The aim of the Division of Social Medicine and Global Health is to be a leading center of excellence within the field of national and international public health and to promote high quality research, education, and applied knowledge. The primary areas of research are sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal and child health, youth health, social capital, health policy, marginalized populations, mental health, violence, substance abuse, risk factors for chronic disease, and environmental stress. 

The Division collaborates with a number of national and international research teams, institutions, and organizations, including NGOs in low- and middle income countries. The Division also conducts external education programmes on commission, such as the International Training Program in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for service providers in Africa and Asia (Sida) and the National Training Program on Youth-Friendly Health Services in India (Sida).

The majority of the researchers in the Division are also engaged as teachers and supervisors in undergraduate and post-graduate education at the Faculty of Medicine in Lund University, including the Master's Programme in Public Health. A key focus is to utilize accumulated knowledge to provide expertise for interventions, both nationally and internationally, in order to improve health and health systems. Research and interventions in low- and middle-income countries has primarily focused on Africa and South-east Asia. The Division also maintains a number of large data bases that represent a unique and valuable resource within the field of social epidemiology.