The Health Services and Health Economics research group investigates the organisation of health and welfare services and their interaction with the labour market and the social security system
The group is part of the Department of Welfare, Labour and Health at NORCE Norwegian Research Centre.
Two projects funded by the Research Council of Norway illustrate the group’s research agenda:
Adverse childhood experiences – families, resilience, and children’s outcomes
This project examines how childhood adversities—such as parental death, imprisonment, or divorce—affect children’s development and long-term outcomes in education, health, and work. While supportive adult relationships are recognised as the strongest protective factor, less is known about the mechanisms linking adversity to later challenges or about the conditions that foster resilience.
The study examines the influence of family, socioeconomic, and local contexts, as well as the interplay between risk and protective factors. Using a combination of registry data, surveys, and interviews with youth, parents, and teachers, it considers influences ranging from individual strengths to public institutions.
The project is multidisciplinary, drawing on health economics, sociology, psychology, and law. Stakeholders, including Mental Health Norway and the National Competence Network for Children as Next of Kin, provide expertise and help ensure the broad dissemination of findings.
Health deterioration and risks of labour market exits – Young workers in double trouble?
This project addresses central challenges for the Norwegian welfare state: how health deterioration affects young workers, how work inclusion can promote economic sustainability, how inclusion measures function in practice, and how they are perceived in terms of fairness.
The research investigates which factors protect—or expose—young workers with health problems, including parental socioeconomic background, education, occupation, and policy measures such as Norway’s Inclusive Workplace Agreements.
The project focuses particularly on mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, which are the leading causes of sick leave and disability in Norway. It aims to quantify the economic risks for individuals and society, identify protective and risk factors, and explore societal views on fairness at the intersection of chronic illness, work, and income.
