Hanna Ristolainen

Hanna Ristolainen is a University Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Eastern Finland's Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. She holds a PhD in Social Sciences (2022) focusing on care management models for older people. Her research emphasizes older adults' well-being, social exclusion in home care, and effectiveness of social services. She leads the SOLDEX project on elderly social exclusion and collaborates on the NÄPSÄ project.

Education:

• PhD in Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland (2022)
• Focus: Care management and aging populations

Research Interests:

• Older adults' social exclusion and intervention strategies
• Effectiveness of home care and service delivery
• Ethical challenges in care work
• Policy implications for aging populations

Articles: Recent work examines narratives of home care clients, ethical burdens in care work, and cost-effectiveness of group interventions. Themes include resource constraints, measurement-driven practices, and systemic inequities in eldercare.

Grants & Projects:

• SOLDEX (2021–2025): Examines social exclusion in home care
• NÄPSÄ: Focuses on service effectiveness
• Promoting Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work (2025–2026)

Labs/Teams: Member of the Social Work Research and Education Team and the House of Effectiveness initiative.