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Section for Health Sciences

Health Science and Experiential Research

Research on experiences of illness and health is close to everyday life and practice-oriented. It is close to everyday life because it addresses experiences of living with illness and varying degrees of health impairment. This includes knowledge about processes of exacerbation and improvement and the contexts in which they occur, viewed from the first-person perspective. This research is practice-oriented in the sense that it addresses questions related to patients'/users', caregivers', and healthcare workers' experiences with or from clinical practice and healthcare services in a broader sense. This is knowledge that has significant clinical relevance and can therefore influence how healthcare workers understand and care for people with varying degrees of health impairment. We highlight how personal narratives and self-reported data can inform health policy and better tailor healthcare services to users' needs.

Mange blomster i gul, lilla og hvit
Photo:
Pixabay

Main content

Vision

The group's vision is to strengthen research in areas related to living with chronic illness and varying degrees of health impairment throughout the lifespan. Part of the group's vision is also to enhance research on patients'/users' encounters with the healthcare system and the services offered. The focus is on contributing knowledge about what is needed to better tailor healthcare services to users' needs. The group will also highlight questions related to user involvement in research, both theoretically and empirically. What is meant by user participation and involvement, and what are the consequences of the requirement for participation in research? Investment in these areas will bring forth knowledge of societal significance.

The group also has a vision to raise questions related to the methodological and theoretical foundation of the healthcare research the group conducts, and thereby shed light on similarities and differences between various research approaches. The group has particular expertise in exploring health and illness experiences from a phenomenological and narrative foundational perspective. The group also possesses extensive knowledge of projects employing "mixed methods" and research designs where self-reported data on health experiences, quality of life, coping, and social support are central. The goal is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the opportunities and limitations of research associated with different research approaches, and to strengthen the epistemological foundation of healthcare research.

External members

Asgjerd Moi (Høgskulen på Vestlandet)
Marit Graue (Høgskulen på Vestlandet)
Ragnhild Tveit Sekse (VID vitenskapelige høgskole og Haukeland universitetssjukehus)
Eli Natvik (Høgskulen på Vestlandet)
Aud Marie Øien (Høgskulen på Vestlandet)
Marianne Kjelsvik (Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, NTNU)
Beate-Christin Hope Kolltveit (Høgskulen på Vestlandet)
Randi Sviland (Høgskulen på Vestlandet)
Pia Dreyer
Sidsel Ellingsen 

What do we do?

  • One seminar every month; planning, presentation, and discussion of small and large projects, reading and discussion of foundational texts, invited speakers.
  • Organize a seminar at Solstrand every year in collaboration with a "sister group" at Molde University College. Invite prominent guests.
  • Participate in the Nordic Network in Phenomenological Health Research, which holds a gathering every other year.
  • Participation in international conferences (over several years at the International Human Science Research Conference, which we have also helped organize twice).
  • Established 2 PhD courses in qualitative research methods and traditions in collaboration with a "sister group" at Molde University College. The research group leader is responsible for one of them in the research school at IGS.
  • Popular scienitifical activities.

Master students 

Heidi Hordvik
Isabell Rømo
Hege Smedsland
Rebecca Årskaug Sandal
Katrine Nicole Naranjo

Ongoing projects

Internal projects:

  • Partnership building in generating and implementing a new user-led research agenda for follow-up on patients going through weight loss surgery

    Project leader: Målfrid Råheim (IGS, UiB)

    PhD candidate: Marit N. Albersten (IGS, UiB)

    Senior researchers: Frøydis Bruvik (IGS, UiB), Eli Natvik (HVL) & Beate Hope-Kolltveit (HVL)

    Co-researchers: Daniel Spjeld (ROS) & Eva Årskog (NAV)

  • Care practices at the intersection between resistance and involuntary treatment and care. A mixed-methods study of how health care professionals approcah treatment among home-dwelling persons with dementida 

    Phd candidate: Åshild Gjellestad

    Supervisors: Frøydis Bruvik (IGS, UiB), Trine Oksholm (VID) & Herdis Alvsvåg (VID)

  • Support needs of parents of children with burns: A qualitative study of parents’ experiences and need for support in relation to their child’s burn injury during hospitalisation and after discharge (levert for bedømmelse til PhD-graden)

    Phd candidate: Lina Lernevall

    Supervisors: Pia Dreyer (Århus Universitet/IGS, UiB), Eva Gjengedal (IGS, UiB) & Asgjerd Moi (HVL)

  • Ungdom, kropp og kroppsøving: En kvalitativ studie av elevers og kroppsøvingslæreres erfaringer med og tanker om kroppsøving i skolen

    Phd candidate: Janiche Helen Pedersen

    Supervisors: Målfrid Råheim (IGS, UiB) & Eline Thornquist (HVL)

  • Skrøpelige hjemmeboende eldre: Korleis kan helsetenesta best ivareta og følgje opp heimebuande eldre som lever med store og samansette behov?

