Browsing by Subject "ACT"

The mental health of university students has been a concern worldwide for years, and the issues have been increasing gradually to this date. Factors related to increased stress and mental health issues among university students include poor academic performance. To succeed in studies, students need to acquire organized study skills, which are also connected to one’s psychological well-being. By increasing psychological flexibility, it is possible to learn skills of managing stress, thoughts, and emotions and thus enhance one’s own mental well-being. Psychological flexibility is the goal of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and refers to a skill to focus on the present moment and live in the pursuit of one’s own goals and values. The connection between psychological flexibility and well-being has been studied quite extensively with quantitative measures. However, there is less research about this connection in the context of higher education institutes and university students. Also, according to the knowledge of the researcher, there has been fewer studies on the impact mechanisms of the different sub-processes of psychological flexibility and ACT. More in-depth research with qualitative methods is also needed to gain better understanding about the phenomenon. In some studies, ACT-based interventions have been found to have a positive impact on university students’ psychological well-being and study skills, but more research is needed within this context. The study was conducted applying a mixed methods approach combining repeated measures ANOVA and inductive content analysis. The research group consisted of students who participated in the web-based course, Towards Better Well-being and Studying, during fall 2021 at the University of Helsinki, Finland. For the quantitative measurements, a control group was also used, consisting of students on the waiting list for the course. The research task of this study was to gain better understanding of the possible changes in the participants’ well-being and organized study skills during the course, as well as to examine, how the students attending the course have evaluated the effectiveness of the specific modules and tasks involved during the course. Quantitative results showed that the course had a statistically significant effect on participants' organized study skills, psychological flexibility, and emotional and psychological well-being. Comparing the results of students who participated in the course with those of the control group, whose measures remained mostly the same, confirms this finding about the effects of the course on well-being, organized study skills and psychological flexibility. The results of the qualitative part of the study were in line with these findings. Based on findings from inductive content analysis, the course’s different modules were perceived as useful, and the course had an impact on the well-being of most students as well as their organized study skills. Students’ responses displayed personal development and in-depth reflection both at an individual level and at a broader and societal level. The students felt that they had gained new insights and particularly many concrete tips on how to promote their own well-being and learning, which they will continue to use in the future.

This master’s thesis includes two sections: the present summarizing report and the article manuscript. The purpose of the study is to explore the benefits of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based intervention course to university students’ well-being, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The COVID-19 pandemic has decreased university students’ well-being and increased their risk of burnout. The declined state of student well-being calls for measures in exploring ways of promoting student well-being and preventing study-related burnout. The intervention course aimed to increase students’ psychological flexibility and organized studying skills, as means to positively impact their well-being and studying. A total of 189 participated in the study in the spring of 2021. Students’ risk of burnout was measured pre- and post-intervention, to statistically define whether students experienced that the course impacted their risk of burnout. To explore the course benefits in depth, students’ written reflective reports post-intervention were analyzed using abductive content analysis. The results were statistically compared according to the risk of burnout group assigned pre-intervention. The results showed that the intervention course led to a positive change in students' risk of burnout. The content analysis revealed seven main categories of benefits of the course: 1. improved general well-being, 2. improved self-knowledge, 3. increased psychological flexibility, 4. improved study practices and study motivation, 5. increased self-compassion, 6. gained peer-support, and 7. improved organized studying. These benefits were experienced by students regardless of their initial risk of burnout. The study highlights the potential of ACT-based intervention courses in improving the well-being and studying skills of university students, suggesting a need for further research on burnout prevention through such measures. The prospective publication channel for the research article manuscript is Research in Higher Education by Springer.

Kuvantamista hyödyntävässä toimenpiteessä eli toimenpideradiologiassa on kliininen tarve määrittää potilaan tukos- tai vuototaipumusta. Ultraäänitoimenpiteissä vuotoriskiä ennakoidaan protrombiiniajan (PT) ja siitä johdetun International Ration (INR) avulla. Sydänpotilailla tukosriskiä pienennetään toimenpiteen aikana annostelemalla suonen- sisäisesti hepariinia, jolloin aktivoidulla hyytymisajalla (ACT) voidaan seurata hepariinin vaikutusta. Kannettavalla vierilaitteella voidaan verianalyysit suorittaa toimenpide- huoneessa,jolloin tulosviive pienenee. Tutkielmassa verifioitiin HUS-Kuvantamisen radiologian hankkima ITC Hemochron® Signature Elite-vierilaitteen kokoverianalyysit PT, INR ja aktivoitu partielli tromboplastiiniaika (APTT) vertaamalla laitteen antamia tuloksia laboratorion veriplasmaa käyttäviin analyysituloksiin. Laitteen aktivoidun hyytymisajan (ACT LR ja ACT+) tuloksia verrattiin laboratorion antifaktori X-aktiivisuuteen (anti-FXa). Tavoitteena oli selvittää potilasaineiston avulla soveltuuko ITC Hemochron® Signature Elite-vierilaite kliiniseen käyttöön toimenpideradiologiassa. Ultraäänitoimenpiteissä potilaita oli yhteensä 20 ja sydänpotilaita oli 15. Potilaita ei valikoitu vaan kaikki näyt- teiden keräyspäivinä tammikuussa ja huhtikuussa 2015 HUS-Kuvantaminen radiolo- giassa ulträäni- tai sydäntoimenpiteissä olleet potilaat otettiin mukaan. PT-mittauksissa ero laboratorion menetelmän ja Hemochron® Signature Elite PT:n välillä oli -5,5 sekuntia (-26,3 prosenttia) ja keskinäinen riippuvuus eli korrelaatio vähäinen (R=0,02). INR- mittauksissa ero oli 0,15 (15 prosenttia) ja korrelaatio vähäinen (R=0,1). APTT-mittauk- sissa ero oli 8,4 sekuntia (33,9 prosenttia) ja korrelaatio alhainen (R=0,33). ACT LR:lle ja ACT+:lle ei määritelty eroa, koska mittausasteikko eroaa laboratorion antiFXa:n kanssa. ACT LR:lle saatii korrelaatio oli 0,49 ja ja ACT+:lle 0,35.