The role of social cognition in perceived thresholds for transport mode change

Author's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Transport Policy on 18/09/2019.Available online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X18305560This article is based on a study that investigated social cognitive psychological factors associated with economic thresholds related to using public or other sustainable transport modes. A survey was conducted using a random sample of the Norwegian population living in the six largest urban regions (n = 1039). The respondents were asked to indicate the monthly increase in car taxes and fees that they would perceive necessary to make them use sustainable transport modes instead of their private car. The findings revealed that those who perceived themselves as definitive car users (strongly reluctant to change transport mode) reported low tolerance of push measures, low awareness of and ascription of responsibility for the consequences of car use, and weak environmental norms. Environmental norms, attitudes towards transport and push measure tolerance were the strongest predictors of the respondents belonging to either the lowest or the highest threshold groups. The authors conclude that measures aimed at increasing the costs of car use and improving the accessibility of public transport in urban areas could be supplemented by social cognitive factors.acceptedVersio

Improving identification and child-focused collaborative care for children of parents with a mental illness in Tyrol, Austria

Background: Children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) are more likely to experience negative long-term adversities. However, interventions to support their needs early can significantly enhance adjustment and reduce negative outcomes. Approximately one in four children currently lives with a parent with mental illness worldwide. The lifelong impact for individuals, governments, and broader society is likely to be substantial. There are significant workforce barriers to the early identification of COPMI and addressing their needs, particularly within the adult mental health care system. The current study aims to reduce such barriers and to improve identification of COPMI in the current health care systems. Objectives: The project The Village is a multidisciplinary health and social care policy intervention and seeks to improve child development and well-being outcomes for children of parents with a diagnosed mental illness. This will be achieved through the co-development, implementation, and evaluation of a practice approach to the early identification and collaborative care for COPMI, through establishing child-focused support networks. This will be done with open innovation science (OIS) approaches engaging the public in Tyrol, a geographical region of Austria, throughout 4 years. As part of the co-development process, we will work with stakeholders to co-develop the practice approaches based on evidence-based approaches and determine the most appropriate study design to evaluate those, as well as the implementation processes we will undertake. Methods: The project is underpinned by theories from different disciplines (i.e., public health, psychology, sociology, linguistics, economic sciences) as well as drawing on different approaches (i.e., co-development, implementation science, symbolic interactionism, and realist evaluation). It is based on the seven content work packages (WPs): 1) management, 2) focusing on children and methods to understand their voice, 3) scoping, 4) co-development, 5) implementation, 6) evaluating the practice approaches, and 7) knowledge dissemination. Scoping will involve exploring the existing evidence, practice, and current state of identification and collaborative care in Tyrol, Austria. Co-development involves the co-design of practice approaches to identify and support children in partnership with key stakeholders and service providers working in Tyrol. The implementation of practice approaches will be based on the results of the co-development phase and will involve working with organizations to develop support strategies that draw on known organizational drivers from the field of implementation science to support the rollout of the practice approaches. In Evaluation we will follow principles of a realist approach; this includes developing program theories and logic models for the practice approaches. Those will set out the outcomes hypothesized to achieve and the processes that are expected to lead to those changes. This will refer to changes in children, parents, and practitioners. We expect that the main focus will be on measuring child quality of life and mental health outcomes, and outcomes that are on the path to those (such as social support needs, resilience, mental health literacy, stigma, and help-seeking behavior) as well as costs. The child voice WP focuses on children\u27s perceptions and needs as the importance of assent and support of children to develop their own voice in health care is increasingly recognized within child health research. The dissemination step focuses on reaching a broad public audience of different stakeholders, researchers, and families involved. Discussion: The research project aims to directly improve identification and support of vulnerable children across selected regions in Tyrol, Austria, and by doing so, improve the health and well-being of future generations, through breaking the cycle of intergenerational transfer of adverse childhood experiences

An epidemiological, developmental and clinical overview of cannabis use during pregnancy

