Karin Isaksson Rø, Ph.D.

• Health and well-being of physicians and other health personnel
• Studies of cultural and societal factors that impact work tasks and work environment for physicians.
• Medical education
• Peer support initiatives for physicians

Central interests are

• longitudinal follow-up studies, quantitative and qualitative, of changes over time in physician health and well-being and work-home balance, and how these relate to societal changes and changes in the health care sector.
• long-term follow-up after peer support interventions for health personnel.
• Ethical dilemmas related to prioritization of care, and how these affect health personnel
• We study the imbalance between good patient treatment, organizational factors/economy and professional satisfaction/well-being.
• We have examined how doctors perceive their duty to treat versus their perceived duty to protect and take care of their own families in light of the pandemic.
• Research on clinical and educational supervision of young doctors/interns.

In peer-reviewed journals

Cecilie Norman Birkeli, Karin Isaksson Rø, Lisbeth Rustad, Monika Kvervenes. Educational supervisor’s perceptions of their role in supporting residents’ learning – a qualitative study. Int J Med Educ. 2023; 14:178-186; doi: 10.5116

Cecilie Normann Birkeli, Camilla Normand, Karin Isaksson Rø, Monika Kvernenes.  Educational supervision in internal medicine residency training – a scoping review. BMC Medical Education (2023) 23:644

Rosta J , Isaksson Rø K,  Changes in weekly working hours, proportion of doctors with hours above the limitations of European Working Time Directive (EWTD) and time spent on direct patient care for doctors in Norway from 2016 to 2019: a study based on repeated surveys. BMJ Open 2023;13:e069331

Horne IT, Bååthe F, Veggeland F, Drewes C, Isaksson Rø K. Understanding peer support: A qualitative interview study of physicians one year after seeking support. BMC Health Services Research (2023) 23:324

Bååthe F, von Knorring M, Isaksson-Rø K. How hospital top managers reason about the central leadership task of balancing quality of patient care, economy and professionals’ engagement: an interview study.  Leadership in Health Services 36.2 (2023): 261-274

Isaksson Rø K, Magelssen M, Bååthe F, Miljeteig I, Bringedal B. Duty to treat and risk of contagion during the covid-19 pandemic: Norwegian physicians’ perspectives and experiences. A questionnaire survey. BMC Health Services Research (2022) 22:1509

Deilkås ET, Rosta J, Bååthe F, Søfteland E, Stavland Lexberg Å, Røise O, Isaksson Rø K. Physician participation in quality improvement work-interest and opportunity: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Primary Care 23.1 (2022): 1-9.

Bringedal B, Isaksson Rø K, Bååthe F, Miljeteig I, Magelssen M” Guidelines and clinical priority setting during the covid-19 pandemic – Norwegian doctors’ experiences” BMC health services research 22.1 (2022): 1-9

Horne, IMT, Veggeland F, Bååthe F, Isaksson Rø K. Why do doctors seek peer support? A qualitative interview study. BMJ open 11.10 (2021): e048732.

Hage, Trine Wiig, Karin Isaksson Rø, and Øyvind Rø. Burnout among staff on specialized eating disorder units in Norway. Journal of Eating Disorders 9.1 (2021): 1-10.

Bringedal B, Rø K Isaksson. Should a patient’s socioeconomic status count in decisions about treatment in medical care? A longitudinal study of Norwegian doctors. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health (2021): 14034948211033685.

Breivold J, Isaksson Rø K, Hjørleifsson S. Conditions for gatekeeping when GPs consider patient requests unreasonable: A focus group study. Family Practice, 2021, 1–5 doi:10.1093

Lavin A, Mangory K, Isaksson Rø K, Tyssen R. Effect of burnout among physicians on observed adverse patient outcomes: A systematic review. BMC Health Serv Res 21, 369 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06371-x

Carter C Lebares, Anya L Greenberg, Nancy L Ascher, Kevin L Delucchi,  Linda M Reilly, Marieke van der Schaaf, Fredrik Baathe, Patricia O’Sullivan, Karin Isaksson Ro. A Mixed Methods Exploration of Individual- and System-Level Wellbeing Initiatives at an Academic Surgical Residency Program . JAMA Network Open. 2021;4(1):e2032676. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.32676

Rosta J, Bååthe F, Aasland OG, Isaksson Rø K.  Changes in work stress among doctors in Norway from 2010 to 2019: a study based on repeated surveys. BMJ Open 2020;10:e037474. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037474

Ruud N, Løvseth LT, Isaksson Ro K, Tyssen R Comparing mental distress and help-seeking among first-year medical students in Norway: results of two cross-sectional surveys 20 years apart. BMJ Open 2020;10:e036968. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-036968

Isaksson Rø K Can preventive measures for doctors impact risk factors for suicide? (Kan sykdomsforebyggende tiltak for leger påvirke risikofaktorer for suicid?) Suicidologi nr 1/2020

Birkeli C, Rosta J, Aasland OG, Isaksson Rø K. Why are doctors opting out of general practice?  Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2020 (5) doi: 10.4045

Submitted and resubmitted papers:

Sandbu M, Javo C, Thapa S, Isaksson Rø K, Preljevic V, Tyssen R. Perceived clinical challenges when treating patients from different cultures: a study among psychiatry trainees in Norway. Resubmitted Transcultural Psychiatry, December 2023.

