Helena Grönqvist

Developmental asymmetries between horizontal and vertical tracking

The development of the asymmetry between horizontal and vertical eye tracking was investigated longitudinally at 5, 7, and 9 months of age. The target moved either on a 2D circular trajectory or on a vertical or horizontal 1D sinusoidal trajectory. Saccades, smooth pursuit, and head movements were measured. Vertical tracking was found to be inferior to horizontal tracking at all age levels. The results also show that the mechanisms responsible for horizontal and vertical tracking mutually influence one another in the production of 2D visual pursuit. Learning effects were observed within-trials but no transfer between trials was found.

Negative and positive consequences of adolescent cancer 10 years after diagnosis : an interview-based longitudinal study in Sweden

The aim of this study was to provide insight into survivor‐reported negative and positive consequences of cancer during adolescence 10 years after diagnosis and compare these with consequences reported 3 and 4 years after diagnosis.

Development of smooth pursuit eye movements in very preterm infants: 1. General aspects

Aim:  To investigate early oculo‐motor development in a population‐based cohort of very preterm infants.

Development of smooth pursuit eye movements in very prematurely born infants : 2. The low-risk subgroup.

Aim:  To investigate the impact of premature birth on visual tracking in a group of 37 infants, born before the 32nd gestational weeks (mean 29 + 6 weeks) and diagnosed as being without major neonatal complications. This paper is a part of the LOVIS study (Strand Brodd, Ewald, Grönqvist, Holmström, Strömberg, Von Hofsten, et al. Acta Pediatrica, 2011).

The Origin and Impact of Ideals in eHealth Research: Experiences From the U-CARE Research Environment

Background The prevalence of information technology (IT) in society is a foundation for new modes of interaction between patients and health specialists. IT plays an important role in the renewal of care. Several countries have incorporated eHealth plans into their national health strategies. Part of the eHealth evolution concerns Internet psychological treatment and psychosocial care. These interventions are complex to design and evaluate due to legal, ethical, organizational, technical, and methodological challenges. Objective The objective of our study was to seek to make explicit contributions to the understanding of ideals in eHealth research, and illuminate their implications for establishing an effective research environment. Our analysis draws from three years of experience in establishing an eHealth research environment, and the literature. Methods We worked inductively to characterize challenging research ideals, and their origins, in our environment. Thereafter, we made a selective search of the literature to scrutinize and illuminate each ideal and it’s implications. Results In this work, we propose a structured approach to address ideals in eHealth research. The scrutinized ideals are accountability, innovation, rigor, relevance, and sustainability. The approach supports researchers to systematically understand the ideals, their origin, and to manage their implications within an eHealth research environment. Conclusions The complexity of eHealth research causes a need for sustainable, multi-disciplinary research environments. There is a need for a structured approach to organize eHealth research. The proposed approach helps to systematically scrutinize ideals, thus promoting high quality research.

The Impact of Neonatal Morbidities on Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements in Very Preterm Infants

Background: Infants born very preterm (VPT) i.e.< 32w gestational age (GA) have increased risk of developing impaired visual perception. Previously we have found that visual motion perception in VPT infants, evaluated by smooth pursuit eye movements (SP) was significantly reduced at both 2 and 4 months corrected age (CA) compared to term infants. SP are essential for perception of the moving environment in daily life.Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of major neonatal complications on smooth pursuit eye movements in a group of VPT infants.Methods: 81 VPT infants were investigated. Visual motion perception was analyzed as the infants tracked a horizontally oscillating object. SP at 2 and 4 months CA were evaluated and correlated to the presence of major neonatal complications i.e. bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), intraventricular haemorrhage >grade2 (IVH) and periventricular leukomalacia (PVL).Results: At 4 months CA univariate analysis showed lower SP in infants diagnosed with BPD (p= 0.001), PVL (p=0.021) or ROP (p=0.028). No difference was found for IVH>2. The outcome at 2 months CA was not affected except for infants with ROP>grade2 (p=0.001).Additionally a regression analysis showed that the negative impact on SP was enhanced at 4 months CA when adding these neonatal complications (R=-0,409, p=0.000).Conclusion: Neonatal morbidity showed impact on visual motion perception evaluated by SP in VPT infants at 4 months CA. When adding major neonatal complications the impact on SP was more pronounced.

Development of health-related quality of life and symptoms of anxiety and depression among persons diagnosed with cancer during adolescence: a 10-year follow-up study

The main aim was to investigate the development of health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) and symptoms of anxiety and depression in a cohort diagnosed with cancer during adolescence from shortly after up to 10 years after diagnosis.

Development of smooth pursuit eye movements in very preterm born infants: 3. Association with perinatal risk factors.

Aim:  To investigate the association between perinatal risk factors and neonatal complications and early oculo‐motor development in very preterm infants.

Perceptions of support among Swedish parents of children after end of successful cancer treatment: a prospective, longitudinal study

Abstract Introduction: Most children survive childhood cancer, however parenting a child diagnosed with cancer is a major challenge. The main aim of the current study was to describe Swedish parents’ need, opportunity and benefit of support from healthcare professionals and significant others after end of a child’s successful cancer treatment. Material and methods: Data was collected from approximately one week after end of successful treatment/six months after transplantation (T4, n = 212) up to five years thereafter (T7, n = 137). Parents answered questions via telephone about need, opportunity and benefit of talking to psychologists, social workers, partners and friends. Results: The proportion reporting need of support from healthcare professionals varied between 73% (mothers’ need of support from social workers, T4) and 7% (fathers’ need of support from psychologists/social workers, T7). Need of support from significant others varied between 99% (mothers’ and fathers’ need of support from partners, T4) and 27% (fathers’ need of support from friends, T7). The proportion reporting need of support decreased over time (p < .001), no decrease occurred from three months after end of treatment/nine months after transplantation (T5) to one year after end of treatment/18 months after transplantation (T6). More mothers than fathers reported need of support from friends at T5 (p < .001) and T7 (p < .05) and from psychologists at T7 (p < .05). Opportunities for support from healthcare professionals varied, most reported opportunity for support from significant others. Almost all reported benefit from received support. Conclusion: A declining number reports a need of support over time, however subgroups report an unmet need and almost every parent perceive support from healthcare professionals as beneficial. More parents should get access to psychosocial support services after end of a child’s cancer treatment/transplantation.

Fifteen Challenges in Establishing a Multidisciplinary Research Program on eHealth Research in a University Setting: A Case Study

Background U-CARE is a multidisciplinary eHealth research program that involves the disciplines of caring science, clinical psychology, health economics, information systems, and medical science. It was set up from scratch in a university setting in 2010, funded by a governmental initiative. While establishing the research program, many challenges were faced. Systematic documentation of experiences from establishing new research environments is scarce. Objective The aim of this paper was to describe the challenges of establishing a publicly funded multidisciplinary eHealth research environment. Methods Researchers involved in developing the research program U-CARE identified challenges in the formal documentation and by reflecting on their experience of developing the program. The authors discussed the content and organization of challenges into themes until consensus was reached. Results The authors identified 15 major challenges, some general to establishing a new research environment and some specific for multidisciplinary eHealth programs. The challenges were organized into 6 themes: Organization, Communication, Implementation, Legislation, Software development, and Multidisciplinarity. Conclusions Several challenges were faced during the development of the program and several accomplishments were made. By sharing our experience, we hope to help other research groups embarking on a similar journey to be prepared for some of the challenges they are likely to face on their way.