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- Heltveit-Olsen, Silje Rebekka, et al.
(författare)
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Local management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway: a longitudinal interview study of municipality chief medical officers
- 2024
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care. - 0281-3432 .- 1502-7724. ; 41:1, s. 214-224
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To explore the experiences and views of Norwegian Municipality Chief Medical Officers (MCMOs) on preparedness, collaboration, and organization during the COVID-19 pandemic to gain insight into local crisis management of value for future pandemic responses. Design: Longitudinal qualitative interview study. We conducted semi-structured digital interviews with nine MCMOs working in different municipalities in Norway from September to December 2020. Five MCMOs were re-interviewed from January to April 2021. We used thematic analysis to analyze the data. Results: Through the analysis, three major themes were identified in the material; 1) The view of preparedness changed from being low-priority and dormant to the desire to strengthen preparedness as a permanent measure; 2) The nature of the pandemic forced a change in internal and external communication and collaboration for the MCMOs towards direct dialogue, teamwork and digital networking; 3) The pandemic changed the role and position of the MCMO within the municipal organization. Although most MCMOs were given a leading role in the municipal pandemic response, some MCMOs experienced that they were not positioned to fully exercise their intended role. In our material, de-authorization of the MCMO role seemed to coincide with the increasing size and organizational complexity of the municipality. Conclusions: The Norwegian pandemic response and outcome have been regarded as successful internationally. Although the MCMOs managed to implement flexible and quick responses facilitated by teamwork, dialogue, and joint sensemaking, they also identified several challenges and shortcomings of the Norwegian pandemic preparedness requiring organizational and financial changes to sustain future health system resilience.
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| 2. |
- Skow, Marius, et al.
(författare)
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Antibiotic treatment of respiratory tract infections in adults in Norwegian general practice
- 2022
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Ingår i: JAC - Antimicrobial Resistance. - : Oxford University Press. - 2632-1823. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To analyse the prevalence of respiratory tract infection (RTI) episodes with and without antibiotic prescriptions in adult patients in Norwegian general practice during the period 2012-2019.Methods: Observational study linking data from the Norwegian Control and Payment for Health Reimbursements Database and the Norwegian Prescription Database. Episodes of acute RTIs in patients aged 18 years or older were identified and linked to antibiotic prescriptions dispensed within 7 days after diagnosis. We analysed annual infection rates and antibiotic prescription rates and antibiotics prescribed for the different RTI conditions.Results: RTI episode rate per 1000 inhabitants was 312 in 2012 and 277 in 2019, but showed no linear trend of change during the study period (P = 0.205). Antibiotic prescription rate decreased from 37% of RTI episodes in 2012 to 23% in 2019 (P < 0.001). The reduction in prescribing was most pronounced for episodes coded with ICPC-2 symptom diagnoses, as well as upper RTIs, influenza, acute bronchitis and sinusitis. Prescriptions for phenoxymethylpenicillin decreased from 178 746 in 2012 to 143 095 in 2019, but increased as proportion of total antibiotic prescriptions from 40% in 2012 to 53% in 2019 (P < 0.001).Conclusions: This study demonstrates stable RTI episode rates and reduced antibiotic prescription rates for RTIs for adults in Norwegian general practice 2012-2019. We also observed a shift towards relatively more use of phenoxymethylpenicillin and less broad-spectrum antibiotics. These changes are in line with the aims of the Norwegian strategy against antibiotic resistance.
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| 3. |
- Skow, Marius, et al.
(författare)
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Hospitalizations and severe complications following acute sinusitis in general practice : a registry-based cohort study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. - : Oxford University Press. - 0305-7453 .- 1460-2091. ; 78:9, s. 2217-2227
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To investigate complication rates of acute sinusitis in general practice, and whether antibiotic prescribing had an impact on complication rate.Methods: All adult patients diagnosed with sinusitis in Norwegian general practice between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2019 were included. GP consultation data from the Norwegian Control and Payment for Health Reimbursements Database were linked with antibiotic prescriptions (Norwegian Prescription Database) and hospital admissions (Norwegian Patient Registry). Main outcomes were sinusitis-related hospitalizations and severe complications within 30 days. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations between antibiotic prescriptions, prespecified risk factors, individual GP prescribing quintile, and outcomes.Results: A total of 711 069 episodes of acute sinusitis in 415 781 patients were identified. During the study period, both annual episode rate (from 30.2 to 21.2 per 1000 inhabitants) and antibiotic prescription rate (63.3% to 46.5%; P < 0.001) decreased. Yearly hospitalization rate was stable at 10.0 cases per 10 000 sinusitis episodes and the corresponding rate of severe complications was 3.2, with no yearly change (P = 0.765). Antibiotic prescribing was associated with increased risk of hospitalization [adjusted OR 1.8 (95% CI 1.5-2.1)] but not with severe complications. Individual GP prescribing quintile was not associated with any of the outcomes, whereas risk factors such as previous drug abuse, or head injury, skull surgery or malformations, and being immunocompromised were significantly associated with increased risk of both outcomes.Conclusions: Severe complications of acute sinusitis were rare and no protective effect of high prescribing practice among GPs was found. Recommendations to further reduce antibiotic prescribing are generally encouraged, except for high-risk groups.
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