Taxt Horne IM, Veggeland F, Bååthe F, Isaksson Rø K. “How peer support helps physicians in distress – an interview study. Resubmitted Occupational Health Sciences december 2023

Breivold J, Isaksson Rø K, Nilsen S, Andersen MKK, Nexøe J, Hjörleifsson S. Gatekeeping and referral of patients holding private health insurance: A survey among general practitioners in Norway. Resubbmitted Sc J of Primary Care January 2023

Breivold J, Isaksson Rø K, Nilsen S, Hjørleifsson S. Experiences of Choosing Wisely among general practitioners in Norway. Submitted British Journal of General Practice jan 2023

Miljeteig I, Førde R, Isaksson Rø K, Bååthe F, Bringedal B. Resource conflicts leading to moral distress: A longitudinal study among physicians in Norway. Prepublication BMJ Open september 2023

Bringedal B, Isaksson Rø K. How stable are moral judgements? A longitudinal study of context dependency in attitudes towards patient responsibility. Submitted BMC Medical Ethics august 2023

Book chapter

Isaksson Rø K, Rosta J, Tyssen R, Bååthe F. Doctors Well-being, Quality of Patient Care and Organizational Change: Norwegian Experiences, in Montgomery A, Van der Douf M, Panagopoulu E, Leiter MP Connecting Healthcare Worker Well-being, Patient Safety and Organsational Change. The Triple Challenge  in the Series Aligning Perspectives on Health, Safety and Well-Being. Springer 2020.

Other publications

Taxt Horne I, Isaksson Rø K
Varied reasons for doctors to seek peer support
{In Norwegian: Stor variasjon i hvorfor leger søker kollegastøtte.
Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2022 doi: 10.4045/tidsskr.22.0271

Isaksson Rø K
Can burnout in doctors influence patient treatment?
{In Norwegian: Kan legers utbrenthet påvirke pasientbehandlingen? }
Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2021 DOI: 10.4045/tidsskr.21.0667

Rosta J, Isaksson Rø K
Overlegenes arbeidsforhold og helse i perioden 2010-2019
Overlegen 1, mars 2021

Isaksson Rø K
Self-care, work-home balance and corona.
{In Norwegian: Egenomsorg, jobb-hjem balanse og korona} Ramazzini 4/2020

Amble I og Isaksson Rø K
The doctor role – resource and risk
{In Norwegian: Legerollen – ressurs og risiko}Utposten 7/2020

Isaksson Rø K
Wise thoughts about health care organization  {In Norwegian: Klokt om organisering av helsetjenesten}Bokanmeldelse: Mayo Clinic Strategies to Reduce Burnout. 12 Actions to Create the Ideal Workplace av Stephen Swensen og Tait Shanafelt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019 Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2020 doi: 10.4045/tidsskr.20.0631

Isaksson Rø K
Medical students and self care. {In Norwegian: Medisinstudenter og egenomsorg}
Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2020 doi: 10.4045/tidsskr.20.0770

Isaksson Rø K
Counselling helps, but how? {In Norwegian: Rådgivning hjelper, men hvordan? }
Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2020 doi: 10.4045/tidsskr.20.0185

Podcasts

Stetoskopet: August 2023. Ingrid Taxt Horne og Karin Isaksson Rø. Støttekollegaordningen. Podkast: Støttekollegaordningen | Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening (tidsskriftet.no)

Legeprat: Mai 2023  “Smitteplikten”. Karin Rø, seniorforsker i Legeforskningsinstituttet (LEFO) og Erlend Hem, instituttsjef i LEFO.  Har vi, som leger, plikt til å utsette oss for fare ved å behandle pasienter med smittsomme sykdommer? https://open.spotify.com/episode/40GIy8eGO83OV4Lvgy0zba…
https://podcasts.apple.com/…/legeprat…/id1554999510…

Legeprat: jan 2021 “Å ha tid til en god legehverdag”. Kristin Kornelia Utne, leder i Yngre legers forening, møter Karin Rø, seniorforsker i Legeforskningsinstituttet (LEFO)
Legeprat | Podcast on Spotify

More publications:

List of all publications from Modum Bad

Associate Professor Mia von Knorring, Institute for Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

Senior researcher Fredrik Bååthe, Institute of stress medicine, Gothenburg