Every year there is a ShanghaiRanking of universities, and here there is also a ranking of various fields, such as nursing science. Over the past three years, nursing science at the University of Oslo has been stable and high in the Shanghai ranking, and has been ranked respectively 47th in 2022, 46th in 2021 and 47th in 2020. This is an improvement from 2019, when nursing science at UiO was ranked in group 51-75. Nursing science at UiO is the only Norwegian institution in the top 50.
See the full 2022 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects at shanghairanking.com.
The University of Oslo (UiO) in general is in 2022 ranked 67th in the Shanghai ranking for universities.
A vibrant and active research environment
Ragnhild Hellesø, professor and head of department at the Department of Nursing Sciences, believes that the high ranking is a result of long-term important and socially relevant research, an active and creative research environment at the department, national and international research projects and collaborations, and educational programs that meet the skills needed in society.
"We work with research that aims to contribute to better health services and with the aim of creating less inequality in health. The combination of clinical research and a service perspective is central to the research at the department," says Hellesø.
"Some of the topics we are working on are relevant for quality of life for persons with different health condition. This involves perspectives on organization, digitalisation and innovation in health service, user-engagement, and educational research. The research includes prevention, early intervention, interaction, complex interventions and rehabilitation."
Interdisciplinary, international research projects
"The department's research include a wide range of topics where we collaborate both nationally and internationally," says Hellesø.
"For example, we have research collaborations with the university that is ranked number one - the University of Pennsylvania - and we have had collaborations in developing our master program with the University of John Hopkins which is ranked number three in the Shanghai Ranking, this in addition to collaborations with many other institutions."
The Department of Nursing Science works continuously with various research projects, supported by the EU, the Norwegian Research Council, the Dam Foundation, the Norwegian Nurses Organisation (NSF) and others, including three major projects such as:
- Gravitate-Health, a research consortium that develops innovative digital health information tools for patients and recommendations to strengthen a personalized healthcare system.
- The research project CORAL, where the main aim is to develop new knowledge about the need for and organization of dental health services for elderly patients living at home.
- The research project OPTIM-PARK - Patient process for people with Parkinson's, which contributes to the development of an adapted cross-sectoral service process for people with Parkinson's disease and their relatives.
Central to the education of nurses in Norway
Since 1985, the Department of Nursing Science has been associated with the University of Oslo, and the department has been central to the higher education of nurses in Norway, and to the development of health services for a wide range of patients.
Among the students, research is carried out on a number of different topics. In 2018, Ragnhild Hellesø and May Solveig Fagermoen at the Department of Nursing Science conducted a study of a total of 694 research-based master's theses, produced over a period of 30 years.
The study showed that the master's theses covered a number of topics, ranging from basic theoretical and methodological issues to topics within clinical research, education and management. Most of the studies were about patient studies, i.e. patients' experiences with illness and health, practice studies, which looked at the conditions nurses have to provide good health services, nursing education and leadership.
The Department of Nursing Science has had two master's programs, one in nursing science and one in advanced geriatric nursing. Both programs are being phased out after several years of low numbers of applicants. The department offers several e-learning courses, and it has also hosted a research school for the municipal health and care services (Muni-Health-Care) together with the Department for Interdisciplinary Health Sciences.
New master's program in public health science and epidemiology
"The Department of Nursing Science at (DNS) UiO has taken responsibility for breaking new ground, both in education and research," says Hellesø.
From 2023, a new master's program in public health science and epidemiology will start at the department. The program will be the first of its kind in Norway.
The master's degree starts in the autumn of 2023, and students can choose one of two specializations: public health work and sustainable health services or epidemiology.
Society faces major challenges in the coming years. Not only has the Covid-19 pandemic shown a great need to be prepared for unexpected changes with a need for an increased focus on sustainability. We are also getting an aging population, at the same time as a decline in the number of people of working age. Overall, there has been a need to transform how we work and think.
"The medical faculty wanted to continue the research portfolio at DNS after the two existing programs were decided to be discontinued. The new master's program highlights topics that we find in the UN's sustainability goals, with a focus on the goals of good health and quality of life, less inequality and social innovation.
"The new program builds on the department's portfolio, and in addition there is a broad collaboration across the whole of Helsam to realize a master's program of particularly great social relevance in the years to come," says Hellesø.
The students will meet highly motivated researchers and take turns in a wide range of disciplines and approaches.