From the Dean's Desk: Human First has achieved more than we could alone
Human First is an alliance of major organisations all working in the field of health: Health at Aarhus University, the Central Denmark Region, VIA University College, and the 19 municipalities in the region. The collaboration is complex, but this is precisely where our opportunity lies. By working together across sectors, we can tackle health challenges that none of us can solve alone.
When we established Human First in 2018, our ambition was clear: to bring together research, practice, and development so that we could jointly address tasks that require multiple perspectives and a shared effort. The road has been long, but now we see the impact.
At Human First, we focus on areas of action where staff from all participating organisations are actively involved. In recent years, for example, we have worked intensively on rehabilitation and concussion.
Rehabilitation is an area that only makes sense when approached through cross-sector collaboration. For instance, when a citizen with chronic back pain requires a combination of hospital treatment, municipal services, and support from a GP or physiotherapist.
That is why we have trained rehabilitation ambassadors under the Human First umbrella. What began as a loose idea is now a structured course that brings together different professional groups, fosters new competencies, and creates a shared language across sectors. The goal is simple yet ambitious: to strengthen health professionals’ ability to work rehabilitatively for the benefit of citizens.
Concussion is another example. The consequences of concussion have long been underestimated, which is why we are conducting joint research and working to highlight the issue and explore new support options for people living with these often debilitating effects.
The thematic days held in both of these focus areas follow the same direction. They bring together people who would not normally sit at the same table to jointly develop practical solutions that benefit both citizens and healthcare professionals.
I won’t deny that working across such large and diverse organisations can be challenging. The cultures, logics, and frameworks are not the same in a municipality, a hospital, a university, or in general practice. But if we are to fulfil the ambitions of the 2024 Health Reform and the upcoming Public Health Act, it is essential. That is why the leadership group has also come closer together and is working in new ways to make collaboration easier and stronger—strategically as well as in practice.
We are now launching our next major joint initiative, with primary healthcare as its central focus. This is where we both must and can make a difference in terms of prevention, early intervention, and coherent treatment pathways.
Primary healthcare is a complex area, but also one where the Human First model is particularly effective. We have already demonstrated our ability to bring stakeholders together, establish shared priorities, and stay the course, even when the going gets tough. Our experience with rehabilitation and concussion shows that when we lift together, we move in a direction that makes a real difference for citizens. We make an impact.
If you have an idea for a project or a new initiative focusing on primary healthcare, contact advisor Mette Hyldgaard Poulsen and seize the opportunity to collaborate in new ways across sectors.