Developing and evaluating the feasibility of the Mobile Intervention for Breastfeeding counseling in maternity care

Despite the strong evidence of breastfeeding benefits for mothers’ and newborns’ nutrition and health, breastfeeding is not practiced according to current recommendations. Digital solutions such as the mobile applications have produced promising results to promote successful breastfeeding in maternity care. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a Mobile Intervention for Breastfeeding counseling (MIBFc) by collecting information on the usability, utility, and recommendations of the solution from mothers. The MIBFc was based on World Health Organization recommendations for breastfeeding. This study was a cross-sectional descriptive design that used an electronic survey to collect data from sample of 39 Finnish mothers in 2018 (n=13, Group 1) and 2019–2020 (n=26, Group 2). The data were analysed using descriptive statistical analysis, while qualitative responses were grouped into themes based on their similarities of the content. The results showed that most of the mothers (over 92%) felt that the mobile intervention was easy to use and 88% of the mothers felt that the mobile intervention’s content was adequate. Mothers’ experiences with the utility of the mobile intervention were relevant, that is, they felt that the mobile intervention supported their oral guidance (89%) and helped to breastfeed for up successfully exclusively to six months (n=7, 41%). Most of the mothers used the mobile intervention primarily during pregnancy. The mothers were satisfied with the intervention’s layout, and they recommended it to other mothers in same situation, although there were some technical problems with links. This study indicated that the feasibility of the MIBFc, including usability and utility was good, based on the mothers’ overall evaluation. Using the mobile intervention can increase mothers’ knowledge of breastfeeding and support for lactation. The study highlights a need for future evaluations of the effectiveness of MIBFc in large populations

The Collaboration Management and Employee Views of Work and Skills in Services for Children and Families in Finnish Municipalities: The Collaboration Management and Employee Views of Work and Skills

The study explored how collaboration management is connected with employee views of work and skills in the health care, social welfare, and education sectors that provide services for children and families in municipalities. Collaboration management in children and family services involves increasing awareness of services, organizing agreed collaboration practices, overcoming barriers to collaboration, managing difficult relationships with coworkers, and contributing purposively to the functionality of collaboration. Data were gathered using a postal survey. The sample consisted of 457 employees working in the health care, social welfare, and educational settings in Finnish municipalities. Overall, the results suggested that collaboration management is related to employees’ positive views of work and versatile skills. Good awareness of services, well agreed-upon collaboration practices, and wellfunctioning collaboration were associated with employees’ influence over their own work, social support being received from managers, a perception of leadership justice, employee collaboration skills, and employee retention. On the other hand, barriers to collaboration seemed to reduce employees’ influence over their own work, social support, perceptions of leadership justice, collaboration skills, and employee retention. The findings indicate the need for effective collaboration management in multidisciplinary environments between the health care, social welfare, and education sectors that provide services for children and families to achieve employees’ positive views of work and versatile skills

The Collaboration Management and Employee Views of Work and Skills in Services for Children and Families in Finnish Municipalities: The Collaboration Management and Employee Views of Work and Skills

The study explored how collaboration management is connected with employee views of work and skills in the health care, social welfare, and education sectors that provide services for children and families in municipalities. Collaboration management in children and family services involves increasing awareness of services, organizing agreed collaboration practices, overcoming barriers to collaboration, managing difficult relationships with coworkers, and contributing purposively to the functionality of collaboration. Data were gathered using a postal survey. The sample consisted of 457 employees working in the health care, social welfare, and educational settings in Finnish municipalities. Overall, the results suggested that collaboration management is related to employees’ positive views of work and versatile skills. Good awareness of services, well agreed-upon collaboration practices, and wellfunctioning collaboration were associated with employees’ influence over their own work, social support being received from managers, a perception of leadership justice, employee collaboration skills, and employee retention. On the other hand, barriers to collaboration seemed to reduce employees’ influence over their own work, social support, perceptions of leadership justice, collaboration skills, and employee retention. The findings indicate the need for effective collaboration management in multidisciplinary environments between the health care, social welfare, and education sectors that provide services for children and families to achieve employees’ positive views of work and versatile skills

