Terveystutkimusten

Terveystutkimukset, or health research, is the systematic investigation into health, disease, determinants of health, and the delivery of health care with the aim of improving wellbeing. The field spans biological, clinical, social, and computational approaches and can address causes, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and health systems.

The field includes clinical trials that test interventions, epidemiological studies that examine disease patterns, public health research that informs prevention strategies, health services research that evaluates care delivery, and translational research that moves discoveries from the lab to the clinic. Methodological diversity also covers biostatistics, bioinformatics, health technology assessment, and policy analysis.

Researchers commonly use observational designs (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional), interventional trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, often leveraging large health data resources such as registries, electronic health records, and biobanks. Data sharing and reproducibility are increasingly emphasized, along with ethics and governance frameworks.

Ethical considerations are central in terveystutkimukset. Research involving human participants typically requires ethics committee review, informed consent, and ongoing protection of participant privacy. Data protection regulations guide how personal information may be collected, stored, linked, and used.

Finland maintains a strong health research environment, with universities, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), and international collaborations supporting science and innovation. National infrastructure includes health registries and biobanks, and projects such as FinnGen illustrate large-scale, population-based research. Findings from terveystutkimukset inform clinical guidelines, public health policy, and the development of new diagnostics, medicines, and care models.