Magnus Falk

• Associate professor
• Professor (Associate) at Linköping University

Young adults experiencing unfamiliar symptoms commonly seek health information online. This study's aim was to explore how health information websites express and communicate health information about symptoms common among young adults and guide readers in regard to health, illness, and care. Symptoms commonly searched for by young adults were used...

Background Healthcare outpatient visits have increased in recent years, and young adults are often given as an explanatory factor for many avoidable visits. Objective The objective of this study was to explore how young adults perceive seeking first-line healthcare. Design and setting The study utilized a grounded theory design with data collecti...

Background Health care in many countries entails long waiting times. Avoidable healthcare visits by young adults have been identified as one probable cause. Objective The aim of this study was to explore healthcare providers' experiences and opinions about young adults' healthcare utilisation in the first line of care. Method This study used late...

The Sun Exposure and Protection Index (SEPI) is a brief instrument for scoring of sun exposure habits and propensity to increase sun protection, previously validated in English and in Swedish, as well as in two different outdoor sun intensity environments (Australia and Northern Europe). The aim of the present study was to study reliability and val...

Objectives The aim of this study was to explore if consequent use of chest X-ray (CXR), when the physician is not sure of the diagnosis of pneumonia after clinical examination and CRP-testing, favors a more restrictive prescribing of antibiotics. Design This was an intervention study conducted between September 2015 and December 2017. Setting Two...

Actinic keratosis is the most common actinic lesion in fair-skinned populations. It is accepted as an indicator of actinic skin damage and as an occasional precursor of squamous cell carcinoma. The aim of this study was to investigate, in a cohort of patients with a diagnosis of actinic keratosis, the relative risk of developing skin cancer during...

Background Differentiating between pneumonia and acute bronchitis is often difficult in primary care. There is no consensus regarding clinical decision rules for pneumonia, and guidelines differ between countries. Use of diagnostic tests and change of management over time is not known. Aim To calculate the proportion of diagnostic tests in the man...

Aim The objective of this study was to examine young adults’ healthcare utilisation and its possible association with health literacy. Background Many countries struggle with insufficient accessibility at emergency departments (EDs) and primary healthcare centres (PHCs). Young adults, aged 20–29 years old, account for a substantial number of unnec...

In 2008, Ecuador underwent a major health reform with the aim of universal coverage. Little is known about the implementation of the reform and its perceived effects in rural parts of the country. The aim of this study was to explore the perceived effects of the 2008 health reform implementation, on rural primary health care services and financial...

Background: In the light of increasing skin cancer incidences worldwide, preventive measures to promote sun protection in individuals with risky sun habits have continued relevance and importance. Aim: To report the long-term effect of individualised sun protection advice given in primary health care (PHC), on sun habits and sun protection behav...

Objectives: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic gastrointestinal disease associated with impaired quality of life and an increased use of healthcare services. Self-ratings of health have proven a powerful predictor of health outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the unique impacts of comorbidities, gastrointestinal symptoms, perc...

Background Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have a key role in improving health in low- and middle-income countries. Their work needs to be synergistic, complementary to public services, and rooted in community mobilization and collective action. The study explores how an NGO and its health services are perceived by the population that it serv...

Aim to explore the natural course of blood pressure development and its relation to mortality in a nursing home cohort. Methods a cohort of 406 nursing home residents in south east Sweden was followed prospectively for 30 months. Participants were divided into four groups based on systolic blood pressure (SBP) at baseline. Data were analysed using...

Objectives: To investigate the diagnostic value of different clinical and laboratory findings in pneumonia and to explore the association between the doctor's degree of suspicion and chest X-ray (CXR) result and to evaluate whether or not CXR should be used routinely in primary care, when available. Design: A three-year prospective study was con...

Background: In both Sweden and Australia high incidence rates of skin cancer have become a major health problem. In prevention and risk communication, it is important to have reliable ways for identifying people with risky sun habits. In this study the validity and reliability of the questionnaire Sun Exposure Protection Index (SEPI), developed to...

The British national Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has presented guidelines based on signs and symptoms which should raise a suspicion of colorectal cancer. A slightly modified version of these guidelines, adapted to Swedish conditions, named Swedish NICE (sNICE) criteria, was implemented at eight primary care centres. By followin...

The British national Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has presented guidelines based on signs and symptoms which should raise a suspicion of colorectal cancer. A slightly modified version of these guidelines, adapted to Swedish conditions, named Swedish NICE (sNICE) criteria, was implemented at eight primary care centres. By followin...

Background: The enzyme in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 has been suggested to be an important determinant of plaque degradation. While several studies have shown elevated levels in patients with coronary heart disease, results in prospective population based studies evaluating MMP-9 in relation to first time coronary events have been inconclusi...

Background/purpose The global incidence of skin cancer has increased drastically in recent decades, especially in Australia and Northern Europe. Early detection is crucial for good prognosis and high survival rates. In general, primary care physicians have considerably lower sensitivity and specificity rates for detection of skin cancer, compared t...

