Biomedical subjects

Gerd Karin Natvig

Publications and source records attributed to Gerd Karin Natvig.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The role of the student: salutogenic or pathogenic?

Associations between sense of coherence (SOC) and school-related resources (supportive school environment, adequate learning conditions) and stress (pressure of schoolwork, bored of school) were explored in a representative sample of 4116 Norwegian school adolescents, aged 11, 13 and 15 years. The students participated in the World Health Organization Cross-National Survey 'Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children 1997/98 (HBSC)'. Multiple linear regression analyses were applied. In unadjusted analyses, all resources and stress factors were significantly related to SOC. In analyses adjusted for all these factors, support from teacher was the only variable that did not remain significant. The strongest and most adverse association with SOC was seen in the relation with feeling pressured by schoolwork among both genders. The next strongest associations were found with support from peers and adequate expectations. In general, the associations with SOC were stronger among girls than boys, but a similar tendency was found for both genders. Implications for school health promotion are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Psychometric testing of a Norwegian version of the Premature Infant Pain Profile: an acute pain assessment tool. A clinical validation study.

As neonates are submitted to pain, assessing the pain is crucial in effective pain control. The Premature Infant Pain Profile, an acute measurement tool combining physiological, behavioural and contextual indicators, was translated into Norwegian and tested clinically. The purpose was to establish construct validity, interrater reliability and internal consistency. In addition, the effect of sucrose as pain analgesia was tested in neonates >or= 36 weeks of gestational age. In a known-groups comparisons design with repeated measures, 111 consecutive neonates, preterm and term, were all observed at baseline, non-pain and pain event. Neonates in the neonatal unit received sucrose at pain event. A significant interaction effect of gestational age and events was found in the sucrose neonates. A significant interaction effect was detected from sucrose and event type for neonates from 36 weeks. The internal consistency of the six-item score was acceptable. A correlation coefficient of 0.89-0.97 was obtained for interrater reliability. The Norwegian version of the Premature Infant Pain Profile seems to be a reliable and valid instrument for pain assessment in neonates.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2005

Diet quality in 116 Norwegian men and women with coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Clinical intervention studies have provided strong evidence that a healthy diet can prevent coronary heart disease. The aims of this study were to describe the diet quality in Norwegian subjects from Sogn and Fjordane County with coronary heart disease, and to investigate if the diet quality was associated with demographic and lifestyle variables. METHODS: We used a self-administered questionnaire to assess information from 116 participants. A Healthy Diet Score (HDS) indicated the diet quality. Multiple Linear regression analyses were used to investigate associations between relevant variables and the HDS. RESULTS: We found that 26.7% of the participants had a poor HDS, 64.6% had a fair HDS and 8.7% had a good HDS. We found that the widespread suboptimal diet quality (poor or fair HDS) was partially related to low consumption of nonhydrogenated mayonnaise products, vegetables, and fruit/berries/juice. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that women had better HDS than men, and that subjects with high education had better HDS than subjects with low education (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We found that 91.3% of the participants had a suboptimal diet quality. The consumption of nonhydrogenated mayonnaise products, vegetables and fruit/berries/juice were poor and a principal goal should be to increase the consumption of these food items. Health professionals should keep in mind that gender and educational level may be associated with dietary habits. An important clinical implication of this study is that more attention should be paid to dietary counselling.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Coping with chronic pain.

Many models of pain give coping an important role in understanding adaptation to chronic pain. Among these, Lazarus and Folkman's cognitive-phenomenological model of stress and coping provides a theoretical framework to conceptualise stress phenomena and coping strategies related to chronic pain. Chronic pain often necessitates new coping skills. An understanding of the concept of coping and how the patients cope is therefore crucial for the success of rehabilitation. The current study examined how coping, as measured by the Ways of Coping Checklist, was related to medical variables, depression measured by the Short Zung depression rating scale, and Rosenberg's self-esteem scale. The study sample consisted of 88 people who were recruited for a multidisciplinary pain management programme. Data were collected as part of a routine pre-treatment evaluation. Results indicated that the most predominant stressors were related to family life and social activities. We also recognised on the one hand, appraising pain as a challenge was predictive of problem-focused coping, while on the other hand, appraising pain as a threat, experiencing depression, and reduced self-esteem were predictive of emotion-focused coping. Clinical implications of these results in nursing are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

Health-related quality of life and pain beliefs among people suffering from chronic pain.

