Johan helps patients with tightxiety
A large proportion of patients examined with magnetic resonance imaging experience discomfort. Radiographer and researcher Johan Kihlberg is investigating whether internet-based CBT can be helpful. Now he is receiving SEK 50,000 from the VFN programme to conduct a study.
Johan Kihlberg is a nurse and has further trained as a radiographer. He works at the radiology department at Linköping University Hospital.
Why did you choose this particular area?
– It is precisely in radiology that technology, medicine and nursing meet, and the development in each part affects the other parts. As a researching radiographer, I get the opportunity to work with extremely competent engineers and physicists and with doctors, psychologists, physiologists and nurses. It is very inspiring, fun and educational.
Tell us more about your research?
– Almost a third of patients who need to have an MRI experience discomfort. There are various reasons for the discomfort that we can call tightxiety. For some patients, the congestion is so severe that they need to be anesthetized. Technological advancements have resulted in more patient space and faster imaging, but that’s not enough.
– Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in areas such as fear of dental examinations. A more accessible method is internet-based CBT (iCBT), which has had good results for various phobias and depressions. The goal of this study is to evaluate a customized iCBT for patients who have difficulty performing MRI scans.
What are you going to use the VFN money for?
– They will be used when we map out how common MRI strains are in the south-eastern healthcare region. After that, we will adapt iCBT for MRI strictest and do a randomized controlled trial with people who have experienced MRI stricture.
What needs in healthcare does your research meet, and what are the benefits for patients?
– Patients who experience congestion can be helped to complete the MRI scan. They can also be helped with similar situations in life, such as other medical examinations such as CT scans or scintigraphies. Those who suffer the most from the most crowded conditions may also be able to be helped with more everyday situations such as riding the elevator.
Footnote:
VFN stands for Verification for Utilisation and is a programme at Linköping University for activities that will contribute to the benefit of research results. East Sweden Medtech finances four of the VFN projects.