Fredrik Nikolajeff, Maria Larsson Lund, Örjan Johansson, Vetenskapliga ledare.
26 April 2024
Precision health creating value at PRECISE Day
The theme of PRECISE Day, held on April 19 at the House of Science in Luleå, was how precision health creates value in society. Doctoral students from the research school presented their research projects, and invited external researchers shared their research and knowledge in precision health.
Precision health is about enabling an attractive and sustainable society that promotes good health throughout the lifespan to increase the accuracy of interventions at the right time.
"Through value creation, research and innovations from PRECISE can create health economic benefits and generate significant value for society. If we can prove that PRECISE can create value for different stakeholders, we will have the opportunity to continue the work," said Fredrik Nikolajeff, scientific leader of PRECISE and professor of medical technology initially.
The day began with presentations from the Precision Health research school's 12 doctoral projects. The research school consists of an interdisciplinary group of doctoral students from technical, natural science, social science, and health science disciplines. Learn more about all doctoral projects at ltu.se.
This was followed by presentations from invited speakers related to the day's focus area "How precision health creates value in society."
Costs of dementia
Linus Jönsson, Professor of Neurobiology at Karolinska Institute, presented his research on the health economy related to dementia. He has calculated that dementia costs society approximately 80 billion per year and has developed models to calculate costs and analyze the cost-effectiveness of hypothetical treatments.
Collaboration between primary care and precision health
Lisbeth Löpare Johansson, from the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), and honorary doctor at Luleå University of Technology, gave a presentation on collaboration and synergies between primary care and precision health. Johansson argues that the shift towards more primary care is because the needs of modern people have changed as society has changed.
"When working with health promotion, one must understand and take into account the needs of the population, but at the same time focus on the individual, continuity, relationship, and cooperation with others."
Health innovation and information-driven care
Sara Karnehed, a doctoral student at the Health Innovation research school in Halmstad, presented Region Halland's work related to information-driven care. It is a strategic effort underway in the region where they have identified a large amount of data related to patients and how to use that data to prioritize care and work efforts to be more evidence-based.
"By working with information-driven care, the hope is to create a change and benefit for the patient with the patient in focus and to streamline resource utilization."
Public Health with range and precision
To achieve improved public health, one needs universal health promotion interventions for all, selective preventive interventions for those at risk, and individual-level treatment interventions for those already ill.
Joanna Hansson, a strategist at the Sustainability Unit, Region Norrbotten, presented the work the region is doing to ensure that the public health interventions the region implements actually have an impact.
"It is through general interventions that we create precision. An example is health conversations where Region Norrbotten invites everyone aged 40-50 to a conversation about their health. This way, we can identify those who may be at risk and help them preventively."
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