PurposeThe World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 is a generic instrument to assess disability covering six domains. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of the instrument for monitoring disability in specialized somatic rehabilitation by testing reliability, construct validity and responsiveness of WHODAS 2.0, Norwegian version, among patients with various health conditions.MethodsFor taxonomy, terminology and definitions, the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments were followed. Reproducibility was investigated by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) in a randomly selected sample. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha. Construct validity was evaluated by correlations between WHODAS 2.0 and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form, and fit of the hypothesized structure using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Responsiveness was evaluated in another randomly selected sample by testing a priori formulated hypotheses.ResultsNine hundred seventy patients were included in the study. Reproducibility and responsiveness were evaluated in 53 and 104 patients, respectively. The ICC for the WHODAS 2.0 domains ranged from 0.63 to 0.84 and was 0.87 for total score. Cronbach’s alpha for domains ranged from 0.75 to 0.94 and was 0.93 for total score. For construct validity, 6 of 12 expected correlations were confirmed and CFA did not achieve satisfactory fit indices. For responsiveness, 3 of 8 hypotheses were confirmed.ConclusionThe Norwegian version of WHODAS 2.0 showed moderate to satisfactory reliability and moderate validity in rehabilitation patients. However, the present study indicated possible limitations in terms of responsiveness.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate disability among patients who were accepted for admission to a Norwegian rehabilitation center and to identify predictors of disability.Materials and methodsIn a cross-sectional study including 967 adult participants, the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule version 2.0 36-item version was used for assessing overall and domain-specific disability as outcome variables. Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), EuroQoL EQ-5D-5L and questions about multi-morbidity, smoking and perceived physical fitness. Additionally, the main health condition, sociodemographic and environmental variables obtained from referrals and public registers were used as predictor variables. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were performed.ResultsThe mean (standard error) overall disability score was 30.0 (0.5), domain scores ranged from 11.9 to 44.7. Neurological diseases, multi-morbidity, low education, impaired physical fitness, pain, and higher HADS depressive score increased the overall disability score. A low HADS depressive score predicted a lower disability score in all domains.ConclusionsA moderate overall disability score was found among patients accepted for admission to a rehabilitation center but “life activities” and “participation in society” had the highest domain scores. This should be taken into account when rehabilitation strategies are developed.

The traditional exam has a strong holding within Norwegian higher education and is very often the preferred way of assessing students. Digital technology opens up for alternatives to the traditional exam, but so far focus has predominantly been on exchanging pen and paper with personal computers within the traditional framework. Digital alternatives may come in conflict with existing law governing teaching and assessment at university, as the law was written at a time when digital technology did not exist. We present data from a workshop in which 48 individuals from 11 institutions, academics as well as administration, were asked to identify and discuss challenges related to the introduction of digital alternatives. A case study strategy was considered appropriate as this gave us the opportunity to collect information from representatives from many universities and university colleges across Norway. Lack of knowledge about alternatives to the traditional exam, and lack of knowledge as to how digital technology may be used in assessing students were the kind of challenges most often mentioned. Assessment practices may be rooted in an assessment policy, but data from a survey (29% response rate) indicate that there is little awareness concerning this issue within Norwegian higher education institutions.