Insomnia is a major health problem, commonly leading to pharmacological treatment. During recent years, behavioural therapies have gained stronger therapeutic position, not least cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The aim was to investigate the effect of a CBT-based group intervention for insomnia in primary care, by means of self-reported sleep...

Abstract Conventional skin UV-sensitivity phototesting is based on semi-quantitative assessment of minimal erythema dose (MED). This study demonstrates a method for quantitative MED determination, using a lengthwise attenuating UVB-field combined with tissue viability imaging (TiVi). The study aim was to investigate the agreement between MED acquir...

Objective We aimed to compare blood pressure (BP) levels recorded using the semiautomatic oscillometric Omron i-C10 BP device in patients with or without hypertension in three different settings: (a) when used by a doctor or a nurse at the office (OBP); (b) when used for self-measurement by the patient at the office (SMOBP); and (c) when used for 7...

Fitzpatrick's classification is the most common way of assessing skin UV sensitivity. The study aim was to investigate how self-estimated and actual UV sensitivity, as measured by phototest, are associated with attitudes towards sunbathing and the propensity to increase sun protection, as well as the correlation between self-estimated and actual UV...

Syftet med projektet var att utveckla, pröva och utvärdera en lokalt anpassad modell för implementering av evidensbaserad kunskap i klinisk verksamhet, baserad på ett arbetssätt som tidigare prövats i Kanada (Alberta Ambassador Programme), och som modifierades för att passa de lokala förutsättningarna i Östergötland, där projektet genomfördes. Som...

Background and Aims: We prospectively explored the gender- and age-specific risk of developing myocardial infarction (MI) in patients treated with anti-diabetic and/or anti-depressant drugs compared to subjects with no pharmaceutical treatment for diabetes or depression in a nationwide register study. Materials and Methods A cohort of all Swedish...

Background In tissue viability imaging (TiVi), an assessment method for skin erythema, correct orientation of skin position from provocation to assessment optimizes data interpretation. Image processing algorithms could compensate for the effects of skin translation, torsion and rotation realigning assessment images to the position of the skin at p...

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate possible associations between UV exposure and other health risk behaviours in different social environments and in regard to previous history of skin cancer. In two closely-located, equally-sized cities in Sweden, representing different social environments (blue collar and white collar), patients...

Background: Sun exposure habits and the propensity to undertake sun protection differ between individuals. Not least in primary prevention of skin cancer, aiming at reducing ultraviolet (UV) exposure, knowledge about these factors may be of importance. The aim of the present study was to investigate, in a primary health care (PHC) population, the...

Traditionally, classification of skin reactivity to ultraviolet (UV) light is based on self-estimation of tendency to burn and tan (Fitzpatrick's classification). Although widely accepted, the model has shown to correlate poorly with actual UV sensitivity, measured by phototest. The aim of the present study was to investigate how self-estimated ski...

To investigate, in primary health care, differentiated levels of prevention directed at skin cancer, and how the propensity of the patients to change sun habits/sun protection behaviour and attitudes towards sunbathing were affected, three years after intervention. Additionally, the impact of the performance of a phototest as a complementary tool f...

The occurrence of AF increases sharply with age. The aim of this study was to explore and compare prevalent co-morbidity and self-estimated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in subjects with AF versus subjects with sinus rhythm or pacemaker in 85 years old subjects. We analyzed data from a population of 336 eighty-five years old subjects parti...

In the investigation and management of skin disease, various testing protocols are of importance. The extent to which clinical judgments and decisions on therapy are supported by the performance of such testing can be affected negatively by the lack of time and resources for the performance of tests. In the present study, the possibility of utilizi...

In both clinical and experimental phototesting, naked eye assessment of erythema has been the main assessment parameter. As with all subjective assessment, variability in recorded results due to variable circumstances around the performance and reading of tests influences reliability and utility of data whether they be interpreted for an individual...

The high skin cancer incidence in western society, and its known association with sun exposure habits, makes the area an important target for prevention. We investigated, in a primary healthcare setting, differentiated levels of prevention efforts directed at the propensity of the patient to change his/her sun habits, sun protection behaviour, and...

Background: Phototesting based on a single exposure to a divergent ultraviolet B (UVB) beam with radially decreasing UVB doses can be used to determine an individual's minimal erythema dose (MED). Laser Doppler perfusion imaging (LDPI) data can be combined with dosimetry data to produce objective dose-response plots in addition to the MED. The aim...

In a previous publication from our group, phototesting based on a single exposure to a divergent UVB beam with radially decreasing irradiance values was suggested. The aim of the present study was to evaluate technical, practical and biological aspects of the suggested method in normal subjects. Twenty healthy volunteers were provoked on the back w...

Introduction In many low- and middle-income countries emergency care is provided anywhere in the health system; however, no studies to date have looked at which providers are chosen by patients with perceived emergencies. Ecuador has universal health coverage that includes emergency care. However, earlier research indicates that patients with emerg...