Christine Agdestein
About
Christine Agdestein is a family physician, PhD candidate, and local government leader with expertise in maternal and postpartum health, primary health care, and health services research. Her research focuses on women's postpartum health and health care, including postpartum check-ups, breastfeeding, and health trajectories during the first year after childbirth using data from the HUNT Study.
Christine earned her MD from the University of Oslo and has completed additional training in research, entrepreneurship, leadership, biostatistics, maternal and child public health nutrition, and global health through Boston University, Uppsala University, BI Norwegian Business School, and Yale School of Public Health.
Alongside her research, Christine serves as Vice Mayor of Steinkjer Municipality and has extensive experience in health care leadership, governance, and policy. She previously worked as a family physician at Sjøsia Medical Centre, where she also served as Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board.
Christine has held numerous board and committee positions related to health care administration and public policy. She has received several scholarships and awards, including the Norwegian Association of General Practice's Family Physician of the Year Award. She has also co-founded and led voluntary organizations promoting medical student research and women's leadership.
Competencies
Research
High quality postpartum care is important for the health and well-being of mothers, children and families. The WHO emphasizes that follow-up of mothers must be strengthened, and that care must be adapted to the woman´s needs. There is limited research on women´s experiences from, and expectations and needs for primary health care after giving birth. The Family Physician is an important provider of maternity care in Norway. We are doing research on women´s experiences from and expectations for maternity care at their Family Physician, aiming to personalize follow-up to increase patient satisfaction and maternal health.
The first study in the PhD project is a retrospective questionnaire survey regarding women´s expectations and experiences with the postpartum check-up with the Family Physician. We have asked which topics women discussed with their doctor, which physical examinations were done and women´s opinion on the importance of different topics and examinations. We have further asked women for suggestions for improving the check-up. We surveyed how many women went to the postpartum check-up and reasons for not attending.
The second study examines women´s general, mental and sexual health after birth in the population of the county North Trondelag in Norway. Research indicates that women want more information from their Family Physician about common health issues and sexual health after giving birth. Good sexual health is important for well-being, quality of life and relationships. Sexual health is influenced by many factors and can be further complicated after birth. We will study self-assessed general health, sleep, exhaustion, depression and anxiety and the association of these variables with birth and sexual health. We will investigate potential connections between sexual health and parity, birth complications, incontinence and breast feeding. The data material is from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), which is one of the most comprehensive population studies in the world. Data will be coupled with data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. All relevant permissions have been granted. Work on this study will be the main activity during my year abroad.
The third study is a qualitative co-design intervention study where we will develop and test a tool for personalized postpartum follow-up at the Family Physician. The woman will before the consultation receive a list of relevant topics and prioritize her own personal list of the topics that are most important to her. The list will be the starting point of the consultation with her doctor. The tool will be evaluated by women and doctors. The main goal is to improve women’s satisfaction with the follow-up by personalizing the health care she receives, based on her needs. The tool will also give doctors practical support. The development and test process will be conducted in close collaboration with women and doctors. The tool will be adjusted according to feed-back. If this tool is perceived as helpful and feasible, we will discuss how this type of preparation tool can be implemented in maternal health care and possibly also in other fields of health care.
Personsentrert barselomsorg – en gyllen mulighet for å fremme helse og mestring i et livsløpsperspektiv
Publications
2025
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Agdestein, Christine;
Brækhus, Leni Aurora.
(2025)
(+) Studie: Drøyt én av fire barselkvinner gikk glipp av seksukerskontrollen.
Dagens medisin
Popular science article
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Haugan, Idun;
Agdestein, Christine.
(2025)
Mange mødre møter ikke opp til barselkontroll.
Gemini.no
Popular science article
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Agdestein, Christine;
Haugan, Idun.
(2025)
Mange mødre møter ikke opp til barselskontroll.
Forskning.no
Popular science article
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Agdestein, Christine;
Vie, Gunnhild Åberge;
Baasland, Ingrid;
Horn, Julie;
Mjølstad, Bente Prytz.
(2025)
Postpartum check-ups with general practitioners in Norway: a cross-sectional survey of attendance, content and patient satisfaction.
BMC Primary Care
Academic article
2006
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Vervaeke, Koen Gerard Alois;
Gu, Ning;
Agdestein, Christine;
Hu, Hua;
Storm, Johan Frederik.
