Marjorita Sormunen

Learning outcomes associated with patient simulation method in pharmacotherapy education: an integrative review.

Summary Statement The aims of this systematic integrative review were to identify evidence for the use of patient simulation teaching methods in pharmacotherapy education and to explore related learning outcomes. A systematic literature search was conducted using 6 databases as follows: CINAHL, PubMed, SCOPUS, ERIC, MEDIC, and the Cochrane Library, using the key words relating to patient simulation and pharmacotherapy. The methodological quality of each study was evaluated. Eighteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The earliest article was published in 2005. The selected research articles were subjected to qualitative content analysis. Patient simulation has been used in pharmacotherapy education for preregistration nursing, dental, medical, and pharmacy students and for the continuing education of nurses. Learning outcomes reported were summarized as follows: (1) commitment to pharmacotherapy learning, (2) development of pharmacotherapy evaluation skills, (3) improvement in pharmacotherapy application skills, and (4) knowledge and understanding of pharmacotherapy. To develop effective teaching methods and ensure health care professionals’ competence in medication management, further research is needed to determine the educational and clinical effectiveness of simulation teaching methods.

Conventional vs. e-learning in nursing education: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND By and large, in health professions training, the direction of the effect of e-learning, positive or negative, strongly depends on the learning outcome in question as well as on learning methods which e-learning is compared to. In nursing education, meta-analytically generated knowledge regarding the comparisons between conventional and e-learning is scarce. OBJECTIVES The aim of this review is to discover the size of the effect of e-learning on learning outcomes in nursing education and to assess the quality of studies in which e-learning has been compared to conventional learning. METHODS A systematic search of six electronic databases, PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE®, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and ERIC, was conducted in order to identify relevant peer-reviewed English language articles published between 2011 and 2015. The quality of the studies included as well as the risk of bias in each study was assessed. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to generate a pooled mean difference in the learning outcome. RESULTS Altogether, 10 studies were eligible for the quality assessment and meta-analysis. Nine studies were evaluated as good quality studies, but not without a risk of bias. Performance bias caused a high risk in nearly all the studies. In the meta-analysis, an e-learning method resulted in test scores that were, on average, five points higher than a conventional method on a 0-100 scale. Heterogeneity between the studies was very large. CONCLUSIONS The size and direction of the effect of a learning method on learning outcomes appeared to be strongly situational. We suggest that meta-regressions should be performed instead of basic meta-analyses in order to reveal factors that cause variation in the learning outcomes of nursing education. It might be necessary to perform separate meta-analyses between e-learning interventions aimed at improving nursing knowledge and those aimed at improving nursing skills.

The occupational well‐being of school staff and maintenance of their ability to work in Finland and Estonia – focus on the school community and professional competence

Purpose – This paper aims to present the baseline results of a research and development project targeted to improve the occupational well‐being of school staff and maintain their ability to work, in Finland and Estonia. It reveals the most problematic factors in the various aspects of the school community and professional competence and outlines development needs in the school communities.Design/methodology/approach – The overall project design is action research, conducted during 2009‐2013 in the SHE (Schools for Health in Europe) network in Finland and Estonia. The baseline survey data were collected in 2009‐2010 with a web‐based Well‐being at your work index questionnaire and analysed statistically using descriptive statistics, sum variables of factors and Mann‐Whitney tests.Findings – The general opinions of the Finnish school staffs were more affirmative than those of Estonian school staffs regarding their own personal occupational well‐being in comparison with the best in the profession (p=0.000). H...

The Relation of Socio-Ecological Factors to Adolescents' Health-Related Behaviour: A Literature Review.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe adolescents’ health-related behaviours from a socio-ecological perspective. Socio-ecological factors have been widely shown to be related to health behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and diet) in adolescence and to affect health. The review integrates evidence with socio-ecological factors (social relationships, family, peers, schooling and environment). Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected from electronic databases and by manual search consisting of articles (n=90) published during 2002-2014. The selected articles were analysed using inductive content analysis and narrative synthesis. Findings – The findings suggest that there was a complex set of relations connected to adolescent health behaviours, also encompassing socio-ecological factors. The authors tentatively conclude that socio-ecological circumstances influence adolescents’ health-related behaviour, but that this review does not provide the ...

