Search

Health science teacher candidates should acquire skills for professional development during their education as teachers, both to ensure their professional competence and improve the quality of learning. This study aimed to identify the competence levels and competence development needs of health science teacher candidates, and the factors associated with those needs. The research applied cross-sectional design and was conducted in winter 2018-2019 in Finland. The Health and Social Care Educator's Competence instrument and the Educators' Professional Development instrument were used to collect data. Teacher candidates evaluated their competence as good into all areas of competence. Candidates' level of need to develop pedagogical competence related to their level of competence in leadership and management, subject and curriculum, and digital collaborative learning. Candidates with a higher level of collaboration and societal competence needed less development to manage challenging situations in teaching. Candidates with more work experience as an educator needed less competence development in managing challenging situations and leadership support. Based on the results, micro level competence should be developed from the start of health science teaching studies, and the latter stages of their studies should develop their macro level competence.

Introduction: Gut microbiome–derived nanoparticles, known as bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs), have garnered interest as promising tools for studying the link between the gut microbiome and human health. The diverse composition of bEVs, including their proteins, mRNAs, metabolites, and lipids, makes them useful for investigating diseases such as cancer. However, conventional approaches for studying gut microbiome composition alone may not be accurate in deciphering host–gut microbiome communication. In clinical microbiome research, there is a gap in the knowledge on the role of bEVs in solid tumor patients. Objectives: Analyzing the functionality of bEVs using (meta)genomics and proteomics could highlight the unique aspects of host–gut microbiome interactions in solid tumor patients. Therefore, we performed a comparative analysis of the proteome and microbiota composition of gut microbiome-derived bEVs isolated from patients with solid tumors and healthy controls. Methods: After isolating bEVs from the feces of solid tumor patients and healthy controls, we performed spectrometry analysis of their proteomes and next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the 16S gene. We also investigated the gut microbiomes of feces from patients and controls using 16S sequencing and used machine learning to classify the samples into patients and controls based on their bEVs and fecal microbiomes. Results: Solid tumor patients showed decreased microbiota richness and diversity in both the bEVs and feces. However, the bEV proteomes were more diverse in patients than in the controls and were enriched with proteins associated with the metabolism of amino acids and carbohydrates, nucleotide binding, and oxidoreductase activity. Metadata classification of samples was more accurate using fecal bEVs (100%) compared with fecal samples (93%). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that bEVs are unique functional entities. There is a need to explore bEVs together with conventional gut microbiome analysis in functional cancer research to decipher the potential of bEVs as cancer diagnostic or therapeutic biomarkers.

An educator's competence influences the implementation of evidence-based education and the overall quality of social and health care. This study aimed to identify distinct competence profiles from Finnish social, health and rehabilitative care educators, as well as describe which personal and professional characteristics influenced belonging to a certain profile. Data were collected from 28 educational organizations located throughout Finland using the Health and Social Care Educators' Competence instrument. The survey was answered by 422 educators. The performed K-means cluster analysis identified three distinct educator competence profiles, which differed in terms of self-assessed expertise in various competence areas and certain background characteristics. The results highlight that educational institutions should concentrate on refining the digital competence of educators, which requires networking, collaboration, and work-related pedagogical competence. The differences in evaluation identified for the three profiles demonstrates that more experienced educators should mentor their less experienced counterparts to ensure a high quality of education.

