Health-promoting factors that support a sustainable study and working life in care, nursing, and social work
The aim of this project is to explore health-promoting factors that support a sustainable study and working life in the fields of care, nursing, and social work, both during and after professional education. The study includes professional programmes offered at the universities that are part of the Vårdforskning i samverkan (ViS) collaboration.
Creating a sustainable working life is a challenge in so-called contact professions within health, care, and social services. Since 2009, sick leave rates have doubled, and many professionals leave their jobs within the first three years. Health in working life focuses on people’s ability and resources to feel well and maintain balance between work and personal life. This is known as a salutogenic perspective, which is essential to a sustainable working life. From this perspective, health-promoting factors include autonomy, the ability to reflect, open-mindedness, comprehensibility, harmony, flexibility, responsibility, encouragement, collaboration, and a positive social climate.
A sustainable working life begins during higher education, where each institution is responsible for quality development. To support improved educational quality in terms of health-promoting aspects, the project aims to explore such factors during and after professional training in care, nursing, and social work.
The project is conducted within the Vårdforskning i samverkan (ViS, Collaborative Care Research) framework, a collaboration between Halmstad University, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Borås, the University of Skövde, University West, and Jönköping University. All students (around 2,200 in total) who began their first semester in 2018 in one of the participating professional programmes at a ViS institution were invited to take part. These programmes include Occupational Therapy, Biomedical Laboratory Science, Physiotherapy, Radiography Nursing, Nursing, Dental Hygiene, and Social Work. The study is longitudinal, with participants responding to a web-based survey at three points during their studies, as well as one and three years after graduation. The survey covers topics such as health, personal resources, and health behaviours.
Overall aim
The aim of the study is to explore, from a salutogenic perspective, health-promoting factors that are important for a sustainable study and working life in care, nursing, and social work, during and after completing a medium-length higher education.
The goal of the project is to provide a foundation for strengthening the conditions for a sustainable working life already during education. The results are expected to help identify possible salutogenic factors during the study period that are important for long-term sustainability in working life, and to map how these factors and processes may develop over time. The findings may also contribute knowledge that can support the implementation and development of salutogenic factors and processes in education, with the potential to improve future working conditions in these professions.
About the project
Project period
- 2016–2028
Project leaders
- Ingrid Larsson, Professor of Health and lifestyle, Halmstad University
- Inger Ahlstrand, PhD, Jönköping University
Other participating researchers
- Aimee Ekman, PhD, Jönköping University
- Elin Siira, Associate Senior Lecturer, Halmstad University
External link. - Jenny Hallgren, PhD, University of Skövde
- Lena Hedén, Docent, University of Borås
- Katja Laakso, PhD, Gothenburg University
- Margareta Larsson, PhD, University of Skövde
- Håkan Nunstedt, Docent, University West
- Lena Oxelmark, Docent, Gothenburg University
- Sandra Pennbrant, Professor, University West
- Annelie Sundler, Professor, University of Borås
Collaboration partner
Published articles
- Lindmark, U., Ahlstrand, I., Ekman, A., Berg, L., Heden, L., Kallstrand, J., Larsson, M., Nunstedt, H., Oxelmark, L., Pennsbrant, S., Sundler, A., Larsson I. ”Impact within the Swedish framework for Health Research in Collaboration. Health-promoting factors in higher education for a sustainable working life – protocol for a multicenter longitudinal study.” (2020). BMC Public Health, 20(1), 233. doi:10.1186/s12889-020-8181-3 https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-8181-3 External link.
- Ahlstrand, I., Larsson, I., Larsson, M., Ekman, A., Hedén, L., Laakso, K., Lindmark, U., Nunstedt, H., Oxelmark, L., Pennbrant, S., Sundler, A., Hallgren, J. ”Health-promoting factors among students in higher education within health care and social work: a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data in a multicentre longitudinal study.” (2022). BMC Public Health. 22,1314 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13690-z External link.
- Ekman, A., Pennbrant, S., Sterner, A., Forsberg, E., Hedén, L., Nunstedt, H., Sundler, AJ., Larsson, M., Larsson, I., Ahlstrand, I., Hammar, IA., Lood, Q., & Hallgren, J. (2024). Health promoting resources and lifestyle factors among higher education students in healthcare and social work programmes: A survey with a longitudinal multicentre design. BMC Public Health 24, 3097, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20506-9 External link.
- Larsson, M., Ahlstrand, I., Larsson, I., Lood, Q., Hammar, IA., Sundler, AJ., Pennbrant, S., Ekman, A., Forsberg, E., Hedén, L., Nunstedt, H., Sterner, A., & Hallgren, J. (2024). Occupational balance and associated factors among students during higher education within healthcare and social work in Sweden: a multicentre repeated cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 14:e080995. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-080995 External link.
- Larsson, I., Ahlstrand, I., Larsson, M, Pennbrandt, S., Ekman, A.,& Hallgren, J. (2025). Health-promoting resources and workplace experiences among newly graduated healthcare and social work professionals – A multicentre cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research, 25(1):617. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12782-x External link.
