Helga Jónsdóttir (born 1957) is a professor in

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

at the Faculty of Nursing in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Iceland and Academic Chair of Nursing Care for Chronically Ill Adults in a joint position at

Landspítali The Landspítali – The National University Hospital of Iceland () offers a wide range of clinical services in outpatient clinics, day patient units, inpatient wards, clinical laboratories and other divisions. Landspítalinn also operates the psy ...

the National University Hospital.

Professional experience

Helga completed a BS in Nursing from the University of Iceland in 1981, a master's in Nursing at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in the United States in 1988, and a doctorate in Nursing from the same school in 1995. From 1981 to 1986, Helga worked in clinical nursing at the National University Hospital, the Regional Hospital in

Akureyri Akureyri (, ) is a town in northern Iceland, the country's fifth most populous Municipalities of Iceland, municipality (under the official name of Akureyrarbær , 'town of Akureyri') and the largest outside the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital R ...

, the Regional Hospital in

Húsavík Húsavík () is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the northeast coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,485 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsav� ...

, and the University Hospital in Oslo. In 1990, the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Iceland hired her as assistant professor, in 1996 as associate professor, and since 2003 as professor. In a joint position as professor, she conducts research and nursing practice development for chronically ill adults in the National University Hospital.

Research

Helga has engaged in both qualitative and quantitative research and investigated the experience, symptoms, and condition of people with various long-term diseases, especially

pulmonary The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...

and

neurological diseases Neurological disorders represent a complex array of medical conditions that fundamentally disrupt the functioning of the nervous system. These disorders affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerve networks, presenting unique diagnosis, treatment, and ...

, and their families. She has also developed and researched nursing services based on partnership as practice, in collaboration with clinical nurse specialists and staff nurses at Landspítali. In her doctoral project, Helga described the experience of people with

lung diseases Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, ...

and developed research methods which became the basis of further research on nursing practice, particularly for lung patients. She later constructed a theoretical framework, in collaboration with her colleagues, Partnership to enhance self-management of people diagnosed with

COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD defines COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory s ...

and their families. This framework has been applied in studies in outpatient clinics, as well as in primary health care context chronically ill lung patients and their families. Helga has also researched smoking cessation treatment for lung patients and the use of inhaler devices for lung patients. Research on neurological patients has centred on developing methods for clinical assessment and treatment of individuals with

hemispatial neglect Hemispatial neglect is a neuropsychological condition in which, after damage to one hemisphere of the brain (e.g. after a stroke), a deficit in attention and awareness towards the side of space opposite brain damage (contralesional space) is obs ...

following

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, clinical instructions for nursing care and the development of ActivABLES, a technical intervention to promote home-based exercise and physical activity of community dwelling stroke survivors along with research on end-of-life care for neurological patients. Leadership training of nurses (NurseLEAD) is an international teaching and research project which Helga participates in on behalf of the Faculty of Nursing. Helga has advised many master's and doctoral students and some post-doctorates at the University of Iceland. In addition to the above described topics, these projects have included symptoms and experience of various groups of clients including individuals experiencing cardiac arrest and those suffering vertebral fracture, as well as individuals with

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by patches of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small localized patches to complete b ...

and

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. Outcomes of nurse-managed follow-up for patients after discharge from the intensive care unit and the quality of life of people with chronic pain and their use of healthcare services have also been of focus in her work with graduate students. Helga does her research in close collaboration with clinical specialists in nursing and other areas of the health sciences in both Iceland and abroad. Worth mentioning in this regard are the lung and neurology wards of Iceland's National University Hospital, the University Hospitals in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, the Netherlands,

St. Catherine University St. Catherine University (St. Kate's) is a private Catholic university in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was established as one of the first institutions of higher learning specifically for women in the Midwest and was known as the College of St. C ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, USA, a researcher in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and nursing researchers in several of the main universities in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

Other work and projects

Helga was Dean of the Faculty of Nursing 2013-2017 and has served in many administrative positions for the faculty. Examples include preparing the founding of the Institute of Nursing Research and directing it and chairing Graduate Studies Committee where she has participated in establishing and developing the graduate curriculum in nursing. She twice sat on a council of specialists of The

Icelandic Centre for Research The Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNÍS; Icelandic: Rannsóknamiðstöð Íslands) funds and promotes scientific research in Iceland. It formed in 2003 through an act of legislation. As of April 1 2022, the Ministry of Higher Education, Scienc ...

