New Nordic Research Initiative Aims to Boost Family Resilience for Future Crises
Researchers at Stockholm University's Department of Public Health Sciences are participating in a new Nordic network project called UNIFAMN. This initiative aims to improve the resilience, preparedness, and overall well-being of families throughout the Nordic countries and will offer fresh insights into how to equip families for future crises.
Drawing on the existing European-wide GUIDE network, which investigates the well-being of children and families through a comparative birth cohort study, this project unites experts from Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland to create a cooperative network designed to tackle the changing challenges families face.
A key aspect of the project UNIting FAMilies across Nordic countries for resilience (UNIFAMN), is its timely alignment with the ongoing societal impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, which serves as a natural experiment highlighting varying mitigation strategies across Nordic countries. Researchers believe this context provides a unique opportunity to identify protective factors and best practices for family resilience in future health crises.
The project's vision is to foster a resilient and future-ready Nordic region.
“This project will take advantage of our lifetime's most widespread natural experiment. The heterogeneous mitigation strategies of the Nordic countries during the Covid-19 pandemic provides a historic opportunity to identify the most important factors that promote family resilience in the Nordic context, and how we can best prepare families for future health crises,” says Viviane Straatmann, Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health Sciences at Stockholm University, one of the partners in the project.
Identifying knowledge gaps
UNIFAMN’s multifaceted approach will involve continuous knowledge exchange, systematic reviews, community engagement and collaboration among institutions. The researchers aim to identify knowledge gaps related to family resilience and crisis preparedness. They will conduct systematic reviews to deepen understanding of Nordic families' well-being and employ foresight scans with expert networks to anticipate future risks affecting families. Furthermore, the project aims to develop new survey modules on family resilience and well-being to be incorporated in the GUIDE data collection, starting in 2027.
“Yet another aim of this network project is to foster sustainability in research by involving young researchers through training and a summer school program,” Straatmann says.
The project comprises five work packages focusing on project management, mapping and synthesis, methodological innovation, policy impact, and training. This systematic structure will support the project's goal of engaging stakeholders and disseminating findings through workshops and events in each partner country.
Establishing a Nordic Research Infrastructure Hub
“The project's vision is to foster a resilient and future-ready Nordic region where families thrive, backed by solid social policies, informed by innovative research and expert knowledge, and regularly assessed for enhancements,” Straatmann says.
As the UNIFAMN initiative progresses, establishing a Nordic Research Infrastructure Hub for children's well-being is on the horizon, and an application for the NORDFORSK call is underway.
“The funding for this initiative will be used to foster activities within the network, including workshops, mapping research in the field, summer school, and internship exchanges between the institutions involved – all aimed at fortifying resilience among Nordic families,” Straatmann says.
Håkan Soold
The UNIFAMN consortium
Associate Professor Katja Upadyaya from University of Helsinki, Finland, leads the research efforts, alongside a team of distinguished experts across the partner countries. Upadyaya's focus on child and family studies, complemented by the expertise of other team members in public health and social policy, promises a robust exploration of the factors influencing family well-being. She coordinates the Finnish team within the European GUIDE and COORDINATE networks, which includes Academy Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro, an expert on children's well-being; Professor Gary Pollock, focused on educational policies; and Professor Arniika Kuusisto, specialising in education and resilience.
In Norway, Associate Professor Vera Skalicka from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) studies social inequalities in health and youth development, investigating the impact of COVID-19 on youth mental health. She leads the Norwegian GUIDE team, preparing for a Pilot Study in spring 2025, alongside notable experts like Professor Terje A. Eikemo in public health research and Associate Professors Kristine Viddal and Roxanna Morote, who focus on psychology and resilience.
The Danish team includes Professor Gabriele Berg-Beckhoff from the University of Southern Denmark, who specialises in quantitative methodologies and mental health; Associate Professor Leena Eklund Karlsson, focusing on participatory research; and Professor Pernille Tanggaard Andersen, who studies health promotion and social inequality.
In Iceland, the team comprises Sigrún Ólafsdóttir and Ásdís Arnalds from the University of Iceland, both experienced in international surveys and data collection, with Ólafsdóttir focusing on social inequalities and Arnalds on family policies.
In Sweden, Associate Professor Viviane Straatmann leads the UNIFAMN and the GUIDE initiative at the Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University. Straatmann's research focuses on children's and families' living conditions and well-being, particularly the most vulnerable groups, i.e., those in contact with child welfare services. Professor Ylva Brännström Almquist focuses on welfare issues within public health sciences.
Researchers looking to contribute to initiatives that promote the GUIDE study in Sweden are invited to reach out to Straatmann. UNIFANM and GUIDE in Sweden are also open to students seeking research internships.
NORDFORSK has awarded the UNIFAMN project 2,084,938 NOK for 2025–2028.
Last updated: April 24, 2025
Source: Department of Public Health Sciences