Projects

The project will establish a joint RDI (research, development and innovation) and testbed platform called Data Lake Innovation Testbed for Future Hospitals. The platform connects physically, mentally and digitally the RoboAI Lab in SAMK, Auria Biobank and Auria Clinical Informatics, the Supercomputing Platform in CSC (national IT center for science) and the Living Labs in Satasairaala (central hospital, special health care) and Porin perusturva (primary health care of City of Pori). This connection as well as the research itself are pioneering work in fields which have not been touched before. As an outcome of the project, a nationally recognizable, Finland’s first and most attractive Data Lake Innovation Testbed for Future Hospitals operates as a core in the medical research in Satakunta. The novelty value of the project is the new ecosystem, in which the Testbed enfolds the central and university hospitals, the applied and scientific universities, the data lake providers, the supercomputing platform provider and the growth and startup companies in interdependent relationship, for the first time in Finland. As another outcome of the project, similar actions have been started in other regions. These actions are supported by the findings, practices, routines and validated processes (as well as the people) of this project.

Data Lake -hankkeessa on tutkittu kotona asuvien 75-vuotiaiden ravitsemustilaa ja sen yhteyttä muun muassa elämänlaatuun.

Rahoittaja: Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö
Kesto: 1.11.2020–31.12.2023
Projektipäällikkö: Anu Holm, anu.holm@samk.fi / Jonna-Carita Kanninen,  jonna-carita.kanninen@samk.fi

GNurseSim - Improving Geriatric Patient Satisfaction: Development of a High-Fidelity E-learning Simulation Course to Develop Intercultural Skills in Geriatric Patient Care

Globally, the number of people over the age of 60 is expected to more than double by 2050 [1]. A United Nations (UN) report [2] notes that “population ageing is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society”. Diseases associated with ageing, are identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as being a major global challenge that healthcare providers must be prepared to meet [3]. Simulation is a safe way to train healthcare providers to provide effective care for older people and their families. Simulated patients can support the development and assessment of diverse competencies, e.g.related to communication and the integration of psychomotor skills, clinical decision-making, and professionalism.

Students trainees in geriatric medicine need to be afforded opportunities during their training to practise skills of adopting a multidisciplinary holistic approach to the care of older patients, and there is evidence that simulation training can improve the quality of care provided for older people.

The target groups of the project are nursing teachers and nursing students. The first group needs to provide the second one with the skills and competencies that make care for the elderly professional and socially acceptable. Taking into consideration the current culture mix, globalization and the degree of mobility in the world of work, it is likely that the elderly patients will be cared for by a geriatric nurse that does not share the same values, traditions and cultural background as the patient. It is also becoming increasingly important to recognize intraethnic diversity. Knowing there is as much variation within groups as between them will mitigate the tendency to stereotype members. Understanding and respect are some of the critical variables in how the care experience is perceived and treated by the patient and family. Cultural factors mediate preferred patterns of interaction. For instance, the meaning of critical illness; whether a particular critical condition is stigmatized or accepted; ways in which symptoms are identified and interpreted; patterns of decision-making and preferences for end-of-life care; appropriate modes of expression of pain and discomfort; the use of rituals, traditional healers, healing practices, and whether dependency that accompanies an illness is disvalued or considered part of the normal cycle of life. Culture does deserve consideration in geriatric care to ensure optimal outcomes.

Globally, geriatric simulation programmes are being undertaken, but there are hardly any that touch on the issue of intercultural differences as a problem that professional geriatric nurses should be well conscious of. There is also a lack of blended/distance courses in this area. The current epidemic situation makes every health care education provider acutely aware of the need to create blended and distance learning courses. The courses need to be created in a way that optimizes learning and ensures the students’ further development of their skills and competencies in the future. This can be achieved via the implementation of social constructivist teaching techniques to the practice of simulation teaching and via designing blended/distance courses with intercultural issues in mind.

Therefore, the main objectives of the project are:

- to create a methodological framework that constitutes a model for creating social-constructivist, blended / distance courses for nursing students learning to care for the elderly with an emphasis on intercultural aspects, drawing on the expertise and experience of the partners
- to create blended/distance learning courses based on the model with content developed in simulation laboratories and implement them at partner universities in partner languages
- to pilot the courses, prepare case studies documenting the implementation of the courses, and develop a set of guidelines and recommendations that will be used to enhance the course
- to prepare a set of guidelines and recommendations that will aid the implementation of the model in other areas of nursing education.

