Health Economics Network at KI
The Health Economics Network at Karolinska Institutet is an overarching structure for health economics research within KI. The network ties researchers together and aims to develop and stimulate collaboration and scientific exchange in the field of health economics.
Some of our news and projects
New professor in Health Economics at KI - his research aims to deliver more health per krona spent
Since healthcare resources are limited, they need to be used wisely. Niklas Zethraeus wants to contribute to better decision-making and greater benefits for patients.
Economic aspects of falls among persons with multiple sclerosis (MS)
We investigate the healthcare and societal costs related to falls among persons with MS, as well as the cost-effectiveness of a self-management program: A self-management program to prevent falls in ambulatory and non-ambulatory community dwelling people with multiple sclerosis | Karolinska Institutet) to prevent falls among persons with MS. The project is in collaboration with researchers at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society.
Contact: Camilla Nystrand Länsman
Cost-effectiveness and cardiac care interventions
We have several ongoing collaborations with the Center for Resuscitation Science at KI SöS and the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, where we investigate the economic impacts of cardiac care interventions. Current projects include a long-term projection of the cost-effectiveness of transnasal evaporative cooling in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, as well as an economic evaluation of a fast-track concept after open cardiac surgery.
Contact: Camilla Nystrand Länsman
Construct validity and responsiveness of EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L
EQ-5D is a generic preference-based measure used to measure, value, and compare health across symptoms and diagnoses. There are two versions of the EQ-5D, one with three response levels to each item (EQ-5D-3L) and one with five response levels to each item (EQ-5D-5L).
The aim of this study is to compare the construct validity and responsiveness of EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L in patients with inflammatory joint disease. The study is based on prospectively collected data through the Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register (SRQ).
Contact person: Kinza Degerlund-Maldi
Evaluating health-related quality of life (HRQoL), health anxiety, cost-effectiveness and budget impact of organised screening for prostate cancer in Sweden
Preceding the European commission’s recommendation on stepwise pilot on organised screening for prostate cancer, RCC launched the Organised Prostate cancer Testing (OPT) initiative in Sweden. In 2022, The Swedish Consortium for Research on OPT (SweCROPT) was established, with a Health Economics working group led and actively contributed by members in the Health Economics Network at KI.
The ongoing projects include measuring the quality of life and health anxiety among men undergoing prostate cancer screening, evaluating the cost-effectiveness, and assessing the budget impact of organised prostate cancer screening in Sweden.
Contact person: Shuang Hao
Health economic support to the National System for knowledge management (Nationellt system för kunskapsstyrning)
At the Stockholm Center for Health Economics at Region Stockholm, we support the region's work within the National system for knowledge management by providing health economic competence and support to the national program areas (NPOs). For person-centered and coordinated care pathways (personcentrerade och sammanhållna vårdförlopp), we have developed analyses for sepsis, giant cell arteritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic wounds. This has included reviews of the health economic literature, cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses.
Contact: Emelie Heintz
Health economic calendar
Instillationshögtid 8 okt 2026
Karolinska Institutet arrangerar varje höst en professorsinstallation där KI:s nya professorer installeras och presenteras och där akademiska priser och medaljer delas ut. Ceremonin äger rum i Aula Medica och följs av en mottagning. Evenemanget är endast för inbjudna, men vem som helst kan följa livesändningen av ceremonin via startsidan på KI.se.
Text: Anne Heikkinen Sandberg
Journal club in health economics, hosted by Uppsala Health Economics
Information: Discussion of the paper Comparison of Economic Evaluation Methods Across Low-income, Middle-income and High-income Countries: What are the Differences and Why?. Health Econ., 25: 29–41. doi: 10.1002/hec.3312.
20 oktober kl 15-16
Länk: email camilla.nystrand@ki.se if you are affiliated with KI and would like to join!
Journal club in health economics, hosted by MEB/GPH
Information: The paper to be discussed will be updated here closer to the date of the meeting
24 november kl. 15-16
Länk: email camilla.nystrand@ki.se if you are affiliated with KI and would like to join!
Journal club in health economics, hosted by NVS
Information: The paper to be discussed will be updated here closer to the date of the meeting
15 december kl. 15-16
Länk: email camilla.nystrand@ki.se if you are affiliated with KI and would like to join!
Previous events
The health economic network attended the The Swedish Health Economics Associations yearly conference
Members from LIME, StoCHE Region Stockholm, MEB, KI SÖS, and NVS attended the yearly Swedish Health Economics Associations (SHEA) conference in Lund from the 22nd to the 23rd of April 2026.
Dissertation: Sandar Aye
On the 20th of April 2026, Sandar Aye successfully defended her thesis called "Blood-based biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease: clinical and economic value". Her principal supervisor was Linus Jönsson, Karolinska Institutet and co-supervisors were Sophia Schedin Weiss, Karolinska Institute, Department of Neurobiology and Maria Eriksdotter, Karolinska Institute. The opponent was Eline Aas, University of Oslo. Martin Henriksson, Linköping University, Alessandra Marengoni, University of Brescia and Anna-Maija Tolppanen, University of Eastern Finland were part of the examination board.
Half-time seminar: Kinza Degerlund-Maldi
On the 15th of April 2026, Kinza Degerlund-Maldi had her half-time seminar. Her project is called "Exploring the value of EQ-5D as a patient-reported outcome measure among patients with inflammatory joint disease". Her main supervisor is Emelie Heintz, and co-supervisors are Malin Regardt, Camilla Nystrand Länsman, and Ioannis Parodis. Lena Wettergren, Uppsala University, Gawain Heckley, Lund University, and Johan Karlsson Wallman, Lund University, were part of the half-time review committee.
Workshop: Bridging health economics and biostatistics: probabilistic analyses in health technology assessments
On the 4th of December 2025, the Health Economics Network at KI, the VR Environment Grant "Statistical Methods for Register-Based Research" and SFOep, jointly hosted a workshop which introduced and investigated methods for handling uncertainty in health economics. Four speakers were invited to give talks, followed by discussions.
• Introduction to probabilistic analysis for HTA: Emil Aho, KI, Sweden.
• A full Bayesian approach to HTA: Gianluca Baio, Gianluca Baio, University College London, United Kingdom.
• How to model uncertainty for individual-based simulations in HTA? Caterina Gregorio, KI, Sweden.
• Can we use the delta method for probabilistic analysis in HTA? Mark Clements, KI, Sweden.