Sweden expands health agency's remit to evaluate social work programs
Sweden's health technology assessment agency has broadened its scope to evaluate social interventions alongside medical treatments, aiming to ground social policies in research evidence. The shift reflects growing recognition that healthcare decisions must account for broader social and human services—a model other countries may adopt as they seek evidence-based alternatives to costly clinical interventions.
Originaltitel: The transition of assessing health technologies to social interventions in Sweden
<p>Since the 1970s the Swedish government has been promoting social work based on research into methods which work in practice for practitioners and patients. In 2015, the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment (SBU), a government agency instigated in 1987, was commissioned to expand its remit, to review empirical research on social work interventions and to disseminate the results to stakeholders. SBU was then renamed The Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (SBU). This article describes the fusion of health technology assessment (HTA) and Social Intervention Assessment (SIA), including advantages and challenges.</p>