HEIFA - HEalth and quality- of life In a FAmily perspective

The research group Heifa (Health and quality of life in a Family Perspective) -  a family centered approach to children’s’ and adolescents’ health  

Heifa’s main goal is to be a leading research group for improving health-related quality of life, health literacy, and coping in children, adolescents and parents through research, clinical development, and interventions. The research group is interdisciplinary, and many of our projects are conducted  collaboration with the municipalities of Agder. We also have a wide national and international network with collaborative projects in several countries.

Our objectives are:

-          Contribute to knowledge-based/scientific service development, evaluation, and implementation in collaboration with primary- and secondary healthcare services.

-          Be a prominent contributor in the dissemination of research on the health of children and adolescents  in various contexts and cultures.

-          Involve children, adolescents, parents, and users in our projects.

-           Be a resurce group in the study of pain, use of pain medication and copinge with pain  in children and adolescents

-          Contribute to development of health technology aimed at promoting the health of children, adolescents, and families.

-          Illuminate the socioeconomic consequences of positively influencing on the health of children and adolescents.

-          Communicate our research to the public and actively participate in public discourse.

-          Be a resource group in the field of qualitative research methodologies, quality-of-life, health literacy research, and systematic literature reviews.