The User Panel

The SEFAS user panel consists of members who have personal experience with the healthcare services. The panel’s main task is to ensure that users’ experiences and views are taken into account in the assessment of research projects, and that the Centre’s research areas cover real needs within the sector. In addition, the panel will ensure the quality of the services that are being developed.

The role of the members

The user panel members shall have a proactive role. They shall be active contributors with the opportunity to influence medical research, keeping focus on issues that are important to patients, users and the patients’ families. The panel constitutes a resource for SEFAS, where the panel members bring valuable perspectives and contribute to the impact of the research. At the start of new research projects, the role of the users is clarified in relation to the individual stages of the process, mutual expectations, the need for training, common objectives, etc.

Composition of the panel

The members are appointed by the head of SEFAS, and the panel acts as an advisory body for research and development projects. To ensure relevant expertise, members are expected to have long and personal experience related to the specific projects. This may include experience as a patient, family of a patient, as healthcare personnel or as a representative from a patient organization. The panel members should complement each other in terms of background. The panel can have up to six members, depending on current needs.

Organization and meetings

The members of the panel are appointed for two years at a time, and they are compensated according to current rates. The user panel meets at least once a quarter. When necessary, the members also participate in meetings related to the individual research projects. The goal is to have at least two members involved in each project.

Project meetings are currently established for the CC.AGE centre, for the 5-D project, including DIPH.DEM and ORAL.DEM, and for DARK.DEM and EI ROBOT. 

When working on these projects, the panel focuses on the following areas:

1. Update on the project process.
2. Clarification of where in the project process the members’ contributions are needed.
3. Clarification of expectations of the members.
4. Clarification of expectations of the researchers and collaborators.
5. Assess the need for training.
6. Set up common success criteria and goals.
7. Defining or adjusting milestones for evaluating the collaboration.

The goal is for the SEFAS user panel to be a valuable resource for research in healthcare services. Through close collaboration between researchers and the members, the panel will contribute to ensuring that the research is relevant and practice-oriented, which will strengthen the quality of knowledge and services in the sector.

Members of the User Panel

In 2024, the user panel consisted of the following members:

1. Rune Samdal, experiences with a family member with dementia, former employee at SEFAS as a user representative and member of the User Panel for Alrek Health Cluster and Expert Group for Elderly Health
2. Stine Iversen, experiences with a family member with dementia, chair of the board of the Bergen Dementia Association, member of the Council of
   the Elderly
3. Siren Tyssebotn, palliative care nurse at Haukeland University Hospital, former home care nurse and has a master’s degree in palliative care
4. Anne Pedersen, experiences with a family member with primary progressive aphasia, midwife
5. Trude Antoniazzi, experiences with a family member with dementia, head of section at the Western Norway Regional Health Authority ICT, member of the quality committee and ethics committee at NKS Olaviken Geriatric Psychiatric Hospital
6. Finn Patrick Nilsen, experiences with a family member with dementia