PHD defense: Torgeir Solberg Mathisen

Torgeir Solberg Mathisen will be defending his thesis for the degree of philosophiae doctor (PhD) 14. juni.


14 Jun

Practical information

  • Date: 14 June 2022
  • Time: 10.00 - 15.30
  • Location: Kongsberg, Rom 2201 (Becker) og Zoom
  • Download calendar file
  • Follow the trial lecture and the defense here on Zoom.

    Program

    Trial Lecture at 10.00-11.00. Room 2201 (Becker)
    Theme: "Reporting guidelines in healthcare research" 

    PhD defence at 12.00-15.30. Room 2201 (Becker)
    The title of the thesis: «Implementing structured vision assessment in stroke care services: The KROSS knowledge translation project».

    Evaluation committee

    • First opponent: Dr Professor Ian Graham, PhD, FCAHS, FNYAM, FRSC, University of Ottawa
    • Second opponent: Dr Christine Hazelton, Research Fellow, Glasgow Caledonian University
    • Administrator: Dr Associate Professor Vibeke Sundling, University of South-Eastern Norway

    Supervisors

    • Principal supervisor: Professor Helle Kristine Falkenberg, Department of Optometry, Radiography and Lighting Design, University of South-Eastern Norway
    • Co-supervisor: Professor Grethe Eilertsen, Department of Nursing and Health Sciences and Vice-rector for Research and Internationalisation, Professor Heidi Ormstad, both University of South-Eastern Norway

Torgeir Solberg Mathisen will defend his dissertation for the degree of philosophia doctor (PhD) in the programme Person-Centred Healthcare.

Read the dissertation: Implementing structured vision assessment in stroke care services: The KROSS knowledge translation project

Both the trial lecture and the PhD defence are open to the public on campus (rom 2201, Becker) or on Zoom.

About the dissertation

– If we don’t assess the patient’s vision, we risk starting at the wrong end.

Stroke survivors experience that their vision problems are not identified and followed up in the health services. This is documented in a qualitative study from the PhD project; Implementing structured vision assessment in stroke care services: The KROSS knowledge translation project. Torgeir Solberg Mathisen på USN 

Over 60 percent of stroke survivors experience vision problems, and these problems can lead to several negative consequences for the stroke survivors. Despite this, there are no established routine for structured vision assessment in the Norwegian stroke services. The aim of this PhD project has been to reduce the gap between knowledge and practice, by improving competence in vision problems after stroke among health care professionals, and implementing a structured vision assessment after stroke with a Norwegian assessment tool, Stroke Competence on Rehabilitation of Vision and Stroke (KROSS). 

As part of this implementation project, we studied barriers and facilitators for implementing systematic vision assessment in the health care services. One barrier was that health professionals without vision expertise have insufficient knowledge of the visual function and how it should be assessed. A facilitator was their high motivation to improve their vision competence. Inclusion of the vision assessment in established routines was another important facilitator. In the evaluation of the project, the participants said that assessing the patient’s vision had several positive consequences for the stroke rehabilitation, and that the patients problem may have been caused by an impaired vision. They acknowledge that the patient’s vision was important to avoid misinterpretations of other functions, such as cognition, communication or balance. In this way, visual assessment contributed to the rehabilitation process starting from the “right end”.

In collaboration with Kongsberg municipality, the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially sighted, the Norwegian Association for Stroke survivors and LHL Hjerneslag, we have contributed to increased competence about vision problems after stroke and implemented structured vision assessment for stroke survivors.

PhD candidate Torgeir Solberg Mathisen is a registered nurse, has a master's degree in clinical health work in aging and elderly care.