Are some populations resilient to recessions? Economic fluctuations and mortality during a period of economic decline and recovery in Finland.

This paper uses individual-level longitudinal data on working-age Finns to examine the health effects of economic fluctuations during a period of economic decline (1989-1996) and recovery (1997-2007) in Finland. We used a nationally representative, longitudinal sample formed by linking population, employment and mortality registers (n = 698,484; 7,719,870 person-years). We implemented a region fixed-effect model that exploits within-regional variations over time in the unemployment rate to identify the effect of economic fluctuations on mortality, controlling for individual employment transitions.

Disentangling the relative importance of different socioeconomic resources for myocardial infarction incidence and survival: a longitudinal study of over 300,000 Finnish adults.

Background: Lower socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) incidence and mortality, but the relative importance of different socioeconomic resources at different stages of the disease remains unclear.

Methods: A nationally representative register-based sample of 40- to 60-year-old Finnish men and women in 1995 (n= 302 885) were followed up for MI incidence and mortality in 1996-2007. We compared the effects of education, occupation, income and wealth on first MI incidence, first-day and long-term fatality.

Interprofessional and problem-based learning: a marriage made in heaven?

This paper explores interprofessional learning (IPL) and whether it would profit from a more systematic merger with problem-based learning (PBL). IPL is based on the idea of bringing together knowledge from the different health professions as they interact with each other for better health care. PBL springs from the idea of bringing learning closer to the application of knowledge in every day life.