Helle Terkildsen Maindal
Biographic Data
| ID | 74037 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Helle Terkildsen Maindal |
| GIVEN NAMES | Helle Terkildsen |
| FAMILY NAME | Maindal |
| SIGNATURE | MAINDAL H T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Aarhus University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0525-7254 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 45 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 45 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The Making of Vulnerability. An ethnographic study exploring vulnerability in specialized outpatient care for pregnant persons with diabetes in Denmark
This article examines how vulnerability is enacted in specialized outpatient care for pregnant persons with diabetes in Denmark. The analysis draws on ten months of ethnographic fieldwork, including observations of 79 consultations with 33 pregnant persons and around 20 health professionals. Rather than treating vulnerability as a stable trait or individual circumstance, we approach it as something done through administrative classifications, psy…
Co-Creating Organisational Health Literacy
OHL-Act represents a structured, co-creational approach to support OHL work. Further research is needed to examine how generated improvement ideas translate into sustained action and their potential implications for equity
Who Trusts AI for Health Information? A Cross-National Survey on Trust Determinants in Four European Countries
As generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT become increasingly popular sources of health information, understanding what shapes users’ trust in AI-generated health information (AI-HI) is essential. Despite growing use, little is known about how human- and source-related factors jointly influence trust across national contexts. Drawing on frameworks from AI trust and online health information research, this study used multi…
Help me, Doctor AI? A cross-national experiment on the effects of disease threat and stigma on AI health information-seeking intentions
Generative AI chatbots are emerging as novel sources for health information. Adopting a cross-national perspective, this study examines how disease-related factors—namely, disease threat and stigma—influence both individuals’ intentions to seek health information via generative AI and their preferences for AI compared to traditional interpersonal sources like doctors and peers. In a preregistered 2x2 online experiment, participants from Austria, …
Clinical and Behavioural Heterogeneity Among Women at Increased Risk for Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a growing global health concern due to its impact on maternal and infant health. GDM risk factors vary across populations, but international comparisons using standardised assessment tools are lacking. This study aimed to examine variations in risk factors, demographics and health behaviours among pregnant women at increased risk of GDM across four international sites and to investigate factors associated wi…
Loneliness is associated with adverse health behaviour and obesity
Our study provides evidence that loneliness is associated with adverse health behaviour and obesity in both men and women and across the lifespan. These findings suggest that health behaviours and obesity may influence the association between loneliness and poor health outcomes. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the causal relationships underlying these associations
Are loneliness interventions effective for reducing loneliness? A meta-analytic review of 280 studies
Loneliness is increasingly recognized as a critical public health concern, with growing evidence of the effectiveness of interventions to reduce loneliness across the lifespan. This preregistered systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of interventions to reduce loneliness. The systematic review identified 312 studies. The meta-analysis included 280 studies (273 studies of short-term effects; 72 studies of long-term effect…
Health literacy and loneliness among physically inactive Danes aged 18–65
Introduction: Both physical inactivity and loneliness are public health threats bringing huge costs to society and quality of life. The two health challenges often co-exist, suggesting physically inactive and lonely individuals to be a high-risk group. Health literacy as a concept is understood as a modifiable health determinant, and it has been proposed for promoting equity in future health promotion. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine th…
The role of health literacy in the association between social support and self-rated health
Health literacy, particularly the ability to engage with healthcare providers, was a mediator between social support and self-rated health. Additionally, a low level of social support was associated with higher odds of reporting lower health literacy. These findings suggest that strategies to enhance health literacy, improve health outcomes, and reduce health inequities may benefit from strengthening individuals' social network, particularly focu…
The effect of exercise training and motivational counselling on physical activity behaviour and psychosocial factors in pregnant women
The study was approved by the Danish National Committee on Health Research Ethics (#H-18011067) and the Danish Data Protection Agency (#P-2019-512). The study adheres to the principles of the Helsinki declaration. Written informed consent was obtained at inclusion
Boundary work
PurposeInterprofessional collaboration and coordination are critical to developing solutions to complex problems, and many workplaces engage in coordination and collaboration across organizational boundaries. This development changes work conditions and workplaces for many people. The ethnographic study of workplaces needs to re-configure the toolbox to adjust to such changes. The purpose of this study was to explore how the ethnographic study of…
