Welcome Anna Kharko!

Project coordinator within NORDeHEALTH
NORDeHEALTH is an international research project focusing on implementation of digital patient portals and other personal eHealth services. As a project coordinator, Anna Kharko will facilitate the collaborations between the researchers who are involved in the project.

– We have collaborators all over Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, and the U.S, Anna explains. My job is twofold: to make sure that all those brilliant minds have the support to work and are updated on what is happening in the different parts of the project. But I also contribute to the research, both in the analysis and in the communication of the findings.

When Anna applied for the position, it was important that the project is based in Sweden and that she would work with Maria Hägglund, who is the Principal Investigator of NORDeHEALTH.

– I don’t think I’ve told Maria this, but I was starstruck the first time I was introduced to her and the NORDeHEALTH project. It was also important to me that the project is based in Sweden, because patients here have open access to their electronic health records. That is not the case in for example the U.K., where I previously worked.

Research on chronic pain and eHealth
Anna Kharko did her PhD project at the University of Plymouth on fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition whose causes and treatment are unknown.

– I studied contributors to the chronic pain that patients with fibromyalgia are suffering from, Anna explains. I’m continue being involved in some ongoing research projects about the situation for chronic pain patients in the U.K.

She is now looking forward to combining the two research areas chronic pain and eHealth as part of the NORDeHEALTH project.

– I’m curious to see how chronic pain patients are using the Swedish healthcare system. So far, I’ve been really impressed with how open the healthcare governing body has been in co-producing a platform for the users, and communicating with researchers about how things can be improved. However, I have also noticed that there are room for improvements, for example when it comes to including people without personal numbers.

Please visit https://nordehealth.eu for more info about the NORDeHEALTH research project. If you want to find out more about Anna Kharko’s research, please visit her own website: www.annakharko.com.