The Longitudinal Study Of Medical And Health Care Students’ Experiences And Attitudes Towards Interprofessional Learning In First Semester Course

Interprofessional course “Public health and interprofessional collaboration” was planned for the first semester medical and health care students by two universities of Oulu, Finland. The course architecture was built on blended methods including lectures, video based workshops, interactive e-learning phase based on family cases with everyday health and wellbeing problems of the family members. The course ended with student conference. All together 1681 students from ten different degree programs participated in the course during the years 2007-2013. In this paper we describe the students’ readiness and attitudes towards interprofessional learning (IPL) with RIPLS (Readiness towards interprofessional learning scale) in the beginning of the course and students’ feedback and learning experiences at the end of the course using the web based inquiry. The attitudes and readiness towards IPL were evaluated quite positive. The highest RIPLS scores were evaluated in Teamwork and collaboration. The different development of the attitudes between the groups was seen in Roles and responsibilities. In the longitudinal perspective the medical students evaluated all of the subscales lower than the health care students. The scoring stayed in the same level during the years. The difference between the groups was significant. The learning outcomes correlated linearly with students’ own activity. Those students, who took actively part in web and group discussions learned most. Family cases helped them to get the big picture of the service system. Based on students feedback participative methods gradually replaced the traditionally methods like lectures during the years. The learning outcomes were evaluated relatively good

Liikuntamotivaatioon vaikuttavat tekijät eri-ikäisten naisvoimistelijoiden kuvaamina

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kuvata vapaa-ajalla voimistelua harrastavien naisten liikuntamotivaatioon vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Kyselyaineisto kerättiin Oulun voimisteluseuran naisvoimistelijoilta (n=76) kahdeksassa ryhmässä vuonna 2007. Vastausprosentti oli 84. Määrällinen aineisto analysoitiin eksploratiivisella faktorianalyysilla. Avointen vastausten tuottama laadullinen aineisto analysoitiin aineistolähtöisellä sisällönanalyysilla. Voimakkaimmat liikuntamotivaatiotekijät naisvoimistelijoilla kuvastuivat liikuntakokemuksista, kunnon ja terveyden ylläpitämisestä ja parantamisesta sekä liikunnan myönteisestä vaikutuksesta mielialaan ja elämänlaatuun. Liikunnassa kehittyminen ja toisilta ihmisiltä saatu tuki motivoi naisvoimistelijoita liikkumaan. Liikuntakokemukset vahvistivat myönteistä käsitystä itsestä liikkujana. Liikuntamotivaatio muodostui tutkimustulosten mukaan yksilöllisestä liikunnallisesta pääomasta, joka puolestaan rakentui neljästä osa-alueesta: liikunta-aktiivisuus, liikunta tottumuksena ja elämäntapana, liikunnan kokeminen voimavarana sekä elämäntilanteen kokemisena liikkumiselle suotuisana. Riittämättömästi liikkuvien aikuisten ohjauksessa liikuntamotivaatiota vahvistavia tekijöitä voidaan vahvistaa yksilöllisen liikunnallisen pääoman kautta

Perusterveydenhuollon palveluiden suurkäyttäjä Pohjois-Suomen syntymäkohorttiaineistossa

Terveyspalveluiden suurkäyttäjiä on tutkittu Suomessa 1980-luvulta lähtien. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää millainen on perusterveydenhuollon palveluiden suurkäyttäjä. Aineisto (n = 8461) on osa laajempaa Pohjois-Suomen syntymäkohortti 1966 hyvinvointi- ja terveystutkimusohjelmaa. Suurkäyttäjä käytti lääkäripalveluita vähintään kahdeksan kertaa vuoden aikana. Aineistoa tilastollisin menetelmin analysoimalla perusterveydenhuollon palveluiden suurkäyttöä ennustavat tekijät voidaan ryhmitellä suoranaisesti terveyteen liittyviin (sairaudet), välillisesti terveyteen liittyviin (sosiaaliset tekijät), terveyskäyttäytymiseen (elintavat) sekä koettuun terveyteen liittyviin ennustetekijöihin. Tilastollisesti merkitsevin suurkäytön ennustetekijä oli huono terveydentilan kokemus eli yksilön subjektiivinen kokemus terveydestään. Pitkäaikaissairaudet ja matala koulutustausta selittävät myös merkitsevästi suurkäyttäjyyttä. Suurkäyttäjät kuormittavat huomattavasti myös muita terveyskeskuksen ammattiryhmiä

The Northern Finland Birth Cohort Eye Study: Design and baseline characteristics

Peer reviewe

Associations of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior With Adolescent Academic Achievement

The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (N = 8,061) was used to investigated the joint associations of physical activity and sedentary behavior with academic achievement. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate how classes formed by latent class analysis (LCA) according to overall physical activity, sports club membership, viewing TV, using a computer, reading books and magazines, other sedentary activities, and sleep were associated with grade-point average. When adjusted for gender, self-rated health, and mother's education, physically active adolescents and generally active adolescents were about twice as likely to have high grade-point average compared with sedentary TV viewers.Peer reviewe

Preschool weight and body mass index in relation to central obesity and metabolic syndrome in adulthood.

