Families' experiences of support provided by resource-oriented family professionals in Finland

This study describes the support provided by resource-oriented family workers in Finland and the prerequisites for such support. Family workers consisted of professionals such as public health nurses, nurses, social educators, psychologists, kindergarten teachers, and social workers. The overall research project consisted of four separate studies carried out within the Families With Children Project. The findings of the four studies were aggregated and submitted to a secondary analysis. Interview data from 51 parents across 44 families with young children were included in the analysis. The families reported that they received emotional, cognitive, instrumental, and community and network support from the family workers. The work of resource-oriented family professionals was facilitated by the arrangements and orientation of the service model and by the quality of interaction between the family worker and the family. The families' experiences of support underlined the multiple dimensions of the cooperative relationship and the usefulness of the supportive interaction. The findings extend the understanding of resource-oriented family work from the perspective of families and offer important implications for the caring of families with young children.     

Mistreatment of university students most common during medical studies

Background  

This study concerns the occurrence of various forms of mistreatment by staff and fellow students experienced by students in the Faculty of Medicine and the other four faculties of the University of Oulu, Finland.     

Reliability and validity of the Finnish version of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS)

Purpose: The present study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) among foot and ankle patients.

Methods: The LEFS was translated and cross-culturally adapted to Finnish. We assessed the test–retest reliability, internal consistency, floor-ceiling effect, construct validity and criterion validity in patients who underwent surgery due to musculoskeletal pathology of the foot and ankle (N?=?166).

Results: The test–retest reliability was high (ICC = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.91–0.95). The standard error of measurement was 4.1 points. The Finnish LEFS showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α?=?0.96). A slight ceiling effect occurred as 17% achieved the maximum score. The LEFS correlation was strong with the 15D Mobility dimension (r?=?0.74) and overall HRQoL (r?=?0.66), pain during foot and ankle activity (r=??0.69) and stiffness (r=??0.62). LEFS correlated moderately with foot and ankle pain at rest (r=??0.50) and with physical activity (r?=?0.46).

Conclusions: The Finnish version of the LEFS showed reliability and validity comparable to those of the original version. This study indicates that the Finnish version of the LEFS serves both clinical and scientific purposes in assessing lower-limb function.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• The Finnish version of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) is a reliable and valid tool for assessing lower-extremity musculoskeletal disability in Finnish-speaking population.

• Investigation of the psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the LEFS showed validity and reliability comparable to those of the original English version.

• The Finnish LEFS is easy to complete and suitable for clinical, rehabilitation and research purposes.