About REWHARD
We enable research on how people's living conditions and health develop over time.
Photo: Ryutaro Tsukata, Pexels
About the infrastructure
REWHARD is a national research infrastructure established in 2018. We aim to strengthen the conditions for research on social relations, work and health across the life course. The infrastructure coordinates research data on, among other things, education, family situation, working conditions, health behaviours, illness and sickness absence for the Swedish population. REWHARD contains high-quality data with a long-term perspective and for a total of more than 14 million people.
National resource for researchers
The infrastructure is a resource for researchers across the country and can be used for studies in, for example, psychology, sociology, epidemiology, insurance medicine, public health science, occupational health and safety and health. Through our four nodes, researchers can access already collected survey and administrative register data. We also offer support to researchers and share knowledge about longitudinal studies and management of register data.
Data from REWHARD can be used to study how people's living conditions change over time and what factors influence well-being and health. The infrastructure is a valuable resource for researchers and studies based on our data can be of great benefit to society. The results can be used as a basis for addressing the social challenges of our time, such as stress in working life, economic inequalities, physical environment, ageing, marginalisation and mental health problems.
Strengthening Swedish welfare research
The aim of the infrastructure is to ensure the long-term survival, development and use of the constituent databases, to support innovative research within our field, and to share knowledge and experience about using the type of complex longitudinal data included in REWHARD.
The ultimate aim is to enable and facilitate research on how work, social relations and marginalisation are linked to living conditions, lifestyle and health development across the life course. Through regular data updates, support for researchers and methodology development, the infrastructure contributes to strengthening Swedish welfare research.
REWHARD is a national research infrastructure supported by the Swedish Research Council (VR). The infrastructure is organised as a consortium with Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet as members.
Responsible handling of data
The information that people have given to us is valuable. It is a great privilege to be entrusted with it, and we therefore work continuously to ensure that our data is handled securely. This means that there are strict rules about who can access the data and how it should be stored and disclosed.
The data we use is pseudonymised, which means that participants' personal data has been replaced with a code. This is done so that it is not possible to see what an individual person has answered. The research results are then reported at group level. The researchers who work with our data also need to follow other rules for research involving humans, for example, they need to have ethical approval for their research project.
For researchers and doctoral students
Through REWHARD, researchers and doctoral students can access well-documented data, analyses and statistical syntax files. You can also get personalised advice on ordering and handling research data. At our seminars and conferences, you can broaden your knowledge of methodological issues relating to register and survey data, longitudinal studies and non-response.
Read about available data, how to access it, and the support we offer researchers here.
For the general public and study participants
On this page, we have gathered information for those who want to know more about research based on information about people. Here you will also find information for those participating in one of our studies.
Research results
Since 2018, data from REWHARD have been used in over 400 scientific publications. See selected publications, studies and reports.
Organisation
REWHARD is organised as a consortium with Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet as members. The infrastructure includes the nodes LNU, SLOSH, IMAS and STODS and a small administrative office. The management consists of a steering group, an executive group and a director.
Other research infrastructures
REWHARD is one of several national research infrastructures with funding from the Swedish Research Council. There are other infrastructures that, like REWHARD, enable research based on microdata for individuals. The infrastructures have different orientations and coordinate data from various data sources.
Contact
Last updated: 2025-12-02
Source: REWHARD