Anni Pakarinen
Docent, PhD, MHSc, RN
ankorh@utu.fi +358 29 450 4711 +358 50 440 9740 Kiinamyllynkatu 10 Turku ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9077-1663 |
Health promotion, Digital health, Digital interventions, Gamification, health games, Wellbeing of children, adolescents and families, Case management, Design Thinking
I am a registered nurse specialized in medical-surgical nursing, holding a Master of Health Sciences (MHSc) and a PhD in Nursing Science. Since 2025, I have held the title of Docent in Nursing Science at the University of Turku. Currently, I serve as a Senior Researcher at the Department of Nursing Science, where my work focuses on health promotion, interdisciplinary research, and the development of innovative healthcare solutions.
My research focuses on health promotion and digital interventions, particularly on serious games and gamified applications, as well as sensor technlogy and wearables. My research approaches the topic from many perspectives; development through user-centered design process, evaluation of the usability, feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention, as well as the implementation process of digital interventions. The research aims to provide both the knowledge and methods to support the work of professionals, to promote the health of individuals and to support the use of high-quality and evidence-based digital interventions in health and social care for disease prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. The aim is also to provide information that can be used in the design and development of new digital interventions for health promotion purposes.
PI in Gamification for Health reseaech programme: https://sites.utu.fi/nursingscienceresearchprogrammes/intelligent-health/gamification-for-health/
I have experience in teaching and planning of teaching in following courses: Design thinking for health- and social care, Health Innovations- from ideas to impact in device development, Digital culture and health (Asklepios), Research and reportage in Nursing Science, Evidence based practice, Design Thinking in healthcare innovation, Case management (continuing education) and Digitalisation supporting Clinical Nursing. I also supervise students in Bachelor, Master and Doctoral level.
- Sote-alalla tarvitaan palveluohjauksen osaajia (2022) Puheenvuoroja palveluohjauksesta Mustonen Reetta, Pakarinen Anni, Laitonen Elina
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Supporting LGBTQ+ Students: A Focus Group Study with Junior High School Nurses (2022)
- Journal of School Nursing
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - 3D technologies to support teaching and learning in health care education – scoping review (2021)
- International Journal of Educational Research
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Palveluohjauksen osaajille on tarvetta Sote-kentällä (2021)
- Dialogiblogi : Sote-akatemian monialainen blogi
(E1 Popularised article) - Turun yliopiston hoitotieteellinen tutkimus menestyy kansainvälisillä foorumeilla (2021)
- Hoitotiede
(B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal) - Digitaalisten terveys- ja hyvinvointisovellusten kehittäminen, arviointi ja raportointi: Qvalidi 2019 -tarkistuslistan kehittäminen ja sisältö (2020)
- Hoitotiede
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - LGBTQ+ Students’ Experiences of Junior High School Nursing in Finland: A Qualitative Study (2020)
- Journal of School Nursing
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - The Association between the Preference for Active Play and Neurological Development in Toddlers: A Register-Based Study (2020)
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - The Use of Gaming in Healthcare (2020) Developing and Utilizing Digital Technology in Healthcare for Assessment and Monitoring Pakarinen Anni, Salanterä Sanna
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Encountering sexual and gender minority youth in healthcare: an integrative review (2019)
- Primary Health Care Research and Development
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Nuorella on oikeus (ja velvollisuus) olla oma itsensä (2019)
- Terveyttä tieteestä -blogi
(E1 Popularised article) - Pelit hyvinvoinnin ja terveyden edistäjinä (2019) Pelikasvattajan käsikirja 2 Arpola T, Kotimaa A, Marttinen R, Pakarinen A, Parisod H
(D2 Article in a professional compilation book) - Uusi perhe haastaa uusperheen - uusparien ja ammattilaisten näkemyksiä uusperheiden haasteista (2019)
- Perheterapia
(D1 Article in a professional journal) - Feasibility of mobile health game “Fume” in supporting tobacco-related health literacy among early adolescents: A three-armed cluster randomized design (2018)
- International Journal of Medical Informatics
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Protocol for digital intervention for effective health promotion of small children—A cluster randomized trial (2018)
- Journal of Advanced Nursing
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Secondary School Nurse as an information source for Finnish Sexual and Gender Minority Youth (2018)
- TUCS Lecture Notes
(A4 Refereed article in a conference publication ) - The development and feasibility of gamified digital intervention aiming to promote physical activity in early childhood (2018) Pakarinen Anni
(G5 Article dissertation ) - Acceptability of and Demand for a Tobacco-Related Health Game Application in Early Adolescents with Different Gender, Age and Gaming Habits (2017)
- CEUR Workshop Proceedings
(A4 Refereed article in a conference publication ) - Association of Self-Perceived Physical Competence and Leisure-Time Physical Activity in ChildhoodA Follow-Up Study (2017)
- Journal of School Health
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Comparison of Fitbit One® Against ActiGraph in Measuring Habitual Physical Activity of Children (2017) Hamari L, Kullberg T, Ruohonen J, Heinonen OJ, Díaz-Rodríguez N, Lilius J, Pakarinen A, Myllymäki A, Leppänen V, Salanterä S.
(Other publication)