In English

The multidisciplinary psychosocial cancer research group (MOPSY) was formed in 2011 when a funding application was submitted for a project titled QPro: Psychosocial dimensions of treatment and care-decisions of localized prostate cancer. The project was led by Professor Teuvo Tammela (University of Tampere) and with the application we secured funding from the Pirkanmaa Cancer Association for 2012-2014. From that point onwards, the research group has expanded both in terms of members and areas of research. The group takes a multidisciplinary and multimethod approach as it studies the impact of cancer on people’s lives; the ways in which patients attempt to cope with treatment side-effects; and how they manage the uncertainties caused by the illness. The group consists of researchers from different disciplines, including public health, medicine, gender studies, social work, health sociology, nursing sciences, health policy and social gerontology.

If you want to know more about our research, the group member’s contact details can be found below and a full list of our publications can be found here.

MOPSY’s ongoing research projects:

• QPro3: Life-satisfaction after prostate cancer treatments: a follow-up study with interview and survey data (2017- )
  For more information, contact the project coordinator: Laura Lahti
• Psychosocial support of cancer patients – user analysis of the psycosocial support services of Tays Cancer Centre and Pirkanmaa Cancer Association (2024-) For more information, contact Eeva Harju or Suvi Holmberg
• Measuring Oncological Value of Exercise and Statin (MOVES) (2022-) For more information, contact the project coordinator: Annastiina Hakulinen
• Public health services and voluntary sector organisations as the providers of psychosocial support for cancer patients (2018- )
  For more information, contact the project coordinator(s): Eeva Harju or Marjaana Jones

Contact details:

Ilkka Pietilä, PhD, ilkka.pietila@helsinki.fi

Pietilä is an Assistant Professor of social gerontology at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki. His research explores people’s gendered interpretations of health and ageing and he has studied the treatment choices of men with prostate cancer, men’s ways of coping with cancer renewal and the insecurities related to treatment side-effects. Pietilä is one of the founding members of the Multidisciplinary Psychosocial Cancer Research group (MOPSY).

 

 

 

Hanna Ojala, PhD, hanna.ojala@tuni.fi

Ojala is a Senior Research Fellow at Tampere University Institute for Advanced Social Research. Her research has focused on intersections of age, gender and social class within various contexts of men’s ageing, such as health and anti-ageing. Recently, she has studied illness narratives of prostate cancer, gendered decision-making processes of prostate cancer treatments, and quality of life after prostate cancer. Ojala has expertise in qualitative methods, especially interviewing. Ojala is one of the founding members of the Multidisciplinary Psychosocial Cancer Research group (MOPSY).

 

 

Teuvo Tammela, Professor and Chief of Urology, teuvo.tammela@tuni.fi

Tammela works as the Professor of Surgery at Tampere University and as the Chief of urology at Tampere University Hospital. He is a distinguished researcher, whose work combines both clinical and epidemiological research. Throughout his career, Tammela has advanced prostate cancer research and collaborative research in a number of ways. Currently he is the lead for the QPro3-project, which focuses on life-satisfaction following prostate cancer treatment.

 

Eeva Harju, PhD, eeva.harju@tuni.fi

Harju works as a university teacher in the Tampere University in nursing science. Her research interests include the health-related quality of life and the marital relationship between prostate cancer patients and their spouses. In addition, her expertise includes quantitative research methods and follow-up research. She is currently coordinating the “Public health services and voluntary sector organisations as the providers of psychosocial support for cancer patients” research project and is involved in carrying out a qualitative role in the research project “Effect of controlled physical exercises on side effects and physical activity of castration treatment of prostate cancer”.

Suvi Holmberg, PhD, suvi.holmberg@tuni.fi

Holmberg’s phd study explores suffering from breast and prostate cancer in the context of everyday life where cancer is approached as a social and cultural phenomenon. Special research interests include constructions of death, sexuality and agency in daily life with cancer. Currently Holmberg works as a University Instructor at Tampere University in degree programme in Social Work.

Marjaana Jones, PhD, marjaana.jones@tuni.fi

Jones’ doctoral thesis – completed in 2021 – focused on patient and public involvement in health services. Her research interests include cancer peer support, lived illness experiences, lay knowledge/experiential knowledge and the roles of patient/cancer organisations. Jones has expertise in qualitative health research. Currently she works as a postdoctoral researcher and a university instructor at the unit of health sciences, Tampere University.

 

 

Laura Lahti, M.H.Sc., laura.e.lahti@tuni.fi

Laura Lahti is working as a doctoral researcher at Tampere University. Her field of study is health sociology, and the research focuses on age and aging as part of living with prostate cancer. She was responsible for the questionnaire data collection of QPro3 project. Lahti also collects and analyzes the interview data for several projects. She worked also in a cooperation project between Tampere University and Mehiläinen in 2023. The aim of the project was to find out the social support needs of men undergoing PSA testing.

 

 

Annastiina Hakulinen, M.H.Sc., annastiina.hakulinen@tuni.fi

Annastiina Hakulinen works as a research coordinator in the research project ”Measuring Oncological Value of Exercise and Statin” (MOVES).

 

 

 

 

Anna-Maija Talvitie, PhD, anna-maija.talvitie@vakehyva.fi

Anna-Maija Talvitie studied in her dissertation the quality of life of prostate cancer patients after surgery, radiation and hormonal treatments.

Anna-Maija Talvitie is working in the Wellbeing Services County of Vantaa and Kerava as a senior specialist.