Disputas- Elin Marthinussen Gustavsen

Avhandlingen er tilgjengelig her!  The doctoral thesis! Prøveforelsening over oppgitt emne starter kl. 1015 i Auditorium Cortex: «Pasienters preferanser for somatisk behandling i spesialisthelsetjenesten etter geografi og sosioøkonomi i Norge og utenfor». Prøveforelesningen vil også bli strømmet her/the trial lecture will be streamed.    Disputasen starter 12.15 Auditoriet vil være åpent for publikum, men disputasen vil også bli strømmet her.  Opptak av disputasen vil være tilgjengelig i et døgn. The auditorium is open to the public. The defense will also be streamed here. A recordings of the defense will be available for 24 hours.

Populærvitenskapelig sammendrag av avhandlingen:

As we age, the risk of cancer increases. This will lead to a rise in cancer cases, especially among the elderly. This poses a challenge to the health care system. The thesis examined whether elderly cancer patients in Norway receive equal treatment based on their residence and socioeconomic status, focusing on prostate and colon cancer.

The study used national registry data and found variations in cancer treatment related to the patients’ residence and background. Patients with lower income and education were less likely to receive treatment compared to those with higher income and education. Similarly, elderly living alone were less likely to receive treatment than those with partners. Moreover, the study indicated that delaying chemotherapy to week 8 after surgery did not increase mortality compared to starting within the first 6 weeks, suggesting some flexibility in treatment timing.

These findings underscore the need for initiatives to ensure equitable health care for the elderly.

Hovedveileder
Ph.d. Beate Hauglann, SKDE, Helse Nord RHF.

Bedømmelseskomité
Professor Henrik Møller, Universitetet i Aalborg – 1. opponent.
Seniorforsker Astri Syse, Folkehelseinstituttet – 2.opponent.

Professor Trond-Eirik Strand, Institutt for samfunnsmedisin, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, UiT– leder av komité.

Disputasleder: Forsker Marie H. Lindberg, UiT Norges arktiske universitet.