Research areas

Profile

IRS Hospital Sønderjylland is part of the University of Southern Denmark Hospital, with a strategic focus on research that supports the hospital's core mission: diagnosing and treating common diseases. Consequently, the research must be patient-centred, implementable, and of high scientific quality.

The hospital places special emphasis on research into elderly patients with multiple chronic conditions within the local and integrated healthcare system, covering the entire patient pathway. This is achieved through close and structured collaboration with general practitioners and four surrounding municipalities. The knowledge base is built on evidence from research projects emerging from many years of interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration, both within the hospital's research-active departments and with external partners. Furthermore, these research projects prominently feature patient and citizen involvement.

IRS Hospital Sønderjylland is distinguished by its Clinical Research Department, a central research support unit that systematically and professionally assists the hospital’s researchers and aspiring researchers, from idea inception to publication. Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on making strategies, goals, and expectations visible and meaningful to all hospital staff, fostering a sense of proximity and pride in the research and its outcomes.

Additional

The research conducted by Hospital Sønderjylland is based on the regional Strategy for Health Research and the research strategy of Hospital Sønderjylland.

The primary focus is on the three main themes:

• Research for the patient
• Research for the clinic, and
• Research for the development of the healthcare system in Southern Denmark.

The research is carried out with a focus on Hospital Sønderjylland's overall strategy, including coherent and safe patient pathways.

Furthermore, there are five particularly prioritized strategic research areas that Hospital Sønderjylland supports, namely:

• Public health issues
• Mental illness and vulnerability
• Personalized medicine
• The pre-hospital area
• Efficiency in research

The research is centralized in the Learning and Research House in Aabenraa, which provides a framework for good research with a study environment and resources available, including library services, statisticians, and research services in a broad sense, including advice on finance and study design, and creation of contacts with qualified research guidance.