Karin Blomberg - new professor 2019

Studies that focus on different aspects of relation-centred care, where learning of professional skills form an important part, is a common theme throughout Karin Blomberg’s research. She is head of the research environment Care about Caring at Örebro University, where the aim is to gain new knowledge on how relationships both between caregivers and patients and their family members, and between the different professions in the healthcare team, can be promoted and play a pivotal role in all caring and therapy contexts. Focus is also on how a culture of professional development and learning can be created within healthcare.

“We need to understand the learning processes within the healthcare professions if we are to make recommendations on creating a relationship with the patient that centres on dignity, the individual’s chance of participation, and person-centred healthcare interventions.”

Today, healthcare professionals lack concrete tools that they can use when seeing critically ill patients. Nor are there any guarantees that all care, regardless of place, illness or the patient’s age is based on dignity and quality of life.

“A large part of my current research is about developing and introducing interventions where care is based on a caring and relation-centred approach, irrespective of the context of care or patient group.”

Currently underway within municipal nursing care is a project for implementation and evaluation of a dignity-preserving intervention. This new approach involves talking about and alleviating any dignity-related concerns identified by the patients themselves. In this project, Karin Blomberg collaborates with nationally and internationally leading researchers within compassionate care, dignity and palliative care.

“We also conduct studies on the development and implementation of various information and communication technologies in healthcare with the object to co-create care that emanates from the patient and their experience.”

Karin Blomberg’s previous research looked at how people reason about and manage risk of disease. In her doctoral thesis, she studied young women’s reasoning with respect to the risk of cervical cancer and their decisions on whether to take part in cervical cancer screening.  

“That work laid the foundations for my current research collaborations on matters relating to screening, human papilloma virus (HPV), screening participation and vaccine acceptance.”

Learning and educational research is another of Karin Blomberg’s research interests. She has for example been involved in a multi-year care development project funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, aimed at increasing interaction between healthcare and academia.

“A major challenge within health and medical care today is retaining nursing staff. Another is creating a sustainable work environment that acts as a stimulus for professional development. My research on learning examines how learning environments can be promoted and how students learn practical skills, but also how graduate nurses are socialised into their professional role and what factors affect their motivation to continue to develop in that role.”

2016-2018, Karin Blomberg worked as deputy head of the School of Health Sciences, Örebro University, and as of 2019, she will take up the position of deputy dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health.

“Getting the opportunity to work with across-the-board questions within academia, such as visions, goals, strategies and operational planning, is both exciting and challenging.”