Research at the Unit of Public Health

The WORKDAY project aims to study daily physical activity behavior among hybrid workers. Overall, 99 hybrid workers provided accelerometer-based physical activity behavior measurements during both remote and office workdays. Perceptions to sitting reduction when working remotely were addressed by interviews. This study will deepen our understanding on how (and why) the patterns of daily physical activity and sedentary behavior may differ between remote and office workdays. The results can be implemented to promote physical activity among hybrid and remote workers. 

PI: Tuija Leskinen

Funders: The Finnish Work Environment Fund and The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture

More information: WORKDAY Study

Researchers in the Public Health Unit are actively participating to the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U) Alliance. We are contributing to the WP4 (Health and Well-being) international LIFELINE (Lifelong Well-being and Healthy Aging) master programme and to the educational and research collaboration within the GLADE (Good Health and Well-being) Virtual Institute. EC2U consists of nine European Universities.

Local coordinator (WP4): Tuija Leskinen

Read more: European Campus of City-Universities EC2U

The objective of the REACT trial was to evaluate the effect of commercial activity tracker on accelerometer measured physical activity and sedentary time among recent retirees. Overall, 231 retirees participated to the study. Participants allocated to the intervention group used Polar Loop 2 activity trackers for 12 months. Control group participants continued their normal life but took part to the follow-up measurements. Accelerometer measurements were conducted at 0, 3, 6, and 12-month timepoints. A questionnaire of health and well-being was also acquired from all participants in each time point. A blood samples for metabolic health markers were collected at 0 and 12 months. In addition, GPS measurements were conducted among the intervention group at 0 and 12 months.

REACT trial is completed and reported in multiple publications and theses.

PI: Sari Stenholm and Tuija Leskinen

Funders: Academy of Finland, The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, State Research Funding, Juho Vainio Foundation 

Trial-numero: NCT03320746 ClinicalTrials.gov

FinnBrain research was launched at the University of Turku in 2010, and its purpose is to study the combined influence of environmental and genetic factors on child development and later health outcomes. The follow-up of the children will continue for several decades. The research is multidisciplinary and has extensive national and international collaboration. The participants are families from the city of Turku, municipalities in Turku area, and Åland Islands.

PI: Linnea Karlsson

More information: https://sites.utu.fi/finnbrain/en/

FIREA study was established in University of Turku in 2013 with an aim to study changes in health behavioral and cardiometabolic risk markers across retirement transition by following older workers from work to full-time retirement. In addition, the aim is to examine long-term consequences of work and retirement on health and functioning in old age. The special focus of the FIREA study is on determinants and health consequences of 24-hour activity behavior.

The participants of the FIREA study are public sector workers who have retired on a statutory basis between 2013–2021. The total number of participants is 6700. Data collection includes questionnaires, accelerometers and clinical examination, which are repeated annually before and after retirement and at the age of 70 years.

PI: Sari Stenholm

Funders: Research Council of Finland, Ministry of Education and Culture, Finnish Work Environment Fund, Juho Vainio Foundation, Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, The well-being services county of Southwest of Finland

More information: https://sites.utu.fi/firea/en/about-firea/

HeSSup is an ongoing survey that started with funding from the Academy of Finland in 1998. At first, a random sample of 64,000 people representing the working-age population at the time was sent a questionnaire that comprehensively surveyed the respondent's life situation and health. The first survey was answered and permission for health register monitoring was given by approx. 26,000 people, with a response rate of 40%. Follow-up surveys were carried out in 2003 and 2012. Health register monitoring has continued even after the surveys. The goal of the research is to describe the health-promoting and also health-threatening properties of social support, but also several other social or psychological factors such as education and personal health behavior, and the mechanisms mediating these effects.

The researchers responsible for the study are:

Principal Investigator (PI) Professor emeritus Markku Koskenvuo, koskenvuomarkku@gmail.com, and
Co-principal Investigator (CoPI) Professor emeritus Sakari Suominen

IDEAR network brings together well-established prospective occupational cohort studies, longitudinal ageing studies and register data from Sweden, the UK, Finland, France and Denmark. These studies represent five countries and span several decades from mid-life and in retirement. The aim of the IDEAR network is to investigate how determinants in later working life, during the retirement transition, and in early retirement influence for how long older individuals are able to live actively and healthily.

Contact person at University of Turku: Sari Stenholm

Read more: https://idear-net.net/ 

The Physician Survey is a series of cross-sectional surveys launched in 1988 and carried out every five years, supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM) for 35 years.

The main objective of the survey is to investigate the education, professional and scientific plans, working conditions and life situation of doctors of active working age. Secondly, it aims to understand the values and valuations of doctors and how they have changed over time, both in terms of individual professional and social development. The third objective is to provide information for the development of the undergraduate education and postgraduate professional education i.e., specialist training.

This series of studies is exceptionally broad and valuable, even internationally assessed. The basic reports of the series have been compiled from the responses of doctors who graduated between 2 and 11 years before each survey. Reports have been published in the STM publication series.

The target population of the survey consists of licensed doctors under 70 years of age living in Finland whose contact details are available in the register of the Finnish Medical Association (22,367 persons in 2023). A total of 10,000 of them were selected for the sample, and of these, 4,885 responded to the survey, i.e., a response rate was 49%. The data were first collected by electronic data collection and a paper form was sent to all those who had not responded within two weeks or whose e-mail address was not known. 

The study was conducted through cooperation between five universities and the Finnish Medical Association. 

Researcher in charge: Heli Halava

The STEPS study focuses on examining various factors related to the health and well-being of children and families. The study population consists of all children (n=14946) born between 2008 and 2010 in the hospital district of Southwest Finland (Southwest Finland birth cohort, SFBC). From this cohort, almost 2000 families were enrolled in a more intensive STEPS follow-up in the first trimester of pregnancy or shortly after birth (1805 children were born into these families).

The study gathers extensive data from multiple sources, including:

• Maternity and child health clinic records
• Registry data (population register, birth register, and HILMO health care records)
• Biological samples (breast milk, children's stool samples, viral and blood samples, as well as nasal swab samples)
• Survey and clinical visit data (e.g. health checks, body composition analysis, cognitive brain testing and movement tracking)

The goal of the study is to create a comprehensive understanding of child and family well-being. The collected data is intended to be utilized in collaboration with researchers across various fields.

Research in charge: Hanna Lagström

Funding: Research Council of Finland, The wellbeing services county of Southwest Finland, The Diabetes Research Foundation, Emil Aaltonen Foundation, Juho Vainio Foundation, Foundation for Pediatric Research, Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation, Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, The Finnish Medical Foundation, University of Turku Foundation