    Phd candidate: Bente Egge Søvde

    Veiledere: Jorunn Drageset (IGS, UiB/HVL) & Eli Natvik (HVL)

  • Born too early: health and well-being in a lifetime perspective

    Phd candidate: Merete Røineland

    Supervisors: Bente Johanne Vederhus (HVL, HUS) & Jorunn Drageset (IGS, UiB, HVL)

  • Profesjonskunnskap – bruk av profesjonell kunnskap i sosialt arbeid og vernepleie

    Phd candidate: Mari Husabø

    Supervisors: Aud Marie Øien (HVL) & Magne Olav Mæhle (HVL) & Målfrid Råheim (IGS, UiB)

Eksterne prosjekter der medlemmer i vår gruppe er med:

  • Follow-up after critical illness and intensive care - A qualitative study of the experiences from the perspectives of patients’, their next of kin and intensive care nurses

    Phd candidate: Stine Flinterud (VID, Haraldsplass), ekstern medlem av vår forskergruppe

    Supervisors: Sidsel Ellingsen (VID/UiB), Eva Gjengedal (IGS, UiB) & Asgjerd Moi (HVL)

PhD-degrees

  • Egge Søvde, B. (2023). Lived experience of frailty among home-dwelling older people and family caregivers. 
    Supervisors: Prof. Jorunn Drageset, associate prof. Eli Natvik, prof. Råholt
  • Gjellestad, Å. (2022).Care practices at the intersection between resistance and involuntary treatment and care. 
    A mixed-methods study of how health care professionals approach treatment among home-dwelling persons with dementia.
    Supervisors: prof. Frøydis Bruvik, Trine Oxholm, Herdis Alvsvåg
  • Lernevall, L. (2022). Support needs of parents of children with burns: A qualitative study of parents’ experiences and need for support in relation to their child’s burn injury during hospitalization and after discharge. 
    Supervisors: Prof. Pia Dreyer, Eva Gjengedal & Asgjerd Moi
  • Kjelsvik, M. (2019). Pregnant and ambivalent. A study on women’s and health workers’ experiences in the decision-making process. Dissertation for the Degree of philsophiae doctor (PhD), University of Bergen, Norway.
  • Hope Kolltveit, B.-C. (2018). Process evaluation – diabetes telemedicine foot care intervention. Dissertation for the Degree of philsophiae doctor (PhD), University of Bergen, Norway.
  • Natvik, E. (2015). Carrying the weight of uncertainty: Patients’ long-term experiences after bariatric surgery. Dissertation for the Degree of philsophiae doctor (PhD), University of Bergen, Norway.
  • Orøy, A. J. (2015). Å balansere på en knivsegg. En fenomenologisk studie av helsepersonells erfaringer i samhandling med pårørende til potensielle donorer. (Balancing on a knife edge. A phenomenological study of health personels’ experiences in the interaction with relatives to potential donors.) Avhandling for graden philosophiae doktor (PhD), Universitetet i Bergen, Norge.
  • Ekra, E. M. R. (2015). Ha armslag og være omsluttet. En livsverdensfenomenologisk studie av erfaringer av å være innlagt i sykehus som barn med nyoppdaget diabetes i perioden 1950-1980 og i dag. (To have elbowroom and to be enclosed. A lifeworld-phenomenological study on experiences of being hospitalized as a child with newly diagnosed diabetes in the period from 1950 to1980, and today.) Avhandling for graden philosophiae doktor (PhD), Universitetet i Bergen, Norge.
  • Sviland, R. (2014). Norwegian Psychomotor Physiotherapy and Embodied Narrative Identity. A theory generating study. Dissertation for the Degree of philsophiae doctor (PhD), University of Bergen, Norway.
  • Øien, A. M. (2011). Change and Communication. Long-term Norwegian Psychomotor Physiotherapy Treatment for Patients with Chronic Muscle Pain. Dissertation for the Degree of philsophiae doctor (PhD), University of Bergen, Norway.
  • Sekse, R. J. T. (2011). Livet etter underlivskreft. Kvinner sine erfaringer fem og seks år etter behandling for kreftsjukdom. (Life after gyneacological cancer. Women’s experiences five and six years after treatment.) Avhandling for graden philosophiae doktor (PhD), Universitetet i Bergen, Norge

Publications

2023:

Lernevall, LST ; Moi, AL; Gjengedal, E; Dreyer, P: Parents' lived experience of living with and caring for their burn-injured child in a home setting. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. 2023, 18 (1) doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2023.2216032

Flinterud, SI; Moi, Al; Gjengedal, E; Ellingsen, S:  Striving for a safe ground—A lifeworld approach of family members' experiences of the critical illness trajectory. Journal of Clinical Nursing (JCN) 2023, 32 (19-20) 7442-53.doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16803.

