Choisir une formation dans le domaine de la santé, c’est se destiner à exercer une profession pleine d’avenir.
La Ra&D au sein de la HEdS-Genève est assurée par les chercheur·euse·s , avec le soutien de l'Institut de Recherche.
La HEdS-Genève c'est aussi un réseau de contacts privilégiés avec des institutions à travers le monde.
Plus grande école de santé de Suisse romande, la HEdS-Genève est la seule à réunir cinq des sept filières du domaine Santé.
The Research Institute of HEdS-Geneva (IR-HEdS) provides methodological and strategic support to the school’s researchers in fulfilling their mission in Applied Research and Development (AR&D). Download the IR-HEdS presentation leaflet (in French or English).
The main mission of the IR-HEdS is to support high-quality Applied Research and Development (AR&D), through interdisciplinary collaborations – at regional, national and international levels – as well as intra-programme centres of excellence that feed into both undergraduate and continuing education.
Professor Clara James is the Head of IR-HEdS.
The AR&D Council is the decision-making body of the IR-HEdS.
The research community includes around forty faculty members engaged in AR&D projects.
The AR&D projects carried out by IR-HEdS researchers are structured around a matrix composed of five thematic axes and three methodological approaches.
The thematic axes represent the 'What': what is the research about?
Within the context of an ever-older population, the “healthy aging” research axis aims to promote aging in a healthy manner, prevent risks of fragility, and propose adaptations to combat decline in physical, cognitive and social capacities. These objectives constitute priority dimensions for maintaining independence and well-being.
The family constitutes the primary place for prevention and promotion of health through lifestyle and habits. Already inutero, the health of mothers influences that of future adults. Research in this field aims to understand the mechanisms that enable a smooth development for the child and the family, from pregnancy to the perinatal period and beyond.
Food can be the source of either pleasure, intoxication or chronic illness. Nutrition is a major determinant of health, growth and longevity. The “Food, nutrition and health” research axis aims to understand and balance individual practices with public health incentives, to prevent chronic illnesses and respond to nutritional and hedonistic needs of the organism.
Rehabilitation concerns numerous healthcare professions. It aims the reintegration and recovery of a person affected at a functional, physical, sensorial, intellectual, psychological, or social level. A complementary objective is the return to professional activity or to sports previously practiced, as well as the development of new activities or educational pursuits. Scientific advancements and the development of new technologies continually expand the possibilities for rehabilitation, enabling a greater number of people to recover adequate autonomy and better quality of life.
The field of health is in constant evolution. Within this context, it is important to find the right adjustment between the realities of the field and training of professionals. This acknowledgement implies not only integrating the latest scientific knowledge into professional practices, but also integrating the experience and knowledge gained in the field into educational programs. Scientific analysis of professionals’ practices and attitudes can reduce the gap between theory and practice. This process also offers a framework to evaluate the professions in terms of shortages, commitment and abandonment issues.
The methodological approaches represent the 'How': by which means is the theme investigated ?
Health technology involves all types of innovations (tools/equipment, procedures, medications, vaccines, systems, etc.) that evaluate and/or solve health problems and improve quality of life. This approach also includes digital medicine – which encompasses IT, e-health, nanotechnology, neurosciences and life sciences.
Clinical research involves an individual, a group of people, or human material (behaviour, tissue samples, etc.). It includes research oriented on patient including clinical trials, epidemiological, and behavioural studies as well as results of healthcare services studies (cf. the National Institutes of Health definition).
Knowledge transfer in health involves the comprehensive grouping of knowledge and its dissemination among various actors in the healthcare arena, notably professionals and patients. This approach aims to integrate knowledge stemming from research into healthcare practices, promote exchange among researchers and improve training.
AR&D projects are listed on this webpage.
Projects by degree programme:
The IR-HEdS brings together around forty health researchers from the Nutrition and Dietetics, Physiotherapy, Midwifery, Nursing, and Medical Radiology Technology degree programmes, as well as from interprofessional training programmes.
In addition to their AR&D work, they provide expert-based services and teach at the School of Health Sciences – Geneva, at both Bachelor and continuing education levels, as well as in other universities of applied sciences and academic institutions.
Researchers at HEdS-Geneva collaborate with a wide range of partners to enhance professional practices and expand scientific knowledge.
AR&D projects are conducted in close collaboration and partnership with public and private healthcare institutions, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, other universities of applied sciences or academic institutions in Switzerland and across Europe, as well as with industry partners.
Currently, HEdS-Geneva works with around fifty partners, including:
Research at the School of Health Sciences is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Innosuisse, private funding bodies, the HES-SO, and by the partner institutions themselves.
IR-HEdS researchers offer their expertise in Applied Research and Development in the field of Health – get in touch with us!