Self-reported bedtimes, television-viewing habits and parental restrictions among Finnish schoolchildren (aged 10–11 years, and 2 years later aged 12–13 years): Perspectives for health

Using self-reported data from children at age 10–11 years in 2008 and at age 12–13 years in 2010 (n = 113), this study examines bedtime habits, parental permissiveness about television viewing and the most-viewed television programmes. Later bedtimes (both during the week and at the weekend) were reported in 2010 and were related to reported parental permission to watch television freely. Parental attitudes towards television viewing were reported as having become more permissive over time. The Finnish soap opera Salatut elämät and the American animated sitcom The Simpsons were the most popular programmes. The findings are discussed in relation to health.

Home and school responsibilities for children’s health literacy development: the views of Finnish and Russian parents and teachers

ABSTRACT This study examined how parents and teachers of pupils aged 10–11 in North Karelia, Finland, and the Republic of Karelia, Russia, perceived the home and school responsibilities associated with providing children with information related to different health learning content areas. The majority of parents and teachers considered guiding pupils’ health learning as a joint responsibility of home and school. Finnish and Russian parents’ views differed in several areas; the largest differences concerned the areas of oral health and dental care and washing and hygiene. Teachers’ views were more consistent between regions than parents’ views; the largest difference was in the area of sexuality and reproduction. Within each region, teachers perceived more areas to be the schools responsibility than parents did.

Health education in schools: factors influencing parents’ views of the home–school relationship in France

Abstract Ensuring that schools, families and communities work in partnership to reduce the gradient in health, well-being, and resilience of children and young people is considered a priority among public health objectives. This study aimed to explore the factors having an influence on the home–school relationship in general and in the field of health. Emphasis was put on socio-economic factors. A questionnaire was administered to parents of fourth- and fifth-graders attending 37 primary schools in France. Demographic and social characteristics, and views on the home–school relationship and on health education were analysed. The majority of parents (67%) were satisfied with their relationships with their child’s school, but 22% of parents indicated the reverse. Lower socio-economic status (SES) parents were more satisfied with the home–school relationship than higher SES parents were. Parents acknowledged that health education belongs at school, but they did not see it as important a school subject as mathematics or language. They were also critical about school staff members’ health education competence (5.07 ± 2.38 on 10). Parents with lower SES had a closer relationship with their child’s school than parents with higher SES did. This suggests that schools can play a key role in the reduction of health inequities. Nevertheless, enhancing a school’s potential to become a healthy setting appears to be challenging since parents considered both the status of health education and school staffs’ competence in teaching health issues low.

Health behavior tracking via mobile games: A case study among school-aged children

Abstract Mobile devices are increasingly being used, in various ways, to collect data and are also increasingly related to individuals’ health behaviors. Because of the paucity of available data about the process of mobile data collection in tracking daily health behaviors among children, we designed this pilot study to determine the possibilities and the enhancing and inhibiting factors of a continuous data collection process using a mobile game. Twenty 10–12-year-old school children from two schools participated in the study. We asked the participants to play a game that recorded their health-related behaviors for seven consecutive days, answering 14–16 questions daily. The questions related to children’s eating habits, hygiene habits, hobbies and activities, networks, media use and devices, and sleep. In this article, we describe and discuss the process of data collection with its advances and challenges, including the planning and preparation of the survey according to its content and technicalities, training the pupils and their teacher to use the device and the health game, implementing the survey, and concluding the process. Additionally, we present viewpoints on educating children using collective health data.

Developing and Testing a Health Promotion Theory—An Example of Creating a Model of School Staff’s Occupational Well-Being

Developing a theory is a long-term, multi-phased process that can be used to produce models applicable to workplace health promotion in school communities. The study described in this chapter employed the action research method to empirically test a theoretical model for the occupational well-being of school staff. Inductive and deductive research approaches were applied to the development in that both quantitative and qualitative research materials (national and international data) and analysis methods were methodically utilised during 2002–2012 (until 2014). By developing and testing the theory, we produced a middle-level theory and the Content model for the promotion of school community staff’s occupational well-being, which continues to be tested and developed. The content model is theoretically clear and flexible. It contains the premises for planning comprehensively through four aspects, and it serves as a suitable model for implementing and evaluating the development of school staff’s occupational well-being, which also affects the learning, health and well-being of children and adolescents. The content model can therefore be used in various situations. It has been applied to, and tested in, comprehensive and upper secondary school communities, but it can also be applied to other schools and work communities where its functionality will also be tested in the future.