Improve psychosocial care
We are curious how people deal with a chronic or life-threatening disease or disorder Which psychological and social factors are involved? Which interventions can we develop to improve psychosocial care for patients and their next of kin in this process?
This is why we study a wide variety of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes and COPD. We also study specific treatments such as organ transplantation, with a particular focus on renal and liver transplantation.
The outcomes of adaptation to illness studied include quality of life, emotional wellbeing (e.g. psychological distress, depressive symptoms and positive affect), daily functioning and biomedical variables.
Young and old
We expect that the prevalence of chronic somatic diseases among older persons will rise as a result of improved medical treatments with corresponding increased survival, as well as demographic trends leaning towards an aging population.
While we have turned to studies of adolescents with health problems as well, our main focus remains on older patient populations and their significant others and caregivers.