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Background: Health sciences education prepares students for social‐ and healthcare by developing evidence‐based nursing, leadership and working life skills, including collaboration. Due to the changes caused by the global pandemic, health sciences education has shifted more to online and hybrid contexts, which can challenge students' competence development. Students' competence development and interaction in collaborative hybrid learning is a little researched area. Objectives: To observe and evaluate health sciences students' competence development in a collaborative hybrid learning context. Methods: This quasi‐experimental mixed‐method study was implemented by providing educational intervention. First‐year Bachelor's degree health sciences students (n = 18) of a Finnish university completed an educational intervention with synchronous online and face‐to‐face learning. Students' collaborative hybrid learning and interaction were video observed, while self‐evaluation of competence development was made with a questionnaire. Results: In the collaborative interactions, the students showed analytical thinking, problem‐ solving and communication and technology skills. Extensive knowledge of health sciences and ethics skills was not strongly visible in interaction. The students effectively used collaborative work time to perform tasks. Cognitive interaction (monitoring and evaluating learning) was observed in 85% and socio‐emotional interaction (expressions of emotions and motivation) in 53% of the data. Related to the students' learning results, the students' ability to communicate and interact with culturally different people improved after the educational intervention. Conclusion: Collaborative learning methods in hybrid learning can create opportunities for students to construct their competence in interaction. Attention should be paid to different areas of competence and the role of socio‐emotional interaction. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Health sciences education prepares students for social and healthcare by developing working life skills, including collaboration.Hybrid learning brings benefits but challenges the equity of students with different attention modes.Collaborative learning is widely used but has not been studied much in hybrid context.Students' competence development and interaction in collaborative hybrid learning is a little researched area. What this paper adds: The purpose was to observe and evaluate health sciences students' competence development in a collaborative hybrid learning context.Hybrid collaborative interaction encourages students to construct knowledge in health sciences.The students utilised the collaborative time appropriately.Socioemotional interactions were very visible in collaborative learning. Implications for practice: This study helps educational organisations to design hybrid model education.The design requires pedagogical and technical competence and should include collaborative methods.Attention should be paid to different areas of competence in collaborative learning.The role of socio‐emotional interaction needs more focus in hybrid learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used a randomized controlled trial to investigate if a mobile game, GraphoLearn (GL), could effectively support the learning of first graders (N = 70), who have severe difficulties in reading and spelling. We studied the effects of two versions of the game: GL Reading, which focused on training letter‐sound correspondence and word reading; and GL Spelling, which included additional training in phonological skills and spelling. During the spring of first grade, the children trained with tablet computers which they could carry with them during the six‐week intervention. The average exposure time to training was 5 hr 44 min. The results revealed no differences in the development of reading or spelling skills between GL players and the control group. However, pre‐training self‐efficacy moderated the effect among GL Reading players: children with high self‐efficacy developed more than the control group in word reading fluency, whereas children with low self‐efficacy developed less than the control group in spelling. Lay Description: What is already known: Serious games can support children's reading achievement, but less is known about their effects in mobile learning.GraphoLearn (GL) is a serious game designed to support reading acquisition, but previous studies suggest its effect on word‐level reading is limited.Explicit training of phonological skills and spelling could facilitate transfer to word reading.Self‐efficacy predicts persistence and effort in achievement situations but its role in mobile game‐based learning is not well known. What this paper adds: A randomized controlled trial was used to study if mobile game‐based learning supports children with reading difficulties.A new GL version, training phonological and spelling skills, had no effect on the development of reading and spelling skills.Children with high self‐efficacy benefited from training with the standard GL. Implications for practitioners: When using mobile games as support tools, close attention should be paid to learner characteristics and game design.Children with high self‐efficacy may be better able to regulate their behaviour during independent training with mobile games, leading to better learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Consistent practice, an agreed clinical practice based on evidence, has been considered as a base for effective provision of quality and safety of care. As a result, patients have an equal quality of care regardless of the organisation or worker. However, despite the international guidelines, pressure ulcer prevention practices vary in long‐term older people care. Aim: To develop, implement and evaluate the impact of renewed, consistent practice for pressure ulcer prevention, in long‐term older people care. Design: A quasi‐experimental intervention study. Methods: Two long‐term older people care facilities chosen with convenience sampling were randomly allocated to intervention or comparison group. Registered and practical nurses, in total 141/112, participated in the study. The renewed consistent practice based on international guidelines for pressure ulcer prevention was developed and implemented using the Operational Model for Evidence‐Based Practices (OMEBP). Frequencies and agreement of PU prevention practices in line with international guidelines in the care facilities were measured using the PUPreP instrument. Results: In the intervention facility, improvement in line with international guidelines was seen in the frequency of PU prevention practices in risk assessment, nutrition, pressure‐relieving devices and documentation. Furthermore, improvement was seen in the intervention facility in all six areas of agreement on practices. Conclusions: The results of this study support the implementation of PU prevention guidelines in long‐term older people care (LOPC) and more widely in healthcare settings for older people to promote consistent practice, and safety and equal quality of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As pregnancy may trigger overweight in women, new means for its prevention are being sought. The aim here was to investigate the effect of individual dietary counselling during and after pregnancy on post‐partum weight and waist circumference up to 4 years post‐partum. A cohort of women (n = 256) were