Alessio’s main research interests reside in information systems, more precisely in the elaboration of decision support systems; embracing the areas of knowledge management and decision-making.

Aron is interested in the relevance and use of evidence in health policy-making. He wonders: How important is research evidence for health policy-makers? How does research evidence influence outcomes of health policy-making? What factors are promoting or hindering the use of evidence in health policy-making?

Chantal Arditi has been working since 2006 as a research associate at the Institute of social and preventive medicine in Lausanne, conducting satisfaction and experience surveys, comprehensive and systematic reviews (e.g. Cochrane), and healthcare evaluations of complex interventions (e.g. chronic disease management programs). Her PhD project will focus on patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) & patient-reported experiences measures (PREMs).

Eliane's contribution to the SLHS is foreseen in the design and development of the data warehouse. The warehouse will integrate heterogeneous data sources relevant to the Swiss public health domain and health services research, and it will model the knowledge extracted from these sources. The realization of this warehouse poses many research challenges in computer science, like integrating unstructured sources, allowing search and data analysis capabilities on the extracted knowledge alongside data management and protection.

Kathryn is interested in researching health inequalities among older adults in Switzerland, focusing on the areas of social capital, loneliness and social isolation. In 2017 she co-authored the first policy brief of the SLHS: Strengthening social participation of socially disadvantaged older adults in Switzerland.

Growing research shows that loneliness and social isolation are important contributors to negative health outcomes.  Even though these conditions can affect all ages, older individuals may more frequently suffer from social isolation and loneliness due to life-changing events, including the loss of close friends and relatives, or retirement.

Social participation has been proposed as a means to reduce loneliness and social isolation and associated negative health impacts. Social participation can take place through various activities, which can include contributing to society, helping others and interacting with others, either on a specific activity such as organized sports, or a non-specific activity.

This project seeks to shed light on the relationship of different forms of social participation and its association with health outcomes and life satisfaction among the elderly population in Switzerland. Results of this project will not only be important for research in the field but will also have important implications for the development of programs that encourage social participation among the elderly in Switzerland.

Michael’s main research interests are factors affecting health care expenditures in Switzerland and general cost-of-illness studies. He is currently working on a decomposition of Swiss health care expenditures into various dimensions, including diseases, affected health care services, and demographic groups. Results from this research are expected to provide insights into the driving factors behind changes in health care expenditures over time.

Nicola’s PhD focuses on an evaluation of a project that works on the interface of mental and somatic health at hospital-level. Increased rehospitalization and longer hospital stays are major issues in patients affected by psychosomatic disorders and should therefore be tackled in early stages. Her PhD will gain insights on how the project was conducted and what impact it has on patients.

Under current canon law, any person suffering from permanent impotence is enjoined from marrying in church – which for Roman Catholics actually is the only marriage both valid and desirable. However, this legislation contradicts other national and international law such as the Swiss Federal Constitution and the UN Convention on Disability. Sabine`s aim and intention of her PhD thesis is to discuss and develop possible solutions to solve this problem.

Yael’s PhD research focuses on prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in Swiss primary care based on electronic medical records of general practitioners (www.fireproject.ch). Besides describing preventive activities of general practitioners (i.e. assessment and treatment of metabolic risk factors), she aims to assess guideline concordance of these activities and to find determinants thereof.

Zora's research interests revolve around the measurement and the empirical analysis of patient preferences for newly emerging models of primary outpatient health care. Her PhD project includes the design and conduct of an experimental survey among a representative sample of the Swiss population. With regard to the analysis, she places a special focus on comparing preferences of sub-populations (e.g., groups with different health states, health literacy levels or age). From the empirical results, Zora will derive political implications for the Swiss healthcare system.

Her research is part of the Health2040 research project, focusing on preferences of the Swiss population and the Swiss health professionals regarding newly emerging models of outpatient healthcare. Further information about the project can be found on the website www.health2040.ch .