WARNING
Project Manager
PhD fellow
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Health literacy is the ability of individuals to find, understand, evaluate and use health information in order to make informed decisions about their own health. It is important that health services facilitate the acquisition of this competence by patients and adapt services to the individual's competence. Studies have shown that immigrants who do not speak the same language as the majority population have poorer treatment outcomes than the general population. However, we know little about the barriers that patients with an immigrant background and rheumatic diseases experience in meeting health professionals and how their needs for health services can be met.
The purpose of this project is twofold:
1) To gain knowledge about the wishes and needs of immigrants with inflammatory rheumatic diseases for information, support and follow-up from healthcare professionals in order to best manage the disease.
2) To develop measures that contribute to health services facilitating immigrants with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and limited Norwegian language skills having sufficient health literacy and being able to live as well as possible with the disease.
WHO CAN JOIN?
Adult patients (over 18 years of age) with inflammatory rheumatic disease who have a native language other than Norwegian and who may use an interpreter in their consultation with healthcare personnel.
Healthcare professionals, including general practitioners, who encounter patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease in their practice.
WHAT DOES THE STUDY INVOLVE?
In the study, we will conduct qualitative interviews with approximately 20 patients at Diakonhjemmet Hospital and Drammen Hospital. We will then conduct separate idea-generating workshops with patients and healthcare professionals to develop concrete measures that can strengthen health literacy and help healthcare services better meet patients' needs for information, support and follow-up.
The study is being carried out as a three-year doctoral project and will start in the fall of 2023.