(2006)
Kv7/KCNQ/M-channels in rat glutamatergic hippocampal axons and their role in regulation of excitability and transmitter release.
Journal of Physiology
Academic literature review
Journal publications
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Agdestein, Christine;
Brækhus, Leni Aurora.
(2025)
(+) Studie: Drøyt én av fire barselkvinner gikk glipp av seksukerskontrollen.
Dagens medisin
Popular science article
-
Haugan, Idun;
Agdestein, Christine.
(2025)
Mange mødre møter ikke opp til barselkontroll.
Gemini.no
Popular science article
-
Agdestein, Christine;
Haugan, Idun.
(2025)
Mange mødre møter ikke opp til barselskontroll.
Forskning.no
Popular science article
-
Agdestein, Christine;
Vie, Gunnhild Åberge;
Baasland, Ingrid;
Horn, Julie;
Mjølstad, Bente Prytz.
(2025)
Postpartum check-ups with general practitioners in Norway: a cross-sectional survey of attendance, content and patient satisfaction.
BMC Primary Care
Academic article
-
Vervaeke, Koen Gerard Alois;
Gu, Ning;
Agdestein, Christine;
Hu, Hua;
Storm, Johan Frederik.
(2006)
Kv7/KCNQ/M-channels in rat glutamatergic hippocampal axons and their role in regulation of excitability and transmitter release.
Journal of Physiology
Academic literature review
Outreach
2025
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LectureAgdestein, Christine; King, Amanda. (2025) Prepregnancy Weight and Breastfeeding Outcomes: Implications for breastfeeding as overweight and obesity increase globally. Term paper SBS594 Maternal-Child Public Health Nutrition, Yale School of Public Health
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Conference posterAgdestein, Christine. (2025) Postpartum Check-ups in Norway: Attendance, Content, and Satisfaction - Poster. Allmennmedisinsk Universitetsmøte
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Conference lectureAgdestein, Christine. (2025) Postpartum Check-ups in Norway: Attendance, Content, and Satisfaction. Wonca World Conference 2025
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Conference lectureAgdestein, Christine. (2025) Postpartum Check-ups in Norway: Attendance, Content, and Satisfaction. Forskningsdagen
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LectureAgdestein, Christine. (2025) Rådslag om revisjon av Nasjonal faglig retningslinje for spedbarnsernæring. Rådslag om revisjon av Nasjonal faglig retningslinje for spedbarnsernæring
2024
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Conference lectureAgdestein, Christine. (2024) Barselomsorg hos fastlegen. Allmennmedisinsk Våruke 2024, Grunnkurs D i forskning
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Conference lecture
2023
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LectureAgdestein, Christine. (2023) Oppfølging av skrøpelige eldre - hvordan kan helsefellesskap mellom sykehus og kommuner bidra?. SKIL konferansen
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Conference lecture
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Conference lecture
2022
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InterviewAgdestein, Christine; Nilsen, Lars Brock. (2022) NTNU-forsker vil kartlegge fastlegers oppfølging av gravide.
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Feature article
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InterviewAgdestein, Christine; Helland, Anja Harløff. (2022) En av tre som har født under pandemien rapporterer om depresjonssymptomer.
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Interview
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Interview
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InterviewAgdestein, Christine; Skarpjordet, Tea Eline. (2022) Stor misnøye blant nybakte mødre. Nå skal Steinkjer-lege forske.
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Conference lectureAgdestein, Christine; Vie, Gunnhild Åberge; Baasland, Ingrid; Horn, Julie; Mjølstad, Bente Prytz. (2022) Maternity care at the GP office - from the patient perspective. 22nd Nordic congress of general practice
2004
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Conference posterAgdestein, Christine; Gu, Ning; Storm, Johan Frederik. (2004) The roles of KCNQ/M - channels in regulation of synaptic efficacy and excitability in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells. The Society for Neuroscience 34th Annual Meeting
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Conference posterAgdestein, Christine; Vervaeke, Koen Gerard Alois; Gu, Ning; Storm, Johan Frederik. (2004) THE ROLES OF KCNQ/M-CHANNELS IN REGULATION OF SYNAPTIC EFFICACY AND EXCITABILITY IN HIPPOCAMPAL CA1 PYRAMIDAL CELLS. Neuroscience 2004