The objective of the current narrative literature review is to provide an epidemiological, developmental and clinical overview on cannabis use during pregnancy. Cannabis use in pregnancy poses major health concerns for pregnant mothers and their developing children. Although studies on the short- and long-term consequences of prenatal cannabis exposure are increasing, findings have been inconsistent or difficult to interpret due to methodological issues. Thus, consolidating these findings into clinical recommendations based on the mixed studies in the literature remains a challenge. Synthesizing the available observational studies is also difficult, because some of the published studies have substantial methodological weaknesses. Improving observational studies will be an important step toward understanding the extent to which prenatal exposure to cannabis influences neurodevelopment in the offspring. Therefore, further research on prenatal cannabis exposure and the long-term consequences to offspring health in representative samples are needed to guide and improve clinical care for pregnant women and their children. Future research should also investigate the role of policies on prenatal cannabis use

Harm to Others from Substance Use and Abuse: The Underused Potential in Nationwide Registers

This article considers the potential in using nationwide registers to study harm to others from substance use and abuse. The advantages of using registry data include the opportunity to include the data on the entire population nationwide and continuously updated longitudinal datasets; they allow for studying small subpopulations and have little missing data. Personal identification numbers and family numbers enable linkage of data from different registers. Such datasets can include extensive information on individual and family levels. In this article, we provide an introduction to nationwide registers and explain how they can be applied to investigate two types of third-party harms: harm to children and harm to partners/spouses from substance use and abuse in parents and partners/spouses. Finally, we discuss challenges, benefits, and ethical considerations regarding the use of such data

Pregnant women in Opioid maintenance treatment (OMT): Maternal and neonatal outcomes

