Kaisu Pitkälä
Biographic Data
| ID | 3448343 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kaisu Pitkälä |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kaisu |
| FAMILY NAME | Pitkälä |
| SIGNATURE | PITKÄLÄ K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Helsinki |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9659-6985 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Adapting and applying a group facilitator training model to support nature-based social interventions for alleviating loneliness in five countries
Implementing psychosocial health interventions in new target groups in different cultures requires rigorous training. The ‘Circle of Friends’ (CoF) model has proven to be effective for helping lonely older adults. The aim of this article is to describe in detail how professionals’ training in using the CoF model was modified to create the ‘Friends in Nature (FiN)’ intervention in the EU-funded ‘RECETAS’ project for use in five other countries (Sp…
Experiences of loneliness among older deaf adults who use sign language
Loneliness is recognized worldwide as a risk to well-being and health. It emerges from the discrepancy between our expectations of social relationships and the reality. However, very little is known about the experiences of loneliness among older deaf adults. The aim of the study was to describe the experiences and expressions of loneliness among 12 older deaf adults who use sign language. We interviewed them, and the interview transcripts were a…
Systematic Literature Review of Decision‐Analytic Modeling Studies on Nature‐Based Social Prescribing and Loneliness
Nature‐based social prescribing (NBSP) is an evolving subject aiming to reduce loneliness and to foster social connections, health, and well‐being. To evaluate the short‐term and long‐term consequences of different health technologies, decision‐analytic modeling can be applied. Decision‐analytic modeling studies systematically integrate current short‐ and long‐term evidence to weigh benefits, harms, and costs of different strategies. Our systemat…
Nature-based social interventions to address loneliness among vulnerable populations
Barcelona (Spain) trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05488496. Registered 29 July 2022. Prague (Czech Republic) trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05522140. Registered August 25, 2022. Helsinki (Finland) trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05507684. Registered August 12, 2022
Health-related quality of life after hip fracture
Listening to the voice of older people
Loneliness has proved to be common in long-term care facilities (LTCF) and is associated with adverse health outcomes. Although older residents have expressed their experiences of loneliness in previous studies in various ways, researchers have rarely distinguished or explored the three dimensions of loneliness: social, emotional and existential. Furthermore, descriptions of existential loneliness in LTCF is still a neglected area of research. Th…
Time- and place-dependent experiences of loneliness in assisted living facilities
The purpose of the study is to explore feelings of loneliness among residents in assisted living facilities in terms of how loneliness is experienced and articulated, and what specific factors are related to the experiences. The study used a mixed-method approach. We individually interviewed 13 residents twice over six months. We conducted two focus group interviews and noted our observations each time we met the respondents. Data analysis leaned…
Sarcopenia
Background: in 2010, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) published a sarcopenia definition that aimed to foster advances in identifying and caring for people with sarcopenia. In early 2018, the Working Group met again (EWGSOP2) to update the original definition in order to reflect scientific and clinical evidence that has built over the last decade. This paper presents our updated findings. Objectives: to increase co…
Association of midlife value priorities with health-related quality of life, frailty and mortality among older men
Effectiveness of exercise intervention and health promotion on cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged men
ISRCTN80672011. The study received ethics approval from the Coordinating Ethics Committee at Helsinki University Hospital on 8 June 2009 (ref: 4/13/03/00/09)
Social Contacts and Their Relationship to Loneliness among Aged People – A Population-Based Study
Background: Emotional loneliness and social isolation are major problems in old age. These concepts are interrelated and often used interchangeably, but few studies have investigated them simultaneously thus trying to clarify their relationship. Objectives: To describe the prevalence of loneliness among aged Finns and to study the relationship of loneliness with the frequency of social contacts, with older people’s expectations and satisfaction o…
Predictors and subjective causes of loneliness in an aged population
Predictors of Cognitive Decline and Mortality of Aged People Over a 10-Year Period
BACKGROUND: The search for preventable and remediable risk conditions of cognitive decline is ongoing, but results have thus far been inconsistent. According to the hypothesis of our 10-year prospective study, the predictive values of different risk indicators change over time in a general 75+ population. METHODS: A population-based sample of 75-, 80-, and 85-year-old individuals (n=650) underwent comprehensive clinical examinations in 1990 in He…
Terminally Ill Elderly Patient's Experiences, Attitudes, and Needs
The aim of this qualitative study was to clarify how terminally ill elderly patients in acute wards perceive the end of life and what are their needs and wishes regarding care. The patients, despite their advanced illness, wished to be treated actively and hoped for more conversations with doctors about active care. They were content with their daily care but evaluated the care in light of the great workload of the nurses, forgiving them for not …
Time- and place-dependent experiences of loneliness in assisted living facilities
The purpose of the study is to explore feelings of loneliness among residents in assisted living facilities in terms of how loneliness is experienced and articulated, and what specific factors are related to the experiences. The study used a mixed-method approach. We individually interviewed 13 residents twice over six months. We conducted two focus group interviews and noted our observations each time we met the respondents. Data analysis leaned…
