scand J Caring Sci. 2017;31:904-913. doi: 10.1111/scs.12412. Epub 2017 Jan 25.
Arakelian E, Leo Swenne C, Lindberg S, Rudolfsson G, Von Vogelsang AC. The meaning of person-centred care in the perioperative context from the patient’s perspective – an integrative review. J Clin Nurs. 2017 Sep;26(17-18):2527-2544. doi: 10.1111/jocn.13639. Epub 2017 Feb 16. Review.
Lögde A, Rudolfsson G, Runesson Broberg R, Rask-Andersen A, Wålinder R, Arakelian E. I am quitting my job. Specialist nurses in perioperative context and their experiences of the process and reasons to quit their job. Int J Qual Health Care. 2018 May 1;30(4):313-320. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzy023.
Swenne CL, Hjelte L, Härdne E, Friberg C, Arakelian E. Perioperative dialogue on postoperative recovery measured by the use of pain medication, psychopharmaceutical agents and length of hospital stay. Published in Nordic Journal of Nursing Research. 2018. DOI: 10.1177/2057158518754785.
Arakelian E, Laurssen E, Öster C. Older Patients' Worries in Connection With General Anesthesia and Surgery-A Qualitative Study. J Perianesth Nurs. 2018 Dec;33(6):822-833. doi: 10.1016/j.jopan.2018.01.005. Epub 2018 Mar 14.
Robert Wålinder, Runesson-Broberg R, Arakelian E, Tobias Nordquist, Andreas Runeson, Anna Rask-Andersen. A supportive climate and low strain promote well-being and sustainable working life in the operating theatre. Ups J Med Sci.2018 Sep;123(3):183-190. doi: 10.1080/03009734.2018.1483451. Epub 2018 Aug 7.
Arakelian E, Gudrun Rudolfsson, Rask-Andersen A, Runesson-Broberg R, Wålinder R. I stay- Swedish Specialist nurses in the perioperative context and their reasons to stay at their workplace. J Perianesth Nurs. 2019 Jun;34(3):633-644. doi: 10.1016/j.jopan.2018.06.095. Epub 2018 Nov 15.
Arakelian E, Hellman T, Svartengren M. Experiences of the Initial Phase Implementation of the STAMINA-Model in Perioperative Context Addressing Environmental Issues Systematically - A Qualitative Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Apr 27;17(9):3037. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17093037.
Arakelian E, Wålinder R, Rask-Andersen A, Rudolfsson G. Nurse managers in perioperative settings and their reasons for remaining in their jobs: A qualitative study. J Nurs Manag. 2020 May 30. doi: 10.1111/jonm.13054. Online ahead of print.
Nilsson U, Jaensson M, Hugelius K, Arakelian E, Dahlberg K. A journey to a new stable state - further development of the postoperative recovery concept from day surgical perspective: A qualitative study. BMJ Open. 2020 Sep 23;10(9): e037755. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037755.PMID: 32967881.
Arakelian E, Rudolfsson G. Reaching a tipping point: perioperative nurse managers’ narratives about reasons for leaving their employment - a qualitative study. J Nurs Manag. 2020 Oct 31. doi: 10.1111/jonm.13202. Online ahead of print.
Arakelian E, Rudolfsson G. Managerial challenges faced by Swedish nurse managers in perioperative settings- a qualitative study. BMC Nurs. 2021 Jul 3;20(1):117. doi: 10.1186/s12912-021-00640-0.PMID: 3421729.
Arakelian E, Paulsson S, Molin F, Svartengren M. How Human Resources Index, Relational Justice, and Perceived Productivity Change after Reorganization at a Hospital in Sweden That Uses a Structured Support Model for Systematic Work Environment Management. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 4;18(21):11611. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111611.
Arakelian E, Molin F, Svartengren M. Success factors when implementing a structured support model for systematic work environment management in operating departments: A case study from Sweden. J Nurs Manag. 2022 Sep 19. doi: 10.1111/jonm.13812. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36124344.
Arakelian E, Molin F, Svartengren M. How anaesthesiologists and interns in anaesthesia care describe and categorise their work environment at a Swedish hospital. J Biomed Res Environ Sci. 2022 Sep 14. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.37871/jbres1556
Arakelian E, Rudolfsson G. Sharing the same reality, healthy relations between colleagues at work – a meta-synthesis. SAGE Open Nurs. 2023 Oct 16; 9 :23779608231207239. doi: 10.1177/23779608231207239. eCollection. PMID: 37854790.
Salzmann-Eriksson M, Göras C, Lindberg M, Arakelian E, Olsson A-K. ChatGPT in complex adaptive healthcare systems: Embrace with caution. Int. J. of Electronic Healthcare. 2025; 14 (6).
Epstein M, Arakelian E, Tucker P, Dahlgren A. Managing Sustainable Working Hours within Participatory Working Time Scheduling for Nurses and Assistant Nurses: A Qualitative Interview Study with Managers and Staffing Assistants. J Nurs Manag. 2023 Dec 9:2023:8096034. doi: 10.1155/2023/8096034. eCollection 2023.
Hernandez I, Arakelian E, Rudman A, Dahlgren A. An Organizational Recovery Paradox in Managing Working Hours, Staffing, and Recovery During the COVID-19 Pandemic – A Qualitative Study. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology DOI: 10.16993/sjwop.286.
Eriksson B, Svartengren M, Dahlgren A, Lindblom J, Arakelian E. Digital Documentation- a non-prioritized subject in higher nursing education. A qualitative study with educators. Accepted in J Perianesthesia Nurs October 2025.