Ambivalent and heavy burdened wanderers on a road less travelled: a meta-ethnography on end-of-life care experiences among family caregivers in rural areas.

Background: As the population ages, more people will be diagnosed with cancer, and they will live longer due to receiving better treatment and optimized palliative care. Family members will be expected to take on more responsibilities related to providing palliative care at home. Several countries have expressed their vision of making home death an option, but such a vision can be more challenging in rural areas.

Suitability of issuing sickness certifications in remote consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed method study of GPs' experiences.

Objective: To explore Norwegian GPs' experiences with and perceived suitability of issuing sickness certifications in remote consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: We used a mixed methods research design. An online survey with 301 respondents was combined with qualitative interviews with ten GPs.

Comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation in home-based online groups: a mixed method pilot study in COPD.

Background: Comprehensive multidisciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation is vital in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is considered for any stage of the disease. Rehabilitation programmes are often centre-based and organised in groups. However, the distance from the patient's home to the centre and lack of transportation may hinder participation.

[Throat disease in the periphery of Europe: the introduction of diphteria antitoxin in Romsdal county].

Diphteria played a key role in establishing the bacteriological model for explaining infectious disease. This understanding of bacteriological factors spurred research that culminated in the development of diphteria antitoxin, the first effective therapeutic cure for an epidemiological disease. Prior to the introduction of antitoxin, isolation and disinfection were regarded as the key defences against diphteria.

Low-intensity self-management intervention for persons with type 2 diabetes using a mobile phone-based diabetes diary, with and without health counseling and motivational interviewing: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The present study protocol is designed to cover the Norwegian part of the European Union Collaborative Project-REgioNs of Europe WorkINg together for HEALTH (RENEWING HEALTH). Self-management support is an important element of care for persons with type 2 diabetes (T2D) for achieving metabolic control and positive lifestyle changes. Telemedicine (TM) with or without health counseling may become an important technological aid for self-management and may provide a user-centered model of care.

Reconsidering formative measurement.

The relationship between observable responses and the latent constructs they are purported to measure has received considerable attention recently, with particular focus on what has become known as formative measurement. This alternative to reflective measurement in the area of theory-testing research is examined in the context of the potential for interpretational confounding and a construct's ability to function as a point variable within a larger model. Although these issues have been addressed in the traditional reflective measurement context, the authors suggest that they are particularly relevant in evaluating formative measurement models.

Telemedicine in haemodialysis: a university department and two remote satellites linked together as one common workplace.

A common workplace was established between the renal unit at the University Hospital of North Norway and two satellite dialysis centres, in Alta and Hammerfest. A 2 Mbit/s ATM network was employed for IP-based videoconferencing. A common electronic medical record system and dialysis monitoring software were used.

[Is teleradiology service in primary health care cost-effective?].

Background: Not many analyses have been performed of the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine services. A teleradiology service linking a general practice in rural Norway up with the local hospital in the nearest town was established in 1998.

Methods: Savings on traveling expenditure were registered for all patients who underwent elective examinations in Otta during the first year of service.

[Will the use of still image electronic referrals save costs?].

Background: The use of still images in an electronic referral makes it possible for patients with uncomplicated skin disorders to receive treatment at their local health clinic by their own physician. The aim of this study was to analyse whether investing in technology to forward still images via telemedicine is cost-effective and to assess how many municipalities in the counties of Troms and Finnmark that have a sufficient workload to reach this requirement.

Material And Methods: The additional costs of using still images were compared to patient travel costs to the University Hospital of Tromsø.

A comparison of pain rating scales by sampling from clinical trial data.

Objective: The goals of this study were to examine agreement and estimate differences in sensitivity between pain assessment scales.

Design: Multiple simultaneous pain assessments by patients in acute pain after oral surgery were used to compare a four-category verbal rating scale (VRS-4) and an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS-11) with a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS). The sensitivity of the scales (i.

Upside assay sensitivity in a dental pain model.

The extent of surgical trauma was related to postoperative pain intensity in a previous study. However, more extensive surgical procedures with higher baseline pain intensity did not appear to influence the ability to document the additive analgesic effect of codeine when given with paracetamol, partly due to large interindividual variation in baseline pain intensity. The aim of the present study was to attempt to improve upside assay sensitivity in this dental pain model by: (1) selecting patients with high baseline pain intensity; and (2) closer supervision of outpatients>> drug intake and compliance with protocol.

Combining diclofenac with acetaminophen or acetaminophen-codeine after oral surgery: a randomized, double-blind single-dose study.

In a randomized double-blind study, 120 patients with moderate to strong pain after surgical removal of wisdom teeth were given the following in single oral doses: 100-mg enteric-coated diclofenac tablets; 1 g acetaminophen (INN, paracetamol); 1 g acetaminophen plus 60 mg codeine; 100-mg enteric-coated diclofenac tablets plus 1 g acetaminophen; or 100-mg enteric-coated diclofenac tablets plus 1 g acetaminophen plus 60 mg codeine. Patients recorded pain intensity and pain relief for 8 hours. Upside assay sensitivity was confirmed because acetaminophen plus codeine was superior to acetaminophen.

Comparison of present pain intensity assessments on horizontally and vertically oriented visual analogue scales.

Contrary results have been reported from studies comparing horizontal and vertical orientations of the visual analogue scale (VAS) in non-dental pain states. The vertical orientation of the VAS has been used in our department for several years while the horizontal orientation is the most commonly used in other acute pain models. The present study investigated whether a horizontally oriented VAS is as sensitive as a vertically oriented VAS in the assessment of present pain after oral surgery.

Variation in surgical trauma and baseline pain intensity: effects on assay sensitivity of an analgesic trial.

The aims of this study were to test the hypotheses that the type of 3rd molar removal determines baseline pain and that baseline pain influences analgesic assay sensitivity. Three groups of patients were studied: (i) 100 patients that had one fully erupted maxillary 3rd molar extracted; (ii) 95 patients that had one lower impacted 3rd molar surgically removed; and (iii) 98 patients that had two ipsilateral impacted 3rd molars surgically removed. In a randomized, double-blind fashion, the patients received (every third hour, three times) either: (i) paracetamol 1g; (ii) paracetamol 1g plus codeine 60 mg; or (iii) placebo.

[The Norwegian Patient Insurance System. Documentation of patient information and use of medical experts in cases of injuries].

Claims for compensation for surgical injuries submitted to the Norwegian System of Compensation for Injuries to Patients were analysed with respect to the written documentation of the case, patient information and the medical experts involved. Documentation of the indication for treatment, the surgical procedures and the injury were good, and acceptable in more than 90% of the case reports. Preoperative information on the patient was only documented in the report in 5% of the cases.

[Surgical injuries registered in the Norwegian system for patient injuries. Possibilities of the use of the material for quality improvement in Norwegian hospitals].

328 surgical "errors" reported to the Norwegian System of Compensation for Injuries to Patients were analysed in order to find out how the errors can be exploited for the purpose of quality improvement. In 8% of the cases the patients had been treated as emergency cases. 7% of the patients had been treated as out-patients.