Professor’s portrait: Ingrid Larsson wants to create ripples on the water
With a background in nursing and a burning interest in strengthening the role of the patient, where the patient takes control of their life and treatment and becomes a co-actor in the care process, Ingrid Larsson has recently become a Professor of Health and Lifestyle at Halmstad University. Her journey from clinical nurse to professor reflects a deep commitment to improving patients’ health and quality of life.
“Being a professor is about so much more than just doing research. It’s also about opening doors and creating opportunities for others.”
Ingrid Larsson, Professor
Ingrid Larsson received her nursing degree in 1991 and subsequently worked in rheumatology for over 20 years. During this time, she continuously pursued further education, including a master’s degree in nursing and advanced courses in rheumatological nursing. In 2013, she completed her dissertation on person-centred care in rheumatological nursing.
“My dissertation was based on my everyday clinical work as a nurse, where my goal was to support the patient in taking control of their illness and health, based on each individual patient’s needs and resources”, says Ingrid Larsson.
Ingrid Larsson was appointed Professor of Health and Lifestyle at Halmstad University in 2024.
Since her dissertation, Ingrid Larsson has continued to conduct applied and patient-oriented research in health and lifestyle, focusing on improving, person-centring and evidence-basing care for patients with various diseases. Her research aims to increase knowledge about how a transformation in healthcare can promote good, close and coordinated care that strengthens a person’s health and lifestyle. She was appointed Associate Professor in 2019 and now, in 2024, full Professor.
“My research aims to develop, conduct, evaluate and implement person-centred interventions in healthcare, both with and without digital technology. The intention is for the research to lead to improved accessibility, efficiency and quality in healthcare”, explains Ingrid Larsson.
Person-centred care plays a key role in the transformation
A central theme in Ingrid Larsson’s research is the transition to good and close care, where person-centred care plays a key role. She emphasises the importance of seeing the individual person and adapting care to their needs, resources and circumstances.
“Person-centred care is seen as one of the cornerstones of the transformation process to create opportunities for patients to become actors and experts in promoting their health, preventing disease and optimising treatment effects,” says Ingrid Larsson.
Ingrid Larsson is active in the Information Driven Care research programme and the Healthcare Improvement research group. The research group focuses on questions about how health innovations, in the form of interventions supported by digital services and health data analyses, can be developed. It also focuses on how these things can be implemented and evaluated to provide healthcare organisations with knowledge and support in achieving high quality care and improving health outcomes for specific groups. Ingrid Larsson researches the development and implementation of person-centred interventions, including those using digital services and health data.
With the rapid technological development and digitalisation in healthcare, Ingrid Larsson sees both challenges and opportunities. She emphasises the importance of investigating how new digital tools and AI can be integrated into healthcare while maintaining a person-centred approach:
“Through my research, both cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary, I want to see how new effective health interventions and new digital tools can be applied while promoting and maintaining a person-centred approach.”
International collaborations have strengthened the position
Parts of Ingrid Larsson’s research are conducted in collaboration with FoU Spenshult, which has helped to strengthen her position as a recognised researcher both nationally and internationally. With support from FoU Spenshult, she had the opportunity to co-found the international research collaboration EQPERA (European Qualitative research project on Patient-preferred outcomes in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis). She is also active in the research group EULAR Study Group on Patient Education (STOPE), which includes researchers from about 20 European countries. Within STOPE, Ingrid Larsson has worked on developing and evaluating guidelines for patient education in rheumatology and participated in the translation and evaluation of the implementation of European guidelines in clinical practice.
“Thanks to my research in person-centred rheumatological care, I have also been elected as a member of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR), Healthcare Professional in Rheumatology (HPR) Committee. I feel honoured and it feels important to highlight the research taking place at Halmstad University in these international contexts.”
Being a professor is about more than just research
As a professor, Ingrid Larsson sees her role as much more than just research. She places great importance on inspiring and guiding the next generation of researchers.
“Being a professor is about so much more than just doing research. It’s also about opening doors and creating opportunities for others,” says Ingrid Larsson and continues:
“One of the most rewarding parts of my job is giving students, both at undergraduate and graduate, the chance to discover the joy and curiosity that research can bring.”
Ingrid Larsson has supervised several doctoral students and master’s students. Many of the master’s students have, under her supervision, further developed their thesis projects, published scientific articles, and begun their own research careers.
“So far, 16 master's students that I have supervised have published their studies as scientific articles after revision”, Ingrid Larsson proudly states.
“Ten of them have gone on to doctoral studies and have been or are enrolled as doctoral students at various universities in Sweden. Five of them have completed their dissertations and are now qualified researchers, something I’m particularly proud of.”
As a newly appointed professor, Ingrid Larsson looks forward to continuing to drive research forward within Health and Lifestyle, while shaping tomorrow’s researchers and contributing to a stronger research environment at Halmstad University.
“I see my work as something that creates ripples on the water. When I open doors for others and create opportunities, the effect spreads further. It’s about building relationships, promoting collaboration, and creating a culture where research is valued and encouraged”, concludes Ingrid Larsson.
Text: Hilda Liberg
Photo: iStock (top photo), Dan Bergmark (portrait)
About Ingrid Larsson
Ingrid Larsson studied nursing at the Nursing College in Halmstad. She then worked as a registered nurse in rheumatology for 20 years while deepening her knowledge in rheumatological care at Uppsala University. Ingrid Larsson defended her thesis “Person-centred care in rheumatology nursing in patients undergoing biological therapy: An explorative and interventional study” at Jönköping University School of Health and Welfare in 2013. She was employed as a Senior Lecturer at Halmstad University in 2013. In 2019, she was appointed Associate Professor of Nursing.
Ingrid Larsson has been an expert on the National Board of Health and Welfare (2012, 2021) and authored two scientific reports in the form of national guidelines for musculoskeletal disorders. This year (2024), she was an external expert in the National Board of Health and Welfare’s evaluation of the implementation of these guidelines.
In 2024, Ingrid Larsson became a Professor of Health and Lifestyle at Halmstad University. She will be inaugurated at the Academic Ceremony on 15 November.
