Minttu Palsola

Title: senior researcher
Phone: +358 29 524 8222
e-mail: [email protected]

Expertise

Minttu Palsola is a Senior Researcher at the Cultural, Behavioural and Media Insights Centre (CUBE) at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Her research interests are related to behaviour change interventions: especially how to effectively bring about changes in behaviours while fostering people’s physical and psychological wellbeing, as well as what drives these changes in different behaviours. 

Primary Duties

Senior research at the Cultural, Behavioural and Media Insights Centre (CUBE)

Degree

Master of Social Sciences (Social Psychology), University of Helsinki, 2020

Professional Background

2023–, Senior researcher, Cultural, Behavioural and Media Insights Centre (CUBE), Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)

2022-, Consultant (contract), Behavioural and Cultural Insights (BCI) Unit, The WHO Regional Office for Europe

2021-, Doctoral Researcher, Faculty of Social Sciences, Behaviour Change and Wellbeing Research group, Tampere University 

2020-2021, Project Coordinator, Faculty of Social Sciences, Behaviour Change and Wellbeing Research group, University of Helsinki 

2018-2020, Research Assistant, Faculty of Social Sciences, Behaviour Change and Wellbeing Research group, University of Helsinki

Recent Projects

• 2024–2027, Co-task leader of a behaviour change work package in European Comission Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-associated infections (EU-JAMRAI II)
  The work package aims to enhance the use behaviour change science to support the implementation of better infection prevention and control practices at different levels of healthcare systems across Europe. The task involves teaching intervention design principles based on the Behaviour Change Wheel approach to infection prevention and control practitioners, after which a set of evidence-based interventions are co-developed, implemented and evaluated in up to 11 European countries.

Selected publications

Palsola, M., Araújo-Soares, V., Hardeman, W., Haukkala, A., Heino, M. T. J., Sniehotta, F., Sund, R., Vasankari, T., & Hankonen, N. (2024). Evaluating the Let’s Move It intervention programme theory for adolescents’ physical activity: Theorized psychosocial mechanisms of behavioural changes. British Journal of Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12744

Palsola, M., Renko, E., Kostamo, K., Lorencatto, F., & Hankonen, N. (2020). Thematic analysis of acceptability and fidelity of engagement for behaviour change interventions: The Let’s Move It intervention interview study. British Journal of Health Psychology, 25(3), 772–789. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12433

Puolamäki, M., Palsola, M., Renko, E., Silfver-Kuhalampi, M., Hankonen, N. (2022). Tutkimusmittarien kääntämisestä: esimerkkitapaus itsemääräämisteoriaan perustuvien kyselylomakkeiden kulttuurisesta adaptointi- ja käännösprosessista. Psykologia 57(5-6), 408.

Renko, E., Knittle, K., Palsola, M., Lintunen, T., & Hankonen, N. (2020). Acceptability, reach and implementation of a training to enhance teachers’ skills in physical activity promotion. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1568. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09653-x 

Aulbach, M. B., Puukko, S., Palsola, M., Haukkala, A., Sund, R., Vasankari, T., & Hankonen, N. (2023). How does a school-based intervention impact students’ social cognitions on reducing sedentary behavior over 14 months? Psychology, Health & Medicine, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2023.2285734