(RANNÍS), serving as the chairman of the council of professionals on clinical research and public health in 2013 and 2014.

Acknowledgements

In 2017, Helga was made a Fellow of the

American Academy of Nursing The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) is a professional organization that generates, synthesizes, and disseminates nursing knowledge to contribute to health policy and practice for the benefit of the public and the nursing profession. Founded in ...

. She was selected as an honorary scientist of Landspítali the National University Hospital in 2019. In 2010, Helga was recognised as one of 100 Distinguished Nursing Alumni of the University of Minnesota for having advanced health care and done significant work in the nursing profession. In 2013, the Association of Pulmonary Nurses recognised Helga for her contribution to the development of nursing care for lung patients. On the 100th anniversary of the Icelandic Nurses Association Helga received an honorary grant for research on knowledge and the advancement of nursing in Iceland.Félag íslenskra hjúkrunarfræðinga
Ársskýrsla 2018-2019. Sjóðir (p. 13)
Retrieved March 8, 2020.

Main publications

Articles

*Klinke, M.K., Hjaltason, H., Hafsteindóttir Th.B. & Jónsdóttir, H. (2016)
Spatial neglect in stroke patients after discharge from rehabilitation to own home: a mixed method study
Disability & Rehabilitation, 38(25), 2429–2444. *Klinke, M.K., Zahavi, D., Hjaltason, H., Thorsteinsson, B. & Jónsdóttir, H. (2015)
"Getting the left right" – the experience of hemi-spatial neglect after stroke
Qualitative Health Research, 25(12), 1623–1636. *Jonsdottir, H., Amundadottir, O.R., Gudmundsson, G., Halldorsdottir, B.S., Hrafnkelsson, B., Ingadottir, Þ.S., Jonsdottir, R., Jonsson, J.S., Sigurjonsdottir, E.D. & Stefansdottir, I.K. (2015)
Effectiveness of a partnership based self-management program for patients with mild and moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 71(11), 2634–2649. *Jonsdottir, H. & Ingadottir T.S. (2011)
Health in partnership: Family nursing practice for people with breathing difficulties
Qualitative Health Research, 21(7), 927–935. *Ingadottir, T.S. & Jonsdottir, H. (2010)
Partnership-based nursing practice for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and their families: Influences on health related quality of life and hospital admissions
Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19, 2795–2805. *Litchfield, M. & Jonsdottir, H. (2008)
A practice discipline that's here-and-now
Advances in Nursing Science, 31(1), 79–91. *Jonsdottir, H., Litchfield, M. & Pharris, M.D. (2004)
The relational core of nursing practice as partnership
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 47(3), 241–250.

Book and book chapters

*Hafsteinsdottir, Þ.B., Jónsdóttir, H., Kirkevold, M., Leino-Kilpi, H., Lomborg, K. & Hallberg, I.L. (eds.)
Leadership in nursing: Experiences from the European Nordic Countries
Geneva, Switzerland, Springer Publ. *Svavarsdottir, E.K. & Jonsdottir, H. (eds.)(2011). Family nursing in action. Reykjavik, Iceland: University of Iceland Press. *Jónsdóttir, H. ed. (2006). From insight to action: Knowledge development in nursing and midwifery. rá innsæi til inngripa: Þekkingarþróun í hjúkrunar- og ljósmóðurfræði Reykjavík: The Literary Association and the Faculty of Nursing, University of Iceland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsdottir, Helga Living people 1957 births Date of birth missing (living people) Helga Jónsdóttir Helga Jónsdóttir Women nurses Nursing educators Helga Jónsdóttir Helga Jónsdóttir Place of birth missing (living people) University of Minnesota School of Nursing alumni Oslo University Hospital people Nursing researchers Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing