Description
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology is part of Division for Infectious Disease Control at NIPH and was established in 2002. It contains five teams: 1. Foodborne diseases and zoonoses. 2. Bloodborne and sexually transmitted infections. 3. Childhood, respiratory, systemic and tropical disease. 4. Health-service acquired infections. 5. Administration and international resources.
The mains tasks are: 1. Surveillance of infectious diseases. 2. Advice to authorities. 3.
Research.
The unit has grown rapidly. Now, the staff is 35, but with only four PhDs, of whom only two have advanced research experience. However, several others are engaged in research; the total resource corresponds to 6-8 researchers. Five members of the staff are PhD students, and there are, in addition, three “external” PhD students. The senior staff members spend only a limited fraction of their time for research. Main tools are the Norwegian surveillance system for communicable diseases and the Norwegian surveillance system for hospital-acquired infections, e.g. following surgical interventions.
Follow-up of previous evaluation Not relevant.
Scientific quality
The research belongs to three areas: 1. Descriptive studies. 2. Analytical epidemiology. 3.
Reports of outbreaks. The funding of research is described as satisfactory. The unit has thorough collaboration with the microbiological reference laboratory at NIPH. There is also collaboration with the Veterinary Institute and the Food Administration. Wider national and international collaboration seems to be rather limited, though there are contacts with both the European and US Centres for Disease Prevention and Control.
The objective of the research is to support the surveillance and advice functions and to promote the scientific competence of the staff, not primarily to produce frontline knowledge.
Thus, the research is almost entirely applied. This is also reflected in the publishing. The rate is good (about 4 papers per researcher-year), but a large part is descriptive studies of
outbreaks, reported in Norwegian and in the European surveillance journal, though some articles have been published in international peer-reviewed journals of high impact, including most prestigious ones.
The unit has extensive collaboration with Norwegian local health authorities. Also, there is a European network of mainly descriptive character, on outbreaks and drug-resistance.
Grade: Good.
Societal impact
No doubt, the activity of the unit has a very great relevance for the Norwegian and European society.
Recommendations
The unit has large responsibilities in practical public health problems. This means that the staff members constantly have to split their minds between these and pure research. A more transparent division of the tasks might increase the effectiveness.
The research activity has increased during the rather short existence of the unit. There are ambitions to become a leading European group in epidemiology of nosocomial infections.
This seems reasonable in view of the good Norwegian registers.
However, to achieve a front position, analytical epidemiology should be developed. The interaction with the unit of epidemiology at NIPH should be strengthened. Another important step in that direction is the ongoing development of mathematical modelling. Also, the staffing should be increased with experienced researchers having sufficient time for research.
Further, increased collaboration with national and international universities would most likely be valuable. In this connection, the Panel noted that the unit had started to make use of
geographical information systems (GIS) for epidemiology of infectious diseases; this is definitely a very promising route, in particular if it is combined with a real-time registry, using medical records from the primary health care system and hospitals.
National Institute of Occupational Health
Evaluation unit Occupational Health
Levels 1 and 2 Description
National Institute of Occupational Health(NIOH) is administratively linked to the Ministry of Labour, but with academic independence. It is a national research institute in the field of work environment and occupational health. In 2006, NIOH was organised into four
departments: (1) Department of Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology; (2) Department of Chemical and Biological Working Environment; (3) Department of Musculoskeletal
Disorders; and (4) Department of Organisational and Psychological Factors at Work. A director general is responsible for research administration, strategy implementation and follow-up. A research director leads each of the four rather autonomous departments.
NIOH is mainly funded by the Ministry of Labour (80%), but also from other sources. The basic funding from the ministry does not cover all necessary investments for infrastructure.
The staff has been stable, but with a rather high age (average 53 years), among the researchers, who are mainly males, with a competence as professors. The number of PhD candidates has increased in the past years. Currently, 18 PhD projects are ongoing. A
‘Development programme for younger personnel at NIOH’ has been ongoing during 2009-10, with 10 women and six men among the younger researchers and PhD students, who have been trained in leadership skills.
Three evaluation units have been nominated by NIOH for evaluation: Toxicology (panel 2), Occupational Health (this Panel), and Psychological and organizational factors at work (panel 6). The Occupational health unit is interdepartmental with involvement from three depart-ments, namely: Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology, Chemical and Biological Working Environment, and Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders.
Research quality
NIOH has been strong in quality and productivity within work environment and occupational health, and leading in the Nordic countries (which are internationally strong), measured as publication rate/researcher. The total publication rate has been increasing since 2002; in the period 2000-9, the publication rate was substantial (>0.5% of the total of scientific papers produced in Norway), considering the limited size of the institute. The scientific publications have been centred on the strategic areas outlined in a strategy paper. The focus on the
relationship between exposure and health effects response is a major strength. Studies on mechanisms of action will expand in the coming years.
Grade: Very Good Societal impact
Besides from scientific criteria, societal relevance and national needs regulate the research performed at NIOH. At national level, NIOH has a coordinating role of research activities undertaken at the occupational medicine clinics at the university hospitals and also collaborates with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. NIOH also collaborates with industry at different branches to contribute in reducing sickness absence.
Recommendations
The ‘mechanisms’ research is of high interest and should be continued. Increased collaboration with university departments on statistics and measurements techniques is recommended, to further improve exposure assessments. Access to workplaces is a unique possibility and should be used to its full potential; there are, from an international perspective, unique possibilities to perform intervention studies at the work-places in Norway.
Uni Research
Uni Health
Level 1 Description
Uni Health is one of the departments of Uni Research Ltd. (Uni), which was formed as a limited company in 2003, and which is one of the largest research companies in Norway. The University of Bergen (UoB) owns 85% of the company and the Foundation owns 15%. Uni operates on a non-profit basis; any profit made is reinvested in research activities. The department is organized in fairly autonomous research units, led by a senior researcher with academic and administrative responsibilities.
Uni Health relies on external funding only. The staff consists of 115 employees; 45 of these hold a doctoral degree. Of these 45 senior researchers, 17 are qualified professors. There are 22 PhD students.
The research is organized as projects, mostly within each research unit, but also in collabora-tion between research units and with other organizacollabora-tions. The staff participates in under-graduate and under-graduate training, mainly for the UoB, and is also engaged in teaching activities for other academic and governmental institutions. The strategy is to do research at a high international level, which is highly relevant for the society. In Uni’s strategy for 2010-2015, health research is one of three major fields, in which the company wants to strengthen and develop the research further. Uni’s strategic plan states that the aim is to be known for its multidisciplinary research and the integrity of their researchers. The strategy further emphasizes that Uni should be an important and visible research policy maker, and have a high frequency of scientific publications. Researchers of the department do clinical trials, epidemiological and registry-based studies. Many of the researchers have a core interest and competence in prevention and public health. Uni has also high visibility in media.
1. Stress, Health and Rehabilitation