Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor and Director of Research Jonathan C. Hill, Keele University,
- Second opponent: Researcher Karin Magnusson, Norwegian Institute of Public Health,
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Tone K. Omsland, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Associate Professor John Andreas Bjørneboe, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor Nina K. Vøllestad, University of Oslo
Summary
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a leading cause of disability, reduced work participation and high healthcare costs. This thesis examines how healthcare services are used to manage MSDs in Norway and how healthcare use relates to patient characteristics, outcomes and costs. The project used population-wide registries and clinical data from primary care physiotherapy (FYSIOPRIM), matched at the individual level.
Most patients were managed in primary care with few contacts, while a small proportion used multiple services and specialist care. Costs were highly skewed: The 5% with the highest five-year healthcare costs accounted for over 60% of total expenditure, mainly driven by specialist care. Many patients with non-traumatic MSDs went directly from GP to specialist care without receiving other conservative treatment. In primary care physiotherapy, a higher number of contacts were associated with better outcomes for patients with poor prognosis, whereas those with better prognosis did equally well with fewer contacts. Improvement at 12 months in primary care physiotherapy was associated to lower risk of later high-cost healthcare use and future disability pension.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.