Socially enacted ethics: The inner life of an ethical advisory board.

This article addresses the need to grasp the actual processing of health ethical issues in ethics organisations by analysing the work of the Finnish National Advisory Board on Social Welfare and Health Care Ethics (ETENE). ETENE's ethics is approached ethigraphically: the advisory board enacts ethics in its social life, through its own norms and values. It is asked how this internal ethics is performed in the board practice and how ethical debate eventually becomes bounded in this practice.

Online searches of children's oseltamivir in public primary and specialized care: Detecting influenza outbreaks in Finland using dedicated databases for health care professionals.

Introduction: Health care professionals working in primary and specialized care typically search for medical information from Internet sources. In Finland, Physician's Databases are online portals aimed at professionals seeking medical information. As dosage errors may occur when prescribing medication to children, professionals' need for reliable medical information has increased in public health care centers and hospitals.

From knowledge to a gendered event and trustful ties: HPV vaccine framings of eligible Finnish girls and school nurses.

In the present study, we examine socio-cultural and practical aspects of human papillomavirus vaccination (HPVV) through a multi-sited study of framings. We ask how HPVV is framed in the daily lives of vaccination-aged Finnish girls and in school nurses' everyday work. We then mirror these framings against both each other and Finland's official vaccination campaign.

What kind of 'a girls' thing'? Frictions and continuities in the framing and taming of the HPV vaccine in Finland.

This article focuses on two different ways of framing and taming the uncertainties of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the context of the Finnish welfare state: the bio-medical rationale of population-level cancer reduction based on epidemiological assessments, and the meaning formation of Finnish vaccination-aged girls. Epidemiologists run analyses estimating the cost-effectiveness and public health benefit of vaccinations, while the adolescent girls face the burdensome choice of whether to undergo vaccination. The processes of framing the complexities and actively taming them are analysed utilising a cultural-sociological framework.

Healthcare professionals' queries on oseltamivir and influenza in Finland 2011-2016-Can we detect influenza epidemics with specific online searches?

Background: Healthcare professionals (HCPs) search medical information during their clinical work using Internet sources. In Finland, Physician's Databases (PD) serve as an Internet medical portal aimed at HCPs. Influenza epidemics appear seasonal outbreaks causing public health concern.

European all-cause excess and influenza-attributable mortality in the 2017/18 season: should the burden of influenza B be reconsidered?

Objectives: Weekly monitoring of European all-cause excess mortality, the EuroMOMO network, observed high excess mortality during the influenza B/Yamagata dominated 2017/18 winter season, especially among elderly. We describe all-cause excess and influenza-attributable mortality during the season 2017/18 in Europe.

Methods: Based on weekly reporting of mortality from 24 European countries or sub-national regions, representing 60% of the European population excluding the Russian and Turkish parts of Europe, we estimated age stratified all-cause excess morality using the EuroMOMO model.

Long-term impact of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination on invasive pneumococcal disease among children in Finland.

Background: The ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) was introduced into the Finnish National Vaccination Programme (NVP) in September 2010. The impact of PCV10 vaccination against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in vaccine-eligible children has been high. We evaluated the long-term impact of PCV10 vaccination against IPD in vaccine-eligible and older, unvaccinated children six years after PCV10 introduction with a special focus on cross-protection against PCV10-related serotypes (serotypes in the same serogroups as the PCV10 types).

Health Information-Seeking Patterns of the General Public and Indications for Disease Surveillance: Register-Based Study Using Lyme Disease.

Background: People using the Internet to find information on health issues, such as specific diseases, usually start their search from a general search engine, for example, Google. Internet searches such as these may yield results and data of questionable quality and reliability. Health Library is a free-of-charge medical portal on the Internet providing medical information for the general public.

Health Care Professionals' Evidence-Based Medicine Internet Searches Closely Mimic the Known Seasonal Variation of Lyme Borreliosis: A Register-Based Study.

Background: Both health care professionals and nonprofessionals seek medical information on the Internet. Using Web-based search engine searches to detect epidemic diseases has, however, been problematic. Physician's databases (PD) is a chargeable evidence-based medicine (EBM) portal on the Internet for health care professionals and is available throughout the entire health care system in Finland.

A controlled survey of less typical long-term consequences after an extensive waterborne epidemic.

Background: Extensive backflow of treated wastewater caused household water contamination in a Finnish town in 2007. The drinking water of 9 500 residents became heavily polluted with faecal microbes, resulting in a large gastroenteritis epidemic. Cases of reactive arthritis, milder joint symptoms and prolonged gastrointestinal symptoms were observed after the outbreak.