Listening to the voice of older people
Loneliness has proved to be common in long-term care facilities (LTCF) and is associated with adverse health outcomes. Although older residents have expressed their experiences of loneliness in previous studies in various ways, researchers have rarely distinguished or explored the three dimensions of loneliness: social, emotional and existential. Furthermore, descriptions of existential loneliness in LTCF is still a neglected area of research. Th…
Predictors of Cognitive Decline and Mortality of Aged People Over a 10-Year Period
BACKGROUND: The search for preventable and remediable risk conditions of cognitive decline is ongoing, but results have thus far been inconsistent. According to the hypothesis of our 10-year prospective study, the predictive values of different risk indicators change over time in a general 75+ population. METHODS: A population-based sample of 75-, 80-, and 85-year-old individuals (n=650) underwent comprehensive clinical examinations in 1990 in He…
Terminally Ill Elderly Patient's Experiences, Attitudes, and Needs
The aim of this qualitative study was to clarify how terminally ill elderly patients in acute wards perceive the end of life and what are their needs and wishes regarding care. The patients, despite their advanced illness, wished to be treated actively and hoped for more conversations with doctors about active care. They were content with their daily care but evaluated the care in light of the great workload of the nurses, forgiving them for not …
Predictors and subjective causes of loneliness in an aged population
Social Contacts and Their Relationship to Loneliness among Aged People – A Population-Based Study
Background: Emotional loneliness and social isolation are major problems in old age. These concepts are interrelated and often used interchangeably, but few studies have investigated them simultaneously thus trying to clarify their relationship. Objectives: To describe the prevalence of loneliness among aged Finns and to study the relationship of loneliness with the frequency of social contacts, with older people’s expectations and satisfaction o…
Effectiveness of exercise intervention and health promotion on cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged men
ISRCTN80672011. The study received ethics approval from the Coordinating Ethics Committee at Helsinki University Hospital on 8 June 2009 (ref: 4/13/03/00/09)
Association of midlife value priorities with health-related quality of life, frailty and mortality among older men
Sarcopenia
Background: in 2010, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) published a sarcopenia definition that aimed to foster advances in identifying and caring for people with sarcopenia. In early 2018, the Working Group met again (EWGSOP2) to update the original definition in order to reflect scientific and clinical evidence that has built over the last decade. This paper presents our updated findings. Objectives: to increase co…
Time- and place-dependent experiences of loneliness in assisted living facilities
The purpose of the study is to explore feelings of loneliness among residents in assisted living facilities in terms of how loneliness is experienced and articulated, and what specific factors are related to the experiences. The study used a mixed-method approach. We individually interviewed 13 residents twice over six months. We conducted two focus group interviews and noted our observations each time we met the respondents. Data analysis leaned…
Health-related quality of life after hip fracture
Listening to the voice of older people
Loneliness has proved to be common in long-term care facilities (LTCF) and is associated with adverse health outcomes. Although older residents have expressed their experiences of loneliness in previous studies in various ways, researchers have rarely distinguished or explored the three dimensions of loneliness: social, emotional and existential. Furthermore, descriptions of existential loneliness in LTCF is still a neglected area of research. Th…
Nature-based social interventions to address loneliness among vulnerable populations
Barcelona (Spain) trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05488496. Registered 29 July 2022. Prague (Czech Republic) trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05522140. Registered August 25, 2022. Helsinki (Finland) trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05507684. Registered August 12, 2022
Experiences of loneliness among older deaf adults who use sign language
Loneliness is recognized worldwide as a risk to well-being and health. It emerges from the discrepancy between our expectations of social relationships and the reality. However, very little is known about the experiences of loneliness among older deaf adults. The aim of the study was to describe the experiences and expressions of loneliness among 12 older deaf adults who use sign language. We interviewed them, and the interview transcripts were a…
Systematic Literature Review of Decision‐Analytic Modeling Studies on Nature‐Based Social Prescribing and Loneliness
Nature‐based social prescribing (NBSP) is an evolving subject aiming to reduce loneliness and to foster social connections, health, and well‐being. To evaluate the short‐term and long‐term consequences of different health technologies, decision‐analytic modeling can be applied. Decision‐analytic modeling studies systematically integrate current short‐ and long‐term evidence to weigh benefits, harms, and costs of different strategies. Our systemat…
Adapting and applying a group facilitator training model to support nature-based social interventions for alleviating loneliness in five countries
Implementing psychosocial health interventions in new target groups in different cultures requires rigorous training. The ‘Circle of Friends’ (CoF) model has proven to be effective for helping lonely older adults. The aim of this article is to describe in detail how professionals’ training in using the CoF model was modified to create the ‘Friends in Nature (FiN)’ intervention in the EU-funded ‘RECETAS’ project for use in five other countries (Sp…
Loneliness (9 works) · Medicine (9 works) · Psychological intervention (7 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (6 works) · Psychiatry (5 works) · Social isolation (5 works) · Gerontology (4 works) · Nursing (4 works) · Population (4 works)