Contact information

Helle Terkildsen Maindal
Department of Public Health – Unit for Applied Public Health
Aarhus University
Bartholins Allé 2, building 1260, office 2.33
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark

E-mail: htm@ph.au.dk
Mobile: +45 2546 2320

PubMed: See Maindal HT or Terkildsen Maindal
ORCID: 0000-0003-0525-7254
For further details visit my PURE profile at https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/htm%40ph.au.dk. 

Education
2009: PhD in Medicine, Aarhus Faculty of Health, Aarhus University
2002: Master of Public Health, Aarhus University
1993: Nurse Diploma, Pedagogic and didactic
1987: Registered Nurse, Aarhus University Hospital

Current academic positions
Professor in Health promotion, the Department of Public Health, Aarhus University (AU), DK. 
Principal investigator/senior researcher, the Face-it study, Steno Diabetes Centre Copenhagen, Health Promotion Unit/AU.
Honorary Professor, Institute of Health Transition, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.

Short bio
I established and headed the Section of Health Promotion and Health Services at the Department of Public Health, Aarhus University from 2011. We applied intervention research methodology, qualitative and epidemiological methods. Later, from 2016, I headed the Diabetes Prevention group at Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen. Today, I am section head of Applied Public Health at AU.
My research is aimed at developing and evaluating health promotion and prevention interventions primarily in diabetes, CVD risk and other non-communicable diseases with a life course perspective. My main research interest is to build capacity for health promotion in critical life transitions among the youth and e.g. before, during and after pregnancy. One major ongoing international project is the Horizon-2020 IDB2B research programme (co-PI), and one ongoing Danish project is the Face-It research programme (PI). I chair the Danish Association of Public Health.

Recent research management (selected)
2022-: Child Coop (community systems approach) (PI-AU work package). 
2020-: Impact Diabetes - Bump2Baby and Me
2017-: The Face-It programme, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen and AU, DK (PI)

Academic awards, supervision and teaching (selected)
- Faculty TIER award (Thinker/Expert in Residence) for 2024, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
- The JCD (Jens Christian Djurhuus) Prize for PhD supervisor of the year, 2021, Health, AU.
- Currently, supervisor of 10 PhD students (15 have qualified). Another two are in the preparing phase.
- Supervisor of more than 40 MSc students (primarily Public Health Science) between 2009 and 2023.

Publications (>150), five selected

Maindal HT,Timm A, Dahl-Petersen IK, Davidsen E, Hillersdal L, Jensen NH, Thøgersen M,Jensen DM, Ovesen P, Damm P, Kampmann U, Vinter CA, Mathiesen ER, Nielsen KK. Systematicallydeveloping a family-based health promotion intervention for women with priorgestational diabetes based on evidence, theory and co-production: the Face-itstudy. BMC Public Health. 2021 Sep 3;21(1):1616. doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11655-2.

Meldgaard M, Jensen AL, Johansen AD, Maimburg RD, Maindal HT. Healthliteracy and related behaviour among pregnant women with obesity: a qualitativeinterpretive description study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2022 Sep 19;22(1):712.doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-05023-0.

Muscat DM, Gessler D, Ayre J, Norgaard O, Heuck IR, Haar S, MaindalHT. Seeking a deeper understanding of ‘distributed health literacy’: Asystematic review. Health Expect 2022 June;25(3):856-868. Doi:10.1111/hex.13450.

Pedersen SE, Aaby A, Friis K, Maindal HT. Multimorbidity andhealth literacy: A population-based survey among 28,627 Danish adults. Scand JPublic Health. 2021 Oct 12:14034948211045921. doi: 10.1177/14034948211045921

Maindal HT, Aagaard-Hansen J. Health literacy meets thelife-course perspective towards a conceptual framework. Glob Health Action, 31December 2020;13(1):1775063. Doi: 10.1080/16549716.2020.1775063