Sweden and the Nordic countries in the Global Burden of Disease project

The Global Burden of Disease project (GBD) has grown to be an international network comprising more than 8000 collaborators in almost all countries in the world. The work is led by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in Seattle, Washington. There is now strong interest in integrating social determinants, in particular education, in the analyses.

Examples from the Nordic countries, where linkages can be made between social determinants and health outcomes, are of interest for the future work.A network is being formed in the Nordic countries, and a conference was arranged in Norway 2021, with participants from the Nordic countries and experts from IHME.

We now plan a conference in Sweden for mainly Swedish participants and with focus on analyses of social determinants.There are a number of scientists in Sweden interested in the GBD work, but only a few persons at the Karolinska Institute are directly engaged in the collaboration with IHME.

There is a need to more systematically gather researchers from different institutions and disciplines to create a network, and disseminate knowledge on current development in the GBD work.

Close collaboration with authorities and register owners is needed, so representatives for the Public Health Authority, the National Board of Health and Welfare, Regional councils will be invited.The aims of the conference are:       To gather Swedish researchers to get an update from IHME and share experiences from research and development in the GBD workTo discuss ways to integrate social determinants in GBD using available registers.To strengthen the Swedish and Nordic network and plan collaborative research projectsParticipantsAround 50-60 persons as follows: Around 30 Swedish researchers from different institutions, around 10 from other Nordic countries, around 10 representatives from Swedish authorities and register owners.

Two experts from IHME.Timing 2½ days at the end of August or September 2023 in the Stockholm area.