Isto Huvila
Professor Isto Huvila is the principal investigator of HIBA. He is an adjunct professor (docent) in information management at Information Studies, Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland and holds the chair in information studies at the Department of ALM (Archival Studies, Library and Information Science and Museums and Cultural Heritage Studies) at Uppsala University in Sweden. His primary areas of research include information and knowledge management, information work, knowledge organisation, documentation, and social and participatory information practices. Read more

Heidi Enwald

Heidi Enwald works as an university lecturer at Information Studies, University of Oulu, Oulu and as a post doc researcher at Information Studies, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland. She holds master’s degrees from Biochemistry and Information Studies. She defended her doctoral thesis in Information Studies at the University of Oulu in December 2013. Heading of her thesis was ”Tailoring health communication: the perspective of information users´ health information behaviour in relation to their physical health status”. She has conducted research on health information behaviour, health information literacy and health communication since 2008. At 2011 she had a priviledge to be a visiting researcher at Stanford University for 2 months. Enwald has taken part in several multidisciplinary health-related research projects (e.g., MOPO, PrevMetSyn and GASEL).

Kristina Eriksson-Backa

Kristina Eriksson-Backa is a Senior lecturer and Post-doctoral researcher at Information Studies, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland. She defended her PhD thesis In sickness and in health : how information and knowledge are related to health behaviour in 2003. She has previously worked within two research projects related to health and information, financed by the Academy of Finland: Citizens, Health and the Changing Media Culture 1999-2002, and Health Information Practice and its Impact.The Context of Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity 2008-2012. In the autumn 2009 she was a visiting researcher at Sheffield University, UK, working with the Health Informatics Research Group. Her main research interestes are information about food and health in traditional and social media, health information behaviour, especially among older adults, understanding of health information, health information literacy, health communication, and e-health.

Noora Hirvonen

Noora Hirvonen currently works as a University Lecturer at the Research Unit of Information and Communication Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, Finland, and holds a PhD degree in Information Studies from the same university. Her research has focused on the health information behaviour, practices and literacy of people, mainly young men. As an Information Specialist she has participated in conducting several systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the field of psychiatry. She has experience in multidisciplinary collaboration and the use of quantitative methods in health-related research.

Helena Känsäkoski

Helena Känsäkoski holds a degree in dentistry (DDS 1981, University of Helsinki) and a master’s degree in Information Studies (2006) from University of Oulu. She defended her doctoral thesis in Information Studies at the University of Oulu in May 2014 about knowledge processes in health care and the patients’ involvement in these processes.  Her research interest is knowledge management in health care. She has a long work experience in public health care. She works also as a part time post doc researcher at Information Studies, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.