Marga Ingeborg Thome (born 17 July 1942) is a German-Icelandic nursing scholar. She is a professor emerita at the University of Iceland. In 2010, Marga was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon.

Marga Ingeborg Thome
Born17 July 1942 (1942-07-17) (age 82)
NationalityGerman/Icelandic
Occupationprofessor emerita at the University of Iceland

Biography

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Marga Ingeborg Thome was born in Oberlöstern, Wadern, Germany, on 17 July 1942. She completed A-levels with the Ketteler Kolleg, Mainz, Germany, finished nursing school in 1963 at the Universitätskliniken Homburg, Saar, Germany, and midwifery school in 1965 at the Kantonales Frauenspital, Bern, Switzerland. She completed studies as a teacher in nursing in 1973 in Heidelberg, Germany, a Diploma of Advanced Nursing Studies and a master's degree in 1977 from Victoria University in Manchester, England[1] and acquired a doctoral degree (PhD) from Queen Margaret University and Open University in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1997.[2] She is a citizen of Germany and Iceland and has resided in Iceland since 1973.

Marga was a part-time teacher in nursing with the University of Iceland from 1974–1975. In 1977, she received the first chair in nursing as an Assistant Professor with the Department of Nursing.[3] In 1980, she was promoted to Associate Professor and in 2006 to full professorship[4] until her retirement in 2012. She was amongst those developing the curriculum in nursing into a bachelor of science degree and later also helped develop curriculums for masters and doctoral degrees and midwifery studies.[5][6][7]

Marga taught both nursing and midwifery at basic and advanced levels. She participated in international collaborations with universities and research institutes in Germany and Austria. She contributed to international scholarly societies aiming to develop knowledge related to mental health during the childbearing period and the first years of life (Marcé Society and Society of Reproductive and Infant Psychology). From 1997–2000, Marga was the first chairperson at the Nursing Research Institute at the University of Iceland, and the first Dean of the Faculty of Nursing from 2000–2003. She worked as a nurse and midwife in Germany, Switzerland, and Iceland before teaching at the University of Iceland.[4][6] The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture appointed her to the Nursing Council. Located in the Ministry of Health, the council grants licences to nurses. The Icelandic Nursing Association appointed her as Iceland's representative to the Workgroup of European Nurse Researchers (WERN) from 2000–2007.[8]

Expertise and research

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Marga specialised in maternal and new-born nursing, with focus on mental health. She held a joint position as an academic chair in the field of her expertise with the Landspitali – a National University Hospital (LSH)[9] and with the Primary Health Care Centers in Greater Reykjavik from 2000–2012, which facilitated co-operative research with practicing nurses and other health professionals. Her research related to Icelandic mothers’ breastfeeding, postpartum mental health,[10] and sleep problems of babies.[11][12][6] In co-operation with other specialists, and with masters and doctoral students, she participated in mapping Icelandic women's perinatal mental health, studied how online education for primary care nurses on postpartum mental distress affected rehabilitation of long-term depressed patients, and the effect of a psycho-social intervention on distressed female university students.[13][14] In addition, she studied the effect of family-nursing intervention on expecting couples when the mother is distressed,[15] ways to screen for antenatal distress and illness, and how social support and pregnant women's satisfaction with the couple relationship affect pregnancy.[16] Marga published her research and scholarly work in Icelandic, English and German[17] in national and international journals. She has held numerous lectures on these topics at national and international conferences and workshops.[6]

Honours

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  • 2007 saw the 30-year commemoration of the first Icelandic nurses graduating with BS degrees from the University of Iceland. At the event, Marga was honoured as one of the pioneers of this event.[18][6]
  • On 17 June 2010, she received the Knight's Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon (riddarakrossi hinnar íslensku fálkaorðu), the Icelandic State's highest honour, for her contribution to health science and research.[19]
  • In June 2019, the Icelandic Nurses Association elected her an honorary fellow for her contribution to education, research and development of knowledge.[20]

