Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Survey
Background
The national population surveys provide reliable, up-to-date and broad information on the population health, functional capacity and need for health care. They also provide long-term information on the development of the above mentioned phenomena and predict the future development. Hence, with the help of the information produced in population surveys, one can allocate health policy, promote health and plan and assess health services and the use of benefits. Population surveys are also an important source of information of epidemiologic research in regard to determining factors of population health.
When the health insurance law came into effect in 1964, Social Insurance Institution initiated both a series of interview surveys about assessing its influences and the Finnish Mobile Clinic activity which realized group surveys using health examination methods.
Finnish Mobile Clinic pilot study carried out in the first clinic cars and Folkhälsan’s boat m/s Gullkronan. Korppoo 27.7.1965
Data
The Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey (FMC), the Finnish Mobile Clinic Follow-up Survey, the Finnish Mobile Clinic Breast Cancer Screening Experiment, and the Mini-Finland (MF) Health Survey were carried out in 1965-1980 by the Social Insurance Institution. The Mobile Clinic unit was a clinic built on top of at a maximum of 4 bus chassis that travelled around the country, performing health examinations. The clinic cars were equipped with x-ray equipment and a laboratory and the personnel needed. During its activity, the Finnish Mobile Clinic studied over 100 000 Finns. The data consists of the information given in the health examinations by the participants, a biological sample bank, and follow-up data collected from national health registers for over 40 years from start of the study.
As a continuation of the Finnish Mobile Clinic Survey by the Social Insurance Institution, the national Health 2000 Survey was conducted in 2000-2001 and its follow-up stage in 2011-2012.
Clinic cars at Koskenpää 7.8.1968.
Scientific research
Based on the data from the Finnish Mobile Clinic, hundreds of studies have been published. Still, one can conduct versatile national health research, ultimately aiming to prevent diseases, based on the data. The following approaches are especially suitable:
- Prospective cohort studies based on the health examination data and the follow-up data.
- Either retrospective cohort studies or nested case-control studies based on the sample bank information
- Repeatability studies by combining data from the health examination survey and the follow-up survey.
- Meta-analyses by joining data to national or foreign population data
- Health follow-up for a period of 45 years by combining the Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey data, the Finnish Mobile Clinic Follow-up Survey data, the Mini-Finland Health Survey data and the Health 2000/2011 Survey data.
The Finnish Mobile Clinic data and its follow-ups is the largest data in Finland, applicable for cohort studies. The fact that the participation rate was high, furthermore, raises the value of the data.
