Liisa Lehtonen profile picture
Liisa
Lehtonen
Professor, Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
MD, Professor in Pediatrics

Contact

Links

ORCID

Areas of expertise

Neonatology
Preterm infants, Quality improvement
Family Centered Care
Developmental outcomes of preterm infants
Centralization

Biography


Professor Liisa Lehtonen, MD, is the Head of the Division of Neonatology at Turku University Hospital in Turku, Finland. Her research interest is to optimize the longterm outcomes of preterm infants. She leads the PIPARI Study group which has followed 232 very preterm infants since year 2001 (www.utu.fi/pipari) with the aim to identify risks and protective factors for the brain development of preterm infants. As parents' active participation in neonatal care seems to be an essential protective factor for longterm outcomes of preterm infants, professor Lehtonen and her team have developed an intervention to improve the skills of neonatal staff to collaborate with parents. The Close Collaboration with Parents training program is an intervention to make a change in neonatal care culture. A multidimensional implementation and evaluation study is ongoing to measure the impacts of the training from the perspectives of the staff, parents and the child.     

Teaching

Professor Lehtonen is the chairperson of the Committee of Specialist Training at University of Turku. She represents University of Turku in the National Committee for Specialist Training at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.  

Research

Professor Liisa Lehtonen has got her post-doc research training at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is leading large, longterm follow up studies at University of Turku related to the outcomes of preterm infants. Her interest is to find out care strategies protecting brain development and, thereby, optimizing the longterm developmental outcomes of preterm infants. The PIPARI Study (2001-) follows 232 very preterm infants (www.utu.fi/pipari). The implementation and evaluation study of the Close Collaboration with Parents training program studies how parents' presence and involvement can be supported in neonatal intensive care units and how parent-infant closeness affects child, parent and staff outcomes. The Close Collaboration with Parents training program has been implemented in 11 hospitals and two new units will start the program in 2018.

Professor Lehtonen has also led the PERFECT Preterm Study showing the benefits of centralizing preterm births to level III hospitals. She continues register studies as a part of iNeo Research group led from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada.  

Publications

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Preterm Birth Is Associated With Depression From Childhood to Early Adulthood (2021)

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Upadhyaya Subina, Sourander Andre, Luntamo Terhi, Matinolli Hanna-Maria, Chudal Roshan, Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki Susanna, Filatova Svetlana, Cheslack-Postava Keely, Sucksdorff Minna, Gissler Mika, Brown Alan, Lehtonen Liisa
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Maternal education and cognitive development in 15 European very-preterm birth cohorts from the RECAP Preterm platform (2021)

International Journal of Epidemiology
Sentenac Mariane, Benhammou Valérie, Aden Ulrika, Ancel Pierre-Yves, Bakker Leonhard A, Bakoy Hannah, Barros Henrique, Baumann Nicole, Bilsteen Josephine Funck, Boerch Klaus, Croci Ileana, Cuttini Marina, Draper Elizabeth, Halvorsen Thomas, Johnson Samantha, Källén Karin, Land Tuuli, Lebeer Jo, Lehtonen Liisa, Maier Rolf F, Marlow Neil, Morgan Andrei, Ni Yanyan, Raikkonen Katri, Rtimi Anass, Sarrechia Iemke, Varendi Heili, Vollsaeter Maria, Wolke Dieter, Ylijoki Milla, Zeitlin Jennifer
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Neonatal outcomes of extremely preterm twins by sex pairing: An international cohort study (2021)

Archives of Disease in Childhood Fetal and Neonatal Edition
Gagliardi Luigi, Rusconi Franca, Reichman Brian, Adams Mark, Modi Neena, Lehtonen Liisa, Kusuda Satoshi, Vento Maximo, Darlow Brian A, Bassler Dirk, Isayama Tetsuya, Norman Mikael, Håkansson Stellan, Lee Shoo K, Lui Kei, Yang Junmin, Shah Prakeshkumar; the International Network for Evaluating Outcomes of Neonates (iNeo) Investigators
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Variations in Neonatal Length of Stay of Babies Born Extremely Preterm: An International Comparison Between iNeo Networks (2021)

Journal of Pediatrics
Seaton Sarah E, Draper Elizabeth S, Adams Mark, Kusuda Satoshi, Håkansson Stellan, Helenius Kjell, Reichman Brian, Lehtonen Liisa, Bassler Dirk, Lee Shoo K, Vento Maximo, Darlow Brian A, Rusconi Franca, Beltempo Marc, Isayama Tetsuya, Lui Kei, Norman Mikael, Yang Junmin, Shah Prakesh S, Modi Neena; FMedSci for the UK Neonatal Collaborative, on behalf of the International Network for Evaluating Outcomes of Neonates (iNeo) Investigators
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))
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