Anita Lunde

I work as an associate professor at VIA University College, Department of Nursing. I am responsible for the 5th semester and I teach methodology, nursing theory and supervise projects.

I have been interested in complementary and alternative therapies for many years, and my research activities are related to this field. The international movement towards integrated health and integrated treatment implies that different approaches are combined to achieve symptom relief and wellbeing. Together with a colleague, I have developed an elective course offered at the 7th semester about Integrative Nursing.

In VIA Research Center, Program for Health Technology, Method Development and Ethics I am the project manager for an EU project; INES (Integrative Nursing Education Series).

The INES project is developing a research-based education module for nursing students in their bachelor's program. The aim of the project is to strengthen European nurses' knowledge and competencies in relation to complementary non-pharmacological interventions and to integrate these into general nursing and healthcare.

About the INES project:

Treatment of pain and anxiety often focus on medical interventions. However, the increased drug use  leads to side effects. The medical and societal costs associated with chronic conditions and medication intake are significant, resulting in an increased interest in non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs). NPIs, such as massage, breathing exercises, and music interventions, are effective in relieving pain, reducing anxiety, and improving comfort and sleep. Integrative nursing (IN) combines NPIs with the medical treatment.

The project identifies and maps international experiences with teaching practice in IN and NPIs in an INES database, analyzes and develops a desired competence profile for nurses, as well as a learning program.

The INES project builds on existing educational and research initiatives on non-pharmacological interventions and integrative nursing provided by Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), University of Iceland (Iceland), VIA Colleges (Denmark / Anita Lunde), Van Praag Institute and Erasmus University Medical Center (Holland).

More info

Website: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/projects/eplus-project-details/#project/2019-1-NL01-KA203-060478