Australian - Norwegian Research Partnership to Strengthen Mental Health Knowledge
Forhelse has received funding through the Research Council of Norway's programme “Recruitment of Talented Researchers to Norway” to recruit Professor Nick Titov for a two-year research period in Norway. The collaboration aims to generate new knowledge about how everyday actions can build mental health resilience across the population.
Forhelse at Haukeland University Hospital has received funding from the Research Council of Norway's programme for recruiting talented researchers to Norway to establish an international research collaboration with Professor Nick Titov. Professor Titov is based at Macquarie University in Australia and is one of the world's leading researchers in digital mental health services. He has led the development of the Australian “The Big 5” model, which forms the basis of the Norwegian project “Big Five Norway”. The model is built on research identifying five types of actions that appear to be particularly important for mental health: meaningful activities, helpful thinking, goals and plans, healthy routines, and social relationships.
During his two-year research stay in Norway, Professor Titov will contribute to developing and evaluating new knowledge about the relationship between everyday actions and mental health through the Big Five Norway project. The aim is to strengthen international research collaboration and generate new knowledge about how mental health can be promoted through simple, evidence-based actions in everyday life.
The Big Five Norway research programme is carried out through close collaboration between research groups at Forhelse and Macquarie University. The project is led by Professor Tine Nordgreen at Forhelse. Dr Smiti Kahlon also plays a key role in the project, working on the further development and evaluation of the Big Five model in a Norwegian context.
Through this collaboration, the researchers will investigate whether the relationships identified in Australian and Canadian studies also apply in Norway. The project aims to increase knowledge about how people can strengthen their own mental health through everyday actions and, in the longer term, provide a foundation for new, simple, and accessible interventions that can benefit the wider population.
The project also includes collaboration with the Norwegian health technology company Youwell. Through this partnership, researchers and industry partners will have the opportunity to explore how evidence-based knowledge can be translated into digital solutions for citizens and healthcare services. The collaboration may also contribute to increasing the international visibility of Norwegian health technology and support further innovation and internationalisation.