Most adolescents are insufficiently physically active and technology use has become a crucial part of people's lives. School nurses have a key role in health promotion. The purpose of this study was to determine the associations between school nurses’ lifestyle counseling competence (specifically, their competence in counseling students on physical activity and technology use) and various potentially related factors (including the background of the nurses, the time spent on counseling during a working day, and the nurse’s education on physical activity and technology use). To our best knowledge, there is no up-to-date information about school nurses’ counseling concerning physical activity and technology use. A cross-sectional study design was used. Data were gathered by surveying nurses working in school or student healthcare (n = 116) in Finland during the autumn of 2017. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests, and logistic regression analysis. The survey included one open-ended question which was analyzed by performing inductive content analysis. Over half (58.6%) of respondents assessed that the competence in physical activity and technology use counseling is overall good. 85.3% of the respondents evaluated their physical activity counseling skills and 62.9% technology use counseling skills to be good. Only 33% of the nurses knew how to identify adolescents needing counseling concerning technology use. Education on physical activity and recreational technology use was more relevant than age in explaining nurses' counseling knowledge and skills. School nurses reported that there is a need to develop skills and tools for counseling adolescents about the recreational use of technology. The results highlighted three factors which limited the development of couseling; a lack of resources; a need for more education; and a lack of clear, consistent policies and tools for adolescents’ lifestyle counseling. There is also a need for more multi-professional cooperation and time for counseling. The results presented herein could be used in designing targeted interventions and education in school and student healthcare and with it to improve the lifestyle counseling offered by school nurses.

Aims and objectives: Psychosocial support is essential in group rehabilitation interventions aiming at supporting adaptation to chronic illness and disability. Aim was to synthesize qualitative evidence on how adults with chronic conditions experience psychosocial support in group rehabilitation interventions. Materials and Methods: Four databases (CINAHL, Medic, Pubmed, Scopus) were searched for qualitative studies published between 2009-2022. Study selection and critical appraisal were independently performed by two authors using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist. Study selection and critical appraisal were independently performed by two authors. Data were synthesized through inductive content analysis. Results: The findings from nine studies were synthesized into 105 sub-categories, 15 categories and to six main categories: 1) Management of life; 2) Reflective communication; 3) Group process; 4) Invaluable peer support; 5) Professional as a competent human trainer; and 6) Process of relief. Conclusion: Psychosocial support in group rehabilitation interventions can provide adequate social support and a basis for self-management. Both healthcare professionals and peers have invaluable roles in helping patients with chronic conditions adapt to their life situation. Interventions should facilitate knowledge sharing and help patients take responsibility for self-management. Furthermore, participants should be able to choose the topics of the program. Healthcare professionals have an important role in initiating conversations about topics which may be taboo. Professionals should recognize participants’ individualized needs for information and support, and foster group dynamics by supporting open communication and reflection.

Sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon palvelujen ja rakenteen uudistus pyrkii rajoittamaan kustannusten kasvua ja edistämään palveluihin pääsyä. Sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon palveluita kehitetään yhä asiakaslähtöisimmiksi, oikea-aikaisimmiksi, vaikuttavammiksi ja tehokkaammiksi digitalisaatiota hyödyntäen. Muutokset vaikuttavat etenkin terveydenhuollon työntekijöiden työtapoihin ja sisältöihin, sillä digitalisoituvat palvelut vaativat digitaalista osaamista. Aikaisemman tutkimustiedon mukaan työntekijän ikä ja valmistumisvuosi vaikuttavat hänen kykyynsä käyttää digitaalisia järjestelmiä, ja digitaaliseen osaamiseen liittyvät tietotaidot heikkenevät jo 45-ikävuodesta eteenpäin. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää sukupolvien välisiä eroja terveydenhuollon työntekijöiden digitaalisessa osaamisessa. Tutkimus toteutettiin poikkileikkaustutkimuksena. Tutkimuksen aineisto (n=817) kerättiin sähköisellä kyselylomakkeella terveydenhuollon ammattilaisilta yhdeksästä terveydenhuollon organisaatiosta kansallisesti. Kysely sisälsi taustakysymyksiä sekä kysymyksiä vastaajan itsearvioidusta digitaalisesta osaamisesta ja digitaaliseen osaamiseen vaikuttavista tekijöistä neliportaisella asteikolla. Aineisto analysoitiin tilastollisin menetelmin SPSS-ohjelmistolla. Tulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että Z- ja Y-sukupolvet kokevat vahvempaa digitaalista osaamista, kuin X-sukupolvi ja suuret ikäluokat. Suuret ikäluokat arvioivat digitaaliseen osaamisen vaikuttavien tekijöiden tuen nuorempia sukupolvia merkittävämmäksi. Terveydenhuollossa olisikin tulevaisuudessa tärkeää kohdentaa osaamisen kehittämisen menetelmiä sukupolvien väliset digiosaamisen erot huomioiden. Organisaatioiden ja työyhteisöjen tulisikin tehdä aktiivista ja systemaattista työtä eri sukupolvien digitaalisen osaamisen tarpeiden tunnistamiseksi, jotta digitaalisia palveluja ja ratkaisuja otetaan jatkossa käyttöön entistä ennakkoluulottomammin.

