Use of health services by Finnish employees in regard to health-related factors: the population-based Health 2000 study

Abstract

This study showed the importance of occupational health services in the primary health care of Finnish employees. However, a considerable proportion of employees with lifestyle risks, depressive mood, and other health problems did not use health services. Occupational health professionals are in an advantageous position to detect health risks in primary care visits.

Frequent attenders at risk of disability pension: a longitudinal study combining routine and register data

“…We did not have access to data on the use of other healthcare services such as the public sector or secondary care, or different OH providers. However, previous research indicates that when OH primary care services are available they are often used as the sole primary care provider [30]. In OH services loss to follow-up is possibly larger than in GP settings due to the ending of occupational relationships.…”

Frequent attenders in occupational health primary care: A cross-sectional study

“…Parallel use of primary care services from other sectors is possible, but in a Finnish study 52% of all participants (not restricted to employees with primary care provided by the employer) consulted OHS as their sole primary care provider. 29 In this study we did not have access to records from other healthcare providers. The cross-sectional retrospective study design limits the interpretation of causal relations.…”

How Work Impairments and Reduced Work Ability are Associated with Health Care Use in Workers with Musculoskeletal Disorders, Cardiovascular Disorders or Mental Disorders

“…This is comparable with the population attributable fraction of 42 % in our study population. Similarly, Ikonen et al [ 32 ] found that 46 % of male workers, and 51 % of female workers with physician-diagnosed MSD visited an occupational health physician. As for MD, our finding that 44 % visited a psychologist or psychiatrist was also relatively high when compared with previous studies [ 33 , 34 ].…”

“…not within workers with specific disorders) and health care use. A longitudinal study from Germany [ 40 ] and two Scandinavian studies [ 32 , 41 ] observed an association between a poor work ability as measured with the WAI and health care use. A limitation of these studies is that the measure of work ability, the WAI, includes several questions on presence of health problems and experienced functional limitations, which in itself may explain health care use [ 7 – 9 ].…”