The Doctoral examination
A doctoral examination, or defence, is the final step in a PhD programme. The PhD candidates have conducted significant research and contributed new insights to their field. Below you will find an overview of approved dissertations for the PhD programme in Health and Welfare.
Dissertations from 2025
Christopher Le 28.03.2025
Christopher Le's doctoral project examines various aspects of health literacy among young people aged 16–25 in Norway. One of the findings is that young people in Norway struggle with insufficient digital health literacy.
Le's dissertation is titled:
Anne Breivik, 25.09.2025:
Anne Breivik's goal in her doctoral project has been to increase the knowledge we have about the prevention of root caries among the elderly in Norway.
Breivik's dissertation is titled:
Silje Nord-Baade, 01.12.2025:
Silje Nord-Baade has explored how young adults with mental illnesses and complex needs feel in relation to their surroundings.
Nord-Baade's dissertation is titled:
Dissertations from 2026
Frode Johansen, 08.05.2026
Frode Johansen has investigated how decisions to use virtual reality (VR) in higher education are made.
Johansen's dissertation is titled sin avhandling:
From Assessment to Decision: A Pragmatic Study of VR Technology in Higher Education.
Toril Merete Nysæter, 02.06.2026
In her PhD work, Toril Merete Nysæter has spoken to both cancer patients in the final stages of life and their relatives about what care and support they need to make death at home possible.
Nysæter's dissertation is titled:
Enabling Home Death from the Perspectives of Patients, Family Caregivers and Healthcare Personnel.
Sabrina Ionata de Oliveira Granheim, 05.06.2026
How is digital technology changing the way people access, choose, buy, and consume food? Sabrina Ionata de Oliveira Granheim has researched this in her doctoral thesis.
Granheim's dissertation is titled:
A Grounded Theory of the Digital Food Environment.
Sofia Elenora Svensen, 27.08.2026
Traumatic experiences can have major consequences for mental health. In her PhD work, Sofia Elenora Svensen, has studied how a comprehensive treatment programme affects patients facing such challenges.
Svensen's dissertation is titled: