Privacy Notice for the Register of Sterilisations

Register description

In accordance with section 10 of the Personal Data Act 523/1999

1. Controller

Name: National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
Postal address: PO Box 30, FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland
Visiting address: Mannerheimintie 166, 00270 Helsinki
Tel.: +358 29 524 6000

2. Person responsible for register

Name: Anna Heino
Position: Senior Planning Officer
Address: THL/Information Services/Register of Sterilisations/PO Box 220, FI-00531 Helsinki
Tel.: 029 524 7177
E-mail: [email protected]

3. Name of the register

Register of Sterilisations

4. Grounds for maintaining the register

Statutory

  • Act on Sterilisation (283/1970), section 8; Decree on Sterilisation (427/1985), section 7
  • Act on the National Institute for Health and Welfare (668/2008), section 2

5. Purpose of the register

Statistics and research

6. Data subjects

The Register contains information on all sterilisations that have been performed legally in Finland. The physician performing the procedure is required to report the case to THL within one month using a specific data collection form approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

Statistics on sterilisations have been published since 1935 when the first Act on Sterilisation entered into force. Data have been available in electronic format since 1987. The data collection forms are kept in the THL archive.

7. Data content of the register

  • Personal identity number
  • Marital status (unmarried, married, domestic partnership, separated, widow, divorced, civil partnership, no information)
  • Municipality of residence (code and/or name)
  • Profession (open field, no profession, retired, unemployed, no information)
  • Cohabiting
  • Number of previous pregnancies
  • End of last previous pregnancy and the outcome of the pregnancy
  • Method of contraception used before sterilisation
  • Earlier sterilisation
  • Decision-maker
  • Grounds for the sterilisation
  • Diagnoses
  • Date of the procedure
  • Sterilisation was performed (as the only procedure, in connection with induced abortion, in connection with birth)
  • Hospital or unit performing the sterilisation
  • Sterilisation procedure (outpatient, ambulatory surgery, inpatient)
  • Sterilisation: procedures performed
  • Complications

8. Regular data sources of the register

Data collection form approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health which the physician performing the procedure submits to THL.

9. Regular disclosure of register data

FinData is authorised to disclose data in the Register of Sterilisations to researchers for scientific research purposes.

10. Right of access to data and right to rectify an error

The Register is a statutory statistical and research register. It is prohibited to use the personal data stored in it for decision-making concerning the data subjects.

11. Information on the processing of data

The controller is not liable to inform the data subjects on data processing, because the Register is a statutory register.

12. Principles concerning protection of the register

The Register of Sterilisations functions in accordance with the THL data security guidelines, which are detailed in the THL plan for general contingency and protection.

The materials of the Register of Sterilisations, both in paper form and in electronic data, are kept in locked premises. Access to the premises is given only to certain named employees responsible for the Register. Electronic material is protected by user names and passwords. The Register uses access control software (auditing log).

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