Employmentweb_low

policies and interventions
financing oHs for employees. provided that the oHs act is followed, the employer is entitled to reimbursements from the social
security institution (ssi) of up to 60 per cent of incurred oHs costs from preventive activities and 50 per cent from curative activities.
Funding for reimbursements is collected from the legislation-based work income insurance fee, which is paid by the employers.
monitoring and Inspection
oHs information and surveillance systems include several regular national surveys. among these are the triennial oHs survey
in Finland, the triennial pMWa barometer, triennial Health and Work in Finland survey, the Ministry of labour’s annual Work life
barometer and the Working conditions survey (which is conducted in connection with household surveys by statistics Finland every
7 years). the annual oHs ssi statistics provide information on activities and the costs of services. statistics on occupational diseases
and occupational accidents are available annually. the occupational safety and Health inspectorates supervise the employer’s
organisation of occupational health services, usually by checking the contract made by the employer with the service provider. oHs
content monitoring, as regards medical aspects, professional competence and oHs personnel activities, is controlled by the Ministry
of social affairs and Health as well as the state provincial Health authorities. the ssi’s reimbursement criteria and practices also
serve the monitoring of both service costs and content (rantanen, 2006).
Future developments
a national orogramme, in the form of the 2004 government resolution oHs 2015, includes ten key lines for the development
of occupational health services. the implementation of the key lines has continued steadily, but some of the prerequisites have
changed substantially as a consequence of changes in the structures of economies, as well as changes in the health services
systems. there is a shift in the balance between various service provision models towards a growing share of private oHs centres,
with a consequent commercialisation. recently, discussion has been started on the need to more effectively control the external
service providers, with particular emphasis on maintaining priorities in preventive and work-environment-oriented activities.
conclusion
over the past 30 years, the Finnish oHs has been developed on a statutory basis and with wide societal consensus as
part of the welfare state’s social dimension. service coverage has developed positively but levelled off in the early 1990s to
a level of 85 per cent of the total employed population. the combined prevention, promotion and curative content is found
feasible, productive and relevant, particularly in terms of the promotion and maintenance of work ability (pMWa) of ageing
workers. the 2001 amendment to the oHs act added a number of new elements to its content, such as the pMWa strategy,
follow-up and assessment of workers’ personal work-load, oHs quality management and continuous evaluation and selfassessment.
High coverage and comprehensive content have been achieved with reasonable costs. evaluation studies of the
Finnish oHs system show both a positive health impact and positive cost-effectiveness. For example, the continuation at
work of the ageing workers has been extended by an average of one year since the pMWa interventions were introduced.
references
Manninen, p. (ed.). (2009). Työterveyshuolto Suomessa vuonna 2007 ja kehitystrendit 1997-2007. Helsinki: Finnish institute of
occupational Health.
rantanen, J. (2006). national occupational safety and health profile of Finland. Publications, 8. Helsinki: Ministry of social
affairs and Health.
ill-health (reducing the unequal social consequences
produced by physical and mental illness)
entry point d concerns those policy interventions designed to
cushion the different social and financial consequences of a
change in or loss of health (see case study 78). Workers who
suffer from work-related ill-health have varying degrees of
access to workers’ compensation and social security. There is
often limited recognition given to occupational diseases and
mental illness under such schemes, and often a limited scope
for rehabilitation or return-to-work assistance.
in wealthy countries, workers’ compensation and social
security schemes need to be reconfigured to ensure that all
injured workers are covered (including self-employed and all
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