Multitasking with technology – the simultaneous use of two or more media devices – has increased in recent years. However, to date, little research has been done on the subject, and it is therefore important to gain more information on its effects. The aim of this preliminary study was to examine associations between technology multitasking, depression symptoms and cannabis use among Finnish university students; background factors which affect technology multitasking were also considered. The study was a cross-sectional study. Participants were Finnish university students (n = 260) and the data were gathered through a survey. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis. The results demonstrated that specific background variables are associated with technology multitasking, whereas there was no significant association between depression symptoms and cannabis use with technology multitasking. It transpired that female gender, age and daily mobile phone use related significantly to technology multitasking. The study identified certain background factors which affect technology multitasking; technology multitasking was more common among girls and younger participants. There were no significant associations between technology multitasking and depression symptoms or cannabis use, but the results should be interpreted with caution due to the small study population. Instead, higher daily internet use was significantly associated with increased depression symptoms. Technology multitasking is a very recent subject for research, so it is important to improve our knowledge and gain new insights. The results can be used to design various health promotion projects, and multiple actors such as municipalities or organizations can use the data to e.g., plan targeted interventions.

Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to investigate effectiveness of group counselling for the patients with hip arthroplasty, self‐assessed functional ability, and quality of counselling. Design A quasi‐experimental study. Method The questionnaire included the Counselling Quality Instrument (CQI), Harris hip score and Oldwellactive self‐rated wellness profile. A Mann–Whitney U‐ and chi‐squared and t‐tests were used. A Wilcoxon singed rank test were used to evaluate changes in functional ability. No Patient or Public Contribution Patients and the public were not involved in the design, recruitment and implementation of this study. Results Fifty patients participated. Patients reported better results for limping (p = 0.000), walking distance (p = 0.000) and use of a walking aid (p = 0.001) in the follow‐up time point and they pain decreased. Patients were satisfied with interactions during counselling; gender (p = 0.000) and use of a walking aid (p = 0.044) were found to significantly affect. A lack of goal‐oriented counselling was in depressive symptoms (p = 0.016), worries (p = 0.010) and loneliness (p = 0.026).

This study examines how attitudes towards filial responsibility (AFR) have changed in 11 European countries between 2001 and 2017, based on data from the International Social Survey Programme. These countries include various types of welfare states and family traditions. The study also analyses the change in AFR according to the respondents’ gender and age. The findings indicate that in 2017, individuals reported lower filial responsibility than in 2001, with the exception of Great Britain, where the AFR increased. The most substantial decreases in AFR were observed in Hungary, France, Denmark, and Finland. This negative shift is visible in both genders and all age groups, particularly late middle-aged women. However, despite the varying intensity of AFR change, it was challenging to identify clear patterns in the variations between countries. These results highlight potential negative effects on political proposals for long-term care for older adults supported by younger generations.