An added value of the project will be the possibility for the nonnative-English partners to use the English version of the course to create an interactive online e-learning course in English that will enhance the partners’ educational offer for incoming students within the Erasmus+ mobility projects.

1. World Health Organization. Ageing and Health: WHO; 2018. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health. [cited 18 April 2019].
2. United Nations. Ageing: United Nations; nd Available from: https://www.un. org/en/sections/issues-depth/ageing/. [cited 16 April 2019].
3. World Health Organization, National Institute on Aging.National Institutes of Health. Global Health and Aging: WHO; 2011. https://www.who.int//ageing/publications/global_health.pdf?ua = = 1.

Funding: Erasmus+
Duration: 1.5.2021 – 30.4.2023
Project Manager: Sari Teeri, sari.teeri@samk.fi

Coordinator: Panstwowa Wyzsza Szkola Zawodowa w Tarnowie

In cooperation with: Satakunnan ammattikorkeakoulu, Universidad de Alicante, Knowledge Innovation Centre (Malta) Ltd, Malta College of Arts Science and Technology, Centria ammattikorkeakoulu ja Middlesex University Higher Education Corporation.

Guidance - Digital tools and Method development

The Corona pandemic has shaken the world and is affecting all of us. It has shown us how fragile the society can be, and we believe that collaboration across borders is necessary as it opens up for new ideas and solutions to common societal problem. This project want to add this EU value in order to learn from each other as well as creating new solutions needed to meet challenges raised due to Corona-pandemic. The project is focusing on the education sector and career guidance throughout the education system. Labour market knowledge is essential for both career guidance coaches, teachers and also for young people and students being in a situation to choose a new direction in school. It is also a key knowledge to secure the future supply of skills in the labour market.The education sector has shown great courage, strength and innovative power to face the sudden shift to online and distance learning, career guidance and coaching. However, we need to collect more information, explore and understand new ways of learning and coaching. At the beginning of 2020 we found relevant collaborations partners in Europe and together we have identified a number of challenges and needs.

- Cancelled physical events for career guidance. Physical arenas for information have been limited which have affected thousands of young people who are going to choose their future school or pathway. Many students from the upper secondary have missed their yearly practical working life orientation at different working place. Although some events could take place in a digital form and new working methods have been tested, there is a great need to follow up and develop further on.

- The transition from physical classroom to distance and digital education environment. Covid-19 has brought difficulties in the coaching/teaching field as people who thrive in a face-to-face learning environment have their chances reduced. Online education has been studied and as the research shows the length of one education session should be considered. If involving activation like problem solving, the optimal time would be about 15-20 minutes. However, when using digital technology students and teacher are in many cases sitting or standing before the screen for much longer. Immobility and ergonomics should also be taken in consideration. Teachers, but also staff working with pupils wellcare and with student guidance have experimented with new ways of coaching and interacting through digital means. At the moment the need and discussion of peer-support among students has not been solved in the distant educational settings. Teacher-student online interaction needs to be right timed and easy to use, personal and inclusive. The students need to have equal possibility to interactive online tutoring without restriction of technology modalities.

- Groups with special needs. A report from National Union of Teachers in Sweden points out that students with special needs and the grouping of new coming students are most affected by this situation. It is demanding if they only would see and meet online, therefore the options of other forms of networking beside the official education hours should also be considered and planned beforehand. A group that has been particularly difficult to reach is guardians to youth in socioeconomically vulnerable areas. This was a challenge before covid-19 but it seems to be even more difficult during the pandemic. Another group areyoung people between 18 and 30 years old with a distance towards the labour market. These are young people that are discriminated on the labour market for all kind of reasons (gender, sexual preference, ethnicity), others are drop outs. It is clear that there is a great need to improve skills and competence within this field. We need to act together to counteract social exclusion and inequality.

The overall objectives in the project are:
- Promote social inclusion and equality in career guidance throughout the education system
- Promote that more young people and students complete their education and increase their opportunities to get a job
- Promote more young people and students make well-thought-out study choices
- Increased perceived health and hope for the future among young people and students

We have a broad target group, however the project is focusing on people at risk of being social excluded within the groups. The two primary target group in the #Guidance project is: 1) Individuals in the risk of being socially excluded within the following groups: (A) school children (primary and secondary school) (B) students (high school and university) (C) youth not in employment, education or training (neet:s). Also, parents are a group that’s need to be addressed: (D) caregivers. 2) Groups responsible for both strategic and practiced career guiding and coaching (E) Career guidance counsellors (F) teachers and school-leaders (G) development managers working with career guidance and (H) Non governmental org.

