Recommendations & reports

Antibiotic resistance is a global threat to health and development. But the way we behave can either slow this process down or speed it up. Antibiotic resistance is a collective problem. It is also a shared responsibility. And it is not limited to medical antibiotic use. Whether it is choices made in the dairy aisle or by ensuring vaccinations are up-to-date before travelling, the effectiveness of our efforts to to curb antibiotic resistance will depend on our behaviour. We need to raise awareness of how individuals’ actions contribute to antibiotic resistance and learn why they use antibiotics responsibly, why they sometimes do not, and what encourages them to do better.

This policy brief contains Mirko Ancillotti's recommendations for fighting antibiotic resistance.

Fighting antibiotic resistance: We can do better!

Resignation syndrome affects children and adolescents who seek asylum in Sweden. SBU (Statens beredning för medicinsk och social utvärdering or, in English the Swedish agency for health technology assessment and assessment of social services) recently reviewed the scientific basis for the treatment of resignation syndrome and found a lack of evidence for the method currently being practiced. New research suggests that the method may even contribute to occurrence and maintaining of disease. Indicating that resignation syndrome should be treated with children separated from the rest of the family. Further, the results show that the issuing of residence permits should not be included as part of the treatment. And the author stresses that in the treatment of resignation syndrome, the risk of simulated disease must be considered.

This policy brief contains Karl Sallin's recommendations for treating resignation syndrome.

Treating resignation syndrome (in Swedish)

Any health care interventions should be made after careful consideration of the benefits and risks for the individual. But experts and the general public sometimes have different views on what the benefit actually is. Understanding how the public perceives risk is important for designing the information correctly: to build on the individual's pre-understanding, to bridge knowledge gaps, and to correct inaccuracies. From a societal perspective, it is also important to ensure that health care efforts are equal. By examining which groups benefit from the efforts, they can be directed towards particularly vulnerable groups and individuals.

This policy brief contains Åsa Grauman's recommendations for how best to inform the public about the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular risk (in Swedish)

The Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics (CRB) explores current ethical issues through philosophical, empirical, and normative approaches. Our work builds capacity and contributes to the knowledge base for research & innovation, policy, management, and clinical practice.

CRB is an interfaculty centre that is governed by a board of University representatives and led by a Director. The Centre is administratively associated with the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine, where all Centre staff are employed. At the Department level, Niklas Juth, Professor in Clinical Medical Ethics, serves as a research group leader and answers to the Department board. The Centre is led by Director Stefan Eriksson, Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Research Ethics, who answers to the Centre board. Both roles are supported by Coordinator Josepine Fernow.

This report was written by Josepine Fernow, with contributions from Anna Holm Bodin, Niklas Juth, Stefan Eriksson, and Malin Rick Folkegård. Uppsala University diary number V1.0.1: Pubcare 2024/180.

Fernow, J., Holm Bodin, A., Juth, N., Eriksson, S., & Rick Folkegård, M. (2024). Research ethics & bioethics at Uppsala University 2023: Annual report from the Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics (CRB) at Uppsala University. Zenodo. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11488491