BACKGROUND: If preschool measures of body size routinely collected at preventive health examinations are associated with adult central obesity and metabolic syndrome, a focused use of these data for the identification of high risk children is possible. The aim of this study was to test the associations between preschool weight and body mass index (BMI) and adult BMI, central obesity and metabolic alterations. METHODS: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) (N = 4111) is a population-based cohort. Preschool weight (age 5 months and 1 year) and BMI (age 2-5 years) were studied in relation to metabolic syndrome as well as BMI, waist circumference, lipoproteins, blood pressure, and fasting glucose at the age of 31 years. Linear regression models and generalized linear regression models with log link were used. RESULTS: Throughout preschool ages, weight and BMI were significantly linearly associated with adult BMI and waist circumference. Preschool BMI was inversely associated with high-density lipoprotein levels from the age of 3 years. Compared with children in the lower half of the BMI range, the group of children with the 5% highest BMI at the age of 5 years had a relative risk of adult obesity of 6.2(95% CI:4.2-9.3), of adult central obesity of 2.4(95% CI:2.0-2.9), and of early onset adult metabolic syndrome of 2.5(95% CI:1.7-3.8). CONCLUSIONS: High preschool BMI is consistently associated with adult obesity, central obesity and early onset metabolic syndrome. Routinely collected measures of body size in preschool ages can help to identify children in need of focused prevention due to their increased risk of adverse metabolic alterations in adulthood

Cumulative contextual risk at birth in relation to adolescent substance use, conduct problems, and risky sex: General and specific predictive associations in a Finnish birth cohort

Background—Research indicates that risk factors cluster in the most vulnerable youth, increasing their susceptibility for adverse developmental outcomes. However, most studies of cumulative risk are cross-sectional or short-term longitudinal, and have been based on data from the United States or the United Kingdom. Using data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 Study (NFBC1986), we examined cumulative contextual risk (CCR) at birth as a predictor of adolescent substance use and co-occurring conduct problems and risky sex to determine the degree to which CCR predicts specific outcomes over-and-above its effect on general problem behavior, while testing for moderation of associations by gender. Methods—Analyses of survey data from 6963 participants of the NFBC1986 followed from the prenatal/birth period into adolescence were conducted using structural equation modeling. Results—CCR had long-term positive associations with first-order substance use, conduct problems, and risky sex factors, and, in a separate analysis, with a second-order general problem behavior factor. Further analyses showed that there was a positive specific effect of CCR on risky sex, over-and-above general problem behavior, for girls only. Conclusions—This study, conducted within the Finnish context, showed that CCR at birth had long-term general and specific predictive associations with substance use and co-occurring problem behaviors in adolescence; effects on risky sex were stronger for girls. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that early exposure to CCR can have lasting adverse consequences, suggesting the need for early identification and intervention efforts for vulnerable children

Stability of the associations between early life risk indicators and adolescent overweight over the evolving obesity epidemic.

BACKGROUND: Pre- and perinatal factors and preschool body size may help identify children developing overweight, but these factors might have changed during the development of the obesity epidemic. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the associations between early life risk indicators and overweight at the age of 9 and 15 years at different stages of the obesity epidemic. METHODS: We used two population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohorts including 4111 children born in 1966 (NFBC1966) and 5414 children born in 1985-1986 (NFBC1986). In both cohorts, we used the same a priori defined prenatal factors, maternal body mass index (BMI), birth weight, infant weight (age 5 months and 1 year), and preschool BMI (age 2-5 years). We used internal references in early childhood to define percentiles of body size (90) and generalized linear models to study the association with overweight, according to the International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) definitions, at the ages of 9 and 15 years. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight at the age of 15 was 9% for children born in 1966 and 16% for children born in 1986. However, medians of infant weight and preschool BMI changed little between the cohorts, and we found similar associations between maternal BMI, infant weight, preschool BMI, and later overweight in the two cohorts. At 5 years, children above the 90th percentile had approximately a 12 times higher risk of being overweight at the age of 15 years compared to children below the 50th percentile in both cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: The associations between early body size and adolescent overweight showed remarkable stability, despite the increase in prevalence of overweight over the 20 years between the cohorts. Using consequently defined internal percentiles may be a valuable tool in clinical practice

Cumulative contextual risk at birth in relation to adolescent substance use, conduct problems, and risky sex: General and specific predictive associations in a Finnish birth cohort

Background—Research indicates that risk factors cluster in the most vulnerable youth, increasing their susceptibility for adverse developmental outcomes. However, most studies of cumulative risk are cross-sectional or short-term longitudinal, and have been based on data from the United States or the United Kingdom. Using data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 Study (NFBC1986), we examined cumulative contextual risk (CCR) at birth as a predictor of adolescent substance use and co-occurring conduct problems and risky sex to determine the degree to which CCR predicts specific outcomes over-and-above its effect on general problem behavior, while testing for moderation of associations by gender. Methods—Analyses of survey data from 6963 participants of the NFBC1986 followed from the prenatal/birth period into adolescence were conducted using structural equation modeling. Results—CCR had long-term positive associations with first-order substance use, conduct problems, and risky sex factors, and, in a separate analysis, with a second-order general problem behavior factor. Further analyses showed that there was a positive specific effect of CCR on risky sex, over-and-above general problem behavior, for girls only. Conclusions—This study, conducted within the Finnish context, showed that CCR at birth had long-term general and specific predictive associations with substance use and co-occurring problem behaviors in adolescence; effects on risky sex were stronger for girls. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that early exposure to CCR can have lasting adverse consequences, suggesting the need for early identification and intervention efforts for vulnerable children