Wellbeing in Society
In the field of health and welfare, Novia initiates and co-creates RDI activities at regional, national, and international levels. These activities aim to enhance well-being in society and enable a good life for all. This involves developing innovative methods, tools, and approaches for a sustainable, ethical, economic, efficient, and health-promoting working life and society, today and in the future.
Novia’s health and welfare collaborates actively with universities, municipalities, NGOs, and social security and healthcare providers. Novia’s main research areas within the field of health and welfare are:
- Best interests of children and families
- Healthy life
- Designing health care and social services
Healthy Life
Our work in the research team Helthy Life covers integration issues and social and healthcare services, with a focus on adults and older people. We strengthen the conditions for international students and people with a migration background through language support, cultural orientation, and models that promote inclusion and participation.
International collaborations with partners in the Global South contribute to knowledge exchange and long-term development. With a focus on older people, we work to enhance safety, well-being, and participation.
Projects in substance abuse prevention focus on people of working age as well as professionals. The aim is to develop sustainable structures, strengthen leadership, and implement methods for early support through enhanced collaboration between different stakeholders.
The Healthy Life team is led by Johanna Wikgren-Roelofs.
Best Interests of Children and Families
The research area Best Interests of Children and Families include research and development projects related to child and family services, early childhood education and care, and youth work. We work in close collaboration with universities, universities of applied sciences, municipalities, wellbeing services counties, as well as various organizations and associations.
Our goal is to strengthen knowledge about families’ living conditions and to produce research-based knowledge that can be applied both in professional practice and in everyday life. One of our priority focus areas is the development of social mentoring and children’s psychosocial skills.
Within this area of expertise, we collaborate with regional stakeholders and actively participate in national and international networks. Through these collaborations, we promote sustainable, knowledge-based solutions that contribute to the well-being of children and families in society.
The Best Interests of Children and Families team is led by Ann Backman.
Designing Health Care and Social Services
In designing health care and social services, we develop services that support smooth and clear processes within social and healthcare systems. The work also includes interprofessional themes, where different areas of expertise come together to create clearer processes, practical tools, and solutions that enhance participation and quality.
Projects may, for example, focus on improving client flows, creating more user-friendly digital services, or developing models that make interactions and work routines more efficient. The goal is to produce sustainable and easy-to-use services that function effectively in diverse operational environments.
The research team is led by Pia Liljeroth.
Meet our experts in research, development and innovations within health and welfare
Anna Håkans
Lena Nybond
Malin Nyholm
Annika Wentjärvi
Kompetensbanken
Kompetensbanken (The Competency Bank) is a three-year project with the aim of providing professionals and future professionals with better tools for supporting socially vulnerable groups, with special focus on children, youth, families, and the elderly. This is achieved through three work packages that focus on Competency Production, Competency Market and creating a so called Competency Bank.