Background The Norwegian Health Care system significantly differs from international settings such as the U.S., where the majority of research on pregnant opioid dependent women is conducted. Hence results from international research may not be generalized to the Norwegian setting. Therefore, to be able to offer the best possible care, it is of great importance to investigate how pregnant women in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) in Norway are faring in regards to continued substance use and psychiatric problems both during pregnancy and sometime after the children are born. Secondly, the partners of pregnant opioid dependent women may contribute to the woman’s drug use relapses as well as to improved treatment outcomes and how the woman will cope as a mother. However, they are rarely included in studies on pregnant opioid dependent women. Moreover, there is a lack of studies offering a compete overview of use of prescription drug use prior to, and during pregnancy among OMT women. Lastly, maternal and neonatal outcomes after exposure to buprenorphine + naloxone has not been compared to other medicinal treatments for opioid dependence such as buprenorphine, methadone and methadone assisted withdrawal. Despite the lack of research on this, buprenorphine + naloxone is prescribed to pregnant opioid dependent women several places in the U.S. Study aims The aims of the present thesis were to investigate substance abuse and psychiatric problems in a national cohort of pregnant OMT women and their partners. Moreover, to investigate use of prescription drugs among women in OMT prior to, and during pregnancy. Furthermore, to investigate maternal and neonatal outcomes from use of buprenorphine + naloxone versus methadone, buprenorphine and methadone-assisted withdrawal. Materials and methods Different study designs were utilized for this thesis. Paper I and II were based on a cohort design; 38 pregnant OMT women and their partners (n= 23) were included. Paper III was based on a national cohort design, using the Norwegian birth registry and the Norwegian prescription database: 138 women and 159 pregnancies were included. Paper IV, a clinical mini-review, was based on published articles including both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and retrospective studies. Results Use of illegal drugs among the women and their partners were low both during third trimester of pregnancy and one year after birth. One woman reported using illegal substances at each time interval. Two partners reported using illegal substances prior to the interview during third trimester. One year after one partner reported such use. Among the women, problem drinking increased from 0-15 % from third trimester to one year after birth. In contrast, problem drinking was significantly reduced (p Conclusion Most pregnant OMT women in Norway and their partners were able to abstain from using illegal drugs both during pregnancy and after the children are born. Psychiatric problems among the OMT women and their partners appears to be reduced from pregnancy to after the children were born. This may influence both treatment outcome and parenting abilities in a positive way. Pregnant OMT women used more prescription drugs than pregnant women in the general population. Comedication with drugs with abuse potential may increase the risk of malformations in neonates and should be addressed further. Although there were no significant difference in maternal outcomes and few on neonatal outcomes when comparing buprenorphine + naloxone to buprenorphine, methadone and methadone assisted withdrawal, the results should be considered preliminary due to a very small sample in the buprenorphine + naloxone group. Bakgrunn Helsevesenet og behandlingstilbudene i Norge er svært forskjellig fra for eksempel USA, hvor mye av forskningen på gravide kvinner i LAR er gjort; resultatene fra internasjonale studier kan muligens ikke overføres til norske forhold. For å kunne tilby best mulig behandling til gravide i LAR i Norge og deres familier er det viktig å undersøke bruk av rusmidler og psykisk helse både under svangerskap og etter at barnet er født. Partnere kan i stor grad påvirke behandlingsutfall hos opiatavhengige kvinner; de kan bidra til både tilbakefall og økt sjanse for et godt utfall og påvirke hvordan en kvinne klarer seg som mor. Likevel er de sjelden inkludert i studier om gravide opiatavhengige kvinner. Også forskrevne legemidler kan misbrukes, og noen kan være skadelige for fosteret. På den andre siden er det mulig at noen gravide kvinner i LAR ikke mottar de legemidlene de trenger fordi noen leger er for forsiktige og mangler kunnskap om LAR og ko-medisinering. Svangerskapsutfall og utfall hos nyfødte etter eksponering til buprenorfin + naloxone gjennom svangerskapet har ikke tidligere blitt sammenlignet med utfall etter eksponering til andre medikamentelle behandlinger for opiatavhengighet: buprenorfin, metadon eller metadonassistert nedtrapping. Likevel benyttes dette medikamentet til behandling av opiatavhengighet hos gravide kvinner flere steder i USA. Forskningsspørsmål Målene i denne studien var å undersøke rusmisbruk og psykiske plager i en nasjonal kohort gravide LAR kvinner og deres partnere; tidligere i livet, i svangerskapet og etter at barna var født. Neste mål var å undersøke bruk av reseptbelagte legemidler blant kvinner i OMT før og under svangerskapet. Siste mål var å studere svangerskapsutfall og utfall hos nyfødt etter eksponering fra buprenorfin + nalokson sammenlignet med metadon, buprenorfin og metadon-assistert nedtrapping. Materiale og metode Flere forskningsdesign ble brukt i denne studien; artikkel I og II er basert på et naturalistisk, longitudinelt, prospektivt kohort design. Studien inkluderte 38 gravide kvinner i LAR og deres partnere (n=23). Artikkel III er basert på en nasjonal kohort: fra det norske fødselsregisteret og reseptregisteret ble 138 kvinner i LAR og 159 svangerskap inkludert. Artikkel IV er et mini-review basert på 7 tidligere publiserte artikler; både retrospektive og randomiserte kontrollerte studier (RCT). Resultater Bruk av illegale rusmidler de siste 30 dagene før begge intervjuene var lav hos kvinnene; en kvinne rapporterte bruk ved hvert intervju. Problematisk bruk av alkohol økte fra 0-15 % fra intervju i tredje trimester til intervju ett år etter at barna var født. To partnere rapporterte bruk av illegale rusmidler ved intervju i tredje trimester, og ett år etter at barnet var født. Signifikant færre (p Diskusjon og konklusjon De fleste kvinner i LAR i Norge og partnerne deres klarte å avstå fra å bruke illegale rusmidler både gjennom svangerskapet og etter at barna var født. Psykiske problemer så ut til å bli redusert fra slutten av svangerskapet til etter at barna var født både blant kvinnene og partnerne. Lite bruk av illegale rusmidler og reduksjon i psykiske problemer virker sannsynligvis positivt både for behandlingsutfall og for hvordan de fungerer som foreldre. Gravide kvinner i LAR bruker mer forskrevne medikamenter enn gravide kvinner i den generelle populasjonen. Ko-medisinering med medikamenter med misbrukspotensial kan øke risikoen for misdannelser hos de nyfødte og bør studeres nærmere. Det var ingen signifikante forskjeller i svangerskapsutfall, og kun få hos nyfødte ved sammenligning av buprenorfin + naloxone med buprenorfin, metadon og metadonassistert nedtrapping. Disse funnene bør betraktes som preliminære pga. at buprenorfin + naloxone gruppen var svært liten. Større studier bør undersøke mulige forskjeller i fosterets fysiske utvikling etter eksponering for buprenorfin + naloksone sammenlignet med buprenorfin eller metadon

Characteristics of a national sample of victims of intimate partner violence (IPV): Associations between perpetrator substance use and physical IPV

