Nordic project on health economics – how can we calculate the cost of public health?

The project aims to provide a knowledge base for future public health policy decisions in the Nordic countries, where policymakers must consider how limited societal resources can be used to achieve the best possible health outcomes.

The project began in spring 2026 and is now well underway. The IHE project team, Katarina Steen Carlsson, Frida Hjalte and Hedda Carlsson, are currently working to identify scientific publications, reports, government documents and studies produced in this field across the various Nordic countries. The next step will be to review and synthesise the material.

At present, there is no such Nordic overview. Research Director Frida Hjalte emphasises that the evidence currently being compiled is vital for prioritising the interventions that deliver the greatest societal benefit in relation to their costs.

– A major challenge in the field of public health is that preventive measures often only yield results in the long term. In this project, we aim to identify studies that have transparently addressed these challenges by demonstrating how economic calculations and evaluations have been carried out, including with regard to causal relationships and forecasts of long-term effects on health and resource use, says Hjalte.

Guidance for future decisions

The project makes it possible to highlight good examples of both methods and results from economic evaluations of preventive interventions. The experiences can be shared across the Nordic countries and used as guidance for health economic calculations that form the basis for decisions on which interventions create the greatest societal benefit. The broad Nordic approach makes the project unique.

– Our systems are similar in many respects. At the same time, we know that there are differences between countries which can mean that initiatives are more or less successful depending on the country. We are also collaborating with a Nordic expert group comprising experts in health economics. The group contributes valuable knowledge as the work progresses and helps us to review and disseminate the results, explains Research Analyst Hedda Carlsson.

The project focuses on risk factors that can be avoided and modified. The researchers are aware that this may present certain challenges for the work.

– On one level, it may seem like a clear selection criterion. In practice, however, we see that there are several nuances and perspectives. There is no single universal definition of what is modifiable or what can be counted as primary prevention measures. Our task, of course, is to be as clear as possible and to describe the good examples we find, summarises Chief Scientific Officer Katarina Steen Carlsson.

Working towards better public health policy and health

There is a shared Nordic need for better knowledge and good examples of how economic analyses in the field of public health can be carried out reliably. This knowledge is needed to develop public health policy in a direction that is economically, socially and ethically sustainable, where the primary aim is not to save money but to achieve the best possible public health outcomes using the resources available.

– Structured Nordic cooperation and the exchange of experience with colleagues provide knowledge that can lead to better decision-making and improved implementation of public health policy. This project addresses a joint Nordic challenge where joint solutions can add value, particularly given how complex and multifaceted the issues are, notes Senior Adviser Sara Illman at the Nordic Welfare Centre.

The project is a collaboration between the Nordic Welfare Centre and the Swedish Institute for Health Economics (IHE). IHE is a health economics research and analysis institute that aims to provide evidence to support informed decision-making in health and welfare.