Knowledge Centre on Health, Nutrition & Learning (VISUEL) Objectives, Competencies & Research Projects

1. Knowledge Centre on Health, Nutrition & Learning (VISUEL)Objectives, Competencies & Research Projects Contact: Britta Hørdam, Ph.D, Medicine bho@ucsj.dk

2. Content • VISUEL’s objectives • VISUEL’s competencies • Overview of VISUEL’s ongoing research projects • Presentation of VISUEL’s individual research projects (6 slides)

3. Objectives • VISUEL develops and disseminates new evidence-based and practice-oriented knowledge related to nursing, healthy dieting, physiotherapy, ergo-therapy and welfare economy in general. • VISUEL promotes active interaction between research, education- and competence-development, consultancy, supervision and project-development both at local, regional, national and international levels.

4. Competencies • VISUEL possesses multiple cross-disciplinary competencies that have created the unique research environment. • VISUEL offers development-oriented and quality assurance products, tools and expertise (e.g., process-, project-development and implementation) to both public and private agencies as well as local and regional government institutions.

5. Overview of research projects

6. Research projects (I) • E-Health: Rehabilitation of patients after hip-surgery and early discharge by using net-based technology (Hoerdam, Britta. 2009.SJCSS). • Developing community nursingin Denmark: A qualitative study of professional nursing from organizational, professional and user perspectives (ongoing).

7. Research projects (II) • Health interventions for children in kindergartens and schools by promoting cooperation between public agencies. This is a joint project with the National Center of Science, Nutrition, and Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents (ongoing) • Health interventions for elderly: Enabling the perception of autonomy among physically disabled older nursing home residents (Andresen, Mette. 2009. JAH; Andersen, Mette. 2008. BMCG ).

8. Research projects (III) • Health interventions for patients with heart failure: Developing evidence-based clinical guidelines (ongoing). • Rehabilitation of war veterans with PTSD: Physiotherapeutic assistanceto war veterans suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by using nature-based therapy (ongoing).

9. Research projects (IV) • Innovation for health care professionals: Spreading knowledge about technological and organizational innovation among students in nursing, biomedical laboratory science, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. This is a joint project with Health Innovation Center of Region Sealand (ongoing). • Improving patient safety: Increasing awareness about clinic errors to improve patient safety. This is a joint project with University College (ongoing).

10. Research projects (V) • Caring of patients’ spiritual needs: An ethnographic fieldwork in two hospice care settings on how to integrate the spiritual dimension in clinical nursing practice (ongoing). • Preventing torture in closed institutions: An evaluation of the effect of torture and ill-practice prevention intervention, i.e., regular visits to places of detention by independent international and national monitors (ongoing).

11. Research projects (VI) • Developing regional food concept in the Baltic region: A qualitative study of calturally unique gastronomic practices in the Baltic region.