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Biomedical subjects

P Koponen

Publications and source records attributed to P Koponen.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Do young women have specific problems in contraceptive use and counselling?

OBJECTIVES: To find out if young women have specific problems with the use of contraception or contraceptive services. STUDY DESIGN: A national postal survey was conducted, RR 74%. Women aged 18-34 years (with experience of contraceptive use) were included in this report (n=1239). RESULTS: Weekly need for contraception was highest in the age group 18-24 years (61%), oral contraception being the most widely used method regardless of parity. Condoms were used by 35-37% in all age groups, either alone or combined with oral contraceptives (17% of young nulliparas). Women aged 18-24 years had mainly used public or subsidized services (79%). Of quality characteristics, only satisfaction with the kindness of the service provider varied significantly by age. The cost of contraception was highest in the youngest age group. CONCLUSIONS: The study did not point at any serious problems in family planning among young women, but it did produce several clues for the development of family planning services in general.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

The role of gynaecologists in women's health care--women's views.

OBJECTIVE: Reproductive matters are common reasons to use health services, and both primary care providers (general practitioners and public health nurses) and specialists (gynaecologists) can be consulted. The purpose of this study was to find out how Finnish women think about and use specialist care in reproductive matters; gynaecological health checks, contraception, and prenatal care served as examples. METHODS: The data come from a questionnaire survey sent in 1994 to a representative sample (74% response rate) of 18-44-year-old Finnish women (n=2189). RESULTS: Most (87%) women considered regular health checks by a gynaecologist important, and 55% had visited a gynaecologist regularly in the past 5 years. Healthier women and women having more education were more likely to visit gynaecologists regularly. Most women (86%) preferred a gynaecologist to a general practitioner for contraceptive matters, and 54% reported visiting one for their last contraceptive visit. Maternity centres with their public health nurses and general practitioners were the main source of prenatal care. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the need to study the benefits of regular gynaecological health checks, and to define the best provider in common reproductive matters. Evaluation should include organizational impacts, such as those of the division of work between primary and secondary health care and small area population responsibility.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Quality of care in abortion services in Finland.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to describe the quality of abortion services and women's experiences with the care they had received during their abortion. METHODS: A population-based postal survey of 3000 randomly selected 18-44-year old Finnish women in 1994. The response rate was 74% (n=2189). The following were used as indicators of quality of services: referral problems, loss of follow up, adequacy of counseling, and satisfaction with treatment. RESULTS: Fifteen percent (n=320) of the respondents had experienced at least one abortion. After adjusting for age, women who had an abortion were more likely to come from the lower social class, to be divorced, widowed, or in a nonmarital relationship, and to have had previous pregnancies. Fifty-two percent reported not using any contraceptive method when getting pregnant. Altogether 6% reported referral problems and 8% did not have post-abortion follow-up. Twenty-five percent would have preferred more discussion with a physician or a nurse before the abortion and 30% after it. Psychological effects of abortion was the most often mentioned subject upon which they needed discussion. The need for discussion was not influenced by the length of time lapsed since the abortion. The satisfaction with treatment increased from 69% (abortion >10 years ago) to 82% (abortion <5 years ago). Dissatisfaction was related to need for more discussion and the abortion having been performed in a central hospital. CONCLUSION: The overall quality of abortion care was good but there is still a need for improvement, especially in the communication and human part of the care.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMed1997

Finnish public health nurses' experiences of primary health care based on the population responsibility principle.

