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Doctoral Defence in Nursing
14. November 2025 at 13:00
Elín Arnardóttir to defend her doctoral thesis
On Friday, 14 November, Elín Arnardóttir will defend her doctoral thesis in Nursing at the University of Akureyri.
The title of the thesis is: “Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Risk and the use of preventive strategies in Primary healthcare”
The defence will be conducted in English and will take place in the Ceremonial Hall of the University of Akureyri at 13:00. The event is open to everyone. The defence will also be live-streamed here.
Please register your attendance for the Ceremonial Hall here
The thesis was supervised by Dr Árún K. Sigurðardóttir, Professor at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Akureyri.
Other members of the doctoral committee were Dr Marit Graue, Professor at HVL University of Applied Sciences in Bergen, Norway; Dr Timothy Skinner, Professor at the University of Copenhagen and the Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes in Melbourne, Australia; and Dr Beate-Christin Hope Kolltveit, Associate Professor at HVL University of Applied Sciences in Bergen, Norway.
Opponents will be Dr Ragnar Grímur Bjarnason, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, and Consultant at Landspítali University Hospital, and Dr Åsa Hörnsten, Nurse and Professor at the Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Sweden.
The ceremony will be chaired by Dr Guðrún Rósa Þórsteinsdóttir, Director the Centre for Doctoral Studies, and Dr Brynjar Karlsson, Dean of the School of Health, Business and Natural Sciences.
About the Candidate
Elín Arnardóttir is a registered nurse who graduated with a BSc in Nursing from the University of Iceland in 1993. She completed a diploma in education at the University of Akureyri in 2000, and in 2018, she earned an MSc in Health Sciences with a focus on diverse forms of primary health care from the same university.
Elín has worked continuously as a nurse since her graduation in 1993, including 25 years at the Fjallabyggð Health Centre.
Abstract
The thesis is based on quantitative cross-sectional and randomised intervention studies. The aim was to determine the prevalence of prediabetes and undiagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in North Iceland. Furthermore, it sought to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISK) combined with HbA1c levels and other measurement methods to identify individuals at risk of T2DM in Icelandic primary health care. The study also aimed to assess differences in health functioning and well-being between participants with and without T2DM risk. The intervention study examined the effects of nurse-led follow-up using the Guided Self-Determination (GSD) method to help individuals at risk of T2DM reduce their risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
Data collection took place between 2020 and 2023 among individuals aged 18–75 residing in the catchment areas of three health centres in North Iceland.
Findings revealed that among the 220 participants, none had undiagnosed T2DM, but 13.2% showed indicators of prediabetes. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was high among participants. Both FINDRISK and the waist-to-height ratio may serve as useful screening tools for further T2DM risk assessment in primary care, allowing preventive support before prediabetes develops into disease.
Calculations of FINDRISK sensitivity and specificity showed an aROC of 0.814, and a threshold of ≥11 points was identified as appropriate for further investigation of T2DM risk.
Although no statistically significant difference was found between the intervention and control groups regarding reduced CHD risk following 12 weeks of nurse-led GSD counselling, participation in the intervention was associated with an 18% relative reduction in 10-year CHD risk.
Conclusions: A FINDRISK threshold of ≥11 points can be used as a benchmark for further T2DM risk assessment in primary health care. Although no significant group differences were found after the intervention, regular monitoring and GSD counselling appear to be beneficial in promoting overall reduction of coronary heart disease risk factors.
Keywords: FINDRISK, HbA1c, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) Risk, Primary Health Care, Guided Self-Determination (GSD), Coronary Heart Disease Risk
All welcome!