Nordic Conference on Research in Patient Safety and Quality in Healthcare

NSQH 2026, 26 – 28 August 2026

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; Member 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?
  • PhD, Docent Liina-Kaisa Tynkkynen, 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
  • Moderator: Dr Sanna-Maria Kivivuori, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland; Finnish Society for Patient and Client Safety
  • Denmark: Anette Lykke Petri
  • Finland: Tuija Ikonen
  • Norway: Annette Kari
  • Sweden: Charlotta George
  • Estonia: Teele Orgse
  • Latvia: Evija Andzane
  • Lithuania: Birutė Strukčinskienė

12:00 Lunch Buffet
13:00 Parallel session 1 - Using AI in quality and safety for social and health care *
  • Dr Enni Sanmark, HUS Helsinki University Hospital
  • Moderator: Dr Antti-Jussi Ämmälä, Chief Medical Officer Terveystalo, Finland; Vice Chair, Finnish Society for Patient and Client Safety

13:00 Parallel session 2 - Educational innovations in quality and patient safety *

  • Moderator: Professor Kristiina Patja, University of Helsinki

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

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. Henning Boje Andersen, Chairman of the NSQH Board & Dr Sanna-Maria Kivivuori, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health; NSQH 2026 Local Organizing Committee; Finnish Society for Patient and Client Safety

* See detailed Parallel session 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  Speed poster session 1 or 2 **

10:00 Coffee break and poster exhibition

10:30 Parallel session 3 - Advancing Medication Safety in Nordic Countries: Current Research and Development Projects *
  • Moderator: Associate Professor of medication safety and effectiveness Anna-Riia Holmström, University of Helsinki; Finnish Society for Patient and Client Safety

10:30 Parallel session 4 - Patient generated health data *
  • Moderator: Professor of customer and patient safety Hanna Kuusisto, University of Eastern Finland
12:00 Lunch Buffet
13:00 Parallel session 5 - Dehospitalization and Home Treatment *
  • Moderator: Chief Physician Kaisa Halinen, Wellbeing services county of Vantaa and Kerava

13:00 Parallel session 6 - Client safety in social services and multiprofessional collaboration *

  • Moderator: Professor Maritta Välimäki, University of Helsinki
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.

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 programme here later.

** See detailed Speed poster programme here later. 


Download conference programme as a PDF here.