Are Holen

Norwegian University of Science and Technology | NTNU · Department of Neuroscience (INM)

The Teamwork Indicator (TWI) inventory for students monitors group development and can serve as a feedback tool in project work, active learning, and teams to improve the educational outcome. TWI consists of 20 items, it is simple and easy to use, and the inventory gauges changes over time in four central group dimensions: management, social collab...

Abstract Background: Disability is a vital public health issue for health care programs. Afuent countries usually prioritize disability-related research, while often it remains neglected in resource-poor countries like Nepal. The aim of this study was to make available a translated and culturally adapted version of the World Health Organization Dis...

Background Medical students’ psychological response to societal lockdown during the covid-19 pandemic has not been studied much. Objective To assess levels of anxiety and depression among medical students during initial stages of covid-19 pandemic in Nepal and relate their distress to relevant variables. Method A cross-sectional study with online q...

This study examined the warzone stressors: killing in combat, experiencing personal threats, or traumatic witnessing during deployment in relation to psychological distress, alcohol consumption and quality of life at long-term follow-up. The study was conducted in two samples of Norwegian veterans who had served in Afghanistan (Study 1, N = 4,053)...

Background: Medical students’ psychological response to societal lockdown during the covid-19 pandemic has not been studied much. Our aim was to assess levels of anxiety and depression among medical students during the initial stages of the pandemic in Nepal and relate their distress to psychosocial and other relevant situational variables. Materia...

Purpose: We studied the quality of life (QoL) of the elderly in Nepal and their special needs. Nepal is a low- and middle-income country where the elderly population is growing significantly. Methods: A random selection of informants from the Kavre district was carried out in this cross-sectional, population-based, door-to-door survey. The distric...

This study explores social support and personal barriers toward disclosing war-related traumatic experiences and how both are associated with veterans’ posttraumatic changes after deployment to Afghanistan. A trauma-exposed sample was selected from Norwegian Afghanistan veterans (N 3,465). Inclusion was based on self-reported exposure to 1 or more...

Background: Geriatric depression is a significant problem in both the developed and the developing world. To identify this condition, Geriatric Depression Scale has been used in different languages and cultural settings; it has proved to be a reliable and valid instrument. However, the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 version in Nepali has so far not...

Background Attitudes towards learning clinical communication skills at the end of medical school are likely to reflect the students’ training and motivation for the continued development of their skills as doctors. Students from two Norwegian medical schools, one with a traditional, and the other with an integrated curriculum, were approached in 20...

Background: After Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients are at higher risk of alcohol problems. In recent years, sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has become a common procedure, but the incidence rates (IRs) of alcohol abuse after SG are unexplored. Objectives: To compare IRs of diagnoses indicating problems with alcohol or other substances between pat...

Objective: This study explores social support and personal barriers towards disclosing war related traumatic experiences, and how the two are associated with veterans’ posttraumatic changes after deployment to Afghanistan. Method: A trauma-exposed sample was selected from Norwegian Afghanistan veterans (N = 3,465). Inclusion was based on self-repo...

Background: The increasing elderly population worldwide is likely to increase mental health problems such as geriatric depression, which has mostly been studied in high-income countries. Similar studies are scarce in low-and-middle-income-countries like Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based, door-to-door survey was conducted in random...

Background: The increasing elderly population worldwide is likely to increase mental health problems such as geriatric depression, which has mostly been studied in high-income countries. Similar studies are scarce in low-and-middle-income-countries like Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based, door-to-door survey was conducted in random...

Background: The increasing elderly population worldwide is likely to increase mental health problems such as geriatric depression, which has mostly been studied in high-income countries. Similar studies are scarce in low-and-middle-income-countries like Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based, door-to-door survey was conducted in random...

Background: The increasing elderly population worldwide is likely to increase mental health problems such as geriatric depression, which has mostly been studied in high-income countries. Similar studies are scarce in low-and-middle-income-countries like Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based, door-to-door survey was conducted in ran...

Background The increasing elderly population worldwide is likely to increase mental health problems such as geriatric depression, which has mostly been studied in high-income countries. Similar studies are scarce in low-and-middle-income-countries like Nepal. Methods A cross-sectional, population-based, door-to-door survey was conducted in randomly...

Objective: This study aimed to explore how exposure to danger-based and non-danger-based stressors may influence personal changes in veterans (N = 4053) after deployment to Afghanistan. Method: Twelve war zone related traumatic events were used to form two stressor categories. The non-danger-based category included two stressor types: Moral Challen...

Background: Geriatric depression is a significant problem in primary care in both the developed and the developing world. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is a reliable and valid screening instrument for late-life depression, used in different language and cultural setting, but the Nepali version is yet not fully validated. Methodology: Nepali tran...

