The Centre of Excellence for Well-Being Sciences EstWell

EstWell seminar Associate Professor Kadri Leetmaa: How rural elderly learn about digital world – methodological reflections from a recent learning experiment with elderly population in Estonia rural localities
2024-12-16 16:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Tallinn) | University of Tartu, Näituse 2-102, Tartu, Estonia
The seminar will be conducted by Associate Professor of Human Geography at the University of Tartu, Kadri Leetmaa, and Lecturer in Cognitive and School Psychology, Triin Liin.
Digital transformation has fundamentally changed the way how society functions. Digital life is no longer just a means of communication, but instead, ‘digital’ has become ‘natural’, making hard to distinguish digital transactions from our general presence in the society. What has received relatively little attention, is who remains excluded from this transformative change. To compensate the gap digital transformation should be examined more from the perspective of the ‘margins’ of the society, through the places and people that are usually not at the centre of defining the smartification trends.
In the ongoing research project, we focus on rural areas and older people—we explore how elderly people in peripheral rural areas adapt to the increasingly digitalized life.
In the EstWell seminar we present our first methodological reflections from the ongoing learning experiment (Sept-Dec 2024, follow-up focus groups planned in Jan/Feb 2025) with rural elderly in four Estonian municipalities. We formed small local community study groups, where prepared digital learning took place on tablets in the experiment and control group setting, coordinated by local community researchers. In the seminar we mainly reflect the methodological aspects of the learning experiment.

EstWell seminar Associate Professor Kelli Lehto: What can our genes tell us about mental health and well-being?
2024-12-09 16:00 - 17:00 | TÜMRI hoone, Riia 23, ruum 116, Tartu, Estonia
What can our genes tell us about mental health and well-being?
Mental health problems affect nearly half of the population during their lifetime, but still remain challenging to prevent, detect and treat due to our limited understanding of their etiology. In this seminar, I will discuss how large biobanks and genetic data can help make progress. Specifically, I will:

Explore the role of genetics in mental health conditions and traits;
Discuss phenotypic heterogeneity as the key challenge in research on mental health and well-being;
Introduce the Estonian Biobank “Well-Being and Mental Health” Study which includes data from over 86,000 Estonians — approximately 10% of Estonia’s adult population; and
Outline future directions and ethical considerations for integrating genetics into personalized health care for mental health problems.

EstWell seminar Professor Katrin Tiidenberg: Participatory cultures of mental health on social media - belonging, support and attention
2024-11-26 16:00 - 17:00 | University of Tallinn, Mare maja, Uus Sadama 5-M131, Estonia
Mental health discourse is increasingly pervasive on social media. There are content creators who focus entirely on the topic (e.g. stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, OCD), but speaking about personal struggles with mental health is also common among creators whose focus lies elsewhere (e.g. fitness, study advice, productivity advice, beauty, finance). This serves to destigmatize mental ill health and normalize talking about it. However, it also generate a sense of relatability and authenticity among audiences, thus serving the content creator well within the densely populated attention economy of social media. This talk explores the complex intersection of advice seeking, support and belonging, medical misinformation, alternative interpretations and de-stigmatization of mental health in a context where the need for mental health is on the rise, the availability of it is insufficient and people increasingly turn to social media.

EstWell seminar Associate Professor Vladimir Tomberg: Implementing health behaviour change with digital health interventions
2024-11-11 16:00 - 17:00 | Tallinna Ülikoolis, Narva mnt 25, Astra maja - Ruum A346
Digial health interventions encompass a wide range of technological solutions, from mobile applications and wearable devices to online platforms and virtual coaching programs. Through the collection and analysis of user data, these interventions can identify patterns, track progress, and offer customized strategies to help individuals overcome obstacles and sustain their healthy behaviours.
The seminar will explore the role of behavioural science and user-centred design in the development of effective digital health interventions. By incorporating behaviour psychology and human-computer interaction, these interventions can be designed to leverage cognitive biases, foster intrinsic motivation, and create engaging user experiences that inspire long-term behaviour change.

Well-being Machines in Your Pocket - EstWell Opening Conference
2024-11-08 09:30 - 17:00 | TalTech, Akadeemia tee 3-LIB-109B, Tallinn, Tallinn, Estonia
Today, technology and information systems serve as essential artificial collaborators in collecting and managing human data. At the conference, we will present insights from the Centre of Excellence’s researchers on studying various aspects of well-being and ways to support it. We will especially focus on how different technical applications can enhance human well-being. Additionally, we will feature international speakers at the forefront of well-being sciences, who focus on the intersection of behavior and genetics, as well as digital life and well-being.
Founded in 2024, the Centre of Excellence for Well-Being Sciences brings together social and natural scientists in search of new ways to measure, understand, and influence human well-being. Researchers from the University of Tartu, Tallinn University, and Tallinn University of Technology have joined forces for an interdisciplinary, in-depth exploration of well-being.

EstWell seminar Professor Uku Vainik : Personality of 7% of adults in Estonia – what has been found and what to look forward to
2024-10-30 16:00 - 17:00 | University of Tartu, Näituse 2-102, Tartu, Estonia
The big personality study is almost 3 years old and, we have found many intriguing results! I am looking forward to sharing the greatest hits of the personality science we have done so far — from well-being to geography, from genetics to covid vaccination, from job preferences to fathers and sons. Time permitting, we may also discuss the predictability of well-being https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-024-00294-2
