Vanja Falck

About

I'm concerned about...

Social inequality in health and how we can prepare actors who work with or will perform with this issue. My focus is on public health in Norwegian municipalities as geographical communities and especially the role of municipalities in implementing measures that close the health gap.

I like to experiment with digital media, from images, sound, and graphics to video and games and actively use storytelling and play as a framework for education.

What I do at NTNU...

Responsible for integrating social sciences into the Bachelor of Nursing.

Supervises bachelor students from different health sciences.

Course coordinator for "Human, Health and Society I" (SPL1092) and academic writing for bachelor students in nursing since 2012.

Coordinator and constituent architect in developing a case/game-based application, "FRIVILLIG", for the training of health personnel in Chapter 4A of the Patients' and Users' Rights Act on the use of coercion.

Develops simulation games related to municipal public health work and inequality in health using artificial individual population data adapted to specific municipalities' demographics.

Former jobs...

Norwegian Directorate of Health, University of Oslo, Foundation for Health Services Research, Nordic School of Public Health, Vestfold University College, University Hospital of Tromsø, Diakonhjemmet, Ullevål University Hospital, SIFO, Asker municipality.

Education...

Clinical nutrition from the University of Gothenburg

Master in Sociology from the University of Oslo

Master in documentary film from Volda University College

Diploma in Public Health Science from Nordic School of Health

Bachelor in game programming from NTNU

Master in applied computer science with specialisation in AI from NTNU

Other...

I have worked for over eight years in the evenings as an environmental worker and leader in youth clubs in Asker and Røyken municipalities. Working with everything from creative tasks to flirting courses and international exchanges has influenced a great deal of my later work.

Research

I am experimenting with creating synthetic populations using deep generative methods. Individual socioeconomic health data are sensitive and impossible for municipalities to use in public health work. Synthetic populations created from original personal data can be anonymised so that data close to reality can be used in planning work. In addition, the synthetic data are used as a component in policy games for education in public health to reduce inequality in health in Norwegian municipalities.

Publications

2026

Falck, Vanja. (2026) Policy Games: Designing Interventions on Structural Determinants – Health Equity. Simulation & Gaming: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Theory, Practice and Research (S&G)
Academic article

2025

Kharchenko, Yuliya; Miskuf, Robert; Antosz, Patrycja; Shults, F. LeRon; Rousseau, Markus Grendstad; Falck, Vanja. (2025) From Product to Market Co-Creation: methodological guidelines. INNOAQUA Project
Research report

Journal publications

Falck, Vanja. (2026) Policy Games: Designing Interventions on Structural Determinants – Health Equity. Simulation & Gaming: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Theory, Practice and Research (S&G)
Academic article