ENTER Mental Health member: School of Health Sciences

Tampere University

The Health Sciences Unit of the Faculty of Social Sciences (SOC) at Tampere University is a multidisciplinary health education and research unit comprising twelve disciplines: biostatistics, epidemiology, gerontology, global health, medical philosophy and ethics, nursing, public health, social psychiatry, social and health policy, sociology of health, health economics and occupational health.
In health sciences, we research factors that affect health, the means and effectiveness of health promotion and disease prevention, the different areas of health care and health policy, and the foundations of care, health and well-being. The research topics are central to society and are situated at the intersection of the two main areas of expertise at Tampere University: social and health research. The Unit’s broadest cross-disciplinary research areas are child, adolescent and family health and health promotion, ageing and the ageing population, mental health and the health care and social service systems.

Care Services

N/A, but close collaboration with the Tampere University Hospital, including with the Psychiatric Units

User Organisations

www.omaiset-tampere.fi (Organisation for mental health users families)

Internet Links

Finnish Central Association for Mental health www.mtkl.fi/in_english/
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health www.stm.fi/en/
Pirkanmaa Hospital District

www.pshp.fi/

Training Resources

In nursing science there are separate programmes in the teaching of nursing and in nursing management. The School also offers an International Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences with options to specialize in Public Health or International Health. This two-year programme with students from all around the world is offered every other year and the medium of instruction is English.

At the School of Health Sciences it is possible to carry out the following post-graduate degrees: Licentiate and Doctorate Degrees in Philosophy or Health Sciences or the Doctoral Degree in Medicine. The postgraduate degrees can be carried out in all the academic fields at the school.

In addition, we run an expert programme for epidemiologically oriented researchers worldwide with special focus on the essential public health problems in low-income countries. The International postgraduate Programme in Epidemiology is open for applications every other year.

The School of Health Sciences provides undergraduate (Bachelor's), graduate (Master's) and postgraduate (Doctoral) level education. In the undergraduate and graduate level degree programmes the major subjects are Nursing Science or Public Health. These programmes are available only in Finnish.

Current Research Projects

Research at HES is mainly concerned with the health of various population groups, approached from the perspectives of the individual, the family, the community, the healthcare system and societal decision-making. HES’s research interests are thus crucial to society and located at the intersection of the University’s two main areas of strength: the social sciences and health. Some of the school’s broadest interdisciplinary research interests include ageing and the elderly; healthcare management; the healthcare and social services system; and the health and health promotion of children, young people and families. These interests are developed as multidisciplinary research priorities. Mental health and occupational health are also researched in various fields represented by HES, and cancer epidemiology is another strong and constantly developing field.