Scoping review of intergenerational learning methods for developing digital competence and their outcomes

Due to the rapid digitalization of healthcare, it is important to strengthen professionals’ digital competence, particularly to support older professionals to stay in work until retirement age. People of different ages have different digital competencies. Younger generations are ‘digital natives’ who have learned to use digital devices fluently from a young age, while older generations have had to learn to use them in adulthood. The increasing number of new technologies causes in some cases stress, especially for more older healthcare workers. Intergenerational learning methods for developing digital competence may offer a way to narrow digital competence gaps in healthcare. The aim of this scoping review was to identify current evidence regarding intergenerational learning methods for developing digital competence, and their outcomes. The results can be used to help develop methods for intergenerational digital competence development and improve healthcare professionals’ digital competence. A scoping review was conducted across four databases (Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, ProQuest) without time limits. The search produced 2905 references, of which 23 studies are included in the review. Thematic analysis was used to analyze these studies’ results. The results showed that a key method for intergenerational digital competence development is reverse mentoring, where a less experienced person serves as a mentor to a more experienced one. Intergenerational digital competence development methods can be done one-on-one or in groups, in classes or on digital platforms. The outcomes of these methods illustrated that they promote mutual learning, increase the digital competence of older adults and the work life skills of young mentors, and narrow the gap between generations. Using such methods, it is possible to make better use of each generation’s expertise. Intergenerational learning could suggest ways of narrowing the digital gap and enhancing intergenerational communication. Healthcare could benefit from implementing intergenerational learning methods for developing digital competence, increasing the digital competence of healthcare professionals, and narrowing the gap between generations

Viidesluokkalaisten oppilaiden vanhempien näkemyksiä hyvinvoinnista, palveluista ja kouluyhteisöstä

Suurin osa viidesluokkalaisten lasten vanhemmista voi hyvin. Myös perheiden arki sujuu pääosin hyvin, vaikka osalla perheistä ei ole riittävästi yhteistä aikaa. Kaikissa perheissä elämäntavat eivät ole kunnossa. Parannettavaa on erityisesti ruokailun säännöllisyydessä, liikkumisessa ja sosiaalisen median pelisäännöissä. Vanhemmilla on monenlaisia lapseen ja vanhemmuuteen liittyviä huolenaiheita. Osalla vanhemmista ja perheistä on useita samanaikaisia huolia, joihin ei aina pystytä vastaamaan tarpeen mukaisesti. Vanhempien vaikutusmahdollisuudet koulussa ovat rajallisia. Koulukiusaamista esiintyy viidesluokkalaisilla, mutta kaikki kiusaamistilanteet eivät tule vanhempien tietoon. Opiskeluhuoltoon tarvitaan keinoja, joilla vahvistetaan yhteisöllisyyttä, tuetaan vanhempia ja ehkäistään huolten kasaantumista. Raportin tietoa voivat hyödyntää lasten, nuorten ja perheiden palveluista vastaavat johtajat ja kehittäjät, rehtorit, päätöksentekijät ja luottamushenkilöt, opettajat, muut lasten ja perheiden kanssa työskentelevät, alan opiskelijat ja tutkijat sekä vanhemmat ja oppilaat

Leaders' support for using online symptom checkers in Finnish primary care : Survey study

Online symptom checkers (SCs) are eHealth solutions that offer healthcare organizations the possibility to empower their patients to independently assess their symptoms. The successful implementation of eHealth solutions, such as SCs, requires a supportive organizational culture and leadership. However, there is limited knowledge about the factors associated with leaders' support for the use of SCs. The aim of the study was to identify the factors associated to primary care leaders' support for SCs in triage and their experiences of the benefits and challenges related to the use of SCs. An online survey was used to collect data from 84 Finnish primary care leaders. The data were analyzed using statistical analysis methods and content analysis. Vision clarity, perceiving efficiency improvements, and considering the service to be beneficial for patients were associated with leaders' support for the service (beta ranging from 0.41 to 0.44, p < 0.001). Leaders' support for the service was also associated with how well the leaders provided information about the service to their subordinates (beta =0.22, p < 0.048). SCs present slightly more challenges than benefits regarding health professionals' work. The developers of SCs should focus more on features that decrease health professionals' workload as well as how the solution can benefit patients.Peer reviewe

