Morten Skovdal
  • Source: Scopus
20072025

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Short presentation

I am a social psychologist applying related theories to understand and address the social and structural factors that shape engagement with health services and promote psychosocial wellbeing and care in the community. I work on a range of global health challenges such as HIV, climate change, and migration. I have a particular interest in involving underserved and socially marginalised groups in research, both to challenge dominant narratives, and to attune interventions to their lived realities.

I received my PhD in Psychology from the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 2009. Prior to that I received my MSc from University College London and BSc from the LSE. Before joining the University of Copenhagen, I worked for Save the Children UK. I sit on the editorial boards of the Health Education Journal, and Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies and I am the Northern Europe editor for Children's Geographies. I am also a board member of Tuborgfondet, a youth-focused and grant giving foundation. 

Current research

  • Participatory research with forcibly displaced persons in South Sudan and Uganda to understand how mobility affects their chronic disease care (PI, funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, 2022-2027) project website
  • Participatory research with children and young people in Tanzania to understand their experiences, struggles and ways of coping with the climate crisis, at home and in their communities (PI, funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2021-2026) project website
  • Participatory research to understand HIV risk in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe (Lead social science collaborator, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2020-2023) 
  • Intervention study co-creating guidelines and associated training to help birth attenddants in Tanzania deliver safe care at bith (CO-I, funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019-2024)

Teaching

I am the course convenor of two qualitative research methods courses and supervises dissertation and thesis work in my areas of expertise. 

Possible conflicts of interest

Board member of Turborgfondet

Member of the research committee at AIDS Fondet

Editor of Children's Geographies

Education/Academic qualification

PhD Social Psychology, London School of Economics and Political Science

20062009

MSc International Child Health, University College London

20052006

BSc Geography and Population Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science

20002003

Keywords

  • Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
  • Global Health
  • HIV/AIDS
  • HIV treatment
  • Community Mobilisation
  • Masculinity
  • Orphanhood
  • Young carers
  • Childhood Studies
  • Social Protection
  • Cash Transfers
  • Coping
  • Resilience
  • Qualitative research methods
  • Participatory Methods
  • International Development
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Capital
  • Kenya
  • Zimbabwe
  • Africa
  • African Health Systems
  • Health Services Research
  • Health Policy
  • Health workers
  • Health Promotion
  • Health Inequalities
  • Mental Health
  • Behaviour Change
  • Evaluation
  • Pandemics
  • Infectious diseases
  • Rapid test
  • Point-of-care testing
  • COVID-19

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or