Greenland’s Centre for Health Research (GCHR) at the Institute of Nursing and Health Sciences was inaugurated at a meeting in Nuuk of the Danish-Greenlandic Society for Circumpolar Health in October 2008.

Objectives

The aim of the Centre is to enhance cooperation between researchers from other countries and health professionals in Greenland, to facilitate research cooperation within Greenland, and to facilitate the interaction of researchers from other countries with the Greenland community at large. The Centre is active in teaching at all levels from classroom teaching of nursing students to supervision of PhD students. In a longer perspective, the Centre will work for the establishment of data archive and archive of specimens collected in Greenland.

Vision

The Centre’s vision is to improve the health status in Greenland through initiation and coordination of health research.

Mission

• Increasing coordination among research institutions
• Developing, exchanging, disseminating and applying scientific knowledge
• Creating national and international networks
• Building local capacity through PhD programs and mentoring
• Improving community involvement and local partnerships

• Gert Mulvad - Chairman of the local dep. of the Danish-Greenlandic Society for Circumpolar Health
• Suzanne Møller - Institute of Nursing and Health Science
• Berit B. Handberg - Board of Health and Prevention
• Peter Bjerregaard - Ministry of Health
• Sten Lund - Research coordinator at the Ministry of Research
• Henrik L. Hansen - Medical officer at the National Medical Board/office
• Appointed: Michael L. Pedersen - Greenland Centre for Health Research
• Secretary: Christine Ingemann, HealthResearch@uni.gl

The Centre works to forge links between research centres, independent scholars and students as well as health professionals in Greenland. GCHR is organised within the Institute of Nursing and Health Research at the University of Greenland. We collaborated with the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources on building project for the Centre. The Centre has signed Memorandum of Understanding with Canadian Institute for Circumpolar Health in Yellowknife (North West Territories) and the UArctic.

The Centre cooperates with:

• Centre for Care Research at the Arctic University of Norway (UiT)
• ICN Rural and Remote Nursing Network
• Arctic Transatlantic Telehealth Research Network

Furthermore, GCHR is co-organisation of NUNAMED, part of Thematic Network on Health and Well-being in the Arctic under University of the Arctic, and member of the Circumpolar Health Research Network.

If you would like to be part of our network of researchers, you are welcome to send us an e-mail to HealthResearch@uni.gl containing your name and areas of interest.

The following PhD students are double enrolled:

• Karsten Rex, started 2014: “Hepatitis among Greenlanders in Denmark and in Greenland, and the effect of chronic HPV infection in Greenland”. Physician combined with a PhD education enrolled at Aalborg University & Greenland Centre for Health Research; 2014-2019. Main supervisor: Stig Andersen
• Malene B. Demant, started 1. april 2015: ”Effekten af øredræn - et randomiseret kontrolleret studie blandt børn i Grønland. The SIUTIT Trial”. Main supervisor: Preben Homøe 
• Paneeraq Noahsen, started 1. oktober 2017: ”Thyroid function and autoimmunity among populations in Greenland with 10 and 20 years follow-up”. Main supervisor: Stig Andersen
• Mette Mørup Schlütter, started 1. oktober 2017: ”Living with uncertainty in old age – an ethnographic exploration of the experience of old age in Greenland”. Main supervisor: Lise Hounsgaard 
• Trine Jul Larsen, started 1. august 2018: “The use of artificial intelligence and telemedicine solutions, to assess diabetic eye diseases in Greenland”. Main supervisor: Marit Eika Jørgensen

Completed PhD projects at the Institute for Nursing and Health Sciences:

• Arnfjord, Steven (2014): “Deltagende Aktionsforskning med Socialrådgivere - Empowerment af Grønlands oversete velfærdsprofession". PhD thesis, Institute for Nursing and Health Sciences, Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greenland
• Aagaard, Tine (2014): ”Hverdagsliv med sygdom – Patienters kulturelle perspektiver på sundhedspraksis i Grønland”. PhD thesis, Institute for Nursing and Health Sciences, Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greenland 
• Mikaela Augustussen (2018): ”Palliation til grønlandske kræftpatienter i Grønland og i Danmark”. PhD thesis, Institute for Nursing and Health Sciences, Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greenland

Completed PhD projects in collaboration with the Institute for Nursing and Health Sciences:

• Todsen, Tobias (2016): "Surgeon-performed ultrasonography – Collecting validity evidence for assessment of abdominal and head & neck ultrasonography skills". PhD thesis, University of Copenhagen
• Bjørn-Mortensen, Karen (2016): "Tuberculosis in East Greenland - Epidemiologic and Genomic Insights into a TB high incidence setting". PhD thesis, Department for Epidemiologic Research and National Reference laboratory for TB and Mycobacteria, Statens Serum Institute

PhD committee of the Institute for Nursing and Health Sciences (Ilisimatusarfik) consists of:

• Lise Hounsgaard (chairman), professor, PhD, University of Southern Denmark & Institute for Nursing and Health Sciences, Ilisimatusarfik
• Torunn Hamran, professor,PhD, Centre for Care Research at the Arctic University of Norway (UiT)
• Stig Andersen, overlæge, ph.d., klinisk professor, Arctic Health Research Centre, Aalborg Universitet & Grønlands Center for Sundhedsforskning
• Michael Lynge Pedersen, læge, klinisk lektor, ph.d. - Dronning Ingrids Sundhedscenter & Grønlands Center for Sundhedsforskning
• Ikke udpeget endnu, ph.d.-studerende

Greenland Center for Health Research

Institute of Nursing & Health Science

Ilisimatusarfik

Manutooq 1, 3905 Nuussuaq

P.O. Box: 1061

E-mail: HealthResearch@uni.gl