Bettina Husebø
The clinical research Husebø carry out is at the level between epidemiologic, psychometric properties, trajectory and intervention studies, and are based on the MOBID-2 Pain Scale, an international recognized pain assessment tool in people with dementia.
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As a continuation of this pain scale reserach the project COST-Action TD1005 Pain in People with Dementia demonstrated that individual treatment of pain significantly improved dementia related neuropsychiatric symptoms such as agitation, depression, and sleep problems. Ground breaking results by a later REDIC trajectory study of dying NH patients show that staff is often not able to recognize the end of life and imminent dying, leading to inadequate treatment and high levels of pain and distressing symptoms such as dyspnea, death rattle and anxiety in the dying.
More than 70 articles in the fields of assessment and treatment of pain in people with dementia; neuropsychiatric and behavioural disturbances; end-of-life care and palliative care including mouth care in the dying has been published as a result of this and succeeding projects, numerous in collaboration with international research partners.