Twelve persons with dementia were interviewed about their former work lives. Their motivation for choosing their past work was influenced by values of their contemporary culture. Those who had come to terms with their illness had positive feelings about their past contributions in their former paid work. However, they often felt that unpaid work wa...

Objective: The current scientific measures of posttraumatic changes in the wake of major stressors have mostly been unidirectional. This study is an attempt to develop a scale that will capture the continuum of positive to negative psychological changes after trauma. Method: Forty-five statements were presented to a veteran sample (N = 4,053) wi...

Background: Anxiety and depression are two important contributors to the global burden of disease. In many developing countries, including Nepal, their prevalences are yet to be assessed. Methodology: A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted among a representative sample of Nepalese adults aged 18-65 years (N=2,100), selected by multistage...

In March 1980, an oil rig in the North Sea capsized with 212 men on board; 123 died and 89 survived. A research program followed up the 75 Norwegian survivors in 4 waves of data collections: shortly after the disaster (1980), after 1 year (1981), again after 5 years (1985), and eventually after 27 years (2007). In 1985, a matched comparison group w...

Background Headache disorders, anxiety and depression – the major disorders of the brain – are highly comorbid in the western world. Whether this is so in South Asia has not been investigated, but the question is of public-health importance to countries in the region. We aimed to investigate associations, and their direction(s), between headache di...

Extended functional impairment characterized by sick leave and disability after a single disaster has not been documented before. This prospective, longitudinal, case-control study applied growth mixture modeling to predict trajectories of functional impairment in oil rig workers, survivors (n = 68) and a matched comparison group (n = 84), over 27...

Journal Impact Factor (JIF) has been used in assessing scientific journals. Other indices, h- and g-indices and Article Influence Score (AIS), have been developed to overcome some limitations of JIF. The aims of this study were, first, to critically assess the use of JIF and other parameters related to medical education research, and second, to dis...

Background In medical education, teaching methods offering intensive practice without high utilization of faculty resources are needed. We investigated whether simulated patients’ (SPs’) satisfaction with a consultation could predict professional observers’ assessment of young doctors’ communication skills. Methods This was a comparative cross-sec...

p class="Pa1"> Background In several languages and settings, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) has demonstrated reliable and valid screening properties in psychiatry. Objective To develop a Nepali version of HADS with acceptable reliability and construct validity for use among hospital patients and in the general population. Method T...

p class="Pa1"> Background The Neuroticism subscale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Short Form (12 items) (EPQRS-N) has proven to be a reliable and valid measure in multiple languages. Objective To develop a single-factor Nepali-language version of the EPQRS-N for use in the adult population of Nepal. Method The original English ver...

Background: Associations between the sense of humor and survival in relation to specific diseases has so far never been studied. Methods: We conducted a 15-year follow-up study of 53,556 participants in the population-based Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, Norway. Cognitive, social, and affective components of the sense of humor were obtained, and a...

Headache disorders are among the most prevalent and burdensome global public-health problems. Within countries, health policy depends upon knowledge of health within the local populations, but the South-East Asia Region (SEAR), among WHO’s six world regions, is the only one for which no national headache prevalence data are available. In a cross-se...

BACKGROUND: Discussing obesity with the patient without this being perceived as offensive may represent a challenge. Prevention of lifestyle diseases requires that this topic be addressed with those concerned. In this study, we investigate the patients' sensitivity to expressions, i.e. their notions of appropriateness or inappropriateness regarding...

Background: Hypertension (HTN), a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), is a substantial global public health problem. Occasional studies indicate a high prevalence of HTN in the Nepalese population, but no nationwide population-based data exist so far. We opportunistically used a survey of major disorders of the brain in Nepal to...

In March 1980, an oil rig in the North Sea capsized with 212 men on board; 123 died and 89 survived. A research program followed up the 75 Norwegian survivors in 4 waves of data collections: shortly after the disaster (1980), after 1 year (1981), again after 5 years (1985), and eventually after 27 years (2007). In 1985, a matched comparison group w...

Background & Aim: The current study examined non-attempters, attempters and repeaters of suicide attempts in relation to stressful life events and their levels of depression symptoms in an extracted subset that was followed up from adolescence into early adulthood. Did repeaters consistently report more stressful events and depression than single a...

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore positive and negative preferences towards problem-based learning in relation to personality traits and socio-cultural context. Methods: The study was an anonymous and voluntary cross-sectional survey of medical students (N=449) in hybrid problem-based curricula in Nepal, Norway and North Dakota. Da...

Mental health in relation to prevalence of headache in Nepal: Results from a nationwide population based study Ajay Risal, Kedar Manandhar, Are Holen, Timothy J Steiner, Mattias Linde Background: Western studies have shown associations between headache, anxiety and depression, but such links in the general populations of South Asian countries are n...

