NaisNet

Women and Families: research network on health and health services

What is NaisNet?

Area

NaisNet is a research network on
1) research relevant to women's health;
2) research on health services for women; and
3) research on women as actors or factors that influence other people's health, especially through reproduction and motherhood.

Research will not be restricted to women only; all research relevant to women's health, e.g. research on children and on men as partners and fathers, can be covered. Emphasis is put on the evaluation of the determinants and characteristics of services and technology. Important focal issues are unintended consequences and the interface between professional and non professional responsibilities.

Importance of the topic

Gender is an important determinant of health. Many health care services are for women and many health care problems have more impact on women. The health care field is women centered. Women have an important gatekeeper role and women's health behaviour is an important model for men and children. Comparison of men and women in regard to health status and use of services may reveal new insights into their determinants.

Women's health roles consists of:
1) being objects of services and technologies (The majority of patients and service users are women; women have more symptoms and contacts to physicians, and use more self- medication);
2) being professionals as health service workers; and
3) being health care providers as care givers for families and relatives.

From the public health perspective women's health can be defined as:
1) reproductive health (e.g. menarche, pregnancy, (pre/post) menopause);
2) illnesses more common among women;
3) illnesses among women only; and
4) the special characteristics of risk factors, treatment and prevention that are relevant to women.
Purpose

The purposes of the multidisciplinary network are to help researchers to get together, and to function as a source for information, education, and personal as well as professional support between researchers in different research institutions and universities in Finland. New research ideas and collaboration will be created and postgraduate education will be supported and strengthened. International contacts to research institutions abroad will be also created.

Who can join?

The network consists of people who want to join and work together within it actively; it is not intended to be a full coverage of all researchers in the field in Finland.

New members can join to the network by being active, by telling about their research in meetings, and by sending their presentation with research interests and research/project plan in english to Hanna Toiviainen. (hanna.toiviainen(at)stakes.fi)