Interhospital Comparison of Surgical Site Infection Rates in Orthopedic Surgery.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether comparison by deep or adjusted deep surgical site infection (SSI) rates in orthopedic surgeries are a better basis for feedback to Finnish hospitals than overall SSI rates DESIGN Retrospective cohort study SETTING Hospitals conducting surveillance of hip arthroplasties (HPROs) and knee arthroplasties (KPROs) in the Finnish Hospital Infection Program METHODS We analyzed surveillance data for 73,227 HPROs and 56,860 KPROs performed in 18 hospitals during 1999-2014. For each hospital, the overall, deep, and adjusted deep SSI rates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and the hospital ranks were simulated in the Bayesian framework. Adjustments were performed using relevant patient and hospital characteristics.

Impact of ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination on invasive pneumococcal disease in Finnish children--a population-based study.

Background: The ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) was introduced into the Finnish National Vaccination Program (NVP) in September 2010 with a 2+1 schedule (3, 5, 12 months) without catch-up vaccinations. We evaluated the direct and indirect effects of PCV10 on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) among children ≤5 years of age during the first three years after NVP introduction.

Methods: We conducted a population-based, observational follow-up study.

The duration of gastrointestinal and joint symptoms after a large waterborne outbreak of gastroenteritis in Finland in 2007--a questionnaire-based 15-month follow-up study.

An extensive drinking water-associated gastroenteritis outbreak took place in the town of Nokia in Southern Finland in 2007. 53% of the exposed came down with gastroenteritis and 7% had arthritis-like symptoms (joint swelling, redness, warmth or pain in movement) according to a population-based questionnaire study at 8 weeks after the incident. Campylobacter and norovirus were the main pathogens.

Excess healthcare costs of a large waterborne outbreak in Finland.

Background: The economic effects of waterborne outbreaks have rarely been reported. A large waterborne outbreak occurred in the town of Nokia in Finland in 2007 with half of the population in the contaminated area suffering from gastroenteritis. We studied the healthcare costs of this outbreak.

An increasing proportion of reported Chlamydia trachomatis infections are repeated diagnoses.

Background: In recent decades, increasing rates of Chlamydia cases have contrasted with decreasing Chlamydia trachomatis seroprevalence rates and decreasing Chlamydia-associated complication rates. We elucidated the conflicting trends by studying incidence of repeated Chlamydia infections over time.

Methods: Chlamydia cases reported during 1995 to 2009 were identified in the Finnish National Infectious Diseases Registry.

Pooling European all-cause mortality: methodology and findings for the seasons 2008/2009 to 2010/2011.

Several European countries have timely all-cause mortality monitoring. However, small changes in mortality may not give rise to signals at the national level. Pooling data across countries may overcome this, particularly if changes in mortality occur simultaneously.

Excess mortality among the elderly in 12 European countries, February and March 2012.

In February and March 2012, excess deaths among the elderly have been observed in 12 European countries that carry out weekly monitoring of all-cause mortality. These preliminary data indicate that the impact of influenza in Europe differs from the recent pandemic and post-pandemic seasons. The current excess mortality among the elderly may be related to the return of influenza A(H3N2) virus, potentially with added effects of a cold snap.

Waterborne outbreak of gastroenteritis: effects on sick leaves and cost of lost workdays.

Background: In 2007, part of a drinking water distribution system was accidentally contaminated with waste water effluent causing a gastroenteritis outbreak in a Finnish town. We examined the acute and cumulative effects of this incidence on sick leaves among public sector employees residing in the clean and contaminated areas, and the additional costs of lost workdays due to the incidence.

Methods: Daily information on sick leaves of 1789 Finnish Public Sector Study participants was obtained from employers' registers.

Joint symptoms after a large waterborne gastroenteritis outbreak--a controlled, population-based questionnaire study.

Objectives: Waterborne outbreaks offer an opportunity to study joint symptoms after a simultaneous exposure. In November 2007, a gastroenteritis outbreak due to faecal contamination of tap water took place in a Finnish town. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of joint symptoms after the outbreak.

Giardia and Cryptosporidium infection in Finland: a registry-based study of their demographic determinants.

Giardia and Cryptosporidium are protozoan parasites that can cause prolonged gastrointestinal infection especially in immunocompromised individuals. We studied the characteristics of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis cases notified to the Finnish Infectious Disease Registry (FIDR) during 1995-2006, and of persons tested for these parasites in the clinical laboratory of the healthcare district of Helsinki and Uusimaa during 2004-2006. According to reporting, the incidence of both infections was higher in persons residing in the Helsinki area than in other parts of Finland.

A nationwide outbreak of Salmonella bovismorbificans associated with sprouted alfalfa seeds in Finland, 2009.

Salmonella enterica serotype Bovismorbificans is a rare serotype in Finland. In June 2009, a nationwide outbreak of S. Bovismorbificans infections occurred, and 42 clinical isolates were identified.