Ikonen, Primary care visit in the Finnish occupational health services and their connections to preventation and work-related factors

The purpose of this stury was to determine the role of occupational health services (OHS) in the health care of working persons and to look at the relationship between primary care visits to occupational health physicians and nurses and various prevention and work-related factors. Another aim of the study was to examine the associations of the visits with health problems, lifestyle health risks, work ability, and preventive activities. Four different sources of data were used: Kela's occupational helath care statistics, the Health 2000 Survey, the Work and Health Survey 2006 and a clinical survey conducted in a private OHS unit. The study showed that OHS primary care contributes to preventive activities and is often interrelated with employees' and work ability.