| 1. |
- Jonasson, Lise-Lotte
(författare)
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A comprehensive picture of ethical values in caring encounters, based on experiences of those involved : Analysis of concepts developed from empirical studies
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Older people should have a life with a sense of value and should feel confident. These ethical values, which are expressed in normative ethics, are expected to prevail in empirical ethics. Central components of nursing are the ethical issues of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and the principles of justice. The general aim of this thesis is to identify and describe the ethical values that are apparent in the caring encounter and their influence on the people involved. This is done from the perspective of the older person in study (I), next of kin in study (II) and nurses in study (III). In study (IV) the aim was to synthesize the concepts from empirical studies (I- III) and analyze, compare and interrelate them with normative ethics. Studies (I, III) were empirical observational studies including follow-up interviews. Twenty-two older people participated voluntarily in study (I), and in study (III) 20 nurses participated voluntarily. In study (II) fourteen next of kin were interviewed. In studies (I- III) constant comparative analysis, the core foundation of grounded theory, was used. Five concepts were used in the analysis in study (IV); three from the grounded theory studies (I- III) and two from the theoretical framework on normative ethics i.e. the ICN code and SFS law. Five categories; being addressed, receiving respect, desiring to participate, increasing self-determination and gaining self-confidence formed the basis for the core category ‚Approaching‛ in study (I). ‘Approaching’ indicates the ethical values that guide nurses in their caring encounters with older people. These ethical values are noted by the older people and are greatly appreciated by them, and also lead to improved quality of care. Four categories were identified in study (II): Receiving, showing respect, facilitating participation and showing professionalism. These categories formed the basis of the core category ‚Being amenable‛, a concept identified in the next of kin’s description of the ethical values that they and the older patients perceive in the caring encounter. In study (III), three categories were identified: showing consideration, connecting, and caring for. These categories formed the basis of the core category ‚Corroborating‛. Corroborating deals with support and interaction. Empirical ethics and normative ethics are intertwined, according to the findings of this study (IV). Normative ethics influence the nurse’s practical performance and could have a greater influence in supporting nurses as professionals. Criteria of good ethical care according to this thesis are: showing respect, invitation to participation, allowing self-determination, and providing safe and secure care. These criteria are elements of the concept of being professional. Professionalism of nurses is shown by: the approach nurses adapt to the performance of their duties, and their competence and knowledge, but also how they apply laws and professional codes
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| 2. |
- Abate, Ebba
(författare)
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The impact of helminth infection in patients with active tuberculosis
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The geographic distribution of helminth infection and tuberculosis (TB) overlap substantially. Experimental animal models and limited data from humans have shown that intestinal helminths could subvert the host immune response towards a T-helper 2 (Th2)-type immune response and an increased regulatory T-cell activity (Tregs). This in turn affects the host's ability to mount an effective Th1 immune-mediated protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, evidence for this hypothesis in the human setting from helminth infected TB patients is limited. This thesis primarily focuses on the immunological and clinical impact of helminth infection on pulmonary TB. The kinetics of the Quantiferon-Gold (QFN) assay, which measures IFN-³ response to TB-specific antigens in whole blood was assessed and showed a modest decline during TB treatment to the level observed for healthy blood donors. We further assessed another clinical monitoring tool, the-TB-score, composed of clinical signs and symptoms of TB, and found an early decline two weeks after initiation of TB- treatment where a failure of decline correlated with increased mortality. Overall, the helminth co-infection rate was significantly higher in TB patients compared to healthy controls. Helminth co-infection was associated to a significantly higher rate of eosinophilia and IgE-levels in healthy controls and patients with tuberculosis. During the first weeks of anti-TB treatment, a marked decrease in the rate of helminth infection was observed in HIV co-infected compared to HIV-negative TB patients. However, helminth co-infection was more common in HIV negative than HIV positive TB patients. There was no detectable impact of helminth infection on the clinical presentation of pulmonary tuberculosis. At baseline, helminth co-infected TB patients showed an increased frequency of Tregs compared to helminth negative TB patients and healthy controls. This was accompanied by an increased rate of PPD stimulated IL-5 and spontaneous production of IL-10 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells among helminth co-infected TB patients. A placebo controlled randomized trial was conducted in order to test the hypothesis that albendazole treatment of helminth positive TB patients may improve the clinical response of TB by reducing the immunmodulatory effect of helminthes on TB immunity. A total of 140 helminth co-infected TB patients were randomized to albendazole (400 mg per os for three consecutive days) or placebo. No significant difference was observed between the albendazole and placebo group in terms of the primary outcome (TB score change between baseline and week 8). Among the secondary outcomes, a significant decline of peripheral eosinophil cells was observed in the albendazole treated group, but no effect on other outcome variables (changes in chest x-ray findings, IgE level and sputum smear conversion). Regarding the immunological assessment no significant difference was observed for changes in Tregs, and PPD-induced production of IFN- ³ or IL-5 although a non-significant trend of a decrease in IL-10 expressing PBMCs were observed in the albendazole group. Taken together, the burden of helminth infection was higher in TB patients than in a healthy control group. Helminth co-infection during pulmonary TB in the human setting induces an immune response characterized by increased IgE production, eosinophilia as well as increased levels of Tregs and spontaneous IL-10 production. Thus, the immunological impact of helminth infection on the outcome and risk for developing TB merits further investigation.
