Research areas at the Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care

Research here is close to general practice surgeries. Researchers examine how common health problems are addressed where people first seek help, how diagnoses are made, and how long-term follow-up can be improved. PraksisNett, a national infrastructure operated by the department, allows researchers to conduct quality-assured clinical studies in Norwegian general practice.

Research is organised in four groups:

• HELFORSK — health services research
• HEMIX — public health, with a focus on substance use and migration
• MedUT — medical education and educational research
• SMIL — sleep, musculoskeletal health, infections and laboratory work

Subject area leader: Øystein Hetlevik

Researchers work with the health and health services of older people — from dementia and polypharmacy in care homes to the organisation of municipal health services. The community pharmacy group examines medicines use in society, not in the laboratory, and how pharmacies and health services can work together to promote safer use.

The area comprises four research environments:

• Centre for Elderly and Nursing Home Medicine (SEFAS) — research on care homes and elderly care
• Centre for Interprofessional Collaborative Learning (TVEPS) — students from different health education programmes practise working together in real patient encounters
• Community pharmacy — medicines use and collaboration between pharmacies and health services
• Green areas, air pollution and health (GAP) — environment-related health work

Subject area leader: Line Iden Berge

Researchers here study the causes, extent and distribution of disease at population level. Much of the work builds on large registry data, including the Medical Birth Registry with over two million births since 1967. Statisticians and epidemiologists also develop methods that make it possible to answer questions that other research environments lack the data or tools to address.

Research is conducted through four groups:

• HUSK — the Hordaland Health Studies
• DRONE — Drug Repurposing for Neurological Diseases
• HealthierWomen — long-term effects on women's health after pregnancy
• DEMAB — research on disease and health outcomes in the population

The area also operates BIOS, a medical statistics and data analysis advisory service for researchers across the department.

Subject area leader: Jannicke Igland

What is a fair distribution of health services? What constitutes good priority-setting when resources are limited? Researchers here work with ethics, health economics and management — often in dialogue with policymakers, health services and international actors such as the World Health Organization. The Bergen Centre for Ethics and Priority Setting in Health (BCEPS) is the central arena.

The area consists of three research groups:

• HELTER — health economics and priority-setting
• FairChoices — analytical tools for fair health priority-setting
• CHER — clinical and health-related ethics

Subject area leader: Oddvar Kaarbøe

Researchers work with health challenges that cross national borders, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Topics range from maternal and child health and infectious diseases to mental health and anthropology of health services. The Centre for International Health (CIH) and CISMAC are central arenas, and collaboration with researchers in partner countries is the principle — not the exception.

Subject area leader: Simon Øverland

Researchers here study how the body, movement and everyday life affect health — and how rehabilitation, physiotherapy and the working environment can improve health over time. Much of the work is practice-oriented and connects the experiences of patients and workers to research.

The area consists of three research groups:

• Physiotherapy — movement, function and rehabilitation
• Health science and experience research — patient perspectives and qualitative methods
• Work, health and gender — how work and gender affect health

Subject area leader: Silje Mæland