Health literacy among fathers and fathers-to-be
During pregnancy and early fatherhood, men are at higher risk of poor health, exacerbated by low engagement by healthcare services. Yet the transition to fatherhood presents an opportunity for men to improve their health and health behaviours. Health literacy refers to individuals’ competence in accessing and applying health information. Poor health literacy is associated with poor health and low help-seeking. The aim of this study was to identif…
A conceptual framework for selecting appropriate populations for public health interventions
This article suggests a conceptual framework for choice of target populations for public health interventions. In short, who should benefit? Taking the seminal work of Geoffrey Rose on “individuals at risk” versus the “whole population approach” as a point of departure, we explore later contributions. Frohlich and Potvin introduced the notion of “vulnerable populations” applying relevant social determinants as the defining selection criterion. Ot…
The Brief Health Literacy Scale for Adults
The Health Literacy for School-Aged Children (HLSAC) is a brief, generic instrument measuring health literacy among school-aged children. Given its brevity and broad conceptualization of health literacy, the HLSAC is a potentially valuable measuring instrument among adults as well. This validation study aimed to adapt the HLSAC questionnaire to an adult population through assessment of content validity and subsequently determine the structural va…
Mental well-being and patient activation during the first eight months of the Covid-19 pandemic in Denmark - a cohort study among 710 Danish adults with chronic conditions
A considerable proportion of people with chronic conditions participating in this study have been mentally burdened during COVID-19. Although lower levels of patient activation were associated with greater COVID-19-related concerns, it did not have a significant impact on mental well-being over time
Health literacy measurement
Definitions of health literacy have evolved from notions of health-related literacy to a multidimensional concept that incorporates the importance of social and cultural knowledge, practices and contexts. This evolution is evident in the development of instruments that seek to measure health literacy in different ways. Health literacy measurement is important for global health because diverse stakeholders, including the WHO, use these data to inf…
Seeking a deeper understanding of ‘distributed health literacy’
Development of a Complex Intervention for Health Care Professionals’ Care of Patients With African Background and HIV Infection Using the Behavior Change Wheel Method
Introduction. Insufficient cultural competences among health care professionals (HCPs) working with ethnic minorities may result in poorer quality of care. This study aimed to develop a cultural intervention for HCPs. Method. The intervention was designed using the Behavior Change Wheel. The development phase contained empirical studies of patients with HIV and African background, literature review, observations from a migrant health clinic, and …
The Health Literacy in Pregnancy (HeLP) Program Study Protocol
A pregnant woman needs adequate knowledge, motivation, and skills to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information to make decisions related to the health of herself and her unborn baby. These skills are defined as health literacy: an important factor in relation to the woman's ability to engage and navigate antenatal care services. Evidence shows variation in levels of health literacy among pregnant women, but more knowledge is need…
Physical activity in pregnancy
The FitMum interventions was delivered with high fidelity. During COVID-19, the dose received in EXE increased compared to the previous physical setup. Mechanisms of impact as commitment, perception of empowerment and perception of PA as well as the paradox between prioritising PA and family and the need of a flexible everyday life need to be considered when offering pregnant women PA interventions. Future interventions should consider a combinat…
Is patient activation a mediator of the effect of a health promoting intervention in adults at high risk of type 2 diabetes? A longitudinal path model analysis within a randomised trial
We found no mediating effects of patient activation as a single variable of the intervention "Live your life without diabetes" on weight, waist circumference and systolic blood pressure at 12 months follow-up in adults at high risk of type 2 diabetes. Our study demonstrates an analytic approach for estimating mediating effects in complex interventions that comply with the criteria on temporal ordered data. Future studies should include possible i…
Newly arrived refugees’ perception of health and physical activity in Denmark
Refugees health status after receiving asylum in their new country is often poor, both physical and mentally. Despite that, European countries rarely offer programmes specifically targeted health and health behaviour for newly arrived refugees. This study investigated newly arrived refugees' perspective on health and in particularly physical activity (PA) upon granted asylum in Denmark. A transnational migration perspective provides the theoretic…
Effectiveness of the population-based ‘check your health preventive programme’ conducted in a primary care setting