Implementation of a 'population responsibility' principle in Finnish health centres began in the late 1980s. The aim of this study was to describe public health nurses' (PHNs') experiences of primary health care based on this principle and to identify contextual and personal factors related to their experiences. The sample consisted of PHNs in 10 health centres. A questionnaire was developed based on a qualitative study. The survey was conducted in 1990 and repeated in 1992. The response rate was 84% for the 1990 sample (n = 102) and 91% for the 1992 sample (n = 131). In the multivariate analysis of variance type of community (urban/rural), size of the target population, task division model and existence of regular teamwork between social and health care personnel were chosen as contextual factors studied. Age, length of professional experience and having specialist education in midwifery were chosen as personal factors. Dependent variables were subscales on: experiences of planning and implementation, perceived influence of population responsibility on nurse-client relationships, comparison with previous experiences, views and experiences on comprehensiveness of care and job satisfaction. The majority of the PHNs experienced only minor changes in their work after the implementation of population responsibility. They were most critical about the way these changes were planned and implemented. Changes were mainly perceived as positive. There were some differences in the two samples, reflecting a shift from both positive and negative responses towards more neutral or more positive responses. Several contextual factors were multi-dimensionally related to the PHNs' experiences.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Practice patterns of Finnish public health nurses.

The aim of this study was to: (i) describe the practice patterns of Finnish public health nurses during the development of primary health care based on the 'population responsibility' principle; and (ii) to identify the relation of public health nurses' task division models and types of community (rural/town) to their practice patterns. A detailed recording of public health nurses' home and clinic visits was developed and used during three annual study periods in 8-9 health centers by 93-118 public health nurses. The total number of recorded visits varied annually from 4842 to 6841. Statistical significance was determined by Chi-squared. Significant differences were found between the three study periods and also in the practice patterns of public health nurses (PHN) with different task division models and of PHN working in different types of community. However, the short study periods limited the practical importance of these findings.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1997

Quality of contraceptive services in Finland.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the quality of contraceptive services in Finland varies by the type of care provider. DESIGN: A cross sectional questionnaire survey. PARTICIPANTS: A random sample of 3000 Finnish women aged 18-44 years (response rate 74%) in 1994. RESULTS: Almost all women (94%) had used contraception at some time and 75% were current users. Although self care was common (29% had obtained their latest method outside the health services), 83% had sometimes used the health services for contraception. For their last visit, 55% of women had chosen a health centre (a publicly administered and funded health service), and 33% a private unit. In the health centre, the care provider was usually a general practitioner or a public health nurse, whereas in private care the providers were gynaecologists. Women who used private care were more likely to be from higher social classes and urban areas. After adjustment for a women's background, the two groups were similar for most indicators of the quality of care, but access to care and woman's experiences of treatment were better with private care. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of availability and choices the current system of contraceptive services in Finland is adequate. It is not always an integral part of municipal primary health care, and many women prefer private care for gynaecological services; this may case problems of comprehensiveness and equality of care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Population views on access to community nursing services in Finland.

The aim of this study was to evaluate potential access to personal community nursing services and the desirability of these services from the point of view of different population groups. Potential access to personal community nursing services was defined as having one or more particular nurses to contact when needing help and advice in health matters. The desirability of these services was defined as the respondents' estimation of how useful they considered it to be for them to have access to personal community nursing services. A computer-assisted telephone interview for the population living in the catchment areas of 10 health centres in Finland was conducted. A random sample of the total population aged 16-79 years was drawn from the population register. Logistic regression revealed that gender, type of community and employment status had best explanatory power in having potential access to personal nursing services and in considering these services desirable. However, many of those who considered personal nursing services very desirable, indicated that they did not have potential access to such services. Most of these persons were elderly and had a chronic disease or disability. Developing access to personal community nursing services particularly for these population. groups appears to be needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Community nursing in Finland: the division of fields of activity and patterns of care--comprehensive or specialized care?

The aim of this study was, first, to describe the changes taking place in the division of fields of activity in Finnish community nursing during a national project on primary health care; second, to describe and analyze patterns of care by categorizing different points of view in nurses' personal experiences. Data on the division of fields of activity in all project areas were collected in a survey and in annual registrations of public health nurses' tasks (n = 87-113). Care patterns were discerned in focused interviews with public health nurses (n = 18). Three types of division of fields of activity were identified: the comprehensive, semi-comprehensive and specialized model. The comprehensive and semi-comprehensive models became more common during the project and the specialized one less common. Patterns of care were classified into four main categories: structural, individualistic, family-centred and community-centred. The division of fields of activity was not always compatible with the care patterns. The study identified several issues that should be considered in the definition and implementation of comprehensive and specialized care.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1992

Variation in obstetric interventions by midwife.