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| 3. |
- Abelius, Martina, 1980-
(författare)
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Immunological interactions between mother and child during pregnancy in relation to the development of allergic diseases in the offspring
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Pregnancy and allergic disease have both been postulated as T-helper 2 (Th2) phenomena. Thus, the increased propensity of allergic mothers to mount Th2-responses might generate favourable effects on the maintenance of pregnancy, but might also be unfavorable, as fetal exposure to a strong Th2 environment could influence the immune development in the offspring to a Th2-like phenotype, favouring IgE production and possibly allergy development later in life. The influence of the intrauterine environment on the immunity and allergy development in the offspring needs to be further investigated.Aim: The aim of this thesis was to explore the Th1/Th2 balance in allergic and non-allergic women during pregnancy and its influence on the shaping of the Th1/Th2 profile in the neonate and the development of allergic diseases in the offspring.Material and methods: The study group included 20 women with and 36 women without allergic symptoms followed during pregnancy (gestational week 10-12, 15-16, 25, 35, 39) and 2 and 12 months postpartum, and their children followed from birth to 6 years of age. The circulating Th1-like chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, Th2-like chemokines CCL17, CCL18 and CCL22, and the allergen-induced secretion of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), CXCL10 and CCL17 were measured by Luminex and ELISA. The allergen-specific and total IgE levels were quantified using ImmunoCAP Technology. mRNA expression of Th1-, Th2-, Treg- and Th17-associated genes were measured by PCR arrays and real-time PCR.Results: We found that sensitised women with allergic symptoms had increased total IgE levels and birch- and cat-induced IL-5, IL-13 and CCL17 responses during pregnancy as compared with postpartum. The non-sensitised women without allergic symptoms had elevated cat-induced IL-5 and IL-13 responses and lower birch- and cat-induced IFN-γ during pregnancy, but similar IgE levels as compared with postpartum.Maternal total IgE levels during and after pregnancy correlated with cord blood (CB) IgE and CCL22 levels (regardless of maternal allergy status). Circulating CXCL11, CCL18 and CCL22 levels during pregnancy and postpartum correlated with the corresponding chemokine levels in the offspring at various time points during childhood. Maternal IL-5 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was associated with neonatal Galectin-1, and placental p35 expression was negatively associated with neonatal Tbx21 expression. Increased mRNA expression of CCL22 in cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMC), and increased CCL17 and CCL22 levels in CB were observed in children later developing allergic symptoms and sensitisation as compared with children who did not. Development of allergic symptoms and sensitisation were associated with increased total IgE, CCL17, CCL18 and CCL22 levels during childhood.Conclusions: Maternal allergy was associated with a pronounced Th2 deviation during pregnancy, shown as increased total IgE levels and birch- and cat-induced IL-5, IL-13 and CCL17 responses during pregnancy, possibly exposing their fetuses to a particular strong Th2 environment during gestation.Correlations were shown between the maternal immunity during pregnancy and the offspring’s immunity at birth and later during childhood, indicating an interplay between the maternal and fetal immunity.Allergy development during the first 6 years of life was associated with a marked Th2 deviation at birth and a delayed down-regulation of this Th2-skewed immunity during childhood.
