Divison of Medicines and Medication Management

The research group aims to provide evidence to support medication safety and improve and optimize rational use and management of drugs by patients and healthcare professionals. More specifically, we focus on three areas of research: 

1) Medication management and patient safety in health and social services 

2) Interprofessional collaboration in medication management 

3) Drug discovery and development 

Head of research group: Marianne Kollerøs Nilsen

The research group on Cristin

Read about the project

The project is funded by "Stiftelsen for fremme av apotekfarmasi" (The Foundation for the Promotion of Apothecary Pharmacy).

PhD-project where the aim is to develop and pilot patient-centered pharmacist-led consultation
in pharmacies to support safe use of medicines. The consultation aims at chronically ill patients
that have used cardiovascular agents for more than one year.

Methods used are design thinking including qualitative interviews, and an intervention study.

Cristin project-ID: 2591720

Collaboration: Helene M. Devold (PhD) Central Norway Hospital Pharmacy Trust, Elin Bergene
(Ass.Prof.) NTNU, and Nils Espen Lilleheim (Patient Research Partner)

The overall purpose of this project was to gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of nurses' medication administration practices for older patients in nursing homes. The results indicated that modification of solid oral drugs frequently occurred in nursing homes, where crushing was the most common method of modification, and swallowing difficulties were the most reported cause.

The occurrence of modification was associated to both the patient's cognitive function and the method of administration.

Nurses perceived drug dispensing as a complex process, where both anticipated and unforeseen challenges affected their ability to adhere to professional standards and guidelines. In such situations, they had to apply their knowledge and make numerous adjustments based on organizational factors and the individual needs of the patients. Nurses employed a variety of thinking strategies during drug dispensing, but the specific strategies and their frequency of use varied among nurses. The results have been disseminated in posters and oral talks, and 3 scientific papers:
1) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.01.005,
2) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2022.02.019,
3) https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16945

The project is funded by Norwegian Directorate of higher education and skills,

The aim of this project is to develop, test, and implement student active learning activities in the Bachelor Program in Pharmacy at Nord university, and increase the professional competence of the academic staff. The focus will be on peer learning and peer assessment activities, that will be included in most parts of the bachelor program according to a step-by-step model. Mixedmethods will be used for project evaluation and research, including qualitative focus group interviews, and cross sectional design with questionnaires.

Cristin project-ID: 2607785.

Collaboration: Ass.Prof. Beata Godejord, Nord University Business School, Post.doc. Mirey Alfarah and Ass.Prof. Reidun Kjome, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, UiB.

This project is partly funded by the Regional collaboration for research, innovation and education (Samarbeidsorganet i Helse Midt Norge)

The aim of this project is to develop, test and evaluate an interprofessional education model with learning activities during the students practice placement periods, including students from the Bachelor Programmes of Pharmacy, Paramedic, Nursing, and Social Education at the Faculty of Nursing and Health sciences, Nord University.

A central activity in this model is interprofessional supervision by healthcare professionals. The method used is action research.

Outcomes will be an education model with learning activities during the health professions students’ praxis. Knowledge will be disseminated in conferences, a project report and two scientific papers.

Cristin project-ID: 2474250

Collaboration: A joint project with Nord University, Nord-Trøndelag Hospital Trust (Sykehuset Namsos) and Central Norway Hospital Pharmacy Trust (Sykehusapoteket i Namsos).

Funded by Fylkesmann H.B. Guldahl og hustru Lucy Guldahls legat

We have invented a model for how to attack CDK8 with easily accessible novel compounds and we aim to further explore and develop this approach thoroughly. Initial preclinical data obtained from compounds emerged from said model have revealed promising results. To improve and evolve our finding into a commercial drug, we will employ advanced computational methods to systematize, coordinate and validate the data output from scientific experiments.

This in turn will streamline the discovery process and offer much needed guidance for the chemical synthesis of drug candidates. As a proof of concept and an exploration of the therapeutic outcome of the model, the most promising candidates will be evaluated using biobanked blasts from therapy- resistant acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. This will be conducted both in cell experiments in vitro as well as in animal models.

Collaboration: Trond V. Hansen (UiO), Anders Vik (UiO), Lars Herfindahl (UiB), Reidun Aesøy (UiB), Sandra Liekens (KU Leuven, Belgium), Vladimir Krystof (Palacký Univ. Olomouc, Czeck Rep), Yasser M.A. Mohamed (National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt