The dissertation examines how the Danish healthcare system can become more sustainable in response to challenges such as an ageing population, increasing chronic illnesses, economic constraints, and workforce shortages. It poses the question: How can the healthcare system and initiatives that aim for coherence, such as community health centres, support a sustainable healthcare system in the future, and (how) can new concepts such as 'whole-person health’ and ‘social sustainability’, and ‘cultural sustainability’ be supportive in this endeavour?

The study uses qualitative methods to examine how sustainability is understood and practised in Danish cross-sectorial community health centres (CHCs). These CHCs bridge regional and municipal care, prioritising prevention, proximity, and less specialised treatment compared to hospitals, making them an ideal focus for research. 

Through semi-structured interviews and field visits with healthcare professionals, regional officials, patients, and general practitioners, the study examines how social and cultural sustainability are integrated into community health centre practices. The emphasis is on how social sustainability is implemented, even without explicitly referencing it.

Additionally, the dissertation examines cultural sustainability, a relatively new concept in healthcare, and its potential role in enhancing sustainability practices. Whole-person health is analysed through policy documents and empirical data, revealing diverse interpretations across regions and municipalities.

Using discourse analysis, the study compares official strategies with on-the-ground practices to evaluate how whole-person health can improve social and cultural sustainability and promote a more social sustainable and patient-centred healthcare system in Denmark.

Please email Nanna Finne Skovrup at nannafinne@plan.aau.dk to get a copy of the thesis.

Photo: Lars Horn