Viidesluokkalaisten oppilaiden näkemyksiä hyvinvoinnista, kouluyhteisöstä ja palveluista

Suurin osa viidesluokkalaisista lapsista kokee voivansa hyvin. Kuitenkin osalla perheistä on vähän yhteistä aikaa ja toimintatapoja, kuten yhdessä syömistä ja ajan viettämistä sekä puhumista päivän tapahtumista. Kaikilla lapsilla elintavat eivät ole kunnossa. Parannettavaa on erityisesti ruokailun säännöllisyydessä, liikkumisessa ja sosiaalisen median pelisäännöissä. Suurin osa viidesluokkalaisista viihtyy koulussa, mutta poikien kohdalla viihtymisessä on haasteita. Oppilaiden reilu kohtelu ja luokan työrauha eivät aina toteudu hyvin. Lapsilla on mahdollisuuksia vaikuttaa kouluyhteisön toimintaan, mutta vain rajallisesti. Oppilaat eivät aina kerro koulukiusaamisesta, jota kuitenkin esiintyy. Lapsilla on monenlaisia omaan hyvinvointiin, sosiaalisiin suhteisiin ja perheeseen liittyviä huolenaiheita. Huolista ei aina kerrota kenellekään, eikä apua aina saada tarpeenmukaisesti. Opiskeluhuoltoon tarvitaan keinoja, joilla tunnistetaan huolenaiheita sekä vahvistetaan lapsen voimavaroja ja koulun yhteisöllisyyttä. Raportin tietoa voivat hyödyntää lasten, nuorten ja perheiden palveluista vastaavat johtajat ja kehittäjät, rehtorit, päätöksentekijät ja luottamushenkilöt, opettajat, muut lasten ja perheiden kanssa työskentelevät, alan opiskelijat ja tutkijat sekä oppilaat ja vanhemmat

Henkilöstön käsitykset potilasohjauksen toimintaedellytyksistä ja toteutuksesta perusterveydenhuollossa

Potilasohjauksen laatuun vaikuttavat ohjaajien tiedot, taidot ja asenteet sekä ohjausmenetelmien käyttö, toimintamahdollisuudet ja ohjauksen toteutus. Hoitoaikojen lyhentyessä erikoissairaanhoidossa suuri osa ohjauksesta jää perusterveydenhuollon vastuulle. Artikkeli on osa laajempaa perusterveydenhuollon ja erikoissairaanhoidon yhteistyönä toteutettavaa tutkimushanketta. Artikkelissa selvitetään henkilöstön käsityksiä potilasohjauksen toimintaedellytyksistä ja toteutuksesta yhden sairaanhoitopiirin perusterveydenhuollon yksiköissä. Aineisto (n = 377) kerättiin kyselylomakkeilla vuonna 2006. Henkilöstön käsitykset olivat myönteisiä asenteiden, henkilökunnan välisen yhteistyön, ohjauksen kehittämismahdollisuuksien ja ohjauksen toteutuksen suhteen. Kehitettävää on tutkittavien käsityksen mukaan ohjausmenetelmien hallinnassa, ohjauksen ajoittamisessa sekä jossakin määrin henkilöstön tiedoissa ja taidoissa. Tutkimustulosten mukaan tutkittavien käsitykset olivat kielteisiä ohjaukseen käytettävissä olevan ajan, tilojen ja välineistön suhteen sekä suhtautumisessa omaisiin. Ohjauksen toimintaedellytysten vahvistaminen on jatkossakin tärkeää