USU Researchers Build U.S.-Nordic Consensus on Trauma and Rehabilitation Care

USU convened U.S., Swedish and Finnish experts in Gothenburg to strengthen civil-military trauma and rehabilitation cooperation.

The USU research team and their Swedish and Finnish partners at Sahlgrenska Science Park in Gothenburg, Sweden, during the June 25-26, 2026, trauma and rehabilitation research meeting hosted by the University of Gothenburg's Centre for Disaster Medicine. (Courtesy photo)

August 26, 2026 by USU News

The University of Gothenburg’s Centre for Disaster Medicine hosted a two-day research meeting in Sweden June 25-26, 2026, where investigators from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) briefed more than a dozen stakeholders from the United States, Sweden, and Finland on findings about Sweden’s civilian trauma and rehabilitation systems. 

Madison Kelly, program manager for USU’s Advanced Research in Military Optimization, Readiness, and Rehabilitation, organized and facilitated the meeting. The event centered on an ongoing study, “Assessment of the Civilian Military Interface in the Trauma and Rehabilitation Systems of Norway, Sweden, and Finland.” The effort is funded through the Global Health Engagement Research Initiative (GHERI), managed by USU’s National Institute for Defense Health Cooperation. GHERI is a collaborative Department of War (DoW) initiative that funds operational research to close capability gaps across the combined U.S. and allied forces, known together as the Joint Force, and to advance the priorities of the military’s regional Combatant Commands. By evaluating how military and civilian trauma systems work together across Norway, Sweden, and Finland, this study directly supports the health security goals of U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), the Combatant Command responsible for Europe, and strengthens the region’s civil-military readiness. 

Building Consensus Through a Modified Delphi Process

Principal investigators Dr. George Smolinski, Dr. Lynn Lieberman Lawry, and U.S. Air Force Col. Mary Stuever briefed stakeholders on findings from Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) conducted across Sweden’s trauma and rehabilitation systems. The interviews asked clinicians, military officers, and emergency planners how Sweden’s civilian and military health systems coordinate before, during, and after a mass-casualty event.

Far from a purely academic assessment, the study is a direct response to a formal USEUCOM requirement, known in military planning as a “demand signal.” By using DoW health research to build ties with key partner nations, the project supports the objectives in USEUCOM’s campaign plan, the command’s standing strategy for its region. It strengthens health security cooperation, meaning the alignment of allied medical and public-health systems so they can respond together in a crisis, and it helps deter threats that cross regional boundaries. 

The team facilitated a modified Delphi session, a structured process in which experts weigh in through repeated rounds of anonymous feedback until they reach consensus, to shape recommendations for future civil-military preparedness in the region. Stuever, who also represents USEUCOM, has since reported the meeting’s results directly to USEUCOM leadership to inform operational planning.

Investigators brief U.S., Swedish and Finnish stakeholders during the two-day meeting in Gothenburg, presenting findings from the study of Sweden's civilian and military trauma and rehabilitation systems. (Courtesy photo)

International Participation and Support

The meeting drew strong international support. Dr. Yohan Robinson, director of the Centre for Disaster Medicine, along with colleagues Dr. Jonas Zimmerman and Viktor Glantz, called the gathering a success and committed to sharing the study’s recommendations with local and national Swedish leadership. 

From Finland, Dr. Kristiina Patja spoke to the importance of collective preparedness across the Nordic region. Joining virtually from the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, U.S. Army Maj. Ian Merritt pointed to the research’s relevance for regional health security cooperation.

Additional participants included, from Sweden: Sara Jarl and Dr. Åsa Nilsson, both key informant interview participants; Dr. Joachim Lindqvist, chief medical officer for contingencies and preparedness for the Västra Götalands Region; and Lt. Col. Erik Mattsson of the Swedish Armed Forces. From Finland: Sanna Ritola of the University of Helsinki and Ellen McMahon of the National Emergency Supply Agency. Rounding out USU’s GHERI research team were Vivitha Mani, a research associate with the Center for Health Services Research, and Dr. Bharathi Radhakrishnan, a senior research associate in the School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery.

The research team plans to expand the study to additional countries across the Nordic region and beyond, building on recommendations already reported to USEUCOM leadership. Like all GHERI-funded projects, the initiative undergoes rigorous interagency programmatic and scientific review (including evaluations by the Joint Staff Surgeon’s Office and the Defense Health Agency) to ensure its findings translate into practical, evidence-based recommendations. The ultimate goal, organizers said, is to give U.S. and allied warfighters and planners a shared picture of how civilian and military trauma and rehabilitation systems can work together long before the next crisis arrives.