NSQH 2026 programme

Thursday 27 August 2026 – CONFERENCE DAY 1

8:00  Registration at Scandic Marina Congress Center
Katajanokanlaituri 6, Helsinki

09:00 Welcome and opening of the NSQH Conference

  • Dr Veli-Matti Ulander, Chief Administrative Medical Officer of HUS, Chairman of NSQH 2026 Local Organizing Committee
  • Dr Sanna-Maria Kivivuori, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, National Patient Safety Officer, Finland; Vice Chair of the NSQH Board, Member of Nordic Patient Safety Steering Group; Board Chair, Finnish Society for Patient and Client Safety

09:10  Keynote lecture: Quality and safety after social and health care integration in Finland – a success or a failure?
  • Docent Liina-Kaisa Tynkkynen, PhD Chief Researcher, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare THL (Finland)
  • Moderator: Professor Kristiina Patja, University of Helsinki
09:35  Future Challenges for Quality and Safety in Finland and Europe
  • Director General (doctorates in medicine and law) Lasse Lehtonen, Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland

10:00 Coffee break and Poster Exhibition

10:30 Regional overview of quality and patient safety level in the Nordic and Baltic countries – successes and challenges
  • Moderators:
    Dr Sanna-Maria Kivivuori, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland; Finnish Society for Patient and Client Safety
    Professor Emeritus Henning Boje Andersen, Technical University of Denmark / DTU, Chairman of the NSQH Board

  • Denmark: Anette Lykke Petri
  • Finland: Tuija Ikonen
  • Norway: Kari Annette Os
  • Sweden: Charlotta George
  • Estonia: Teele Orgse
  • Latvia: Evija Andzane
  • Lithuania: Birutė Strukčinskienė

12:00 Lunch Buffet
13:00 Parallel sessions 1, 2 and 3 *  

Session 1
Using AI in quality and safety for social and health care

Dr Enni Sanmark, HUS Helsinki University Hospital

Moderators:
Dr Antti-Jussi Ämmälä, Chief Medical Officer Terveystalo, Finland; Vice Chair, Finnish Society for Patient and Client Safety

Professor Emeritus Henning Boje Andersen, Technical University of Denmark / DTU, Chairman of the NSQH Board                                                                                                                                                                                                     
Session 2
Educational innovations in quality and patient safety


Moderators:

Professor Kristiina Patja, University of Helsinki

Associate Professor Axel Ros, Research Leader, Quality improvement and Patient Safety, Region Jönköping County and The Jönköping Academy for Improvement of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University                                                     

         		Session 3
Other client safety issues



Moderators:

Tuija Ikonen

Professor Kiku Pukk Härenstam, Systems Safety in Health Care, Senior Consultant Pediatric Emergency Department, Medical Director Pediatric Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation and Training, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital                                           
                                                                                                                                                                                                  

14:30  Coffee break and poster exhibition

15:00  Keynote lecture: Inequitably Harmed: the human impact of Inequity and Epistemic Injustice in Patient Safety

  • Dr Josephine Ocloo, Centre for Implementation Science (CIS), King´s College London (United Kingdom)
  • Moderator: Hanna Kuusisto, professor of customer and patient safety, UEF 

15:50- 16:30 Oral presentations 1 and 2 *

Oral presentations 1

Moderator:
Dr Veli-Matti Ulander, Chief Administrative Medical Officer of HUS, Chairman of NSQH 2026 Local Organizing Committee                                                                                                  
Oral presentations 2

Moderator:
Ellen Catharina Tveter Deilkås, MD PhD, Specialist in Internal medicine, Senior Scientist, Health Services Research Unit, Akershus University Hospital; Senior advisor, Department for Patient Safety, Norwegian Directorate of Health

17:00- 18:30 Reception of City of Helsinki
Town Hall (Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13, 00170 Helsinki)

  • separate registration needed (registration link on the registration confirmation)

19:00-23:00 Conference Dinner (banquet)
Restaurant Sipuli, Winter Garden, Kanavaranta 7, 00170 Helsinki
  • separate registration needed
  • Welcome. Professor Emeritus Henning Boje Andersen, Technical University of Denmark / DTU, Chairman of the NSQH Board & Dr Sanna-Maria Kivivuori, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health; Vice Chair of the NSQH Board; NSQH 2026 Local Organizing Committee; Finnish Society for Patient and Client Safety

* See detailed Parallel session/ Oral presentation / Short Poster presentation programme here later.


Friday 28 August 2026 – CONFERENCE DAY 2

8:30  Registration and poster exhibition at Scandic Marina Congress Center
Katajanokanlaituri 6, Helsinki

09:00 Keynote lecture: Digital for Quality of Care: The six lens framework

  • Assistant Professor Henrique Martins, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidade da Beira Interior / ISCTE-IUL (Portugal)

09:45  Short poster presentations 1 and 2 *

Short poster presentations 1
Short poster presentations 2

10:00 Coffee break and poster exhibition

10:30 Parallel sessions 4, 5 and Workshop 1 *

Session 4
Advancing Medication Safety in Nordic Countries: Current Research and Development Projects

Moderators:

Associate Professor of medication safety and effectiveness Anna-Riia Holmström, University of Helsinki; Finnish Society for Patient and Client SafetyAssociate

Professor Kiku Pukk Härenstam, Systems Safety in Health Care, Senior Consultant Pediatric Emergency Department, Medical Director Pediatric Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation and Training, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital
Session 5
Patient generated health data


Moderators:

Professor of customer and patient safety Hanna Kuusisto, University of Eastern Finland 

Anne Mette Falstie-Jensen, PhD, Deputy Head of Care and Rehabilitation, Team Trige/Toftegaarden, Health and care, Aarhus Municipality                                                                                                                    



Workshop 1
Can we broaden decision-making to support resilience? A simulation tool under development for hospital managers 


Moderator:

Carl Savage          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

12:00 Lunch Buffet
13:00 Parallel sessions 6, 7 and Workshop 2 *

Session 6
Multiprofessional collaboration in patient and client safety

Moderators:

Professor Maritta Välimäki, University of Helsinki 

Ellen Catharina Tveter Deilkås, MD PhD, Specialist in Internal medicine, Senior Scientist, Health Services Research Unit, Akershus University Hospital; Senior advisor, Department for Patient Safety, Norwegian Directorate of Health

This session examines key issues related to client safety particularly within social service settings. It features oral presentations selected from submitted abstracts, addressing topics such as quality and risk management in social services, strategies for preventing and responding to client harm, and approaches to involving service users in safety practices and co-creation. The session provides a platform for sharing research-based knowledge and best practices, highlighting client safety as a critical component in strengthening health and social care systems.

Session 7
Education in patient safety


Moderators:

Dr Morag Tolvi

Associate Professor Axel Ros, Research Leader, Quality improvement and Patient Safety, Region Jönköping County and The Jönköping Academy for Improvement of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Workshop 2
Resilience and mental wellbeing in health care – Understanding concepts and costs, and removing confusion

Moderator:

Professor Siri Wiig, Centre Director, SHARE Centre for Resilience in Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

14:30  Coffee break and poster exhibition

15:00  Keynote lecture: Digital health literacy and citizen engagement

  • Professor Anne Moen, University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine (Norway)

15:45- 16:00 Closing Ceremony
  • Local Organizing Committee
  • Presentation of the NSQH 2028

* See detailed Parallel session/ Oral presentation / Short Poster presentation programme here later.


Download conference programme as a PDF here. (Updated March 11)