Søvde BE, Sandvoll AM, Natvik E, Drageset J. Caregiving for frail home-dwelling older people: A qualitative study of family caregivers' experiences. International Journal Older People Nursing, 2023 Nov 27:e12586. doi.org/10.1111/opn.12586. Online ahead of print.
PMID: 38009411

Kuven, BM; Drageset, J; Haugan, G. (2023). Quality of life and nurse–patient interaction among NH residents: Loneliness is detrimental, while nurse–patient interaction is fundamental. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32, 6384-6393. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16645

Klausen, AMG; Drageset, J; Bruvik, FK. (2023). Health and quality of life after discharge from hospital: A prospective study on opioid treatment for acute pain after trauma or surgery. International Journal of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing, 50, August, 101017

Svindseth J, Ellingsen S, Bruvik F. Å leve med cytostatikaindusert perifer nevropati. Sykepleien Forskning. 2023; 18(93305):e-93305. DOI:10.4220/Sykepleienf.2023.93305

Aarskog, Ellingsen, Eide og Bruvik: Terapihund og robot sel skaper glede hos sykehjemsbeboere med demens. Sykepleien, 2023;111(91846):e-91846 https://sykepleien.no/fag/2023/03/terapihund-og-robotsel-skaper-glede-ho...

Synnes, O., Gjengedal, E., Råheim, M. (2023). Time and Dignity: A Phenomenological Investigation of Poetry Writing in Dementia Care. Chapter 3, pp. 43-59. In: Lehman, O, & Synnes O. (eds) A Poetic Language of Aging, London: Bloomsbury Studies on the Humanities of Aging and Later Life.

Husabø, M; Mæhle, M; Råheim, M; Øien, AM. (2023). Persevering professionals: dilemmas of relationships and self-determination in work with people with intellectual disability- a multi-method study based in interpersonal recall. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 
https://doi.org/10.1177/17446295231154126

Husabø, M; Mæhle, M; Råheim, M; Øien AM. (2023). Possibilities and Pitfalls: Exploring social welfare professionals’ experiences with Interpersonal Process Recall followed by focus group discussions. European Journal of Social Work, •  https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2023.2266589

Gjellestad, Å; Oksholm, Alvsvåg, H; Bruvik, FK. «Vi må snakke om bruk av tvang mot demente». KRONIKK i Forskersonen, 14. november 2023 - 10:01 https://www.forskersonen.no/demens-helsetjenester-kronikk/vi-ma-snakke-o...

Marte E. S. Haaland, MES; Bruvik, FK; Cetin, KS; Daltveit, AK; Gjengedal, E; Kjelsvik, M; Moland KM. Rapport «Kvinners erfaringer med abortnemnder» Juni 2023. Publisert sammen med NOU desember 2023, 
https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dep/hod/org/styrer-rad-og-utvalg/abortutva...

Engelsrud, G; Thoresen, L; Ørbeck, T; Råheim, M. Til forsvar for mennesket i den digitale tidsalder. Khrono, 15. juni 2023. https://khrono.no/til-forsvar-for-mennesket-i-den-digitale-tidsalder/789895


2022
Råheim, M; Moltu, C; Natvik, E. (2022) Living the dream, but not without hardship: Stories about self-directed weight transformation from severe obesity. Psychology and Health, https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3051443
Husabø, M. Mæhle, M; Råheim, M; Øien, AM. (2022). Balancing responsibility, boundaries and time: social workers’ experiences in service user meetings – a multi-method study based on Interpersonal Process Recall. Nordic Social Work Research,   
https://doi.org/10.1080/2156857X.2022.2092541 

Hjelmeland, IHH; Drageset, J; Nordvik, Ø; Beisland, EG. (2022). Quality of life in home-dwelling cancer patients aged 80 years and older: a systematic review. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 20, 154. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3040096

