Humoral and cellular responses to a fifth bivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases on tumour necrosis factor inhibitors: a prospective cohort study.

Background: As most people now have established hybrid immunity, the need for regular, updated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine boosters in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) is unclear. The study aim was to assess humoral and cellular immunogenicity of a fifth bivalent vaccine dose in patients with IMID on tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi).

Methods: In the longitudinal, observational Nor-vaC study, we assessed anti-spike and neutralising antibodies against Wuhan, Omicron BA.

Effects on HbA1c of referral of type 2 diabetes patients to secondary care.

Aim: To study trajectories of HbA1c in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients referred to diabetes outpatient clinics (DOCs), and to explore characteristics of referrals and patient pathways in patients treated in DOCs.

Methods: We retrospectively followed T2D patients from the Norwegian population-based ROSA 4 study to identify persons with T2D who were referred to a DOC. We used latent class trajectory modelling to identify subgroups of patients with similar patterns of HbA1c one year before to one year after the first consultation at a DOC.

National surveys of patient experiences with addiction services in Norway: do employees use the results in quality initiatives and are results improving over time?

Introduction: The experiences of patients receiving health care constitute an important aspect of health-care quality assessments. One of the purposes of the national program of patient-experience surveys in Norway is to support institutional and departmental improvements to the quality of local health-care services. This program includes national surveys of patients receiving interdisciplinary treatment for substance dependence performed four times between 2013 and 2017.

Determinants of an unfavorable treatment outcome among tuberculosis patients in the Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health challenge in Ethiopia. TB treatment outcomes were suboptimal compared to the expected target of the national TB control Program. The provision of standard anti-TB treatment is the primary component of the directly observed treatment, short-course strategy.

Digital health literacy in Norwegian patients with hip and knee arthroplasty: normative data from a cross-sectional study.

Background And Purpose:  As digital health services become increasingly important in osteoarthritis treatment, understanding patients' digital health literacy (eHL) is crucial, including those undergoing total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA). We primarily aimed to provide eHL norms in a representative group of Norwegian patients, and secondarily to examine the relationships between eHL and health-related quality of life (QoL).

Methods:  We invited 800 randomly selected THA/TKA patients from the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register to complete a paper-based questionnaire, which included sociodemographic variables.

Environmental exposures and fecundability: The Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort study.

Previous studies have linked certain environmental exposures to reduced fecundability, influencing exposure recommendations. We continue to encounter numerous environmental exposures in our everyday lives, and further evidence is needed regarding their effects on fecundability. We evaluated associations between various self-reported environmental exposures and fecundability, measured as time to pregnancy, in 64,942 women and 53,219 men participating in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort study (MoBa).

Proactive therapeutic drug monitoring of biologic drugs in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, inflammatory arthritis, and psoriasis: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To address the efficacy and safety of proactive therapeutic drug monitoring of biologic drugs for patients with inflammatory bowel disease, inflammatory arthritis, and psoriasis.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, Central, and CINAHL, from database inception to 23 May 2024.

Schools of public health as a cornerstone for pandemic preparedness and response: the Africa COVID-19 experience.

Background: The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused significant morbidity and mortality in Africa, in addition to other socio-economic consequences. Across the continent, Schools of Public Health (SPHs) played several roles in supporting national, regional, and global response to the pandemic. Following a published and grey literature search, this paper reviews and analyses the contribution of SPHs in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health-related quality of life and its association with socioeconomic status and mental health in 5- to 7-year-old children: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Assessing socioeconomic status (SES), mental health, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in young children is crucial for making informed health care decisions and identifying areas of intervention. The present study aimed to investigate potential associations between SES, mental health, and HRQoL in 5-7-year-old children.

Method: The present study included mother-reported health assessments for 621 children aged 5-7 years in Grade 1 collected between 2019 and 2023 as part of the Starting Right™ project.

Screening and Following Up Harmful Alcohol Use "… is Not Necessarily Your Primary Focus": A Qualitative Study Exploring Health Professionals' Experiences Addressing Harmful Alcohol Use in a Norwegian Hospital.

Introduction: Alcohol use remains a leading cause of excess mortality and morbidity worldwide, and identifying and following up harmful alcohol use represents a key component of alcohol harm reduction policies. This article explores health professionals' experiences implementing these policies in a Norwegian hospital.

Aim: To explore health professionals' views and experiences of systematic screening and tailored follow-up of harmful and hazardous alcohol use in a Norwegian hospital.

The performance of a point-of-care test for the diagnosis of Neurocysticercosis in a resource-poor community setting in Zambia - a diagnostic accuracy study.