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| 4. |
- Abtahi, Jahan, 1965-
(författare)
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Bisphosphonates and implants in the jaw bone
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Insertion of metal implants in bone is one of the commonest of all surgical procedures. The success of these operations is dependent on the fixation of the implants, which, in turn, depends on the strength of the bone that holds them. If the quality of the bone holding the implant could be improved locally, surgical procedures would become simpler and rehabilitation would become faster. Bisphosphonates are anti-resorptive drugs that act specifically on osteoclasts, thereby maintaining bone density and strength. Once released from the surface of a coated implant, bisphosphonates reduce osteoclast activity, thereby changing the balance of bone turnover in favor of bone formation, leading to a net gain in local bone density. During the last decades, the effects of bisphosphonate treatment on the stability of implants have been tested in several clinical and animal studies, but not in human jaws. This may be because it has been suggested that there is a link between the use of bisphosphonates (especially those given intravenously) and a condition called osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). The pathophysiology and treatment of ONJ is controversial. The difficulty in treating ONJ has highlighted the importance of prevention.The overall aim of the present thesis was to evaluate the effect of local and systemic use of bisphosphonates on bone tissue. Could a thin, bisphosphonate-eluting fibrinogen coating improve the fixation of metal implants in the human jaw? Would it be possible to reproduce ONJ and prevent the development of this condition in an animal model?In two clinical studies, a total number of 96 implants were inserted in 21 patients. In a randomized trial with a paired design, one implant in each pair was coated with a thin fibrinogen layer containing two bisphosphonates (pamidronate and ibandronate). The bisphosphonate-coated implants showed better stability as measured by resonancefrequency analysis. Radiographic intraoral films also showed less bone loss. Three animal models were developed. In a study comparing local and systemic effects of bisphosphonates, zoledronate-coated screws inserted in rats showed better fixation in spite of a drug treatment that is known to induce ONJ-like lesions when given systemically. In another rat model, ONJ-like lesions were reproducibly induced at sites of tooth extraction whereas there were no signs of bone cell death in uninjured sites. Finally, rat experiments showed that the development of ONJ-like lesions after tooth extraction could be prevented by early mucoperiosteal coverage.In conclusion, a thin, bisphosphonate-eluting fibrinogen coating can improve the fixation of dental implants in human bone. This may lead to new possibilities in orthopaedic surgery and dentistry. The pathophysiology of ONJ is strongly linked to bone exposure in combination with drugs that reduce resorption.
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| 5. |
- Addelyan Rasi, Hamideh, 1975-
(författare)
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Empowering Women in the Middle East by Psychosocial Interventions : Can provision of learning spaces in individual and group sessions and teaching of coping strategies improve women’s quality of life?
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: This study set out to construct a conceptual framework that can be used in social work with women in the Middle East and other settings where women have limited access to resources, which, as a result, limits their decision-making capacity. The framework has both an empirical and a theoretical base. The empirical base comprises data from two intervention projects among Iranian women: single mothers and newly married women. The theoretical base is drawn from relevant psychological and social work theories and is harmonized with the empirical data. Psychosocial intervention projects, based on learning spaces for coping strategies, were organized to assess if Iranian women could use a problemsolving model (i.e. focused on cognition and emotion simultaneously) to effectively and independently meet challenges in their own lives and improve their quality of life.Methods: Descriptive qualitative and quasi-experimental quantitative methods were used for data collection and analysis. Forty-four single mothers and newly married women from social welfare services were allocated to nonrandomized intervention and comparison groups. The intervention groups were invited to participate in a 7-month psychosocial intervention; the comparison groups were provided with treatment as usual by the social welfare services. The WHOQOL-BREF instrument was used to measure quality of life, comparing each intervention groups’ scores before and after the intervention and with respective comparison groups. In addition, content analysis and constant comparative analysis were performed on the qualitative data collected from the participants before, during and after the intervention.Results: The results of the quasi-experimental study show significant and large effect sizes among the women exposed to the intervention. Small and not statistically significant effect sizes were observed in the women provided with traditional social welfare services. Accordingly, teaching coping strategies can be a means to improve the quality of life of women in societies where gender discrimination is prevalent. The qualitative findings from the Iranian projects illustrate a process of change —socio-cognitive empowerment— with regard to thinking, feeling and acting among women during and after the intervention. The women developed a number of mental capacities essential to coping and life management. All women used the model effectively, and consequently, made more deliberate decisions to improve their life situations.Conclusion: The practical lessons from the Iranian projects highlight the possibilities of empowering women through fostering mindfulness and deliberate decision making as well as achieving consciousness. This study provides provisional evidence that psychosocial intervention projects, based on learning spaces for coping strategies, can help many clients to achieve their goals and improve their quality of life, and that this psychosocial intervention project can be a useful model for social work practice with women in the Middle East. The conceptual framework can help social workers to bridge the gap between theory and practice: that is, to draw from existing social work theories and, through the psychosocial intervention model, better apply this knowledge in their practical work with women in challenging social environments.
