Comparing and advancing – ANDTG research in the Nordic countries

There is a long tradition of comparative Nordic research.

The similarities but also differences between the countries’ histories, cultures and welfare systems, make the countries well suited for country comparisons. Such research helps discern national characteristics and provides new perspectives on national experiences.

While there is a range of previous comparative projects in the social science field of alcohol, drugs, doping, tobacco and gambling (ANDTG), recent comparisons are scarcer.

The aim of the conference is, therefore, to gather social science researchers around Nordic ANDTS comparisons to help increase knowledge exchange, advance the field, and jointly discover solutions to challenges within ANDTG.

The conference Comparing & Advancing–ANDTG Research in the Nordic Countries is given in English, and the first draft program is based on comparative projects and current research in the Nordics.

The program uses broad themes to bring together different substances and behaviors, and compares the developments across both substances/behaviors and countries.

The conference is organized by the Department of Public Health Sciences and its Center for Social Science Alcohol and Drug Research (SoRAD), with extensive experience in organizing conferences.

A program committee identifies around 10 speakers in Sweden and 20 speakers from other Nordic countries who are invited to the program. A total of 60 researchers within ANDTG are planned to attend, of which 30 present their projects. The conference takes place in Stockholm for an afternoon, full day and morning in the spring of 2024.

It begins with an introductory lecture on Nordic collaborations and comparisons.

Next, five broad themes are compared: "Linked lives, and contrasting generations and trends", "Drug policy, harm reduction, and drug-related crimes", "Harms and regulations of harmful industries", "Mortality across social/ethnic groups and substances", and “Treatment utilization and (re-)organization”.