randomized to receive repeated individual dietary counselling by a nutritionist during and after pregnancy, or as controls not receiving dietary counselling, from the first trimester of pregnancy until 6 months after delivery. Counselling aimed to bring dietary intake into line with recommendations, with particular focus on the increase in the intake of unsaturated fatty acids instead of saturated. Pre‐pregnancy weight was taken from welfare clinic records. Weight and waist circumference were measured at 4 years after delivery. The proportion of overweight women increased from 26% prior to pregnancy to 30% at 4 years after delivery among women receiving dietary counselling, as against considerably more, from 32% to 57%, among controls. The prevalence of central adiposity was 31% in women receiving dietary counselling, 64% in controls. Likewise, both the risk of overweight (odds ratio: 0.23, 0.08–0.63, P = 0.005) and central adiposity (odds ratio: 0.18, 0.06–0.52, P = 0.002) were lower in women receiving dietary counselling compared with controls. Repeated dietary counselling initiated in early pregnancy can be beneficial in long‐term weight control after delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing number of women with breast cancer and their unmet knowledge expectations of radiotherapy pose a challenge to develop effective electronic patient education. Development efforts should be focused on e-feedback on knowledge because of its positive effects. In this study, we evaluated how an e-feedback knowledge intervention (e-Re-Know) before first radiotherapy improves breast cancer patients' knowledge of radiotherapy and identified the associations with patients' characteristics. Women with breast cancer ( n = 128) were randomized prior to the radiotherapy period either to the intervention group or control group. The outcome measured three months after the radiotherapy period was knowledge level of radiotherapy. The increase in knowledge level was higher in the intervention group after adjustment for baseline knowledge level, and a significantly higher increase in knowledge level was seen in one subdomain, side-effect self-care, compared to the control group. The results of this study indicate that the e-Re-Know can be used in patient education to support empowerment. Future research should target new applications of e-Re-Know available on the Internet for those interested in the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Patient preference for the choice of treatment modality for prostate cancer has increasingly gained attention. Objective To assess the impact of client-oriented decision on long-term mortality, disease progression and biochemical failure compared with standard treatment protocol ( TP). Methods With data from a Finnish multicentre, randomized controlled trial with two arms [104 in the enhanced patient participation ( EPP) arm and 106 in the TP arm], disease-specific and disease-free survival, biochemical failure with elevated prostate-specific antigen ( PSA) level and disease progression were compared between the two arms using Wilcoxon test and also Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results Patients in the EPP arm had a higher risk of death by 37% [ HR, 1.37 (0.87-2.17)] compared with those in the TP arm. Patients in the EPP arm were at increased risk of having biochemical failure by 14% [ HR, 1.14 (0.72-1.79)] and for having disease progression by 2% [ HR, 1.02 (0.61-1.70)] compared with those in the TP arm. All the differences were non-significant. Conclusions Patients actively involved in the choice of treatment had higher risk of prostate cancer death but only slightly increased risk of biochemical failure and clinical disease progression. These findings would provide a good reference when patient autonomy for the choice of treatment modality is addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To assess the efficacy of methylphenidate as a substitution therapy for amphetamine/methamphetamine dependence in Finland and New Zealand. Design Parallel-group, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. Setting Out-patient care. Participants Amphetamine-/methamphetamine-dependent, aged 16-65 years. Measurements The primary outcome measure was presence/absence of amphetamine/methamphetamine in urine samples collected twice weekly. Secondary measures included treatment adherence, alterations in craving scores and self-reported use. Primary analysis was by intention-to-treat ( ITT). The study drug, methylphenidate (as Concerta®), was up-titrated over 2 weeks to a maximum dose of 54 mg daily and continued for a further 20 weeks. Doses were given under daily supervision at the clinics. Findings Seventy-nine participants were randomized (40 methylphenidate; 39 placebo); 76 received allocated treatment and 27 completed the trial. ITT analysis ( n = 78) showed no statistically significant difference in the percentage of positive urines between the methylphenidate and placebo arms (odds ratio: 0.95, 95% confidence interval: 0.83-1.08). However, there was a significant difference ( P < 0.05) between the active and placebo arms in retention, the placebo arm displaying a significantly lower retention from 6 weeks that persisted until the end of the trial. Conclusions The trial failed to replicate earlier findings suggesting that methylphenidate was superior to placebo. The low retention rate confounded the ability to draw firm conclusions about efficacy. The higher retention rate was observed in the methylphenidate arm. Any replication of this work would need to consider alternatives to the rigid clinic attendance criteria, and consider an increased dose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabet. Med. 29, e126-e132 (2012) Abstract Aims To assess the effect of lifestyle intervention on depressive symptoms during a 36-month randomized clinical trial designed to prevent Type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 522 middle-aged participants, who were overweight or obese and had impaired glucose tolerance, were randomized to the lifestyle intervention or control group in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study. The intervention group received individualized counselling aimed at reducing weight and increasing physical activity. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory among a subgroup of 140 participants. Results On study entry, the mean Beck Depression Inventory scores ± sd were 6.8 ± 5.6 in the intervention group and 6.7 ± 5.5 in the control group. Beck Depression Inventory scores reduced during the intervention study: the mean ± sd (95% CI) reduction was 0.90 ± 4.54 (−1.99 to −0.19) scores in the intervention group and 0.75 ± 4.47 (−1.80 to 0.31) in the control group, with no difference between the groups. In a stepwise linear multivariate regression analysis, the variables with the strongest associations with the change in Beck Depression Inventory scores were baseline Beck Depression Inventory scores, marital status, weight change and change of total energy intake ( R2 = 0.209, P < 0.001). Conclusions Participation in the study lowered depression scores, with no specific group effect. Among the lifestyle changes, particularly successful reduction of body weight was associated with the greater reduction of depressive symptoms. Thus, regardless of the intensity of the treatment, the success in executing alterations in one's lifestyle and behaviour is associated with beneficial changes in mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]