Digital Gaming for Improving the Functioning of People With Traumatic Brain Injury: Randomized Clinical Feasibility Study.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health problem that often requires intensive and long-term rehabilitation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether rehabilitative digital gaming facilitates cognitive functioning and general well-being in people with TBI.

Methods: A total of 90 Finnish-speaking adults with TBI (18-65 years) were recruited from an outpatient neuroscience clinic.

Coordinating resources for prospective medication risk management of older home care clients in primary care: procedure development and RCT study design for demonstrating its effectiveness.

Background: The magnitude of safety risks related to medications of the older adults has been evidenced by numerous studies, but less is known of how to manage and prevent these risks in different health care settings. The aim of this study was to coordinate resources for prospective medication risk management of home care clients ≥ 65 years in primary care and to develop a study design for demonstrating effectiveness of the procedure.

Methods: Health care units involved in the study are from primary care in Lohja, Southern Finland: home care (191 consented clients), the public healthcare center, and a private community pharmacy.

Risks and prevalence of pressure ulcers among patients in an acute hospital in Finland.

Objective: To quantify pressure ulcer (PU) prevalence and to describe and identify the PU risk factors in acute hospital wards.

Method: A descriptive quantitative study was performed in 13 wards in a central hospital in Finland. The study included PU risk evaluation using the Braden risk assessment method, and full skin and medical assessment of consenting adult patients.

Developing an Evidence-Based Web-Education Program Designed to Help Nurses Learn to Care for Acutely Ill Intoxicated Patients in Emergency Departments.

A significant part of the patients treated in an emergency department are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It is important to identify individuals of patient groups who might benefit from an intervention to reduce drug use. The aim of the study was to develop an evidence-based web-education program aimed at enhancing nurses' knowledge and skills in the care, assessment, and management of substance-related disorders among acutely ill patients in emergency departments.

Psychiatric (Axis I) and personality (Axis II) disorders and subjective psychiatric symptoms in chronic tinnitus.

Objective: Chronic tinnitus has been associated with several psychiatric disorders. Only few studies have investigated these disorders using validated diagnostic interviews. The aims were to diagnose psychiatric and personality disorders with structured interviews, to assess self-rated psychiatric symptoms and elucidate temporal relations between psychiatric disorders and tinnitus.

Digital image analysis of the tissue surface areas of site-designated and bilaterally pooled prostate biopsies.

Initial reports about the length of bilaterally pooled biopsies showed alarming tissue loss compared to individual biopsies, but the current understanding of "noodle biopsies" and better embedding techniques may have improved their quality. Here, we implemented digital image analysis to study the differences in tissue surface areas between individual and pooled cores. Prostate biopsy reports from 1242 consecutive patients were reviewed.

The impact of socioeconomic status on stage specific prostate cancer survival and mortality before and after introduction of PSA test in Finland.

Socioeconomic status (SES) has an impact on prostate cancer (PCa) outcomes. Men with high SES have higher incidence and lower mortality of PCa versus lower SES males. PCa cases diagnosed in Finland in 1985-2014 (N = 95,076) were identified from the Finnish Cancer Registry.

Relationship of Blood Pressure and Erectile Dysfunction in Men Without Previously Diagnosed Hypertension.

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the most common male sexual disorder that affects all age groups and has a close association with essential hypertension.

Aim: To characterize the relation of blood pressure and ED in detail.

Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study of 45- to 70-year-old men without previously diagnosed hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, renal disease, or diabetes was conducted from 2005 to 2007 in southwestern Finland.

Epidemiology of psychotic depression - systematic review and meta-analysis.

Large amount of data have been published on non-psychotic depression (NPD), schizophrenia (SZ), and bipolar disorder, while psychotic depression (PD) as an own entity has received much smaller attention. We performed a systematic review and meta-analyses on epidemiology, especially incidence and prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of PD. A systematic search to identify potentially relevant studies was conducted using four electronic databases and a manual search.

The predictive effect of medical illnesses for mental health care in adolescence: a register-based study.

Background: Adolescence is a developmentally sensitive stage, during which a medical illness may have an effect on individual development, and vice versa. Chronic medical illnesses in adolescents have been associated with psychiatric symptoms. The aim of the present register-based pilot study was to assess whether, and to what extent, different medical diagnoses predict subsequent use of mental health services among adolescents.

Obesity, Underweight, and Smoking Are Associated with Worse Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Finnish Healthy Young Men: A Population-Based Study.

Background: Obesity and smoking are strongly associated with worse cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Most previous studies that have examined the association of body composition with CRF have neither assessed non-linearity nor separately examined the effects of underweight. Thus, very little is known on how underweight affects CRF.

Change in β-agonist use after severe life events in adults with asthma: A population-based cohort study: Life events and bronchodilator usage among adults with asthma.

Objective: This prospective, population-based cohort study of 1102 Finnish adults with asthma, examined whether exposure to stressful life events is associated with the intensity of usage of inhaled short-acting β-agonists.

Methods: Survey data was collected by two postal questionnaires. Baseline characteristics were obtained in 1998 and data on 19 specific stressful events (e.

Nursing professionals' experiences of the facilitators and barriers to the use of telehealth applications: a systematic review of qualitative studies.