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| 6. |
- Adolfsson, Emelie, 1985-
(författare)
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Lithium formate EPR dosimetry for accurate measurements of absorbed dose in radiotherapy
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Lithium formate has shown to be a material with properties suitable for electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry, among them up to 7 times higher sensitivity compared to alanine, which is a well-established EPR detector material for dose determinations in radiotherapy.The aim of this thesis was to further investigate the properties of lithium formate and develop the dosimetry system towards applications in radiotherapy. The intrinsic efficiency for energies of relevance to brachytherapy and the signal stability were investigated. The dosimetry system was expanded to include a smaller dosimeter model, suitable for measurements in dose gradient regions. An individual sensitivity correction method was applied to the smaller dosimeters to be able to perform dose determinations with the same precision as for the larger ones. EPR dosimetry in general is time consuming and effort was spent to optimize the signal readout procedure regarding measurement time and measurement precision.The system was applied in two clinical applications chosen for their high demands on the dosimetry system: 1) a dosimetry audit for external photon beam therapy and 2) dose verification measurements around a low energy HDR brachytherapy source.The conclusions drawn from this thesis were: dose determinations can be performed with a standard uncertainty of 1.8-2.5% using both the original size dosimeters and the new developed smaller ones. The dosimetry system is robust and useful for applications when high measurement precision and accuracy is prioritized. It is a good candidate for dosimetry audits, both in external beam therapy and brachytherapy.
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| 7. |
- Afrell, Maria, 1953-
(författare)
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Att leva med en kropp som värker : samtal med fysioterapeuten
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background and aim: Physiotherapists in primary care meet, assess and treat patients with long-standing benign musculoskeletal pain. As a clinical condition, long-standing pain is common but nonetheless it is quite complex. The aim of this thesis has been, from a bodily existential perspective, to investigate and conceptualise the experience of living with longstanding benign musculoskeletal pain, and from there, to work out a method for conversation and assessment within non-specialised physiotherapy.Methods: Our first study was an interview study where we applied a phenomenological approach and investigated the ways individuals suffering from long-standing pain experienced their body and their illness. Four aspects of body experience were described, and based on these aspects, four typologies of attitudes to pain were distinguished. In the second study, we made two group interviews with six physiotherapists about their experiences of using, in their clinical work, questions from the interview guide in study I that had given particularly rich responses. Transcripts were analysed using phenomenography. In the third study, patients’ verbal responses to the key questions, directed to them by physiotherapists in clinical situations, were investigated, and the four aspects of body experience from study I formed the concepts of a deductive analysis. In study IV, finally, the key questions and typologies were tried by a larger group (31), and their experiences and the possible applicability of the method were studied by qualitative content analysis combined with the counting of codes.Results: We created four typologies of attitudes to long-standing pain: “Surrendering to one’s fate”, “Accepting by an active process of change”, “Balancing between hope and resignation” and “Rejecting the body”. These typologies, in turn, were based on four aspects of body experience: “The body as an aspect of identity”. “Body reliance”, “Body awareness”, and “Ways of understanding pain”. In study II, by the aid of key questions, patient and physiotherapist managed to have a conversation on bodily existential matters. The physiotherapist learnt to know the patient as a person, a process appeared to be initiated in the patient, and their relation changed. The patient was willing to talk about her body in pain, and had the words to do this. In study III, the key questions opened ways to reflections on body, existence, and biography. The four aspects of body experience were central to the patients’ descriptions. In study IV, the participating physiotherapists reported by large positive experiences from applying key questions and typologies. The patients reflected, emotions were evoked, and the relation and the communication often improved. The typologies helped in giving a comprehensive perspective of the patient’s problem, and to grasp where in the process of rehabilitation the patient was to be found.Conclusions: The method, seven key questions combined with the tentative frame of interpretation of the answers, seemed to be easily applied by interested physiotherapists in non-specialised practice. The application of the method addresses the need of developing the professional role of the physiotherapist. The challenge is to face the whole person, who is her lived body as well as her identity crisis, carried by emotions such as grief and anger. This may inspire the use of the full potential of the physiotherapist’s professional role in the clinical encounter.
