Hilde Hjelmeland Ahmedzai, Post doc

Hilde completed her PhD at King’s College London and has primarily been working on development of, and research into, online information and support services for cancer patients and their families.

Hilde’s post doctorate project builds on data from a pilot study where a new rehabilitation program for cancer survivors has been tested in a primary care setting within Askøy District Council. Increasingly effective treatment regimens lead to improvements in survival for cancer patients, however this often comes at a cost in the form of physical and psychosocial late effects. Despite cancer rehabilitation being declared a national priority, it is not an integral part of cancer patients’ treatment trajectory and is largely absent within their local communities.

The pilot study is a collaborative project between the Centre for Crisis Psychology and Askøy District Council. Sixty one cancer survivors participated in the rehabilitation program that was attached to the Council’s Healthy Life Centre.  Quantitative and qualitative data have been collected through physical functioning tests, a range of questionnaires and group interviews. Anchored within the field of complex intervention research and applying mixed methods, the data from the pilot study will be analysed and published.

Findings from the pilot study will be used to design a larger randomised trial that will contribute to increased knowledge within this field of research and inform further implementation of cancer rehabilitation in primary care settings.

The post doctorate project is carried out in collaboration with a multi-disciplinary research group, representatives from Askøy District Council and users, and is led by Professor May Hauken.

The project is funded by Stiftelsen DAM