Abstract Aim To compare the long‐term counselling quality among the patients visited and not visited at cardiac nurse after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and related factors one to two years after PCI. Design An explorative, register‐based cross‐sectional study. Methodology methods A sample was drawn from the one university hospital's procedure register consisted of the patients undergone a PCI (n = 977). The data was collected by Counselling Quality Instrument (CQI) questionnaire by mail, and analysed by basic and multivariate methods. Findings results Of the respondents (n = 459), less than half the patients (48.4%) visited at cardiac nurse one to two years after PCI as instructed in the national current care guidelines. Patients, who visited the nurse (n = 194) had higher satisfaction for counselling than the ones not visited (n = 70). Nevertheless, patients, especially those who had no dyslipidemia, had Unstable Angina Pectoris or Non‐ST‐elevated myocardial infarction or were out of the workforce, were unsatisfied with counselling, and needed more social support, patient‐centred counselling and goal orientating implementation from the cardiac nurse. A half of the PCI patients (51.6%) did not visit the cardiac nurse at the primary health care. Patient or public contribution Cardiac nurses assisted the members of research group by assessing the questionnaire prior sending it to the patients and patients contributed by completing the questionnaires. We thank both parties for their contribution. Implication for profession and patient care This study demonstrated, that patients out of the workforce and having emergency PCI are in need for better quality counselling, concentrating on social support, patient‐centred counselling and goal orientating implementation from the cardiac nurse. Those patients, who did not visit the cardiac nurse, should be offered easier access to cardiac nurse for example, by novel digital solutions.

Objectives: The Puumala virus (PUUV) is a hantavirus that causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Studies showing an increased risk of lymphoid malignancies after hantavirus infection, together with the observation that PUUV infects B cells, motivated us to study the risk of lymphoid malignancies after PUUV infection. Methods: We linked data from the Finnish Cancer Registry and National Infectious Diseases Register for 2009-2019. We used a time-dependent Cox regression model to evaluate the hazard of the lymphoid malignancies grouped according to the HAEMACARE classification. Results: We identified 68 cases of lymphoid malignancies after PUUV infection among 16,075 PUUV-infected individuals during 61,114,826 person-years of observation. A total of 10 cases occurred within 3-

AbstractObjective To describe the experiences of multi-professional teams of implementation of group-based adaptation training intervention for patients with chronic somatic illnesses or disabilities in specialized healthcare.Materials and methods Multi-professional teams (n = 7) implementing adaptation training courses for chronically ill patients in specialised healthcare were interviewed between 09/2020 and 12/2021. The themes for thematic group interviews were based on the standard protocol implementation of adaptation training in specialised healthcare, including planning, implementation and evaluation of the adaptation training courses. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data were analysed using inductive content analysis.Results The experiences of multi-professional teams involved using pedagogical methods, providing guidance and counselling to support the rehabilitation process, ensuring opportunities for peer support, and supporting the course participants’ involvement and activities in everyday life.Conclusions Healthcare professionals should use pedagogical methods in reflective guidance and counselling to promote client-oriented approach in supporting adaptation. Their competence in pedagogy needs to be build and maintained by continuous education. Multi-professional teams need to ensure sufficient and versatile conditions for peer support and involvement of family members by creating open and trusting atmosphere, unhurried encounters, discussions, different and varying ways of working. Adaptation training can strengthen the self-efficacy of participants and help them shift their attention from illness and disability to thoughts of the future. Adaptation training can support active and meaningful daily life in a changed life situation.

Abstract Background Radium‐233 dichloride is an alpha emitter that specifically targets bone metastases in prostate cancer. Results of a previously reported phase III randomized trial showed survival benefit for radium‐223 compared to best supportive care in castration‐resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) with bone metastases. However, real‐world data are also needed with wider inclusion criteria. Methods We report results of a retrospective multicenter study including all patients with metastatic CRPC treated with radium‐223 in all five university hospitals in Finland since the introduction of the treatment. We identified 160 patients who had received radium‐223 in Finland in 2014–2019. Results The median overall survival (OS) was 13.8 months (range 0.5–57 months), and the median real‐world progression‐free survival (rwPFS) was 4.9 months (range 0.5–29.8 months). Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) values within the normal range before and during the radium‐223 treatment or the reduction of elevated ALP to normal range during treatment were associated with better OS when compared to elevated ALP values before and during treatment (p

