Svenn-Erik Mamelund

About

Mamelund has a Masters in human geography from 1998 and PhD in Historical Demography from 2004. He has 30 years experience in studying the demography of epidemic diseases with a particular focus on the 1918-20 influenza pandemic. The topic is timely with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mamelund is on Elsevier/Stanford University 2025 top 2% list among Public Health researchers globally (ranked 1322 of 75495) and ranked 41 among the Highly Ranked Lifetime Scholars globally in his field of Pandemic, defined as eminent authors (active, retired, and deceased) whose Top Percentage Ranks places them in the top 0.05 % of all scholars due to their lifetime scholarly contributions (ScholarGPS). Mamelund has been a visiting scholar at Center for Demography and Ecology at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001, Centre for Population Studies at Umeå University 2006-2009, Penn State University in 2008 and University Queensland in 2024. Mamelund is head of the Centre for Research on Pandemics and Society (PANSOC). Mamelund was the president of the Norwegian Demographic Society 2017-2023. His ORCID is 0000-0002-3980-3818 and ResearcherID is G-4495-2016

Field of study

Population development Demography Demography Trade unions Working life research Spanish Influenza 1918-19 Mortality Historical demography Marital status and mortality Attitude Immunization Sickness Absence Work inclusion Vulnerable youth Working life and health

Research projects

Completed research projects

Disability and Disease during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Implications for Preparedness Policies
A global influenza pandemic is imminent and public health preparedness plans that address the needs of vulnerable populations are indispensable.
Early COVID-19 wave in Norway: Social inequality in morbidity, compliance to non-pharmaceutical interventions and labour marked consequences (CorRisk)
Pandemics like COVID-19 are among the most pressing global threats to human life and economic security. The core idea of CorRisk is that infectious disease pandemics created by influenza or corona-viruses have always been more than just a medical problem and that their epidemiology and impact are profoundly shaped by social and economic structures. While the state of the art mainly studies medical risk factors, this project proposes to study the "forgotten" socioeconomic risk factors for unequal morbidity, compliance to the NPIs and labor market consequences.
Healthcare Access in Rural Border Regions. Realizing Patient Rights Across European Borders (HARBOR)
The overall aim of the HARBOR project is to develop an integrated approach of cross-border interactions and access to health care in European border regions, and to rethink healthcare planning across border regions.
Promoting Integrity as an Integral Dimension of Excellence in Research
Research integrity is a growing concern. From the perspective of the research work floor, including the daily work of journal editors or research managers, PRINTEGER will analyse how current instruments of integrity policy operate in practice.
Socioeconomic risk groups, vaccination and pandemic influenza (PANRISK)
This project proposes to study the “forgotten” socioeconomic risk factors for unequal influenza outcomes and consequences. It will bear important implications for health.

Scientific publications

Subedi, Raj Kumar; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik ; Delgado, Iris; Matute, Isabel; Laborde, Carla Castillo; Joaquin-Damas, Elienai; Chowell, Gerardo (2025). Poverty and Ethnic Patterns in COVID-19 Excess Mortality: Evidence from Chile, 2020-2022. American Journal of Epidemiology.
https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwaf274

Dimka, Jessica L.; Schneider, Benjamin ; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik (2025). A systematic review to understand the long-term mental health effects of influenza pandemics. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948251391601

Maia, Ana Sofia Monteiro; Pereira, Margarida; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik ; Amaro, Joana Maria Correia; Fraga, Sílvia Jesus da Silva; Leão, Teresa Isabel Costa (2025). “Be Mothers as if we Were not Workers, Be Workers as if we Were not Mothers”: A Qualitative Study on Parenthood’s Impact on Careers and Well-Being. Journal of Family Issues.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513x251400278

Hamed, Karami,; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik ; Alexandra, Smirnova,; Gerardo, Chowell, (2025). Global excess tuberculosis mortality during COVID-19: a country-level modeling study of policy and development correlates | BMC Public Health. BMC Public Health.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24858-8

Correia, Amaro, Joana Maria; Costa, Leão, Teresa Isabel; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik ; Sofia, Monteiro Maia, Ana; E., Pereira, Margarida Miguel Costeira; Alejandro, Perelman, Julian; Jesus, da Silva Fraga, Sílvia (2025). Balancing Work and Parenthood - A Comparative Analysis of Policies across European Countries | Journal of Child and Family Studies. Journal of Child and Family Studies.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-025-03194-w

Blinkova, Alexandra; Khakurel, Uddhav; Gaddy, Hampton Gray; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik ; Dunbar, Maria Bekker-Nielsen (2025). Construction and curation of a data set of historical mental health incidence in Norway | Scientific Data. Scientific Data. Vol. 12.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05795-y

Pereira, Margarida; Dimka, Jessica; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik (2025). The New Syndemic of Obesity and COVID-19 in Urban Areas. Hentilä, Helka-Liisa; Luusua, Aale; Rönkkö, Emilia; Sailo, Annukka; Suorsa, Anna (Ed.). Pandemics and Urban Planning: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Cities, Planning and Disease. p. 161-178. Springer Nature Switzerland.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97348-2_10

Ibsen, Tanja Louise; Zotcheva, Ekaterina; Bergh, Sverre; Gerritsen, Debby; Livingston, Gill; Lurås, Hilde; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik ; Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork; Strand, Bjørn Heine; Voshaar, Richard C. Oude; Selbæk, Geir (2025). Cognitive function, physical function, and mental health in older adults amid reduced primary and specialist healthcare service use during COVID-19: the HUNT study. GeroScience.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-025-01909-x

Adams, Mikaëla M.; Dimka, Jessica; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik ; Sattenspiel, Lisa (2025). “I Would Advise That It Be Kept from the Schools at All Cost”: The Influenza of 1918–1920 at Nonreservation Indian Boarding Schools. Ethnohistory. Vol. 72.
https://doi.org/10.1215/00141801-11463317

Dunbar, Maria Bekker-Nielsen; Mamelund, Svenn-Erik ; Chowell, Gerardo (2025). Inclusion of Deprivation in Endemic-Epidemic Models. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research. Vol. 23.
https://doi.org/10.1553/p-4b4e-mkcd

See all publications

These publications are obtained from Norwegian Research Information Repository. The list may be incomplete.