Laura Somersalo-Cavén
Title: Planning Officer
Tel. +358 29 524 7516
Email: laura.somersalo-caven(at)thl.fi
Expertise
- Equality
- Cultural diversity
- Health and well-being among foreign born population
- Refugee mental health
- Register studies
Primary duties
- Planning officer, Migration and Cultural Diversity team
- Researcher, Quantitative Research on Refugee Mental Health, TAVATA project
- Member of THL's Expert Group for Cultural Diversity (MONET)
Education
- 2021, Specialist Vocational Qualification in Product Development, Rastor Oy
- 2020, MA degree in Preventative Nursing Sciences, University of Eastern Finland
- 2014, Paramedic/Registered Nurse, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
Professional background
- 2023–, Planning officer, Supportive conversation skills for reception centers - mental health for asylum seekers (TAVATA) project
- 2021, Coordination of 22nd Nordic Conference for Professionals working with Traumatised Refugees
- 2020-2022, Project Coordinator, PALOMA Projects, National Institute for Health and Welfare
- 8/2019, Research Assistant, FinMonik Project, National Institute for Health and Welfare
- 3/2019, Intern, FinMonik Project, National Institute for Health and Welfare
- 2014–2019 Critical Care Nurse, Neurosurgical ICU, Helsinki University Hospital
Languages
- Finnish (Native)
- English (Excellent)
- Mandarin Chinese (Excellent)
- Swedish (Fair)
- Spanish (Fair)
Current projects
Former projects
- Strengthening and widening the national PALOMA centre of excellence to support refugee mental health (PALOMA3) -project
- National support system for refugee mental health work and the knowhow dissemination (PALOMA2)
- 22nd Nordic Conference for Professionals working with Traumatised Refugees
- Survey on well-being among foreign born population (FinMonik)
Publications
- Kuusio H, Seppänen A, Jokela S, Somersalo L & Lilja E. Survey on well-being among foreign born population (FinMonik) 2018–2019. Raportti 1/2020. Helsinki: National Institute for Health and Welfare.
- Kuusio H, Seppänen A, Somersalo L, Jokela S, Castaneda AE, Abdulhamed R & Lilja E (2021). Response Activity in Mixed-Method Survey Data Collection—The Methods Used in a Survey among the Foreign-Born Population in Finland (FinMonik). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 3300.
