Karin Båge

About me

I am a doctoral student in the Global and Sexual Health research group at the Department of Global Public Health, education developer at the Unit for Teaching and Learning (TL/UoL) and project developer at the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health.

Trained in social anthropology and with a professional background in the civil society sector, I aim to focus my research and educational activities on those who are most at risk of being left behind. This means innovating current instruments and practices that are already at scale, as well as developing existing systems so as to make a structural shift in how organisations and ongoing activities are operating. Projects I co-lead include:

- Improving global instruments that measure norms and values to also include norms and values related to sexual and reproductive health and rights - a collaboration with the World Values Survey.

- Developing the quality of higher education in all educational programs - through advising central strategies - at KI to be equitable and inclusive in line with the sustainable development goals, through the project Internationalisation of the Curriculum.

- Training public sector managers in fragile settings to achieve the sustainable development goals.

- Developing tools for the global research community to bridge the know-do gap through the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health.

Research description

My policy and research areas of interests include sexual and reproductive health and rights, and developing the quality of higher education in line with the sustainable development goals. 

My doctoral project focuses on norms and agency and their relationship with sexual and reproductive health outcomes. The research is based on a partnership with the World Values Survey that expanded its battery of questions to include questions on norms and attitudes related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as decision-making, attitudes on early marriage and child bearing, gender-based violence, use of contraceptives and reproductive health care services. It has been carried out in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sweden and Zimbabwe.

Publications

Wanyenze, R.K., Alfvén, T., Ndejjo, R., Viberg, N., Båge, K., Batte, C., Helldén, D., Lindgren, H., Mayega, R.W., Ndeezi, G., Swartling Peterson, S., Nawangwe, B., Ottersen, OP. Sustainable health—a call to action. BMC Global Public Health 1, 3 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-023-00007-4

Litorp H, Kågesten A, Båge K, Uthman O, Nordenstedt H, Fagbemi M, Puranen B, Ekström A.M. (2022). Gender norms and women’s empowerment as barriers to facility birth: A population-based cross-sectional study in 26 Nigerian states using the World Values Survey. PLoS ONE 17(8): e0272708. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272708

Sundewall J., Båge K., Ekström AM., Puranen, B., Litorp, H., Uthman, OA., Kågesten, A. Addressing the second ‘R’ in sexual and reproductive health and rights: why norms and values matter for development cooperation. BMJ Global Health 2022;7:e008520.

Kågesten, A., Båge, K., Sundewall, J., Litorp, H., Puranen, B., Uthman, O., Ekström, A.M. (2021), Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: Measuring Values and Norms to Guide Swedish Development Cooperation, EBA Report 2021:04, The Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA), Sweden.

Båge, K., Gaunt, A., Valcke, J. (2021). Aligning Glocal Agendas for International Education: Using English-Medium Education to Enhance Quality Education. In: Internationalisation and English medium education: language, policy and practice, U. Smit and P. Studer (eds). European Journal of Language Policy: Special Issue. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/ejlp.2021.13

Valcke, J., Preet, R., Knipper, M., Båge, K. (2021). “Conceptualising Teaching Spaces – Being, Becoming, Belonging in Higher Education”. In: Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: the Context of Being, Interculturality and New Knowledge Systems, M. Kumar & T. Welikala (eds). Emerald Publishing: Bingley.

Båge, K., Valcke, J. (2021). “From English-Medium Education to Sustainable Development Goals - The Journey of a Medical University". In: Developing and Evaluating Quality Bilingual Practices in Higher Education, D. Coyle & F. Rubio Alcalá (eds.). Multilingual Matters: Bristol.

Båge, K., Valcke, J., Jellinek, N., Pagèze, J., Welikala, T. ( 2020). “Implementing Education for Sustainable Development (SDG4.7) in Higher Education”. Global University Network for Innovation: 2nd GUNi International Conference on SDGs: Higher Education & Science Take Action.

Båge, K. (1 April, 2020). “Vet svenska folket ens vad strategin går ut på”. Svenska Dagbladet. Available Online.

Båge, K., Jellinek, N., Pagèze, J., Valcke, J., Welikala, T. (14 March 2020). “An International Curriculum Fit for Generation Greta”. University World News. Available online.

Valcke, J., Båge, K. (2020). “Stepping Out of the Silos – Training Teachers, Training Trainers”. In: Teacher Training for Enligsh-Medium Instruction in Higher Education, M. del Mar Sanchez Perez (ed.) IGI Global: Hershey, Pennsylvania. An overview can be found here.

Båge, K., Nordenstedt, N., Ekström, A.M. (2017). Att förstå fattigdom – kursen i global hälsa för KI-studenter. Socialmedicinskt tidskrift, Vol 94, Nr 6. Available online. 

Teaching portfolio

As an educational developer my responsibilities include designing and developing courses, training and advising university students, teachers and professionals in the health sector, on matters related to global health, intercultural education and education for sustainable development and sustainable health. 

Undergradaute level

Global Health 7,5 ECTs. This is a 5-week elective undergraduate course with 70-90 students each semester, who spend 3 weeks in Sweden studying theory and 2 subsequent weeks in a low-income country like Uganda, Tanzania, Vietnam and Laos. Beyond regular teaching and coordination responsibilities I also participate as an accompanying teacher traveling with the students for the duration of the study trip period. For more information: Att förstå fattigdom – kursen i global hälsa för KI-studenter, Båge, Nordenstedt, Ekström, 2017. Socialmedicinskt tidskrift, Vol 94, Nr 6.

PREPARE - a pre-departure course for KI students going on an international exchange, including a module on global health.

Online courses

An Introduction to Global Health. This is six week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) introductory course in Global health available on the Edx platform.

Teacher training modules

Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, distance.

Global Health for Teaching Staff at KI - a small private online course in global health for teaching staff at KI

Tools for Global Health - workshops for teaching staff at KI.

Managing Innovation for Sustainable Health 

 

Education

2013 - Masters of Arts in Visual and Media Anthropology at the Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany.

2007 - Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology and International Relations from the University of Sussex, UK in 2007.

Academic honours, awards and prizes