Research Interests

I am employed as a PhD student in the Medical Research Unit at the Hospital of Southern Jutland. Through the PhD project, I want to collaborate with citizens living with type 2 diabetes and multi-disease, as well as their relatives and health professionals to create an intervention that can ensure that outpatient programmes make sense for the individual. The PhD project is based on the health literacy of citizens and their relatives and consists of three sub-studies; 1) a questionnaire survey among patients and relatives, 2) in-depth patient and relative interviews and 3) workshops with patients, relatives and healthcare professionals. Patients and healthcare professionals affiliated with the diabetes outpatient clinics at Sygehus Sønderjylland and STENO Diabetes Centre Odense are included.

Sub-study one examines the strengths and weaknesses in the health competences of citizens with type 2 diabetes and multimorbidity and their relatives using a health literacy questionnaire. The aim is to gain a more nuanced insight into the health literacy of this population. Sub-study two examines the impact of patients‘ and relatives’ health resources on their experience of their own health/disease, including the circumstances that promote or inhibit access to healthcare, the encounter with healthcare professionals, and the experience of being able to understand, assess and use health information.  In sub-study three, we develop an initiative that aims to meet the different health competences of citizens with type 2 diabetes and multi-disease and their relatives. Workshops are held with citizens, carers and healthcare professionals with experience in the care and treatment of citizens with type 2 diabetes and multimorbidity.

By collaborating with citizens, relatives and healthcare professionals and building on their health competences, it is possible to develop an initiative that can prevent worsening of the disease and acute hospital admissions.

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