Research & Expertise

With more than 60 researchers, healthcare professionals, and specialists in the social sciences and humanities, HESAV plays a leading role in research among universities of applied sciences. The breadth of our expertise makes HESAV a trusted partner for healthcare professionals as well as stakeholders across the health, social care, and policy sectors, both in Switzerland and internationally, on projects aimed at improving professional practice and care delivery. We benefit from a rich network of collaborations and exchanges with faculties of health sciences, hospitals, and healthcare institutions across all five continents.

Its research portfolio spans both disciplinary and interdisciplinary projects, addressing strategic areas such as health services, care practices, ageing, chronic diseases, palliative care, mental health, public health policy, and interprofessional collaboration. Leveraging a robust network of partnerships with hospitals, academic institutions, and healthcare organizations worldwide, HESAV delivers research that is impactful, innovative, and directly responsive to the pressing challenges of contemporary healthcare.

HESAV offers methodological support (quantitative & qualitative), and fosters action-research bridging theory and practice.

HESAV offers its research and professional expertise to external institutions (public or private), providing services such as:

• Medical imaging, screening, radioprotection.
• Legal expertise: patient rights, social insurance law,
• Institutional and field-level analysis; evaluation and development of assessment tools,
• Public‑health policy evaluation,
• Methodological support in research: quantitative data analysis, qualitative methods,
• Action-Research (collaborating directly with practice settings),
• Education - continuing education, specialised courses, post‑graduate education (e.g., radioprotection, medical imaging, health law, new care techniques, updated professional practices).
• Team supervision and support.

HESAV acts as a service provider for health‑care institutions and public authorities, helping implement or evaluate policies, tools, training, or structural changes in health care. Examples of past collaborations include supporting transition processes in interprofessional teams or helping rethink care models for palliative care organizations.

If you are interested in conducting part of your research with us, please contact our Department of Research and Innovation at recherche [@] hesav.ch.

Thanks to our extensive collaborations with healthcare institutions across Switzerland and our prime location at the heart of the CHUV hospital campus, HESAV offers a gateway to the Swiss healthcare sector for your research.