Background: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is the main cause of epilepsy in endemic rural communities. NCC diagnosis is difficult due to unavailability and unaffordability of serologic assays and neuroimaging. This study aimed to assess the performance of a cheap, novel lateral-flow point-of-care (TS POC) test for the diagnosis of NCC in a community setting.

Primary prevention in hospitals in 20 high-income countries in Europe - A case of not "Making Every Contact Count"?

This article provides a snapshot of primary prevention activities in hospitals in 20 European high-income countries, based on inputs from experts of the Observatory's Health Systems and Policies Monitor (HSPM) network using a structured questionnaire. We found that in the vast majority of countries (15), there are no systematic national policies on primary prevention in hospitals. Five countries (Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom) reported systematic primary prevention activities in hospitals, although in one of them (Cyprus) this was due to the fact that small hospitals in rural areas or less populated districts host providers of primary care.

Patient satisfaction with rehabilitation services following traumatic brain injury: a quality registry study.

Objective: To examine factors associated with patient satisfaction with rehabilitation services received after traumatic brain injury.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Subjects/patients: Persons with mild to severe traumatic brain injury (n = 1,375) registered in the "Oslo TBI Registry - Rehabilitation" quality register at Oslo University Hospital from 1 January 2018-31 July 2022.

Psychometric properties of the Ethiopian national licensing exam in medicine: an analysis of multiple-choice questions using classical test theory.

: The Ethiopian Ministry of Health introduced medical licensure examinations to maintain high standards in medical practice and build public trust in healthcare professionals. Studies also suggested significant issues in clinical competence among Ethiopian junior doctors as well concerns regarding unlicensed practice. Given the need to ensure safe health care, we investigated the psychometric properties of the multiple-choice items comprising the Ethiopian national licensing exam (NLE).

Unravelling demographic and socioeconomic patterns of COVID-19 death and other causes of death: results of an individual-level analysis of exhaustive cause of death data in Belgium, 2020.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant excess mortality in 2020 in Belgium. By using microlevel cause-specific mortality data for the total adult population in Belgium in 2020, three outcomes were considered in this study aiming at predicting sociodemographic (SD) and socioeconomic (SE) patterns of (1) COVID-19 specific death compared to survival; (2) all other causes of death (OCOD) compared to survival; and (3) COVID-19 specific death compared to all OCOD.

Methods: Two complementary statistical methods were used.

Fatigue in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in remission one year after diagnosis (the IBSEN III study).

Background And Aims: Fatigue is commonly observed in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), but its association to achieving remission is not clearly established. In this study we describe the odds for fatigue in patients with CD/UC one year after diagnosis based on different definitions of remission and identified factors associated with chronic fatigue (CF) among patients in endoscopic/radiological remission.

Methods: Patients ≥18 years with CD/UC were recruited from the IBSEN III cohort.

Ethics in the operating room: a systematic review.

Background/objective: The act of surgery involves harming vulnerable patients with the intent that the results will improve their health and, ultimately, help the patients. Such activities will inevitably entail moral decisions, yet the ethics of surgery has only recently developed as a field of medical ethics. Within this field, it is striking how few accounts there are of actions within the operating room.

Family Health Care Needs in a Pediatric Population 6 Months After Moderate and Severe Physical Trauma.

: Traumatic injury is a leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults. There is a lack of evidence-based literature and guidelines on supporting families after severe child injury. This study aimed to assess the family needs and factors associated with those needs.

Covid-19 vaccination and menstrual bleeding disturbances among women of fertile age: a Norwegian registry study.

This study evaluated the relationship between Covid-19 vaccination and menstrual bleeding disturbances using a large national registry linkage including 666,467 women between 20 and 40 years of age residing in Norway on January 1st, 2019. Information on vaccination-BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 - was obtained from the Norwegian vaccination registry. Diagnoses of menstrual disturbances (absent/scanty, excessive, irregular/frequent menstruation, and intermenstrual bleeding) was obtained from the general practitioner database.

'Shades of grey': a focus group study on diagnostic uncertainty among general practitioners using point-of-care ultrasound.

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has long been a diagnostic tool in family medicine, although most Norwegian general practitioners (GPs) who use POCUS, scans infrequently. The broad scope of family medicine, the relatively low prevalence of illnesses and infrequent use of POCUS imply that GPs may experience diagnostic uncertainty regularly.

Aim: To explore how GPs perceived and managed diagnostic uncertainty when using POCUS.

Development and evaluation of the Trauma Screener-Intellectual Disability: a post-traumatic stress disorder screening tool for adults with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the adult self-report and proxy version of the Trauma Screener-Intellectual Disability (TS-ID) in adults with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF). An optimal cut-off value was determined for the ratio of specificity to sensitivity for predicting the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Methods: The TS-ID was adapted from a Dutch Child and Adolescent Trauma Screener, for use with adults with MID-BIF.