Funding: Erasmus+
Duration: 1.4.2021 – 31.3.2023
Project Manager: Anne Kärki, anne.karki@samk.fi

Coordinator: Region Örebro Iän

In cooperation with: Satakunnan ammattikorkeakoulu, Local Government of Kekava Municipality, Valmieras Attīstības aģentūra, Stebo vzw, Municipio De Lousada, Utbildningskontoret, Norrköpings Kommun ja Competence Sverige ekonomisk förening.

Assuring Quality Health Care Traineeships for Medical and Professionals Allied to Medicine through embedding and exploiting tools across Higher Education (HEALINT4ALL)

HEALINT4ALL provides Medical Education and Professionals Allied to Medicine an audit system to facilitate quality assurance of EU clinical learning environments. Students will be confident that they can obtain an increased number and variety of safe optimised learning placements through extensive partnerships developed, thus fostering inclusivity. Opportunity to increase high quality placements internationally through the wider application of the system to the International Standards Organisation, International Workshop Agreement will be explored, as quality assurance will be benchmarked to this standard. Development of the skills and knowledge of auditors and auditor trainees to undertake audit is also critical and will be enhanced using new and innovative digital interactive resources. An existing audit tool currently available as a pdf online version will be newly developed into a digital interactive resource for use electronically by auditors in the field.

This project contributes to global citizenship as well as health and wellbeing supported by professionals in promoting high standards and best practice, which will be exported and disseminated widely across multiple professions and with capacity to be utilised across the world.

Objectives:

1. To map and innovatively adapt newly established Audit Protocol and Support tools to suit the Higher Education needs for wider application to medicine and professionals allied to medicine.
2. To develop a digital interactive interactive audit tool, which can be used in situ via ipads etc, supported by access to a central database, which can be easily managed by a provider and suit multi-professions.
3. To develop a virtual interactive learning and teaching resource for auditor preparation and update, which can be cascaded and incorporated into self directed and blended learning.
4. To add further languages of the European Union and incorporate partners integration of the tools in all languages to facilitate wide use across multi-professions.
5. To execute an ongoing programme of intensive dissemination and impact evaluation in order to establish the HEALINT Tools and subsequent IWA as the gold standard audit tool for the assessment of clinical placements supporting international mobility by all healthcare.

Duration: 1.9.2020 – 31.8.2023
Project Manager: Viveka Höijer-Brear, viveka.hoijer-brear@samk.fi

Innovative Rehabilitation Education - Introduction of new master degree programs in Ukraine (REHAB)

Project REHAB is aimed at development of capacity and implementation of innovative master program in physical therapy in Ukraine.

Physical therapists (or PTs) help injured or ill people improve their movement and manage their pain. In Ukraine profession of PT did not exist until 2016 when it was recognised and became a priority. The need in PT is about 35,000 based on comparable countries.

Specific project objectives:
• To create by 2019 Comprehensive Physical Therapy Mastery study program.
• To form by 2020 core academic/professional staff of at least 40 qualified PT faculty members for teaching physical therapy.
• To establish Educational Infrastructure for Learning Physical Therapy at University.
• To pilot by 2020 PT master programs based on new content and innovative teaching approaches and graduate up to 200 masters in PT.

Innovative methods of teaching are built into curriculum (clinical cases, roles plays, interprofessional education, people with disabilities as teaching assistants, vertical teaching of bachelors / masters, use of eLearning materials produced jointly by EU and Ukraine).

Special attention is given to dissemination through media and events (e.g. winter school ) and free distribution of project materials.

Master program is based on WCPT requirements. Full set of teaching materials is developed (12 to 18 modules). The core group of academic/professional staff is formed through workshops, 2-months faculty job shadowing and 6-months student traineeship at EU. To promote selflearning, early contact with patients and work with PT equipment the Training Rehab Lab is established with minilibrary. Four key manuals are to be translated into Ukrainian.

Funding: Erasmus+
Duration: 15.10.2017 – 30.11.2022
Project Manager: Anne Kärki, anne.karki@samk.fi

Coordinator: Latvijas Sporta Pedagogijas Akademijas

In cooperation with: National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine, Testing Board, LDUFK, Ternopil State Medical University, Sumy State University, Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego Jozefa Pilsudskiego w Warszawie, Lietuvos Sporto Universitetas, Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Safarika v Kosiciach, Satakunnan ammattikorkeakoulu ja European Federation of Adapted Physical Activity.