Background Health checks have been suggested as an early detection approach aiming at lowering the risk of chronic disease development. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a health check programme offered to the general population, aged 30–49 years. Methods The entire population aged 30–49 years (N=26 216) living in the municipality of Randers, Denmark, was invited to a health check during 5 years. A pragmatic household cluster-rand…
“I Wanted to Be There as a Father, but I Couldn’t”
Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common mental health problems among new parents. Past studies have examined PPD in women; however, the condition is less understood in men. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of men or fathers with PPD and to understand the barriers and facilitators of help-seeking among fathers with PPD. Eight fathers with PPD were interviewed and data were subsequently analyzed through interpretative…
Systematically developing a family-based health promotion intervention for women with prior gestational diabetes based on evidence, theory and co-production
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03997773 , registered retrospectively on 25 June 2019
Boundary work
PurposeInterprofessional collaboration and coordination are critical to developing solutions to complex problems, and many workplaces engage in coordination and collaboration across organizational boundaries. This development changes work conditions and workplaces for many people. The ethnographic study of workplaces needs to re-configure the toolbox to adjust to such changes. The purpose of this study was to explore how the ethnographic study of…
Intersectoral coordination of prevention over the life course
The International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC) is an online, open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original articles in the field of integrated care on a continuous basis.IJIC has an Impact Factor of 5.120 (2020 JCR, received in June 2021)
Translation, adaptation and validation of the American short form Patient Activation Measure (PAM13) in a Danish version
A Danish version of PAM13 with acceptable validity and reliability is now available. Further development should focus on single items, response categories in relation to ceiling effects and further validation of reproducibility and responsiveness
The Mile study
ClinicalTrials.gov (no.NCT01801956)
National indicators of health literacy
Estimates on two key dimensions of health literacy in a general population are now available. A substantial proportion of the Danish population perceives difficulties related to understanding health information and engaging with healthcare providers. The study supports previous findings of a socio-economic gradient in health literacy. New insight is provided on the feasibility of measuring health literacy which is of importance for optimising hea…
Effect of including fitness testing in preventive health checks on cardiorespiratory fitness and motivation
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02224248. Registered 8 August 2014
Health literacy is associated with health behaviour and self-reported health
Background Health literacy may constitute a modifiable determinant of health behaviour and affect cardiovascular disease prevention. This study investigates the associations between health literacy and health behaviour as well as health status. Design A cross-sectional study on a population-based sample of people with acute myocardial infarction, angina pectoris or stroke ( N = 3116). Methods Health literacy was assessed using two dimensions from…
Building school-based social capital through ‘We Act - Together for Health’ – a quasi-experimental study
https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN85203017
Process evaluation of implementation fidelity in a Danish health-promoting school intervention
ISRCTN85203017
Experience of Being Young With Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a long-term condition with a possibly cumulative life course impairment. Young people struggle to minimize its effects on appearance and functioning. To date, the self-management needs of adolescents suffering from psoriasis have been underinvestigated. Using focus groups and individual interviews, we present an interpretive description of young people's experiences of living with psoriasis, the challenges they face, and the support …
What are the public health implications of the life course perspective
During the past decades innovative research has shown that exposure to harmful events during pregnancy and early infancy ('the first 1000 days') has an impact on health at subsequent stages of the life course and even across generations. Recently it has been shown that even the pre-conception period is of outmost importance, and other scholars have made the case that the 1000 days should be extended to a period of 8000 days post-conception. The p…
Smoke-free-school-hours at vocational education and training schools in Denmark
Existing health promotion facilities and activities at the schools were associated with a favorable attitude among the management towards implementing SFSH. Thus, implementing other health promotion activities and policies might be an important first step to establish readiness to implement SFSH
Effects of a motivational, individual and locally anchored exercise intervention (Mile) on cardiorespiratory fitness
ClinicalTrials.gov (no. NCT01801956 ). Registered 1 March 2013
The effect on participation rates of including focused spirometry information in a health check invitation
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02615769 . Registered on 25 November 2015. The trial protocol has been published
Intersectoral coordination of prevention over the life course
