Individualised nursing care, services and leadership

Within this research area we produce knowledge and research relevant for 1) nursing care of ageing and older people in different contexts, 2) services and service chains for ageing population and individuals and 3) leadership, collaboration and organisational development for ensuring nursing care and services for older people and ageing population.

Individualised nursing care, competence, and interventions

We aim to develop individually tailored care and services for older people to enhance their self-management, independent living and meaningful life, and quality of care from different perspectives, nationally and internationally, targeting the future. Nursing care and care interventions for older people need specific competence and collaborative activities. Research in this field focus on nursing care activities executed by professional nurses and their competence in older people nursing care, and on the effects of nurse led individualised interventions on patient, nurse and organisational outcomes in the different care settings.

Individualised services and leadership

Giving the ageing nations and an increased burden of chronic conditions, and multimorbidity, a new way of providing services for older people in Finland and other countries is under integration. There are several questions outstanding for this development in healthcare, such as providing person-centered, individualised care and services that best match for each care receiver, eliminate overlap, advancing people’s own efforts and initiatives for health, developing better care pathways, processes and conditions for both the care receiver and care provider nationally and internationally. Research in this area focus on perceptions, functions, outcomes and continuity of nursing care and services and offer scientific knowledge for the development of service systems:

Our multi-disciplinary group aims to analyse, investigate and develop knowledge and solutions for services, to be individualised, accessible, usable, targeted and user-friendly. Analysis focus on both the individual (service user, service provider) and organisational point of views. This information assists in developing individualised care and services, preventing “institutionalization”, improving healthcare and nursing care processes, and promoting positive outcomes for both patients and staff in different care contexts.

Researchers / doctoral researchers:

  • Mari Pakkonen, postdoc. Further Development and Evaluation of the Person First – Please Intervention to Improve the Quality of Care in Long-Term Care.
  • Katja Lahtinen, doctoral researcher: Individualised care competence in older people nursing – Modelling and testing
  • Karoliina Äikäs, doctoral researcher: Developing a Theoretical Model of Leadership Roles in Implementing Person-Centred Care and Enabling Cultural Change in Long-Term Care for Older Adults
  • Subia Parveen, doctoral researcher: Developing a Practice Framework for Incorporating Structural Competency for Delivering Person Centred Care: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Research (MMR) Study
  •  Research partly connected with Quality of Rehabilitation, Clinical Nursing and Health Care

Sustainability and professional growth

  • Floro Cubelo, postdoc: Internationally Educated Nurses Readiness to Migrate (IEN-READY): Development of a Psychometric Scale
  • Tiia Laukkanen, doctoral researcher: Recognition and Validation of Competence Developed Through Non‑Formal and Informal Learning in the Context of Nursing
  • Jocelyn Williams, doctoral researcher: Invisible disabilities and disclosure: the discursive intersection of self-identity, autonomy and ethical frameworks

Collaborators:

  • Lisa van Dongen, PhD, the Netherlands. Future Nurse Leaders – Advancing careers of doctorally prepared nurses
  • Andreas Charalambous, Professor , PhD (docent UTU), Cyprus University of Technology
  • Beatriz Rodriguez-Martin, Professor, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
  • Dominika Kohanová, PhD, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra: Nitra, SK

The results can be applied to:

  • give a realistic view to general public about care settings of older people
  • the evaluation of care quality and health care quality improvement
  • the development of clinical nursing care and care environments both nationally and internationally
  • advancing patient outcomes
  • analysing and advancing competence in nursing and education
  • advancing scientific knowledge base in older people nursing science.