This paper reports variation in birth interventions by 25 midwives among 2,135 births in a Finnish hospital. The rate of cesarean sections varied from 0 to 18%, and that of instrumental deliveries from 0 to 8%. Mother's and infant's characteristics and rates of vaginal breeches suggest that a low rate of cesarean sections was not explained only by selection to easy births. This study suggests that the skills, attitudes and routines of midwives may explain part of the variation found in birth interventions.

Cesarean Section↗
PubMed1991

A survey on the use of alternative drugs during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of alternative drugs during pregnancy. DESIGN: A trial including 3 surveys on drug use during pregnancy in maternity centers in one area of Finland in 1985-86 (study 1), and a retrospective survey in 2 maternity hospitals in Finland in 1988 (study 2). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Study 1: 2912 pregnant women (about 94% of pregnant women in the area during the study period); 97-88% returned questionnaires. Study 2: 180 out of 181 consecutive women giving birth. In study 1, drug use (including drug-like products) in the last two weeks was asked by questionnaires around 12th, 28th, and 36th gestation weeks. In study 2, women were interviewed 2-3 days after birth asking about any drugs used during pregnancy. Due to the method of asking, our studies underestimate the level of using alternative drugs. RESULTS: In study 1, a total of 97 (3.6%) pregnant women reported use of alternative drugs. Most drugs were dietary supplements, and by current knowledge harmless. But a few women had used (potentially) dangerous drugs. The users were from the higher social class and they had also used pharmaceutical specialties more often than non-users. In study 2, 14% had used alternative drugs at some time during pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Because our surveys showed that alternative drugs are used, possibly with increasing frequency, during pregnancy, further studies on safety are needed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Iron supplementation during pregnancy--experiences of a randomized trial relying on health service personnel.

This article reports the design and feasibility of a randomized controlled trial of the benefits of routine iron prophylaxis during pregnancy. The multicenter trial, supported by a small budget, relied on health service personnel in Finnish maternity centers. Iron prophylaxis has had an established position in Finnish maternity care, and iron is freely available. This contributed to our decision to ask for informed consent after randomization. During a year, 2960 mothers were recruited by midwives in 27 maternity health centers and randomized into two groups: selective and routine iron supplementation. Mothers were followed until the postpartum checkup, and data were collected by five different questionnaires and abstracted from the infant's patient record. Adherence of the midwives to the study protocol was satisfactory, as was mothers' compliance with recommended treatments. However, because the study was designed to compare two treatment policies, problems of nonmasking hamper of the biologic effects of iron. This trial encourages the use of existing health services and their personnel in evaluation of medical technology.

Clinical Protocols↗
PubMed1989

[Young persons's personal experiences in student counseling and health care].

The aim of the study was to clarify the present student counseling and school health care of young people who have experienced difficulties at school. The aim was to enlighten the multidimensionality of their personal experiences and to understand the fundamentals of student counseling and school health care from this perspective. The theoretical basis of the study was in Rogers' and Parse's theories of nursing. In these theories man is viewed as a unitary being in continuous mutual interrelationship with the environment. The research method was phenomenological and the research material consists of theme interviews. Nine young people, aged 15-16 years, who had experienced difficulties at school and the student counselors and the health care personnel at their school were interviewed. Many difficulties were entangled together in the young peoples lives. The professionals had different viewpoints on the personal experiences of the young people based on their different beliefs about man. It was not possible to differentiate exactly the tasks of the different professions. The study gives evidence of the importance of observating the personal experiences of the young people in their entirety in school nursing and in student counseling. From this basis health promotion could be possible.

Adolescent↗