Adulthood psychiatric and psychosocial outcomes of early adolescence suicidal acts were studied. A representative sample of school adolescents (T1, mean age, 13.7 years; n = 2464; 50.8% female; 88.3% participation) was followed up a year later with the same questionnaire (T2). High scorers of depression were matched with low or moderate scorers and...

Introduction: Headache, anxiety and depression are major disorders of the brain in terms of prevalence, burden and costs to society. Nationwide population-based studies of these disorders are warranted but, in research-naïve and resource-poor countries such as Nepal, a host of underlying methodological problems are encountered including cultural, g...

The major disorders of the brain (MDBs), in terms of their prevalence and the burdens of ill health, disability and financial cost that they impose on individuals and society, are headache, depression and anxiety. No population-based studies have been conducted in Nepal. Our purpose was to assess the prevalence and burden attributable to MDBs in Ne...

Background Headache, anxiety and depression are major disorders of the brain in terms of their prevalence and the burdens and costs they impose on society. Nationwide population-based studies of these disorders are necessary to inform health policy but, in research-naïve and resource-poor countries such as Nepal, a host of methodological problems a...

Nondirective meditation techniques are practiced with a relaxed focus of attention that permits spontaneously occurring thoughts, images, sensations, memories, and emotions to emerge and pass freely, without any expectation that mind wandering should abate. These techniques are thought to facilitate mental processing of emotional experiences, there...

Current knowledge is limited regarding patient characteristics related to treatment outcome of posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) in refugees and asylum seekers. Gender, torture status, offender status, level of anger, and level of depression were investigated for possible effects on the treatment outcome. Patient characteristics were explored i...

In this paper determinants of adequate worry were studied in the case of an impending rockslide and tsunami in the fjords around Åknes on the west coast of Norway. Approximately 3000 people live in this danger zone. A rockslide may cause up to 54 million cubic metres (1.9 billion cubic feet) of rock to slide into the fjord below, causing a major ts...

Objective This study investigated self-reported levels of depression, anxiety and neuroticism in obese patients waiting for bariatric surgery. The patients who indicated that they might have eating disorders (ED) or subthreshold binge eating disorders (SBED) were compared with those without. Method The design was cross sectional. Obese patients (n...

Relationships between depression and coping among nonattempters, attempters, and repeaters of suicidal acts were examined across adolescence. A representative sample of students (T1: n = 2464; mean age, 13.7 years; 50.8% female; 88.3% participation) was reassessed with the same questionnaire after 1 year (T2). High scorers on the Mood and Feelings...

Experts have predicted that some time in the future, a rockslide in one of Norway's narrow fjords will produce a tsunami that may run up above the sea level as high as 82 m (269 feet). This study explores the willingness of the public to follow evacuation instructions before a natural disaster with a high probability, but unknown timeframe. Parts o...

nordtug b., krokstad s., sletvold o. & holen a. (2013) Differences in social support of caregivers living with partners suffering from COPD or dementia. International Journal of Older People Nursing 8, 93–103 doi: 10.1111/j.1748-3743.2011.00302.x Background. Future patients with chronic diseases will probably remain longer in their homes. To enable...

This study explored how publics respond to risk communication in high probability but time-indeterminate natural disaster situations when parts of the area have been involved in a similar disaster before. An impending rockslide is expected to produce a tsunami in the fjord around Åknes in Norway. Waves may run up above sea level as high as 82m or 2...

The aims of this study were to examine whether a change in overall defensive functioning during treatment a) would predict change in symptom distress during the course of treatment and follow-up and b) would be greater in short-term dynamic therapy than in cognitive therapy. Patients (N = 50) who met criteria for cluster C personality disorders wer...

Meditation practices are in use for relaxation and stress reduction. Some studies indicate beneficial cardiovascular health effects of meditation. The effects on the autonomous nervous system seem to vary among techniques. The purpose of the present study was to identify autonomic nerve activity changes during nondirective meditation. Heart rate va...

This study analyzed trajectories of initial stress and long-term mental health after the 1980 North Sea oil rig disaster. A growth-mixture model of the survivors' stress manifestations in the first 8 weeks (Posttraumatic Stress Scale, [PTSS-10]) and general mental health in 1980, 1981, 1985, and 2007 (General Health Questionnaire, [GHQ-20]) was est...

The aim of this study was to explore caring burden of cohabitants (N = 206) having partners with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or dementia in relation to aspects of social support. Caring burden was measured by the Relative Stress Scale and was found to be lower and to change less with severity in the COPD group. In multiple regressi...

The present study examined long-term mental health outcomes following a major disaster, including the relative risks (RR) of developing psychiatric disorders. Trauma exposure and predisaster vulnerability factors were examined as predictors of chronic psychopathology. Standardized questionnaires measuring psychological distress were completed 5½ mo...

Objectives Were violent/non-violent traumatic life events and victimization by/witnessing violence associates of attempted suicide among depressed adolescents who were also less resilient at early adulthood? Method The present study examined a subset of mainly depressed, age-and-gender matched, adolescents derived from a representative sample of 2...