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| 8. |
- Agholme, Fredrik
(författare)
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Wnt signaling and metaphyseal bone healing
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis relates to some new aspects on the regulation of bone healing. In the last few years, Wnt-signaling has been shown to play a central role in bone biology. As well as being involved in bone maintenance and repair, Wnt-signaling has been presented as one of the key pathways through which bone responds to mechanical load. Two secreted extracellular inhibitors of Wnt-signaling, sclerostin and dickkopf-1 are potent negative regulators of bone formation.Using a rat fracture model we investigated how metaphyseal bone healing is influenced by changes in Wnt-signaling.Antibodies were used to suppress levels of sclerostin and dickkopf-1, and thereby increase Wnt-signaling. Primarily, we investigated if those antibody treatments lead to improved bone healing. Also, we investigated if the response was coupled to the loading conditions of the bone.Our findings suggest that suppression of either sclerostin or dickkopf-1 leads to increased bone formation and improved bone healing. Apart from just having an effect on healing, the treatment also improved bone formation in other parts of the skeleton. Depending on the loading conditions, the effects were different. Dickkopf-1 appeared to have a stronger effect on bone volume density in unloaded bone, implying a role mainly in mechano-transduction, while sclerostin had similar effect in both loaded and unloaded bone. To confirm these findings, we studied how the expression of several Wnt-related genes changed due to trauma and unloading in metaphyseal bone. We found that trauma led to upregulation of most of the genes with the largest effect seen in the unloaded bone. In untraumatized bone, there was mainly an effect on the sclerostin gene.In conclusion, antibodies against sclerostin and dickkopf-1 appear to be able to improve metaphyseal bone healing. There appear to be some differences in how the effect of the two antibodies manifests itself, especially if the loading conditions of the bone are altered. These findings suggest a potential for clinical use to shorten fracture healing time.
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| 9. |
- Agholme, Lotta
(författare)
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The involvement of degradation pathways and neuron-to-neuron transmission in Alzheimer’s disease
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Although the vast majority of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) cases are of the sporadic type, mutations causing the familial form have been the focus of AD research for decades. The disease is pathologically characterised by β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau protein aggregates in neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Furthermore, it is known that AD pathology spreads throughout the brain, most often along the same anatomical pattern. However, so far no cause for the sporadic form of the disease has been found. Accumulation of protein aggregates as well as decreased activity of the protein degradation systems, lysosomes and proteasomes, is found in diseased brains. This indicates that defective degradation contributes to sporadic AD.The aim of this thesis was to develop an improved neuronal model, and study the effects of decreased proteasome function on tau phosphorylation and axonal transport. In addition, the effects on Aβ accumulation and generation upon proteasome inhibition were investigated. Finally, the possibility that intracellularly accumulated Aβ oligomers could be transferred from one neuron to another was tested.Differentiation of human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells in an extracellular matrix gel, using a set of neurotrophic factors, resulted in cells with neuronal phenotype, expressing neuron specific markers and all six adult isoforms of tau. Within this neuronal model, we found that reduced proteasome activity inhibited neuritic transport, and caused tau phosphorylation in a c-Jun and ERK 1/2 dependent manner. Using proteasome inhibition in APP overexpressing cells, we found an autophagy dependent intralysosomal Aβ accumulation, together with elevation of intra- and extracellular concentrations of Aβ. Autophagy inhibition protected the cells from the toxicity induced by decreased proteasome activity. Finally, we could, as the first group, show that Aβ can be directly transferred from one neuron to another through connected neurites. Furthermore, accumulation of Aβ in the endo-lysosomal compartment of receiving cells caused toxicity and neurodegeneration.We believe that cells not able to degrade accumulated Aβ, due to increased generation or reduced degradative capacity, instead tries to clear its content through transfer to connected neurons. If not properly degraded in the receiving cell, this can accelerate AD pathology and cause neuritic and neuronal degeneration spreading throughout the brain. Increasing the activity of the degradative systems, or inhibiting transmission of Aβ between neurons could therefore be novel treatments for AD.