The International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC) is an online, open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original articles in the field of integrated care on a continuous basis.IJIC has an Impact Factor of 5.120 (2020 JCR, received in June 2021)
Health literacy meets the life-course perspective
This paper presents a novel conceptual framework combining the concepts of health literacy and life-course to guide public health planning and research. Health literacy is a key competence that enables individuals to navigate health-care systems and health promotion activities. The life-course perspective places emphasis on how disease risk accumulates along the life trajectory from fetal life onwards, and how it can even pass from one generation…
Health Literacy among People in Cardiac Rehabilitation
Health literacy (HL) is a dynamic determinant of health and a promising target of health equity interventions in noncommunicable disease prevention. Among people referred to a cardiac rehabilitation program, we examined the associations between (1) HL and participation in cardiac rehabilitation and (2) HL and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Using a cross-sectional design, we invited 193 people referred to cardiac rehabilitation in Randers…
Health Literacy is Associated with Health Behaviors in Students from Vocational Education and Training Schools
Health literacy has been identified as an important and changeable intermediary determinant of health equity. Vocational education and training (VET) schools are a relevant setting for health behavior interventions seeking to diminish health inequities because many VET students come from low socio-economic status backgrounds. This study examines VET students' health literacy and its association with health behavior based on a cross-sectional surv…
Improving Organizational Health Literacy Responsiveness in Cardiac Rehabilitation Using A Co-Design Methodology
For health services, improving organizational health literacy responsiveness is a promising approach to enhance health and counter health inequity. A number of frameworks and tools are available to help organizations boost their health literacy responsiveness. These include the Ophelia (OPtimising HEalth LIteracy and Access) approach centered on local needs assessments, co-design methodologies, and pragmatic intervention testing. Within a municip…
Low Health Literacy and Mortality in Individuals with Cardiovascular Disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Diabetes, and Mental Illness
Aspects of health literacy predict a higher risk of dying during a 6-year follow-up period. Our study serves as a reminder to healthcare organizations to consider the health literacy responsiveness of their services in relation to diverse health literacy challenges and needs
Associations of health literacy with socioeconomic position, health risk behavior, and health status
Despite a relatively highly educated population, the prevalence of inadequate health literacy is high. Inadequate health literacy is strongly associated with a low socioeconomic position, poor health status, inactivity, and overweight, but to a lesser extent with health behavior factors such as smoking and high alcohol consumption
Sociodemographic, personal, and disease-related determinants of referral to patient-reported outcome-based follow-up of remote outpatients
Both self-reported and register-based analyses indicated that socioeconomically advantaged patients were referred more often to PRO-based follow-up than socioeconomically disadvantaged patients
“I Wanted to Be There as a Father, but I Couldn’t”
Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common mental health problems among new parents. Past studies have examined PPD in women; however, the condition is less understood in men. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of men or fathers with PPD and to understand the barriers and facilitators of help-seeking among fathers with PPD. Eight fathers with PPD were interviewed and data were subsequently analyzed through interpretative…
Systematically developing a family-based health promotion intervention for women with prior gestational diabetes based on evidence, theory and co-production
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03997773 , registered retrospectively on 25 June 2019
Health literacy measurement
Definitions of health literacy have evolved from notions of health-related literacy to a multidimensional concept that incorporates the importance of social and cultural knowledge, practices and contexts. This evolution is evident in the development of instruments that seek to measure health literacy in different ways. Health literacy measurement is important for global health because diverse stakeholders, including the WHO, use these data to inf…
Seeking a deeper understanding of ‘distributed health literacy’
Development of a Complex Intervention for Health Care Professionals’ Care of Patients With African Background and HIV Infection Using the Behavior Change Wheel Method
Introduction. Insufficient cultural competences among health care professionals (HCPs) working with ethnic minorities may result in poorer quality of care. This study aimed to develop a cultural intervention for HCPs. Method. The intervention was designed using the Behavior Change Wheel. The development phase contained empirical studies of patients with HIV and African background, literature review, observations from a migrant health clinic, and …
Medicine (38 works) · Nursing (23 works) · Public health (21 works) · Psychology (20 works) · Environmental health (19 works) · Biostatistics (16 works) · Health care (16 works) · Health literacy (16 works) · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility (16 works) · Epidemiology (13 works)