Tarja Pölkki
PhD
Professor
pediatric nursing, neonatal nursing, family-centered care, pain assessment, non-pharmacological interventions, digitalization, randomized controlled trial, systematic review
Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology
Faculty of Medicine
I am working as a Professor in nursing science at the University of Oulu, Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology. I lead a research group of Well-being for Individuals and Families in Nursing (IndFamilyNurs) that aims to develop evidence-based consistent practices.
My in-depth expertise in within the research area of (a) promoting family-centered care, (b) assessment and management of pain and its related emotions (such as fear, anxiety, stress) focused on the effectiveness non-pharmacological interventions, and (c) how the environment affects the well-being of individuals emphasizing the diversity of northern nature.
Of particular interest to me are the most vulnerable patient groups, such as pregnant women, children and specially neonates requiring intensive care and their parents in NICU.
The research is multidisciplinary and leverages digital innovations to improve the effectiveness of care.
Research interests
- Promoting family- and people-centered care in nursing
- Impact of environment on well-being emphasizing the special features of northern nature
- Developing and testing multimodal assessment tools
- Evaluating the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions on pain and its related emotions (e.g. fear, stress, anxiety)
- Increasing the competence of staff through training interventions in pediatric nursing
- Fostering resilience to promote the mental health particularly in young people
Researcher information
Contact information
Phone number
Visiting address
Postal address