The aim of the study was to synthesise the best available research evidence on nursing professionals' experiences of the facilitators and barriers to the use of online telehealth services in nursing practice. Telehealth is used to deliver healthcare services and health-related information by means of information and communication technology (ICT). The systematic review of qualitative studies was conducted using thematic synthesis of previous studies.

Short Text Messages to Encourage Adherence to Medication and Follow-up for People With Psychosis (Mobile.Net): Randomized Controlled Trial in Finland.

Background: A text messaging service (short message service [SMS]) has the potential to target large groups of people with long-term illnesses such as serious mental disorders, who may have difficulty with treatment adherence. Robust research on the impact of mobile technology interventions for these patients remains scarce.

Objective: The main objective of our study was to investigate the impact of individually tailored short text messages on the rate of psychiatric hospital readmissions, health care service use, and clinical outcomes.

Adult height and glucose tolerance: a re-appraisal of the importance of body mass index.

Aim: To study both the association between adult height and glucose regulation based on findings from a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, and the combined effect of height and adiposity on glucose values.

Methods: We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study among apparently healthy people with high cardiovascular risk living in south-western Finland. The study included 2659 participants aged 45-70 years, who had at least one cardiovascular risk factor but no previously diagnosed diabetes or manifested cardiovascular disease.

Connectivity to computers and the Internet among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Information and communication technologies have been developed for a variety of health care applications and user groups in the field of health care. This study examined the connectivity to computers and the Internet among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs).

Patients And Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used to study 311 adults with SSDs from the inpatient units of two psychiatric hospitals in Finland.

Alexithymia and depression in the recovery of chronic pain patients: a follow-up study.

Background: Childhood adversities and emotional dysregulation are connected with chronic pain, alexithymia, and depression. Longitudinal studies exploring the impact of their co-occurrence on the pain situation are rare.

Aims: The influence of alexithymia, depression, baseline pain situation, and treatment options on the course of chronic pain in a clinical sample was studied.

Stage-specific mortality and survival trends of prostate cancer patients in Finland before and after introduction of PSA.

Background: The early diagnosis and right treatment strategy of localized prostate cancer (PCa) remains problematic. In order to characterize the survival of PCa patients, we compared patients' all-cause and cancer-specific mortalities between pre- and post-PSA periods by stage in Finland.

Material And Methods: All PCa cases diagnosed in Finland between 1985 and 2013 (N = 91,329) were identified from the Finnish Cancer Registry (FCR).

An evaluation of the absolute and relative stability of alexithymia over 11years in a Finnish general population.

Objective: We investigated if alexithymia, a personality construct with difficulties in emotional processing, is stable in the general population.

Methods: Altogether 3083 unselected subjects aged 30 and older in Finland completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in the longitudinal Health 2000 and Health 2011 general population surveys (BRIF8901). The stability of alexithymia at the 11-year follow-up was assessed with t-tests, correlations, and separate linear regression models with base-line and follow-up age, gender, marital status, education, and 12-month depressive and anxiety disorders as confounders.

Factors Associated With Dropout During Recruitment and Follow-Up Periods of a mHealth-Based Randomized Controlled Trial for Mobile.Net to Encourage Treatment Adherence for People With Serious Mental Health Problems.

Background: Clinical trials are the gold standard of evidence-based practice. Still many papers inadequately report methodology in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), particularly for mHealth interventions for people with serious mental health problems. To ensure robust enough evidence, it is important to understand which study phases are the most vulnerable in the field of mental health care.

Views of patient, healthcare professionals and administrative staff on flow of information and collaboration in a regional health information exchange: a qualitative study.

Background: Nowadays, patients can be more involved in developing healthcare services with their healthcare professionals. Patient-centred information is a key part of improving regional health information exchange (HIE), giving patients an active role in care management.

Aim: The aim was to get a deeper understanding of the flow of information and collaboration in one hospital district area from the viewpoint of patients, healthcare professionals and administrative staff.

Nurses' experiences of the use of an Internet-based support system for adolescents with depressive disorders.

Background: Internet-based applications are potentially useful and effective interventions to reach and support adolescents with mental health problems. Adolescents' commitment to the use of a new Internet-based intervention is closely related to the support they receive from healthcare professionals. This study describes nurses' experiences of the use of an Internet-based support system for adolescents with depressive disorders.

Clinical importance of personality difficulties: diagnostically sub-threshold personality disorders.

Background: Current categorical classification of personality disorders has been criticized for overlooking the dimensional nature of personality and that it may miss some sub-threshold personality disturbances of clinical significance. We aimed to evaluate the clinical importance of these conditions. For this, we used a simple four-level dimensional categorization based on the severity of personality disturbance.

Non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome in psychiatric patients with a history of undiagnosed Wernicke's encephalopathy.

Wernicke's encephalopathy is often undiagnosed, particularly in non-alcoholics. There are very few reports of non-alcoholic patients diagnosed with Korsakoff syndrome in the absence of a prior diagnosis of Wernicke's encephalopathy and no studies of diffusion tensor imaging in non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome. We report on three non-alcoholic psychiatric patients (all women) with long-term non-progressive memory impairment that developed after malnutrition accompanied by at least one of the three Wernicke's encephalopathy manifestations: ocular abnormalities, ataxia or unsteadiness, and an altered mental state or mild memory impairment.