Success for the WIC Conference in Norway
SKDE made a bold move and opened up 40 more places for participants at the international WIC conference than in previous years. However, even with 120 spots available, there was a waiting list to join.
Photo: Randi Solhaug
SKDE and The Wennberg International Collaborative (WIC) hosted researchers from approximately 17 countries at Gamle Logen in Oslo from 11th to 13th September. Over three days, they addressed new questions, new methods, recent findings, innovative guidelines, and improvement ideas in the field of unwarranted variation in healthcare.
The conference was opened by representatives of the organisers, Professor David Goodman and Professor Emeritus Gwyn Bevan from WIC, and SKDE Director Eva Stensland.
“One of the reasons WIC is so important is that it gives researchers an opportunity to stay updated on what is happening in other countries to combat unwarranted variation in healthcare,” said Gwyn Bevan, who is a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Increasing Mortality Among Younger Americans
Among the many highlights of the conference was a presentation by renowned researcher Professor Jonathan Skinner from Dartmouth College, USA. He presented figures showing increasing geographic inequality in mortality among Americans aged 25—64 from 1992 to 2019. The paradox is that while mortality is decreasing for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, it is increasing for those with less education than a bachelor’s degree.
“Compared to 21 other Western countries, this difference is striking,” noted Skinner.
The largest increases in mortality are in Virginia, Kentucky, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Indiana. The largest decreases are in California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Texas. One of the biggest causes of increased mortality is smoking.
“Obesity, high alcohol consumption, and inactivity also play a role, but not as much as smoking,” said Jonathan Skinner.
Focus on Low-Value Care
The topics discussed at this year’s WIC included low-value care, economics, and public reporting. Since the conference was held in Oslo this year, a dedicated session on low-value care in Norway was included.
Marit Herder discussed a new task that SKDE has been given coordination responsibility for, called “What Should Hospitals Do Less Of?”. She explained how the task is organised and, importantly, how it will be implemented to ensure that the findings are adopted. So far, three areas have been identified where changes might be possible: surgery for chronic shoulder pain, upper endoscopy, and coronary angiography.
Another presentation in this session was by Mikkel Høiberg, who presented methods to reduce the overuse of upper endoscopy among patients under 45 years old.
Honouring Pioneer John Wennberg (1934-2024)
At this year’s conference dinner, the man who gave WIC its name, John Wennberg, was honoured in speeches by David Goodman, Gwyn Bevan, and Al Mulley.
John Wennberg passed away earlier this year. He was known for his groundbreaking work in uncovering geographic variations in healthcare and demonstrating their impact on patient outcomes. He is also known for establishing the Dartmouth Atlas, which inspired the Norwegian Health Atlas. Read more here: John Wennberg - Wikipedia
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