Chronic pain, when not effectively treated and relieved, may have a harmful effect on all aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQL). Furthermore, pain beliefs are considered an important mediating psychological factor in chronic pain. The present study focused on HRQL as measured by the Medical Outcomes Survey-Short Form (SF-36) and addressed possible relationships between pain beliefs as measured by the Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory (PBAPI). The possible impact of background variables such as age, gender, social support, pain intensity, pain duration, and analgesics on HRQL were controlled for in the analyses. The study sample consisted of 81 people who were recruited from a multidisciplinary pain management program. Data were collected as the first part of a routine pretreatment evaluation. The chronic-pain patients reported lower scores on all dimensions of HRQL compared to normal controls and other patient groups. No significant association was found between pain beliefs and the physical health dimension of HRQL whereas gender, pain duration, and pain intensity were significant predictors of that dimension. In addition, one of the dimensions of pain beliefs (i.e., mystery) was found to be predictive of the mental health dimension of HRQL. Social support made an additional contribution to the explained variance in mental health. The implications of these results for assessing HRQL and pain beliefs in chronic pain are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Psychosocial factors associated with quality of life among individuals attending genetic counseling for hereditary cancer.

The aim of this multicenter study was to explore associations between psychosocial factors (general self-efficacy, perceived availability of social support, cancer-related distress) and health-related quality of life, among individuals at risk for hereditary cancer. One-hundred and twenty one participants with a family history of breast-cancer or colorectal cancer answered a questionnaire 2-4 weeks prior to genetic counseling. The two dimensions of the health-related quality of life measure, mental and physical health were both used as outcome variables. Multiple regression (linear) analyses revealed that increasing degrees of cancer-related distress was related to decreasing degrees of mental health whereas increasing degrees of self-efficacy and social support were related to increasing degrees of this outcome variable. Self-efficacy, self-esteem support and tangible aid seemed to moderate the relationship between cancer-related distress and mental health. These results suggest that self-efficacy and certain resources of social support buffer the negative association between cancer-related distress and mental health, and might be suitable for interventional efforts. Implications for genetic counseling practice are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Associations between psychosocial factors and happiness among school adolescents.

The concept of health contains aspects of social and mental well-being and not just the absence of disease. The concept of well-being is sometimes used interchangeably with the term happiness, although focus has been on other aspects as well. Here we explore associations between happiness and experience of stress at school, personal and social factors among 887 Norwegian school adolescents participating in a World Health Organization project on health-promoting schools. Happiness was measured by a one item question (ordered responses 1-4). The psychosocial factors were represented by an average score of 3-12 items. Odds ratios of feeling very/quite happy were calculated in multiple logistic regression analyses. An increasing degree of stress experience reduced the feeling of happiness significantly. Furthermore, increasing levels of general self-efficacy increased the odds of feeling happy, whereas the more specific measure of school self-efficacy showed no independent effect. Social support from teachers also enhanced happiness significantly. A less consistent pattern was found for support from peers, but the most happy pupils experienced significantly more support than pupils who reported being unhappy. No significant trend was found with decision control. We also explored associations between happiness and psychosomatic symptoms. Pupils feeling unhappy reported a particular symptom more often and they also had the highest mean number of reported symptoms. To evaluate whether these health indicators represent different dimensions of health, a comparison of strength of associations with common risk factors is made. Implications for health promotion practice are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Results of a multidisciplinary pain management program: a 6- and 12-month follow-up study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate an 8-week multidisciplinary pain management program offered to patients suffering from chronic pain. The study initially included 88 participants, and 61 of the sample completed a follow-up program conducted at 6 and 12 months after the initial programs. The pain management program was based on a cognitive behavioral approach with active patient participation in learning new coping skills. The intervention consisted of supervised dialog, physical activity, and education. The main goals were change of focus from pain and disability to resources and functional coping strategies. It was hypothesized that the positive changes gained at posttest registration after an 8-week program on coping, health-related quality of life, and pain intensity would be maintained during follow-up sessions. The results indicated that these hypotheses were mainly supported and further pain reduction, decreased emotion-focused coping, better social functioning, and overall physical and mental health gains were observed. The participants who did not complete the follow-up program did not differ from the patients who completed the program on background variables investigated. The study also supported the claim that professional nurses are competent to lead such programs and to evaluate treatment results. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