Arne Ødegaard (born 1945)
2025-07-29
Ødegaard completed his dental degree in 1968. He later pursued a nursing qualification, which he finished in 1983. Around that time, the first patients with HIV and AIDS began to appear, and Ødegaard was involved from the very beginning in caring for this patient group.
In his life story interview, Ødegaard speaks about the vibrant queer community in Trondheim, where he was actively involved in many ways. He played a key role in the helpline and helped organize social events and gatherings.
The excerpt from the interview in the video window below focuses on the widespread fear surrounding HIV transmission at the time, and the urgent need for knowledge about infection control and treatment.
The full interview is available at Skeivt arkiv, part of the Special Collections at the University Library in Bergen.
We met Arne Ødegaard in Trondheim, in November 2017.
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