Organising Public Health
The organisation of health and social care systems is crucial for how coordinated, effective and safe these systems are. This organisation also significantly influences who has the easiest access to services and benefits the most from services.
Complex challenges like rising health inequities and increasing digitalisation speak to the strengths of our research.
We analyse the organisation of health and social care systems as an interplay between decision makers, health professions, users, and new health policies and initiatives.
Research areas
We study topics such as health reform discourses, the negotiation of health access, and patient work with integrated care to explore the making of health and social care systems, and their consequences for public health.
Based on humanities and social sciences approaches, we analyse how people and non-human actors, like AI, engage in organising processes at the system, organisational, and practice levels.
We draw on cross-disciplinary perspectives and work mainly qualitatively, acknowledging the complexity of research practice.
Recent publications
Visiting researchers
2024 (August-November)
Violet Petit-Steeghs, Assistant Professor; Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
“During my research stay with the Organizing Public Health group at the Public Health department, I greatly valued their reflective and inclusive approach—bringing together diverse perspectives, encouraging critical dialogue, and engaging deeply with one another’s work. Their dedication to making space for reading, writing, and sustained academic reflection inspired me to reconsider both my own research and the Dutch care context I study through a more critical lens.”
2024 (August-November)
Rikke Kristensen, PhD student; Research unit of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark
“In my research, which focuses on cross-sectoral collaboration, it has been highly beneficial to participate in an exchange at the Unit for Organizing Public Health. This exchange significantly contributed new perspectives, diverse professional expertise, and various theoretical lenses. The research group proved especially valuable through joint discussions and knowledge sharing, enhancing self-reflection and a broader awareness of the research within a larger context.”
2024 (March-June)
Gianluca Paparatto PhD student; Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa/University of Pisa, Italy
“During the research stay at the Department of Public Health, being part of the Organising Public Health research group was really stimulating, thanks to its interdisciplinary environment and the constant academic support provided by both faculty and peers. The research group provides a unique environment that actively encourages exploration of a variety of complex research themes, promoting the integration of different perspectives."