The use of electronic devices for communication with colleagues and other healthcare professionals - nursing professionals' perspectives.

Aim: The aim of the study is to describe nursing professionals' experiences of the use of electronic devices for communication with colleagues and other healthcare professionals.

Background: Information and communication technology applications in health care are rapidly expanding, thanks to the fast-growing penetration of the Internet and mobile technology. Communication between professionals in health care is essential for patient safety and quality of care.

Factors associated with subjective side-effects during clozapine treatment.

Objective: Clozapine is associated with subjectively unpleasant or clinically serious side-effects, which may affect treatment adherence. The aims of the study were to explore the association of clozapine+ norclozapine serum concentration and other factors with subjective side-effects in schizophrenia patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 237 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizo-affective or other non-organic psychoses completed the Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side Effect Rating Scale (LUNSERS), a self-report scale measuring side-effects of antipsychotics and a clinical questionnaire.

Patients with resistant hypertension have more peripheral arterial disease than other uncontrolled hypertensives.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether resistant hypertension differs from uncontrolled and controlled hypertension in terms of target organ damage. Hypertensive subjects with antihypertensive medication (n=385) were identified in a population survey conducted in southwestern Finland. None of the study subjects had previously diagnosed cardiovascular or renal disease or diabetes.

Stability of alexithymia in late adolescence: results of a 4-year follow-up study.

The aim of the present study was to assess the stability of alexithymia in adolescents and the effects of parental factors and social support thereon. The sample comprised 315 late adolescents, of whom 259 were female and 56 male. At baseline, the mean age of the subjects was 19 years (range 17-21 years).

Cytokine and adipokine alterations in patients with schizophrenia treated with clozapine.

Metabolic syndrome is associated with both schizophrenia and antipsychotic medication, especially clozapine, with alterations in inflammatory cytokines and adipokines. However, the data in this field is heterogeneous and the sample sizes of the patients are limited. In this study we assessed the serum levels of cytokines/adipokines IL-6, IL-1Ra, hs-CRP and adiponectin, and components of metabolic syndrome in 190 patients with treatment resistant schizophrenia treated with clozapine.

Is alexithymia linked with marital satisfaction or attachment to the partner? A study in a pregnancy cohort of parents-to-be.

Objective: To investigate possible associations of alexithymia with marital satisfaction and mutual attachment between the partners in a group of parents-to-be during pregnancy.

Methods: The present study was conducted in a pregnancy cohort. Cross-sectional data were available for 151 mothers and 106 fathers, and altogether 102 couples.

Smoking and weight among patients using clozapine.

Background: Both obesity and smoking are common in schizophrenia patients taking clozapine, causing cardiovascular disease and premature deaths.

Methods: Two hundred and thirty-seven patients with schizophrenia or related psychoses treated with clozapine completed the Liverpool University Neuroleptic Assessment Scale (LUNSERS) and a questionnaire including current height, weight, changes therein and smoking status.

Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze weight and weight change in smoking and non-smoking patients taking clozapine.

A cluster model of temperament as an indicator of antidepressant response and symptom severity in major depression.

Objective: Not enough is known about which patients suffering from major depressive disorder benefit from antidepressant drug treatment. Individual temperament is relatively stable over a person's lifespan and is thought to be largely biologically predefined. We assessed how temperament profiles are related to depression and predict the efficacy of antidepressant treatment.

Team climate and attitudes toward information and communication technology among nurses on acute psychiatric wards.

Objectives: To describe the association of team climate with attitudes toward information and communication technology among nursing staff working on acute psychiatric wards. Background: Implementation of ICT applications in nursing practice brings new operating models to work environments, which may affect experienced team climate on hospital wards. Method: Descriptive survey was used as a study design.

Association of stigma resistance with emotion regulation - functional magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological findings.

Background: [corrected] Personal characteristics contribute to whether negative attitudes in society are internalized as deteriorating self-stigma. Studies in healthy subjects suggest that resilience is associated with the regulation of amygdala activation by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but little is known about the factors that contribute to individual stigma resistance in psychiatric patients.

Methods: We assessed stigma (by measuring association strengths between social inferiority and schizophrenia by an implicit association test) in 20 patients with schizophrenia and in 16 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects.

Pulse pressure and subclinical peripheral artery disease.

Ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurement offers an easily available method to diagnose peripheral artery disease (PAD) and systemic atherosclerosis in early stage and thus to identify high-risk individuals for preventive interventions. The objective of this study was to assess the most practical criteria for the measurement of ABI in subjects with high cardiovascular risk. We examined 972 asymptomatic, middle-aged high-risk subjects without manifested cardiovascular disease or previously diagnosed diabetes.

Trends and risk groups for smoking during pregnancy in Finland and other Nordic countries.

Background: Reductions in maternal smoking can prevent pregnancy complications and adverse effects to foetus. Our objective was to study how the prevalence of maternal smoking differs between Nordic countries, and to identify target groups for smoking-cessation interventions.

Methods: Information on maternal smoking and background factors was requested from the Nordic countries (the Danish National Board of Health, the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare, the Public Health Institute in Iceland, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare).

The effects of electronic health record on the flow of information - a pilot study.

Papery or electrical data processing tools are used for documenting, transmitting, evaluating, recording and archiving patient data. An implementation of an electronic health record (EHR) is a complex and multi-dimensional entity. There is a need to ensure that the impact of EHR is fully evaluated.

Androgen ablation for low-risk prostate cancer is common among male hip fracture patients.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) among male hip fracture patients with prostate cancer and to analyse their indications for ADT with regard to prostate cancer risk classification.

Material And Methods: Tampere University Hospital records were screened for International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) diagnoses S72.0-72.

Body mass index and health-related quality of life in apparently healthy individuals.

Purpose: Obesity is known to be associated with a range of chronic medical comorbidities, but little is known about the impact of overweight and obesity on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in persons without chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to assess HRQoL, body mass index (BMI) and health behavior patterns in a community sample of subjects who had no long-lasting medical comorbidities

Methods: We assessed HRQoL in 1,187 apparently healthy individuals (mean age 57 ± 7 years), of whom 24 % were classified as normal weight, 49 % as overweight, 20 % as obese and 7 % as very obese. Two different instruments of HRQoL were used: the generic Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire and the preference-based instrument EuroQol (EQ-5D).

Can social support alleviate inflammation associated with childhood adversities?

Objective: Childhood adversities have been linked to elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), which has been associated with increased morbidity. Low social support has been reported to worsen the prognosis in heart disease and cancer, and high social support has been linked to lower hsCRP. We hypothesized that social support could be a mediating factor between childhood adversities and hsCRP.

Target organ damage and cardiovascular risk factors among subjects with previously undiagnosed hypertension.

Background: Little is known about the prevalence of target organ damage in previously undiagnosed hypertension.

Design: Cross-sectional population survey.

Methods: We measured ankle-brachial index (ABI), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), electrocardiographically determined left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH), and cardiometabolic risk factors in subjects with previously undiagnosed hypertension (n = 138) and normotensive (n = 440) risk subjects, who had metabolic syndrome, glucose disorders, body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m(2) or a 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease death of 5% or more according to the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) system.

Occupational stress and implementation of information technology among nurses working on acute psychiatric wards.

Purpose: The study describes nurses' occupational stress and implementation of information technology on acute psychiatric wards.

Design And Methods: The sample consisted of 146 Finnish nurses. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire in 2006.

Childhood adversities and adult-onset asthma: a cohort study.

Objectives: Childhood adversities may be important determinants of later illnesses and poor health behaviour. However, large-scale prospective studies on the associations between childhood adversities and the onset of asthma in adulthood are lacking.

Design: Prospective cohort study with 7-year follow-up.

Nursing power as viewed by nursing professionals.

Background:   The concept of nursing power has not been extensively reported in the nursing literature. Power is an extremely abstract concept, making it difficult to define and study. However, when defined as the capacity to achieve goals, power becomes a significant resource in nursing.

Experiences of family members of elderly patients in the emergency department: a qualitative study.

Background: Elderly patients are more frequent users of emergency department (ED). An elderly patient entering the ED is often accompanied by a family member who has an important role in the patient's life. Current literature does not adequately address the question of the experiences of family members accompanying elderly patient in ED, although they could give us valuable and interesting knowledge and information about nursing practices.

The national nursing model from the nursing practice perspective - results from a finnish evaluation study.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the national nursing model in Finland. The feasibility evaluation was carried out with nurses using interviews and patient case scenarios in primary, specialized and private healthcare. The nursing process model showed to be feasible in nursing practice but the current national nursing classification (FinCC) was considered to be too detailed, multi-layered and difficult to understand and use.