Kari Ingstad

Kari Ingstad is a Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, and currently serves as Vice-Dean for Research. Her work bridges academia, clinical practice, and policy, focusing on healthcare organization, leadership, and innovation in Norway's health sector. She holds a PhD in Sociology from NTNU (2011) and has extensive clinical experience in municipal and specialist healthcare.

Education:

• PhD in Sociology, NTNU, 2011
• Nursing background from municipal and specialist healthcare sectors

Research Interests:

• Workforce planning and staffing strategies in healthcare
• Impact of shift scheduling on employee well-being and patient safety
• Integration of artificial intelligence in healthcare operations
• Cross-sectoral collaboration and innovation in health services

Recent Research Trends: Her 2024 publications emphasize strategic staffing solutions, AI-driven shift planning, and long-shift work-life balance. Key projects include the OptiCare-AI initiative (Norwegian Research Council-funded), exploring AI applications for optimizing healthcare resource allocation.

Leadership & Grants:

• Leads the Acute Care, Innovation and Patient Safety (AKIP) research group
• Principal Investigator on OptiCare-AI (2023–present)

Labs/Teams: Active collaborations with the AKIP group and national/international networks on healthcare workforce issues.