Health cooperation with Harvard

Bertil Tungodden and Alexander Cappelen from the Department of Economics organised a large health conference together with Harvard University on 26th and 27th April. The subject of the conference was "Responsibility for health".

09.05.2007 - Kristian Marthinsen

Alexander Cappelen.
PHOTO: Helge Skodvin

The conference was concerned with how the responsibility for the population's health is handled. "This is a very large and prestigious conference. For those interested in this field there was an impressive number of speakers", tells Cappelen.

Responsibility for health
- Public health service expenses are to an increasing degree connected to behaviour related diseases and the question about who should to pay for the treatment of such conditions has become of greater and great interest, said Cappelen to Silhuetten last year.

There is an increasing degree of personal choice on smoking, drinking, training, food and sexual habits that has an influence on people's health. This is present on Harvard's agenda at the conference.

Positive for NHH
Together with Tungodden and professor Ole F. Nordheim from the University of Bergen Cappelen has assisted with the organisation of the health conference.

- What is unique about the conference is that it gathers together a distinctive group of researchers from diverse fields such as philosophy, economics and medicine. Those that participate here belong to both theoretical and practical sides, says Cappelen meaning that this conference is a good way of promoting NHH.

- Harvard is certainly a very good university, and cooperating with them is very positive for NHH, he says.