Health in Early Life and Parenthood

Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Future (HAIF) is a doctoral training project for 25 doctoral researchers hosted by the University of Turku (UTU). HAIF unites research groups from the fields of computing, materials science, social sciences, law, humanities and health sciences. The project’s unique, human-centric approach stems from this interdisciplinary collaboration. HAIF’s objective is to provide training that promotes safe and secure, legally and ethically sustainable use of AI, with an emphasis on humans as developers, users and decision-subjects affected by the technology. In addition to individual and societal perspectives, HAIF’s research themes delve into the technological properties that shape interactions between humans and AI systems (e.g. transparency, interpretability, reliability and accountability). The global research collaborations and industry partnerships within the HAIF network bring in internationality, cross-sectorality and business relevance to the HAIF doctoral training project.

HAIF

We focus on advancing the use of digital and social innovations to create value for health. We are dedicated to advancing mental health promotion and care through the development of highly personalized digital tools for early detection, prevention and care across a range of symptoms, problems and disorders. We have a strong stakeholder approach and conduct research in partnership with patients, families, professionals, healthcare organizations and companies.

The aim of this  project is to develop future solutions for assessing and monitoring family centered care related concepts and outcomes in research and knowledge translation. This work will involve systematic reviews of the currently used research measures, IT solutions and monitoring systems. These reviews and empirical evidence will provide the basis for the development of new innovative IT tools.

IOT4HEALTH

Health SciTech Group​

NewLife

Research projects focusing on global health aim to find effective ways to implement evidence based practice in low- and middle income settings to improve the care of families. The main research areas are peripartum care, neonatal care, children’s pain management and adolescent’s mental health. Implmentation science is the methodological framework for the conducted studies. The research is done in collaboration with:

Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, University of Uppsala, Sweden

Uppsala Global Health Research on Implementation and Sustainability

Golden Community, Nepal

Department of Nursing, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

MEGA Building capacity by implementing mhGAP, mobile intervention in SADC countries

Focus is to further explore the continuum from maternity care through labor and delivery to neonatal care to develop evidence for the best possible care for families. Aim is to identify barriers and facilitators to collaboration among families and health care professionals and develop interventions and implementation strategies to overcome identified barriers, using IT where appropriate.

The following research projects are part of this effort:

SCENE is a multi-disciplinary group of international professionals that aims to improve parents’ and infants’ experiences and outcomes of neonatal care. The focus of the SCENE collaboration is to undertake research into how and why parent-infant physical and emotional closeness varies in neonatal units, within and between countries; the short- and long-term effects of closeness and separation on infants, parents and the infant-parent dyad; as well as how to optimise parental and infant health and wellbeing.

A key goal of the SCENE collaboration is to identify, construct, implement and evaluate best practice to support physical and emotional parent-infant closeness during neonatal care

SCENE Research

The goal of the Close Collaboration with Parents Training Program is to develop family centered care culture on the unit level by training all of the nurses, doctors, and other staff of a neonatal intensive care unit. The research evaluates both immediate and long-term effect of the Close Collaboration with Parents Training Program from the perspectives of child, parents, and staff.

The Close Collaboration with Parents Training Program
Vanhemmat Vahvasti Mukaan koulutusohjelma

The aim of the COUSIN study is to identify and establish an internationally endorsed Core Outcome Set for family-centred care practices in neonatal care. The Core Outcome Set which will include a set of recommended outcome measures shall advance research in the field and optimise clinical practice. Through active engagement of all relevant stakeholders, including parents and former patients, as well as healthcare professionals, the inclusive nature of the proposed work will help ensure uptake of the Core Outcome Set and implementation of family-centred care practices in neonatal intensive care.

COUSIN study: developing a Core OUtcome Set and outcome measures of family-centred care In Neonatal care

Pain in Early Life (PEARL) is a group of researchers dedicated to better pain management for infants and children. More information from the websites

Pain in Early Life (PEARL)​ 

Parent-led pain management to optimize neonatal pain care (POP-project)

Ongoing supervision of a PhD candidate’s doctoral thesis

Iina Ryhtä, physiotherapist, MNSc, The role of physical activity in maternal health – Effectiveness of physical activity on urinary incontinence and quality of life during the perinatal period.

Emma Kainiemi, RM, MNSc, Parental wellbeing and parenting support across the care continuum for preterm infants.

Carita Löfqvist, Planned Napping for Nurses during Intensive Care Night Shifts.

Hanna-Kaisa Pellikka, The parents’ and professionals’ shared responsibility for decision making for the care of infant in neonatal intensive care.

Susanna Likitalo, Moving perinatal care from hospital to home with the help of remote technology.

Jenni Komulainen, Relapse prevention using Integrated Early Warning Signs Prediction and in Time Care for Patients with Severe Mental Health Disorders.

Kemeng Che, Towards an Intelligent and Inclusive Conversational Health Agent: A Systemic Approach to Mental Health Promotion Among Finnish Higher Education Students.

Asma Hatoqai, Mental Health Literacy in Relation to Artificial Intelligence Use: Redefining Concepts with Young Adults.

Ongoing co-supervision of a PhD candidate

Michella Runge Kjøbeløv Bjerregaard, RN, MScs, A contextual first step towards couplet care in neonatal intensive care units – Insights into neonatal practice to inform future implementation, Aarhus University, Denmark.

Pyrola Bäcke, Cooled in a warmer sense? Wellbeing and closeness in infants treated with therapeutically hypothermed and the family around, Uppsala University, Sweden.

Yuning Wang, Mental Health Assessment using multi-modal sensing and Artificial Intelligence, Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Technology, UTU, FIN & UCI, USA.

Ajdar Ullah, Doctor of Science (Technology), Major subject: Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Technology, UTU, Finland.

Yifan Sun, Wearable Technologies for Personalising Perinatal Mental Health Monitoring and False Biofeedback-based Intervention, Faculty of Technology, UTU, Finland.

PhD candidates supervised up to the defence of the candidate’s doctoral thesis

Joonas Korhonen, RN, MNSc, PhD, Mental Health Literacy in Sub-Saharan African Primary Healthcare, 2025.

Sofia Arwehed: TO HOME Exploring the transition home for very preterm born infants and their parents, 2025.

Johanna Saarikko, RM, MNSc, PhD,  Supporting weight management of pregnant women with overweight: Wearable Internet-of-Things intervention, 2025.

Tiina Putkuri, MNSc, PhD, School nurse as a provider of mental health support – Reflections on current practices and visions for the future, 2024.

Mariaana Mäki-Asiala, RN, MNSc, PhD, Interprofessional collaboration: improving the quality of pain management for neonates, University of Oulu, Finland, 2024.

Fatemeh Sarhaddi, Continuous IoT-based maternal monitoring: system design, evaluation, opportunities, and challenges, 2024.

Jennifer Auxier, MNSc, PhD, Supporting patient engagement through IoT Technology in maternity care, 2023.

Mirka Toivonen, RN,  PhD, Towards family-centered care in NICUs: Changing the care culture and unit design, 2021.

Abigail Kusi Amponsah, RN, PhD, Development of a pediatric pain educational program for nurses in a resource-limited setting​, 2020.

Simo Raiskila, MD, PhD, Parent-infant closeness and family centered care in neonatal intensive care, 2018.