Scholarly writings

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References

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  1. ^ Valgerður Katrín Jónsdóttir. (2000). Karlar ekki jafn duglegir að sækja í vígi kvenna og konur í vígi karla – segir Marga Thome, fyrsti deildarstjóri hjúkrunarfræðideildar. Tímarit hjúkrunarfræðinga, 5(7): 266–267.
  2. ^ Marga Thome (1996). "Distress In Mothers with Difficult Infants in the Community: An Intervention Study". Thesis for Doctor of Philosophy, PhD. Open University, U.K, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Sponsoring Establishment, University of Iceland, Collaborating Establishment.
  3. ^ "Stjórnfyrirkomulagi breytt. mbl.is. (2000, 21. október)".
  4. ^ a b "Marga Thome prófessor í hjúkrunarfræði. mbl.is. (2006, 12. mars)".
  5. ^ Kristín Björnsdóttir. (2015). Um eðli og gildi háskólamenntunar í hjúkrun. Tímarit hjúkrunarfræðinga, 91(3). Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Christer Magnusson. (2009). Sjálfstæð hugsun byggist á þekkingarsköpun. Tímarit hjúkrunarfræðinga, 85(4), 6-9".
  7. ^ Helga Jónsdóttir. (2019). State of Leadership in Nursing Science in Iceland. In Th. B. Hafsteinsdóttir, H. Jónsdóttir, M. Kirkevold, H. Leino-Kilpi, K. Lomborg and I. R. Hallberg (pp. 131-148). Leadership in Nursing: Experiences from the European Nordic Countries. Part III Nursing Leadership in Iceland. Springer, Cham
  8. ^ Smith, L. N.(2007). Nursing research in Europe: á progress report. J. Res Nurs, 12(3):293-300.
  9. ^ Herdís Sveinsdóttir, Þóra Jenny Gunnarsdóttir and Kristín Björnsdóttir. (2019). Towards the Future: The Education of Nurses in Iceland Reconsidered. In T. B. Hafsteinsdóttir, H. Jónsdóttir, M. Kirkevold, H. Leino-Kilpi, K. Lomborg and I. R. Hallberg (pp. 161-176). Leadership in Nursing: Experiences from the European Nordic Countries. Part III Nursing Leadership in Iceland. Springer, Cham
  10. ^ Thome M., Alder E. M. og Ramel A. (2006). A population based study of exclusive breastfeeding in Icelandic women: is there a relationship with depressive symptoms and parenting stress? International Journal of Nursing Studies, 43, 11-20.
  11. ^ Thome, M. og Skuladóttir, A. (2005). Evaluating a family-centred intervention for infant sleep problems. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 50(1), 5-11. Reprinted with permission of Blackwell Publ. Ltd. in MIDIRS, midwifery Digest 15:3, 2005
  12. ^ Skuladottir, A., Thome, M. og Ramel, A. (2005). Improving day and night sleep problems in infants by changing day time sleep rhythm: a single group before and after study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 42(8), 843-850.
  13. ^ Marga Thome. (1999). Mæður óværra ungbarna: Hvaða heilbrigðisþjónustu fá þær vegna þunglyndiseinkenna og foreldrastreitu. Tímarit hjúkrunarfræðinga, 4(75),9-17.
  14. ^ Thome M. and Alder, B. (1999). A Telephone Intervention To Reduce Fatigue And Symptom Distress In Mothers With Difficult Infants In the Community. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 29(1), 128-137
  15. ^ Thome M. and Arnadottir S. B. (2013). Evaluation of a family nursing intervention for distressed pregnant women and their partners: a single group before after study. Journal of Advanced Nursing: 69(4), 805–816.
  16. ^ Rosa Maria Gudmundsdottir and Marga Thome. (2014). Evaluation of the effects of individual and group cognitive behavioural therapy and of psychiatric rehabilitation on hopelessness of depressed adults: A comparative analysis. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 21, 866–872.
  17. ^ Marga Thome. (2006). "Best practice" - evidenzbasierte Pflege. Expertenstandards oder "Clinical Guidelines". Pflege 19(3), 143-145, Verlag Hans Huber, Bern, Editorial
  18. ^ Guðný Anna Arnþórsdóttir. (2008). Fyrsti árgangurinn úr námsbraut í hjúkrunarfræði í Akureyrarferð. Tímarit hjúkrunarfræðinga, 84(2), 40-41. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  19. ^ President of Iceland. Order of the Falcon Archived 2019-08-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  20. ^ Félag íslenskra hjúkrunarfræðinga 1919-2019. (2019). 10 hjúkrunarfræðingar heiðraðir á aðalfundi. Retrieved February 3, 2020.