To study relations between sense of coherence (SOC), disability, and mental and physical components of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among rehabilitation patients. Design: Survey. Setting: Rehabilitation centers in secondary care. Participants: Patients (NZ975) from the Western Norway Health Region consented to participate and had valid data of the main outcome measures. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: SOC was measured with the sense of coherence questionnaire (13-item SOC scale [SOC-13]), disability with the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0), and HRQOL with the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results: Mean scores AE SD were 62.9AE12.3 for SOC-13, 30.8AE16.2 for WHODAS 2.0, 32.8AE9.6 for SF-36 physical component score, and 43.6AE11.8 for SF-36 mental component score. Linear regression analysis showed that increased SOC score was associated with reduced disability scores in the following domains with estimated regression coefficients (95% confidence interval) cognition e0.20 (e0.32 to e0.08), getting along e0.36 (e0.52 to e0.25), and participation e0.23 (e0.36 to e0.11). The fit of 2 structural models with the association from SOC to HRQOL and disability or with disability as a mediator was better for the mental versus the physical component of HRQOL. High SOC increased the mental component of HRQOL, consistent for all diagnostic groups. For both models, good fit was reported for circulatory and less good fit for musculoskeletal diseases. Conclusions: The results indicate that higher SOC decreases disability in mental domains. The effect of SOC on disability and HRQOL might vary between diagnostic groups. SOC could be a target in rehabilitation, especially among patients with circulatory diseases, but prospective studies are needed.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare two physiotherapy interventions following lumber disc surgery regarding effect on pain, functioning and fear of movement. Methods: This study is a prospective randomized controlled study. When admitted to hospital for first time lumbar disc surgery, the participants were randomized to one of two post-operative intervention groups: one group received information only and the other exercise in combination with information. Outcomes were collected at baseline, 6-8 weeks and 12-months post-surgery. The primary outcome was to record changes in back/hip pain and leg pain. Secondary outcomes were evaluation of changes in function, fear-avoidance beliefs and kinesiophobia. Results: Seventy patients completed the study and were included in the analysis, of which 37 were randomized to the group receiving information only and the remaining 33 receiving both exercise and information. For primary outcomes, at 12 months postoperatively, the group receiving both exercise and information had significantly lower leg pain compared with those receiving only information (p < .033). For secondary outcomes, at 12 months postoperatively, a significant difference (p < .027) was detected for function, which favoured those that received both exercise and information. There was no significant difference in the results for the other secondary outcomes. Both groups showed clinically important changes in relation to pain and function from baseline to 12 months. The effect of treatment showed a statistically significant difference in favour of exercise and information, but the difference was not clinically relevant. Conclusion: Exercise in combination with information reduced leg pain and improved function, which was statistically more evident over a period of time. Postoperative physiotherapy after lumbar disc surgery could include exercises in addition to All authors fulfil the criteria according to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate how changes in patient-rated health and disability from baseline to after rehabilitation were associated with communication and relationships in rehabilitation teams and patient-rated continuity of care.MethodsLinear models were used to assess the associations between relational coordination [RC] and Nijmegen Continuity Questionnaire-Norwegian version [NCQ-N] with changes in the World Health Association Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 [WHODAS 2.0] and EuroQol EQ-VAS [EQ-VAS]. To express change in WHODAS 2.0 and EQ-VAS, the model was adjusted for WHODAS 2.0 and EQ-VAS baseline scores. Analyses for possible slopes for the various diagnosis groups were performed.ResultsA sample of 701 patients were included in the patient cohort, followed from before rehabilitation to 1 year after a rehabilitation stay involving treatment by 15 different interprofessional teams. The analyses revealed associations between continuity of care and changes in patient-rated health, measured with EQ-VAS (all p values < 0.01). RC communication was associated with more improvement in functioning in neoplasms patient group, compared to improvement of health among included patient groups. The results revealed no associations between NCQ-N and WHODAS 2.0 global score, or between RC in the rehabilitation teams treating the patients and changes in WHODAS 2.0 global score.ConclusionThe current results revealed that better personal, team and cross-boundary continuity of rehabilitation care was associated with better patient health after rehabilitation at 1-year follow-up. Measures of patient experiences with different types of continuity of care may provide a promising indicator of the quality of rehabilitation care.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s11136-019-02216-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This article discusses the use of flipped classrooms in the academic course 'Philosophy of science and research methods' in Initial Teacher Education. A socio-cultural perspective on learning was the theoretical foundation for the design of the flipped classroom, where the aims were to stimulate students' participation and engagement in the course. Students reported that the combination of online lectures and writing mandatory texts -as a way of preparing for group and plenary discussions on campus -had, to some extent, stimulated greater involvement in the teaching and learning processes. How meaningful the group work on campus was perceived to be varied among the participants, and a critical factor seemed to be the way groups were organised on campus. Variation in modalities was highlighted among the students. They also pointed to this way of organising teaching and learning processes as relevant to their future teaching practices.

Dosent, Institutt for grunnskolelaererutdanning, idrett og spesialpedagogikk, Universitetet i Stavanger brit.hanssen@uis.no Dag HusebøProrektor, Universitetet i Stavanger dag.husebo@uis.no Vegard MoenFørsteamanuensis, Det humanistiske fakultet, Universitetet i Stavanger vegard.moen@uis.no SAMMENDRAG Ansvarliggjøring og bruk av nye styringsformer i skolen fører til endringer i laererrollen og laerernes arbeid. Tilsvarende endringer i høyere utdanning de siste 20 årene, og funn i en studie blant nye kollegaer ved egen institusjon, gir grunn til også å diskutere universitetslaererrollen. Empirigrunnlaget i studien er spørsmål 75 nytilsatte kollegaer har stilt og ønsket å diskutere i veiledningsmøter, i tillegg til skriftlige fortellinger de har gitt om sitt første halvår som universitetslaerere. Forskningsmaterialet er produsert som del av et obligatorisk veiledningsprogram for nytilsatte i vitenskapelige stillinger ved Universitetet i Stavanger i perioden 2012-2015. Målet med artikkelen er å utfordre implisitte forståelser av dagens universitetslaererrolle og gjennom analyser av empirien argumentere for at funksjonene som ligger til arbeidet bør konstituere rollen. Vi stiller følgende forskningsspørs-mål: Hva kan nytilsatte kollegaer fortelle oss om innholdet i universitetslaererarbeidet?Nøkkelord undervisning og laering i høyere utdanning, universitetslaererarbeidet, universitetslaererrollen, vitenskapelig nytilsatte ABSTRACT A focus on accountability and implementation of new of school governance methods have led to changes in teacher roles and teachers' work situation. Similar changes in higher edu-