BACKGROUND - This paper provides a characterisation of a national sample of intimate partner violence (IPV) victim shelter residents. The study also examines whether perpetrator substance use contributed to physical IPV in 2 subsamples: 1) Norwegian victims and perpetrators, and 2) immigrant victims and perpetrators. METHODS - A national sample (N=1363) of women at IPV shelters in Norway in 2011. RESULTS - The majority (62.2%) of the women had immigrant background, and social security was the most common employment/income status (42.6%). A combination of psychological and physical IPV was most frequently reported (56.1%). Perpetrator substance use was common in the Norwegian sample (57.5%). while many in the immigrant sample (47.1%) were unsure about perpetrator substance use. Perpetrator substance use was associated with physical IPV in both subsamples. CONCLUSION - Immigrant IPV victims are overrepresented in the shelter population, as are women on social security. While substance use is associated with physical IPV among Norwegians and immigrants, the association is more obvious in the Norwegian sample. The high rates of immigrant women stating they are unsure about perpetrator substance use underscore the importance that future studies address this question in a culturally sensitive matter

Mapping the literature on parents with mental illness, across psychiatric subdisciplines: a bibliometric review

Research on parental mental illness is often carried out in disorder specific research silos. Drawing on the different research areas, it is possible to leverage and combine existing knowledge, and identify insights that can be transferred across research areas. In this study, we identify the overarching structure of research on parents with psychiatric disorders, and the structure of the different research areas, as defined by psychiatric disorder groups in ICD-10, and identify both topics that are commonly examined, and topics that received attention in only a few of the research areas

Prenatal alcohol exposure and child sleep problems: A family-based quasi-experimental study

Background We examine whether associations between prenatal exposure to hazardous maternal alcohol consumption during the first trimester of pregnancy and sleep problems in young children represent a causal association. Methods The population-based sample consists of 15,911 mothers with 30,395 offspring from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN). Women self-reported pre-pregnancy alcohol consumption and consumption during the first trimester of pregnancy twice: at gestational weeks 17 and 30. Mothers reported their children's sleep problems, when they were 1.5 and 3 years (mean = 50; SD = 10). We tested models adjusting for (1) measured confounders, (2) unmeasured familial risk factors by sibling design, and (3) maternal hazardous drinking in the 3 months prior to pregnancy as an instrumental variable within the sibling design. Results Children of mothers with hazardous drinking during the first trimester were at increased risk of sleep problems at 1.5 (β = 1.14, 95%CI 0.04–2.25) and 3 (β = 2.86, 95%CI 1.85–3.87) years of age. These associations were reduced to close to zero and non-significant at 1.5 (β = −0.32, 95%CI −1.91–1.26) and 3 (β = 0.06, 95%CI −1.56–1.64) years when controlling for both familial and measured environmental risk factors. Conclusions There is a moderate association between maternal hazardous drinking during pregnancy and offspring sleep problems up to age three. This association is explained by risk factors differing between families and does not reflect a cause-effect relationship

The emerging COVID-19 research: dynamic and regularly updated science maps and analyses

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health emergency and experts emphasize the need for rapid and a high degree of communication and interaction between all parties, in order for critical research to be implemented. We introduce a resource (website) that provides bibliometric analysis showing the current content and structure of the published literature. As new research is published daily, the analysis is regularly updated to show the status as the research field develops and matures. Methods Two bibliometric methods were employed, the first is a keyword co-occurrence analysis, based on published work available from PubMed. The second is a bibliometric coupling analysis, based on articles available through Scopus. The results are presented as clustered network graphs; available as interactive network graphs through the webpage. Results For research as of March 23rd, keyword co-occurrence analysis showed that research was organized in 4 topic clusters: “Health and pandemic management”, “The disease and its pathophysiology”, “Clinical epidemiology of the disease” and “Treatment of the disease”. Coupling analyses resulted in 4 clusters on literature that relates to “Overview of the new virus”, “Clinical medicine”, “On the virus” and “Reproduction rate and spread”. Conclusion We introduced a dynamic resource that will give a wide readership an overview of how the structure of the COVID-19 literature is developing. To illustrate what this can look like, we showed the structure as it stands three months after the virus was identified; the structure is likely to change as we progress to later stages of this pandemic