Abstract Digital gaming is a popular pastime among young people, but its links to dietary habits have been little studied. The purpose of the study was to describe dietary habits and to examine their associations to problematic gaming behavior with regard to the degree of daily digital gaming time and the overall levels of disordered-like gaming behavior among students in vocational education in the Oulu region of Finland. This cross-sectional study consisted of a total of 773 first-year vocational school students who had played digital games regularly. Data was collected by using an online survey measuring sociodemographic information, dietary habits, amount of digital gaming time, and symptoms of problematic gaming behavior. Most prevalent weekly consumed food types were chicken (90.1%), chips (87.7%), and sausages/cold cuts (85.4%). Around one-fourth of students skipped breakfast on weekdays and at weekends. A higher amount of digital gaming time was associated with skipping breakfast on weekdays. More elevated levels of disordered gaming behavior were particularly associated with the use of a group of food types encompassing carbohydrate-dense and fast food. Current research provides indications that digital gaming may have an impact on youths’ dietary habits, while at the same time, however, emphasizing that the issue can be affected by several interrelated and complex factors.

Digital counselling may improve patients’ health outcomes, when eHealth solutions are accessible and tailored to the patients’ needs, which is especially important for people with chronic and long-term conditions such as knee osteoarthritis. This study aims to identify patients’ eHealth needs to improve the quality of digital counselling in a primary care management of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. A qualitative study was used to collect patients’ eHealth needs through semi-structured interviews in a single outpatient clinic in Finland between August 2020 and November 2020. The data was analyzed using both deductive and inductive content analysis approaches. The study was reported in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative research checklist to improve the transparency of the study. Analysis of the data revealed five main categories to be considered when implementing digital counselling in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: background factors (functional impairments, health literacy, digital literacy, cost-related access barriers), resources (digital methods and materials), sufficiency (knee osteoarthritis-related knowledge and skills), implementation (simplicity, trust, patient-centeredness), and benefits (self-care capabilities, confidence). According to our findings, both health and digital literacy seems to be important contributors to the adoption of digital counselling in a primary care management of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. New eHealth solutions should not replace the first visit in the outpatient clinic. Instead, the use of eHealth solutions should be based on the first visit, during which a trusting relationship between patients and healthcare providers is established. In future, the level of health and digital literacy in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis should be taken account.

Abstract We report a novel hyperspectral sensor employing a Fabry-Pérot interferometer based on micro-electro-mechnical system and a custom mid-infrared supercontinuum laser. The Fabry-Pérot interferometer allows on-axis filtering, of spectral components of supercontinuum light backscattered from a target, with a spectral resolution of about 25 nm. We demonstrated hyperspectral identification of black polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE500) using the 3–3.5 $$\mu$$ μ m region of the supercontinuum spectrum and a corresponding measurement rate of 62.5 spectra / s. The resulted spectra show excellent agreement with the reference based on an FTIR spectrometer. Furthermore, we showed that the coloring of the plastics has no effect on their identification at this wavelength range.

Abstract Background Discussion about the risks and benefits of offering secondary findings as part of genome‐wide diagnostics lacks real‐life data. We studied the opt‐in decisions of patients/families referred to whole exome study (WES) in Blueprint Genetics (BpG), a genetic testing company with customers in over 70 countries to receive secondary findings. Based on the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) recommendations for reporting secondary findings, BpG offered testing of specific actionable genes without additional charge for specimens submitted to WES diagnostics. Methods Individuals could opt‐in for a secondary findings analysis by using a separate electronic consent form. Data from BpG database of electronic consent forms was used for the analysis. Results During the selected study period there were 3263 WES referrals, from which 2012 were index patients. About half of the individuals (50.4%) opted in to receiving secondary findings. Of patients who opted in, a secondary finding was detected for 2.7%, similar to other studies. We detected huge differences relating to opt‐in between individuals from different countries; for instance, 90% of the 41 patients and their family members in Romania opted to receive secondary findings, while none of the 98 patients in Luxembourg chose that option. Conclusion Differences between sexes or between children and adults were small. This data offers one view to the interest of patients and family members to opt in to receiving secondary findings. Research is needed to understand the influence of factors like age, education etc. and possible participation in pre‐test counseling to receiving/not receiving secondary findings.