Hälsotrender bland elever i svensk- och finskspråkiga grundskolor 1994-2014 : WHO:s skolelevsstudie (HBSC-Study)

WHO:s skolelevsstudie (Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study) är internationellt en av de mest omfattande, långvariga och betydelsefulla undersökningarna om levnadsvanor bland skolungdomar. Undersökningen startade för drygt 30 år sedan och i detta nu deltar över 40 länder i Europa och Nordamerika. Nästa internationella datainsamling, som är den tionde i ordningen, genomförs år 2018. Nytt forskningsmaterial insamlas vart fjärde år. Forskare vid Jyväskylä universitets Forskningscenter för hälsofrämjande (Terveyden edistämisen tutkimuskeskus) ansvarar för WHO:s skolelevsstudie i Finland. För ungefär 20 år sedan började det givande samarbetet mellan Jyväskylä universitet och Samf…

Mental health profiles of Finnish adolescents before and after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had implications for adolescents’ interpersonal relationships, communication patterns, education, recreational activities and well-being. An understanding of the impact of the pandemic on their mental health is crucial in measures to promote the post-pandemic recovery. Using a person-centered approach, the current study aimed to identify mental health profiles in two cross-sectional samples of Finnish adolescents before and after the peak of the pandemic, and to examine how socio-demographic and psychosocial factors, academic expectations, health literacy, and self-rated health are associated with the emerging profiles. Methods and findings Surv…

Does health literacy explain regional health disparities among adolescents in Finland?

Summary Health literacy (HL)—as a broad range of health-related competencies—has been proposed to be a promising construct in understanding health disparities better, also among adolescents. Several factors have been found to explain differences in adolescents’ HL levels; however, not much is known about how different regions of a country or majority/minority status is associated with HL, or whether HL is associated with regional health disparities. The aim of this study was to examine and compare HL and health levels among majority- and minority-language-speaking adolescents living in different regions of Finland, and to explore if HL explains regional health disparities, taking into accou…

Empowerment-enabling home and school environments and self-rated health among Finnish adolescents

Perceived health during adolescence has not only immediate consequences for individuals and for society, but also long-term. We need to understand better the health development in this period of the lifespan. Empowerment may be one pathway through which social factors and conditions translate into health effects. This study aimed to examine whether empowerment-enabling home and school environments are associated with self-rated health among adolescents, and whether the associations differ between genders, age or majority/minority language groups. Anonymous questionnaire data from respondents aged 11, 13 and 15 years were obtained from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study, cond…

The role of health literacy in explaining regional health differences among adolescents

Abstract Background Health disparities in adolescence track forward to adulthood. In understanding disparities better, health literacy (HL) - as a broad range of health-related competencies - has been identified as a valuable construct. Higher HL has been associated with better health outcomes, also among adolescents. Not much is known about how language or region in a bilingual country is associated with HL, or how HL is associated with regional health disparities. The aim of this study, in a bilingual country, was a) to examine and compare HL and health levels among majority and minority language speaking adolescents in different regions of Finland, and b) to explore if HL explains possib…

Nuorten liikuntakäyttäytyminen Suomessa : LIITU-tutkimuksen tuloksia 2020

Socialt stöd, känsla av ensamhet och psykiska besvär bland finlandssvenska ungdomar

I den här studien utforskades ifall det förekommer sociodemografiska skillnader i upplevelse av psykiska besvär, socialt stöd och känsla av ensamhet bland finlandssvenska ungdomar. Det undersöktes även ifall ungdomarnas upplevelse av psykiska besvär kan förklaras med familje-, kamrat- och klasskamratstöd samt känsla av ensamhet. Utöver det utforskades ifall samband mellan socialt stöd och psykiska besvär kan förklaras med känsla av ensamhet.
 Som datamaterial användes WHO:s skolelevstudie (WHO-Koululaistutkimus) från 2018 med ett deltagarantal på 599 svenskspråkiga elever från årskurs 5, 7 och 9 (Målder = 11,9/14,0/15,9; svarsprocent 38 %). Som statistiska analysmetoder användes Pearso…

Does health literacy explain regional health disparities among adolescents in Finland?

Health literacy (HL)—as a broad range of health-related competencies—has been proposed to be a promising construct in understanding health disparities better, also among adolescents. Several factors have been found to explain differences in adolescents’ HL levels; however, not much is known about how different regions of a country or majority/minority status is associated with HL, or whether HL is associated with regional health disparities. The aim of this study was to examine and compare HL and health levels among majority- and minority-language-speaking adolescents living in different regions of Finland, and to explore if HL explains regional health disparities, taking into account other…

Folkhälsans seniorboende och aktivt åldrande : BoAktiv-studien

Syftet med denna enkät-studien är att utreda samband mellan aktivt åldrande, gemenskap och delaktighet hos åldringar som bor i seniorhus. Utöver detta syftar forskningen till att producera beskrivande information om hälsa och välmående hos åldringar i seniorhus. Målgruppen var självständigt boende i Folkhälsans seniorhus. Största delen av respondenterna var över 80 år gamla, kvinnor, svenskspråkiga och bodde ensamma. De mest aktiva seniorerna hade bättre hälsorelaterad livskvalitet samt mindre symptom av depression, och deltog mer i verksamheten i seniorhuset och hade en högre känsla av samhörighet. Respondenternas känsla av samhörighet korrelerade positivt med psykiskt välmående, högre vit…

Does chronic pain hinder physical activity among older adults with type 2 diabetes?

Background: Physical activity (PA) is a key component in management of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Pain might be a barrier to PA especially among older adults with T2D, but surprisingly few studies have investigated the association between chronic pain and PA. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of chronic pain among older adults with T2D and to examine the association between chronic pain and PA while taking important life-contextual factors into account. Methods: Data of this register-based, cross-sectional study were collected in a survey among adults with T2D (n=2866). In the current study, only respondents aged 65–75 years were included (response rate 63%, n=1386). Data were analysed by …

Healthy Learning Mind - a school-based mindfulness and relaxation program: a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Mindfulness has shown positive effects on mental health, mental capacity and well-being among adult population. Among children and adolescents, previous research on the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions on health and well-being has shown promising results, but studies with methodologically sound designs have been called for. Few intervention studies in this population have compared the effectiveness of mindfulness programs to alternative intervention programs with adequate sample sizes. Methods/design Our primary aim is to explore the effectiveness of a school-based mindfulness intervention program compared to a standard relaxation program among a non-clinical c…

Empowerment-enabling home and school environments and self-rated health among Finnish adolescents

SummaryPerceived health during adolescence has not only immediate consequences for individuals and for society, but also long-term. We need to understand better the health development in this period of the lifespan. Empowerment may be one pathway through which social factors and conditions translate into health effects. This study aimed to examine whether empowerment-enabling home and school environments are associated with self-rated health among adolescents, and whether the associations differ between genders, age or majority/minority language groups. Anonymous questionnaire data from respondents aged 11, 13 and 15 years were obtained from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children stud…