Research group Innovations in Preventive Care
Within healthcare, the emphasis is shifting from curing disease to preventing disease and maintaining health. The Research group Innovations in Preventive care is working to increase the self-reliance of people and to improve their overall health and quality of life.
Lines of research within the research group
In order to become and stay healthy and vital, it is important that we conduct screenings and early detection procedures. This is not merely for the purpose of detecting diseases but primarily also for charting behaviour and health literacy. This information and knowledge allows us to help people more effectively in maintaining their health.
Devising preventive interventions that fit in with the daily life and experience of people requires an interprofessional approach. The different healthcare and well-being disciplines need to work closely together, given the complexity of issues that arise from practice. These issues can only be solved in collaboration. Our research focuses on the development of integrated preventive programmes and the study of their effects.
We are striving to integrate oral care into public health. To this end, we are conducting research into the role of oral health in relation to vulnerability and general health. We are also conducting research into how dental hygienists and other oral care professionals can employ preventive measures effectively.
By collaborating with youth healthcare facilities we can postpone or even avoid the first cavity among small children. And through collaboration with general practitioners and nurses, we can also prevent many oral care problems among the elderly.
The Uitblinkers-intervention for behavioural change
The ‘Uitblinkers’ intervention for behavioural change is a project aimed at improving the oral health of young children, especially in families from lower socioeconomic position. Utilizing a unique conversational methodology based on proven strategies, it focuses on improving oral hygiene habits and dietary behaviours.
Publications
- Capacity and needs assessment of the implementation of the toddler oral health intervention at well-baby clinics
- Health literacy in the context of child health promotion: a scoping review of conceptualizations and descriptions
- The impact of saliva collection methods on measured salivary biomarker levels
Education
We are working together with several of the degree programmes of the Institute for Allied Healthcare Professions. Students from the Dental Hygiene degree programme and various minors are participants in our research projects. The knowledge gained from the research programme will also be translated for use by other professions.
“Healthcare professionals require a broader social perspective on prevention and health. An unhealthy lifestyle is often connected with other unfavourable living conditions, such as an unsafe neighbourhood, unemployment or debt”
Katarina Jerković Professor of Innovations in Preventive Care
Collaboration
We are working together with municipalities and various local and regional organisations in the fields of healthcare and well-being. The knowledge about preventive care that is acquired within the research programme is interprofessional in nature and is translated for the broader professional field.