HEdS-Geneva also responds to requests for continuing education programmes.
The Geneva School of Health Sciences supports the Open Access movement as well as the Swiss National Open Access Strategy.
For many years, scientific journal publishers have provided access to their publications through very costly subscriptions, often to the detriment of research and access to information.
Open Access is an initiative that aims to break the monopoly held by these publishers.
Open Access allows everyone to freely and openly access and use research findings, thereby contributing to the democratisation of knowledge.
The principles of Open Access are outlined in the Budapest Open Access Initiative.
The benefits of Open Access are numerous, benefiting both authors and readers alike.
Swissuniversities. (2024). Open Access. https://www.swissuniversities.ch/fr/themes/open-science/open-access
There are several types (also known as routes) of Open Access.
These directories, although extensive, are not necessarily exhaustive.
Some Open Access titles may not be listed.
Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ)
List journal information for the Gold Road and APC prices.
Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)
List of publishers belonging to this association
Various browser extensions are available to help locate Open Access articles (final or post-print versions):
Unpaywall: identifies freely accessible articles by harvesting content from publisher websites and institutional repositories.
Open Access Button: locates Open Access versions of articles and enables contact with authors to request full texts if needed.
CORE Discovery: if an article is unavailable, this extension suggests alternative titles on similar topic
A predatory publisher is an entity that masquerades as a legitimate academic publisher, offering various journals solely to collect publication fees, without adhering to scholarly quality standards, such as peer review. There are various directories that list journals from such deceptive publishers.
There are various directories that list journals from such deceptive publishers.
These directories are not necessarily comprehensive: it is important to verify information through cross-referencing and using multiple sources.
Online tools to assist in the evaluation of journals:
Think, Check, Submit: a checklist of questions (available in English and French) to evaluate Open Access journals.
Compass to Publish: developed by the University of Liège to help determine whether a journal is legitimate or predatory. This tool does not provide APC amounts or assess content quality. It applies only to Open Access journals requiring APCs.
For further information, the University of Geneva’s webpages on predatory publishers provide useful insights.
Creative Commons (CC) licences specify how works, including scientific publications, may be shared, distributed, and reused.
“They offer everyone a simple, standardised way to grant additional copyright permissions to their works.” (Source)
There are six types of Creative Commons licences, formed by combining four elements:
Authors of articles published in Open Access must assign a Creative Commons licence to their publication. This licence should be as open as possible (CC-BY is recommended).
The Research Institute and Library of the Geneva School of Health Sciences invite you to explore their exhibition on Open Science (inspired by the version developed by HEIG-VD Library).
Simply click on the posters of your choice.
The databases available at HEdS-Geneva allow users to search for Open Access content, including scientific articles.
Via the swisscovery platform, it is also possible to filter search results to display only Open Access content.
The Library is available to provide any further information you may require.
ArODES is the institutional repository of the HES-SO, designed to promote and disseminate the research publications of the HES-SO academic community.
It supports the deposit of publications via Gold, Green or Hybrid Open Access models.
This archive is publicly accessible without restriction and includes various versions of publications (final versions or postprints).
The Research Institute (IR-HEdS) is available to answer any questions concerning Open Access at the Geneva School of Health Sciences.
ArODES is the institutional repository of the HES-SO. Its purpose is to promote research by supporting the dissemination of publications authored by researchers affiliated with the HES-SO. ArODES aligns with the Swiss National Open Access Strategy, which aims “to make publicly funded scientific publications freely accessible.”
At the Geneva School of Health Sciences (HEdS-Geneva), this mission is carried out by the Research Institute (IR-HEdS) and the Library.
View all publications from the Geneva School of Health Sciences
ArODES enables the deposit and long-term archiving of the following types of documents:
Access types are defined according to the copyright status of each publication. The vast majority of documents archived in ArODES are available in Open Access.
For further information, please contact: arodes.heds@hesge.ch
Open Access/ArODES
Open Science
The “Midis Ra&D” events are a key component of research life at HEdS-Geneva, organised by the Research Institute (IR-HEdS).
Held during the academic year, these lunchtime conferences provide a platform for a variety of speakers (researchers, lecturers, or experts from the School or other institutions in Geneva) to present on diverse health-related topics.
Twice a year, the Research Institute of the Geneva School of Health Sciences (IR-HEdS) publishes a newsletter featuring the latest updates from its research community. To subscribe to the mailing list, please contact rad.heds@hesge.ch
HEdS-Genève
Institut de recherche
Avenue de Champel 47
1206 Genève
Tél: 022 558 56 10
Contact: rad.heds@hesge.ch
The IR-HEdS regularly publishes an internal newsletter to keep you informed about new developments and ongoing projects.
