The ageing and elder care research group is a multidisciplinary research group (incl. social gerontology, gerontological social work, health and social management, organization sciences), which addresses various elder care management and organizational issues and the wellbeing of older people from multi-agency perspectives. The effectiveness of services is also studied with different methodical approaches.
Center for Social and Health Care Effectiveness -project
Effectiveness of cancer diagnostic and therapy, attitudes of patients and physicians, and how patients socioeconomical status interferes these aspects
Environmental Law Research Group
Multidisciplinary and internationally oriented research group that systematically aims at high societal effectiveness. The research analyses the environmental legislation and its implementation practices, and identifies multidisciplinary means of addressing environmental challenges and conflicts. Environmental law research covers various themes of traditional and modern environmental law. Recently, the research has been active, in particular, in the fields of natural resource and bio economy law, land use and building law, environmental protection law and theory of argumentation in environmental law. The group members have held several expert roles that have supported the drafting of legislation and the practical implementation of legal statutes. The research is closely integrated to the teaching of the law school which provides the widest selection of environmental law courses in Finland, covering all areas of environmental law ranging from nature conservation to zoning- and construction law. Furthermore, they have provided training for people working in the environmental sector.
Hanna Ristolainen (hanna.ristolainen@uef.fi)
I graduated with a PhD in Social Sciences in 2022, majoring in social work. In my dissertation, I examined the effectiveness of care management models for older people using a mixed-method approach. My areas of expertise and interest are in older people’s well-being and care management, in addition to effectiveness research and promoting the effectiveness of social services. Currently, I am a post doctoral researcher in the SOLDEX project, where we focus on the experiences of social exclusion among home care clients. The research project also includes a mixed-method quasi-experimental trial to evaluate the effectiveness of day activity services.
House of Effectiveness
Improving effectiveness of wellbeing promotion and primary healthcare integration in North Savo (HYPE)
Improving the effectiveness of well-being and health of older people in Kainuu
Ismo Linnosmaa (ismo.linnosmaa@uef.fi)
My research focus is on health economics. My current work concentrates on costs, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health and social services provided for old people, economics of ageing, and the markets for health and social care and pharmaceuticals.
Kirsikka Aittola (kirsikka.aittola@uef.fi)
I am an early stage researcher, nutritionist and expert of food sciences. I currently work at the Stop Diabetes (StopDia) project in the Department of Clinical Nutrition in Kuopio. The StopDia study was set to create and implement evidence-based and digitally supported strategies for the prevention of type 2 diabetes at population level in three regions in Finland. It is funded by the Strategic Research Council and lasts until year 2019. I take care of practical issues of the StopDia randomized controlled trial and handle the RCT data.
I am interested in eating behavior and eating competence of the StopDia study participants, who are at increased risk for type 2 diabetes. With my study I hope to enhance knowledge on eating-related behavior and it’s association with obesity and type 2 diabetes. My goal is to find more efficient ways to make long-lasting healthy lifestyle changes and to conduct effective lifestyle interventions in healthcare and thus, preventing type 2 diabetes.
I’d like to build a research network. I am also active in social media and write nutrition-related blog posts.
I am a PhD researcher in nutrition science, a licensed dietitian and an expert in food science. I am currently working on the Kuopio campus in the Unit of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition in the Stop Diabetes (StopDia) project. The goal of the StopDia study was to create and implement ways to prevent type 2 diabetes in Finland based on scientific evidence and utilize digital tools. The study was funded by the Academy of Finland, Strategic Research. I take care of the practical matters of the randomized controlled trial StopDia, communication and analyse data. I also work in the T2D-Data project, which aims to find out who will benefit from using the BitHabit app in terms of type 2 diabetes prevention.
I also work as a nutrition expert in the national FOODNUTRI project, where we develop a measure of diet quality, the Healthy Diet Index, as a digital app for health promotion and health care services. The goal of the Healthy Diet Index app is to improve the effectiveness of nutritional counselling.
In my dissertation, I study the quality of the diet, the Healthy Diet Index, and eating behavior, more specifically the Satter Eating competence, and their connection to risk factors for type 2 diabetes in the StopDia data. With my research, I hope to increase knowledge on eating-related behavior and its connection to obesity and type 2 diabetes. My goal is to find more effective ways to make long-term health-promoting lifestyle changes, implement effective lifestyle interventions in healthcare and municipalities, and thereby prevent type 2 diabetes.
I would like to build my research network. I am also active on Twitter and I like to participate in nutrition communication.