Three projects will provide knowledge on the impact of research on health and disease

Why has inequality in health between various groups in society been rising in recent decades? This is one of the questions that Mette Gortz and her research team will be examining over the next 4 years.

“Our overall hypothesis is that the benefits of new treatments and health technologies are unequally distributed. Because of differential patient and physician behaviour, new technologies spread at different speeds across different groups in society, widening gaps in health and mortality,” says Mette Gørtz, Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen.

The project is one of three projects that have just received a grant of DKK 10 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Another project will examine the socioeconomic and societal effects of health research, and the third project focuses on the socioeconomic importance of disease management programmes in Denmark.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded the three grants under the Foundation’s Socioeconomic impacts of research in Denmark social science research programme that is being awarded for the second time. This year’s programme theme is the strengthening of evidence-based knowledge and the socioeconomic impact of research on health and disease at various levels.

Thomas Alslev Christensen, Head of Operations, Novo Nordisk Foundation, says: “In awarding grants to these three projects, we want to contribute to developing new knowledge on the economic impact of healthcare systems and their priorities to benefit patients and health in society. I would like to congratulate the grant recipients, and I look forward to following these three innovative projects in the coming year.”

About the three projects

Title: Behavioural Responses to Health Innovations and the Consequences for Socioeconomic Outcomes.

Grant recipient: Mette Gørtz, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen.

Learn more about the project here.

Title: Socioeconomic Impact of Policy Instruments for Health Research Dissemination.

Grant recipient: Mickael Bech, Professor, CEO, KORA – Danish Institute for Local and Regional Government Research.

Learn more about the project here.

Title: Equity and the Socioeconomic Impact of Disease Management Programmes in Denmark.

Grant recipient: Karsten Vrangbæk, Professor, Department of Public Health and Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen.

Learn more about the project here.

Further information

Christian Mostrup Scheel, Senior Press Officer, cims@novo.dk, +45 3067 4805.