Helena Norberg

Medicines save lives - but only when used appropriately. They must therefore be both effective and safe at every stage of care.

We investigate how medicines are used in clinical practice and how this can be optimised to enhance patient outcomes. A key area of our work focuses on how emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and smart glasses, can support healthcare professionals in their daily work. The aim is to reduce workload and create more time for patient care.

We also study how new medicines can be introduced more efficiently and equitably within healthcare systems. This includes treatments for conditions such as heart failure and eye diseases that affect large numbers of older adults. By analysing real-world healthcare data, we generate evidence to support better-informed clinical and policy decision-making.

An important aspect of our research is the evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of medicines in routine clinical practice, and how these outcomes may differ from those observed in clinical trials.

In addition, we conduct research in pharmacy education, with a particular focus on interprofessional learning and on how students can best be prepared for clinical practice.

Our research is grounded in real-world healthcare challenges and is conducted in close collaboration with healthcare providers.

Research projects

Current projects within our research group include:

• SMAP: Smart Personalised Medication Assistant. This project explores how AI-enabled smart glasses, using mixed reality, can support nurses in medication management. The aim is to reduce workload and improve patient safety.
• Health economic studies on the introduction of new, high-cost ophthalmic medicines for conditions such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular oedema. These studies are based on national data and aim to support prioritisation decisions in clinical practice.
• Effectiveness and safety of new ophthalmic medicines in Sweden. We compare outcomes from clinical trials with real-world use in Swedish healthcare to ensure safe and appropriate use of these treatments.
• Educational research on interprofessional learning and the development of teaching methods that strengthen students’ clinical competence.
• Educational research on pharmacy students at Umeå University, focusing on their experiences of distance learning and their work-related satisfaction after graduation.

Selected publications

1. Blusi, Madeleine; Norberg, Helena; Persiani, Michele; Nieves, Juan Carlos. Towards a mixed reality companion to support nurses in medication management Extended Reality: International Conference, XR Salento 2025, Otranto, Italy, June 17–20, 2025, Proceedings, Part VII, Cham: Springer Nature 2026 : 407-417

2. Persiani, Michele; Blusi, Madeleine; Norberg, Helena; Nieves, Juan Carlos. SMAP: Smart Personalized Medication Assistant to Help Nurses in Medication Adherence, Emerging Challenges in Intelligent Management Information Systems: proceedings of 26th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence ECAI 2023 - IMIS 2023 Workshop, Springer 2024 : 27-38

3. Abdalla, Souad; Westborg, Inger; Pulkki-Brännström, Anni-Maria; Norberg, Helena. Faricimab versus bevacizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: cost analysis based on real-world data from the Swedish Macula Registry. Acta Ophthalmologica, John Wiley & Sons 2025, Vol. 103, (1) : 99-108

4. Westborg, Inger; Al-Najjar, Ayat; Norberg, Helena. Eligibility for faricimab in a real-world diabetic macular oedema population: a cross-sectional study
BMJ Open, BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2025, Vol. 15, (2)

5. Norberg, Helena; Andersson, Therese; Håkansson, Erik; Hellström Ängerud, Karin; Lindmark, Krister. Assessment of a systematic approach for implementing novel medications in clinical practice: an observational study with dapagliflozin. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Springer Nature 2024, Vol. 80, (9) : 1363-1371

6. Norberg, Helena; Bergdahl, Ellinor; Hellström Ängerud, Karin; Lindmark, Krister. A systematic approach for introduction of novel treatments to a chronic patient group: sacubitril-valsartan as a case study. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Springer 2021, Vol. 77 : 125-131

7. Gustafsson, Maria; Norberg, Helena; Mattsson, Sofia. Job satisfaction among pharmacists graduating from a university in northern Sweden: a comparative analysis. Pharmacy, MDPI 2025, Vol. 13, (6)