New professor Leena Paakkari: “Young people face an increasing amount of inaccurate health information online”

Critical literacy skills are becoming increasingly important

In her research, Paakkari focuses especially on young people’s health literacy skills and critical reading skills regarding health-related information and agency:

“I examine how children’s and adolescents’ ability to find, understand and evaluate health-related information is linked to, for example, problematic use of social media, low levels of physical activity and health-related inequalities, and also who may be left without reliable information,” Paakkari explains.

“These are topical issues right now in the rapidly changing digital and social environment. Young people increasingly encounter contradictory, inaccurate or ambiguous health information online.”

Paakkari also leads research on how health literacy and opportunities to influence one’s own life are connected to cardiovascular risk factors in youth.

International research on school children’s health for over 40 years

Paakkari serves as the national principal investigator (PI) in the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. It is an ongoing survey programme that has been conducted in cooperation with the World Health Organization for over 40 years and covering more than fifty countries. This population survey focuses on young people’s health behaviour, health, and well-being.

“The large-scale repeated population data sets of the HBSC study, going back as far as 40 years, provide an extraordinary view of how young people’s daily life, health challenges and health disparities have changed,” Paakkari states.

Using research to promote equal opportunities for good health

Such research and broad-based data help identify vulnerabilities related to young people’s health and well-being as well as their accumulation at the individual, family and societal levels.

“The findings show that mental health challenges, stress, and poor health literacy are often interconnected and concern the same young people, especially when there are underlying inequalities in health-related resources, such as family support, friendships, or one’s own capability to promote and maintain health.”

The aim is to use research data to identify risk factors and protective factors as well as to gain further knowledge about the specific groups of young people among whom the vulnerabilities tend to accumulate. Such research can show how various behavioural mechanisms affect these phenomena. This way, research can provide a basis for targeted measures, policies and services to improve young people’s well-being and promote the reduction of health-related disparities in society.

“The research provides practical and evidence-based solutions that support health, well-being and equal opportunities for good health.”

Leena Paakkari completed her Doctor of Health Sciences degree at the University of Jyväskylä in 2012. She is also a docent of Health Sciences at Tampere University. She has worked in teaching and research positions in the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, since 2002. Paakkari has extensive experience in research-based advocacy at the national and international level. She has worked as an expert in various working groups of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Council regarding the themes of health literacy and human rights. She has also participated in drafting related guidelines that are used in several European countries. At the national level, she has contributed to curricula, teacher education, and the development of young people’s digital skills. At present, Paakkari leads a working group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health focusing on health literacy and emotional skills as part of the national health and wellbeing programme.