Prosjektperiode: 09.2022 – 09.2026
Prosjekteier og leder: Nord Universitetet, Rose Mari Olsen
Samarbeidspartnere: NTNU – SOF, midt, Miduniversitetet (SW), Swansea University, Sykehuset Innlandet HF, USN – SOF, sør, Ål kommune, Åfjord kommune, Hamar kommune, Risør kommune, Astrid Skogseth Kreativ
SOF rolle: prosjektmedarbeider (AP 4), Per Gunnar Disch
Finansieringskilder: NFR- KSP (Kompetanse- og samarbeidsprosjekt)
Mål og visjon med prosjektet:
The project addresses several outcomes and impacts on different levels and for different topics. At a societal, individual level, the project has an ambition to reduce medication harm for older recipients of home care services, consequently, increase the quality of life for older adults. If the study detects errors and weaknesses in the service chain, this might enable new routines and procedures for medication management services in the municipalities and reduce costs. The project takes in use both a co-inquiry model with lay-researchers and arts-based methods, which represent the use of new research methods in this field, leading to an impact at the academic level. Incorrect medication use and administration have an economic impact on the society as a whole. Beyond individual suffering, individuals may be hospitalised, which incurs higher costs than municipal services. The project has ambitions to contribute with knowledge to reduce this suffering and costs.
Prosjektoppsummering (metode, gjennomføring og virking):
The overall aim of this project is to facilitate sustainable, personalised and safe medication use for older adults living at home. The broad Norwegian political agreement that all residents should be able to live at home for as long as possible is challenged by the healthcare service’s struggle to provide safe medication treatment to home-dwelling older adults. Inappropriate prescribing of medicines, lack of competence, inadequate communication and information sharing, and a low degree of personal orientation constitute major challenges for medication safety in home care services. Several measures have been initiated to reduce drug-related problems, like medication reviews and skills development for healthcare professionals. A major weakness of many initiatives is that the service users are passive recipients of medicines and not informed and empowered to participate in making the medication management process safer and characterised as top-down interventions. Several call for a more bottom-up approach to explore the person-centred modifiable conditions that lead to safe medication use. This project meets the urgent need for increasing knowledge of interventions and will be addressed from user, health professional and organisational perspectives to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the medication management process. We use various qualitative designs, such as case study, ethnography and art-based research in addition to quantitative methodology in the form of a cross-sectional study. We take a bottom-up approach by using co-creative inquiry and adopt applied theatre, with its unique ability to involve and provide those concerned by the research a different way to reflect and provide new awareness, interpretations, attitudes and understanding and to enable changes. The project is close to practice and is anchored in partner municipalities. International research collaboration is included, as well as collaboration across several disciplines and service levels.