Benestad, M; Drageset, J; Hufthammer, KO; Vollsæter, M; Vederhus, BJ; Halvorsen, T. (2022). Long-term follow-up of self-reported mental health and health-related quality of life in adults born extremely preterm. Early Human Development,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2022.105661

Søvde, BE; Sandvoll, AM; Natvik, E; Drageset, J. (2022). In the borderland of the body-how frail older people experience frailty. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 2022;36:255–264. DOI: 10.1111/scs.12984 

Benestad, M; Drageset, J; Eide, GE; Vollsæter, M; Halvorsen, T; Vederhus, BJ (2022). Development of health-related quality of life and subjective health complaints in adults born extremely preterm: a longitudinal cohort study. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. 20,  (2022): 1-11. DOI:10.1186/s12955-022-02018-5

Søvde, BE; Sandvoll, AM; Natvik, E; Drageset, J. (2022). Carrying on life at home or moving to a nursing home: frail older people’s experiences of at-homeness. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/zqhw20
 
Beisland, EG; Andresen, NM; Hovland, K; Pfeffer, F; Beisland, C; Drageset, J. (2022). Cancer patients ≥80 years of age admitted for surgical treatment – Baseline characteristics from the elderly somatic cancer patient study (ELDSOCA). 

Gjellestad, Å; Oksholm, T; Alvsvåg H; Bruvik F. (2022). Autonomy conquers all: a thematic analysis of nurses' professional judgement encountering resistance to care from home-dwelling persons with dementia. BMC Health Service Research, 2022 4;22(1):749. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08123-x. PMID: 35659660; PMCID: PMC9167050.

Midtbust, MH; Gjengedal, E; Alnes, RE: Moral distress - a threat to dementia care? A qualitative study of nursing staff members’ experiences in long-term care facilities. BMC Health Services Research 2022, 22 (

Finished master projects

2021

  • Torvik, Siv (2021) Et sted å puste: En undersøkelse av et naturbasert dagtilbud for ungdom som strever. Veiledere: Målfrid Råheim, Astrid Blystad og Carine Ribe Fernee (Sørlandet sykehus HF)
  • Soltvedt Eike, Karina (2021) Betydninger av brukerstyrt personlige assistanse i hverdagen: Erfaringer og muligheter. En kvalitativ studie. Veiledere: Astrid Blystad og Målfrid Råheim.
  • Nesbø Øvrebø, Marita (2021) Sammenheng mellom krav-kontroll og forventning til arbeidsdeltakelse blant yrkesaktie med langvarige muskel- og skjelettsmerter. Veileder: Frøydis Bruvik

2020

  • Henriksen, Anders Eltvik (2020) Pasienters erfaringer med endringsprosesser i fysioterapibehandling for langvarige muskelskjelettplager. Veileder: Målfrid Råheim
  • Hageberg, Stein Kvaal (2020) Personer med kneartrose sine erfaringer med oppfølging av anbefalte øvelser og fysisk aktivitet etter avsluttet fysioterapibehandling. Veileder: Målfrid Råheim
  • Svindseth, Janita (2020) Å leve med cellegiftindusert perifer polynevropati - en kvalitativ studie av kreftoverleveres erfaringer. Veileder: Frøydis Bruvik og Sidsel Ellingsen
  • Løvik, Juliane Moberg (2020) Helsepersonells erfaringer med ivaretakelse av pasienter med orienterings- og hukommelsesvansker innlagt på somatisk sykehus - En kvalitativ studie. Veildere: Frøydis Bruvik og Sidsel Ellingsen
  • Gunnheim Klausen, Anne Mari (2020) Helserelatert livskvalitet etter utskrivelse fra sykehus med opioidbehandling for akutte smerter. Veildere: Frøydis Bruvik og Jorunn Drageset
  • Skogseide Hauge, Bente (2020) Hvordan mestrer pasienter som har distal radius fraktur sin hverdag. Veildere: Karin Anna Petersen og Jorunn Drageset
  • Leila, Frid (2020) Tap av personlige minner og hukommelse, hva betyr det for personer som har gjennomgått elektrokonvulsiv behandling? Veiledere: Eva Gjengedal og Astrid Blystad.

2019

  • Lukkari, Tanja (2019) Sami dement patients with linguistic problems and health care. Veiledere: Frøydis Bruvik og Eva Gjengedal.
  • Grundt, Hege (2019) Ammefrekvens og skår på BSES-SF: en sammenligning av to nyfødtintensivavdelinger i Norge med ulik tilnærming til familiesentrert pleie. Veiledere: Frøydis Bruvik og Eva Gjengedal.