The interplay between personality, mental health and type of disease in explaining caring burden was studied in home-dwelling cohabitants of partners with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or dementia. A cross-sectional study including 206 participants with 80% response rate. Neuroticism was assessed by Eysenck Personality Questionnaire...

To study the prevalence of all relevant eating disorders in 157 obese patients waiting for bariatric surgery. Another aim was to explore for possible differences between gender, and those with and without ED. The dependent variables were: socio-demographic characteristics, BMI, obesity onset, and obesity-related somatic diseases. ED was assessed us...

Some of the most popular meditation practices emphasize a relaxed focus of attention in which thoughts, images, sensations, and emotions may emerge and pass freely without actively controlling or pursuing them. Several recent studies show that meditation activates frontal brain areas associated with attention focusing and physical relaxation. The o...

Findings on posttraumatic growth (PTG) and distress have not been consistent. This study examines the relationship in a very long-term perspective. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory was completed by 46 survivors from a single disaster 27 years posttrauma. Posttraumatic stress was measured by the Impact of Event Scale (IES) immediately after the ev...

The present study aimed at predicting posttraumatic stress 5 and 27 years after the North Sea oil rig disaster. The predictions were based on the initial levels of stress responses and the early recovery as reported in 1980. The Posttraumatic Stress Scale (PTSS) was used at 3 measure points. From 1980, data from 69 survivors were used in latent gro...

Were violent/nonviolent traumatic life events and victimization by/witnessing violence associates of attempted suicide among depressed adolescents who were also less resilient at early adulthood? The present study examined a subset of mainly depressed, age- and gender-matched, adolescents derived from a representative sample of 2464 students (T1, m...

The aim of this study was to establish the relative distribution of resilient, remitted, chronic and reactivated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a population of survivors from a major civilian disaster. Residual PTSD symptoms were explored to identify predictors of future reactivation. Symptoms were measured by the Impact of Event Scale (IE...

Clinicians and researchers occasionally observe that months, years, or even decades may pass between stressor exposure and the full manifestation of a delayed posttraumatic stress disorder (D-PTSD). In this article, the nature, prevalence, and duration of such delayed responses are discussed.

In recent years, there has been significant uptake of meditation and related relaxation techniques, as a means of alleviating stress and maintaining good health. Despite its popularity, little is known about the neural mechanisms by which meditation works, and there is a need for more rigorous investigations of the underlying neurobiology. Several...

To test whether young physicians improve their communication skills between graduating from medical school and completing clinical internship, and to explore contributing background and/or internship factors. Norwegian medical students graduating June 2004 were invited to take part in a videotaped standardized patient interview February 2004. Of th...

ABSTRACT: Background and objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) and depression has been suggested to share a common underlying etiology. Few studies have investigated the role of emotional regulation processes in FM compared to depressive disorders.The purpose of the current study was to explore the use of defense mechanisms in FM patients with and without...

We wanted to explore cognitive and affective attitudes towards communication skills among students in Norwegian medical schools. 1833 (60% response rate) medical students at the four medical schools in Norway filled in questionnaires by the end of term in May 2003. The Communication Skills Attitudes Scale (CSAS) was used for assessing affective and...

Communication training builds on the assumption that understanding of the concepts related to professional communication facilitates the training. We know little about whether students' knowledge of clinical communication skills is affected by their attendance of communication training courses, or to what degree other elements of the clinical train...

The Communication Skills Attitudes Scale (CSAS) created by Rees, Sheard and Davies and published in 2002 has been a widely used instrument for measuring medical students' attitudes towards learning communication skills. Earlier studies have shown that the CSAS mainly tests two dimensions of attitudes towards communication; positive attitudes (PAS)...

In this study, we wanted to investigate the relationship between background variables, communication skills, and the bio-psychosocial content of a medical consultation in a general practice setting with a standardized patient. Final-year medical school students (N = 111) carried out a consultation with an actor playing the role of a patient with a...

To explore long-term associations between maltreatment in childhood and personality features in adulthood, 160 consecutive adult psychiatric outpatients completed self-administered questionnaires. Maltreatment was defined as either child abuse or neglect exerted by parents or other adults, coldness and overprotection by parents, or bullying by peer...

To explore possible relations between maltreatment in childhood and subsequent eating disorders in adult life, 107 consecutive adult psychiatric female outpatients were screened for eating disorders. They also completed questionnaires about harassment by adults and bullying by peers in childhood. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire measured childhoo...

To investigate medical students' self-assessments of their communication skills through medical school related to background factors, curriculum design and perceived medical school stress. Medical students at all year levels attending Norwegian universities in the spring of 2003 were mailed the Oslo Inventory of Self-reported Communication Skills (...