The projects within the theme examine health and illness as integral parts of the surrounding culture, society, and media landscape. They also investigate healthcare professionals, experts, and services, as well as citizens’ attitudes toward these and the tensions associated with expertise.
- MEX: The project investigated trust in experts around the themes of health, nutrition, and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as alternative health influencers and the controversies related to these topics on social media. (Piia Jallinoja, Marjaana Jones, Terhi Koivumäki)
- Contested health and illness: This research initiative delves into the contentious debates surrounding health and many illnesses, in current modern societies. The projects within the initiative analyse why, how and by whom many health, nutrition and illness related themes become debated. Additionally, the initiative analyses food, diet and obesity activism and movements. (Piia Jallinoja)
- YouTubers as Peer Mental Health Educators in Adolescent's social environments (TUBEDU): The overall aim of the whole TUBEDU-project is to produce new theoretical-conceptual information and understanding of the connection between literacy and peer support in young people’s mental health, and to create methodological tools that consider the young people’s context and utilize collaborative research to study young people’s well-being. Our main goal is to strengthen adolescents’ mental wellbeing and health literacy. (Pirjo Lindfors, Tuula Nygård)
- Childhood obesity and how it is framed in our society, media and health care based on parent's perceptions. Parental weight stigma, how doest it appear? (Terhi Koivumäki)
- Institutional agency of healthcare professionals and patients under authoritarian regime. The project focuses on how medical professionals navigate different types of knowledge (scientific evidence, standards of medical practice, knowledge gained from clinical experience) and adjust implementation of this knowledge to a given institutional environment. (Ekaterina Borozdina)