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| 10. |
- Agvall, Björn, 1963-
(författare)
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Heart failure in primary care with special emphasis on costs and benefits of a disease management programme
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background and aim. Heart failure (HF) is a common condition associated with poor quality of life (QoL), high morbidity and mortality and is frequently occurring in primary health care (PHC). It involves a substantial economic burden on the health care expenditure. There are modern pharmacological treatments with evident impact on QoL, morbidity, mortality, and proved to be cost-effective. Despite this knowledge, the treatment of HF is considered somewhat insufficient. There are several HF management programmes (HFMP) showing beneficial effects but these studies is predominantly based in hospital care (HC).The first aim of this thesis was to describe patients with HF in the PHC regarding gender differences, diagnosis, treatment and health related costs (I, II).The second aim was to evaluate whether HFMP have beneficial effects in the PHC regarding cardiac function, quality of life, health care utilization and health care-related costs (III,IV).Methods. The initial study involved retrospective collection of data from 256 patients with symptomatic HF in PHC (I). The data collected were gender, age, diagnostics and ongoing treatment. The second study was an economic calculation performed on 115 patients (II). The economic data was retrospectively retrieved as the number of hospital days, visits to nurses and physicians in HC and PHC, prescribed cardiovascular drugs and performed investigation during retrospectively for one year. The third and fourth study was based on a randomized, prospective, open-label study which was subsequently performed (III,IV). The study enrolled 160 patients with systolic HF who were randomized to either an intervention or a control group. The patients in the intervention group retrieved follow-up of HF qualified nurses and physicians in the PHC, involving education about HF and furthermore, optimizing the treatment according to guidelines if possible. The patients in the control group had a followup performed by their regular general practitioner (GP) receiving customary management according to local routines but there was no contact with HF nurses. The primary endpoint of the study was a composite endpoint consisting of changes in survival, hospitalization, heart function and quality of life (QoL) and to compare differences in resource utilization and costs (III,IV).Results. In the first study, the prevalence was 2% and the average age was 78 years (I). The most frequent cause of HF was IHD followed o hypertension. The diagnosis in the study population was based on clinical criteria and only 31% had been subjected to echocardiography. The most common treatment was diuretics (84%) and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) were used in 56% of patients. In the following prospective study, the intervention group had significant improvements in composite endpoints. There were in the intervention group more patients with reduced levels of NTproBNP (p=0.012) and improved cardiac function (p=0.03). No significant changes were found in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class or QoL. The intervention involved less health care contacts (p=0.04), less emergency ward visits (p=0.002) and hospitalizations (p=0.03). The total cost for HC and PHC was EUR 4471 in the intervention group and EUR 6638 in the control group which implies a cost reduction of EUR 2167 (33%).Conclusions. HF is common in PHC with a prevalence of 2% the study population had an average age of 78 years. Only 31 % of the HF patients have performed an echocardiographic investigation. Treatment with ACEI occurred in 56 %. Differences were found between genders since women had performed significantly fewer echocardiographic investigations and, had less treatment with ACEI. When implementing HFMP in PHC, beneficial effects were found regarding cardiac function and health care-related costs in patients with systolic HF. These findings indicate that HFMP might be used even in PHC.
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