Dr David Henderson is a Quantitative Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Here he explains how he used his Ignition Fund award to undertake a three-week visit to the Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Stockholm in September 2025:
The purpose of my visit was to strengthen international collaboration on research into ageing, health, and social care systems, with a specific focus on the role of home care and institutional care in Sweden.
Across high-income countries, ageing populations are placing pressure on health and social care systems. Both the UK and Sweden face challenges in delivering care that supports independence, ensures equity, and minimises unnecessary hospitalisation. Yet the organisation of care differs significantly between these countries.
Comparing patterns of social care use
My research programme seeks to develop frameworks for comparing patterns of social care use and associated outcomes across these countries. By understanding similarities and differences, we can better identify how policy, practice, and service delivery shape the wellbeing of older people.
The visit to KI was designed to a) learn about Sweden’s health and social care systems directly from researchers and clinicians; b) begin exploring Swedish administrative data on social care use, particularly the Social Service Register (SSR); c) build collaboration with KI’s Ageing in Health group, led by Dr Karin Modig, to support cross-country comparative work; and d) discuss opportunities for joint data development and future funding proposals.
The majority of my time was spent embedded in the Ageing in Health research group at KI. This provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge on methodologies, datasets, and ongoing research projects. The group has extensive experience of using Swedish registers to study ageing, multimorbidity, and care use. These sessions helped clarify common challenges across countries, such as differences in how “care hours” are recorded, the need to distinguish between home care and special housing, and the importance for accounting for regional variation.
Connecting with clinicians and allied health professionals
A second strand of the visit involved discussions with primary care staff. These meetings provided essential context in how the Swedish system operated in practice. Clinicians described how responsibility for care is divided between municipalities and regions, with limited integration between health and social care. They emphasised the centrality of ageing-in-place policies, which prioritise enabling older adults to remain at home as long as possible.
General practitioners also highlighted the challenges of coordinating care for individuals with multiple conditions when case managers in municipalities do not routinely share information with healthcare providers and vice versa. These insights reinforced the importance of developing integrated data resources that can capture the full range of services and adult receives.
Developing a new research collaboration
During the visit, I worked with colleagues to draft an outline for a new collaborative project. The focus is on developing a dedicated Swedish data extract that profiles users of social care, both home care recipients and care home residents, and links this to health outcomes.
The extract will allow us to:
- Describe demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics of social care recipients
- Compare their hospitalisation patterns with older adults not receiving care
- Explore variation in care use between municipalities
- Provide a consistent taxonomy of social care measures that can be compared with UK datasets
This collaboration will form the foundation for joint publications and future funding bids.
Broader significance
The Ignition Fund award enabled activities that would not otherwise have been possible. By covering travel and subsistence, the funding allowed me to spend an extended period in Stockholm, embedded within the research environment at KI. This immersion was crucial in building trust and identifying common interests with colleagues.
The outcomes extend well beyond academic benefits. Sweden, like the UK, faces a debate about how best to balance home care and institutional care. Understanding how policies influence service use and health outcomes is directly relevant to decision-makers in both countries. Secondly, by aligning definitions and data structures, we can generate robust evidence that speaks to international audiences and highlights what each country can learn from the other. Finally, the collaboration is already forming the basis for joint applications to UK funders, with the potential to secure sustained resources for comparative ageing research.
The visit also reinforced the importance of international collaboration. While each country’s system is unique, the underlying issues, population aging, multimorbidity, and the desire to age in place, are universal. By learning from one another, we can develop better evidence and more effective policy responses.
Find out more about the Academy Ignition Fund here. If you’d like to apply for funding, the next deadline is 5 December 2025, 5pm.