Reliable Health Information

It is important that the Finnish Red Cross's health promotion work is evidence-based. A key mission of our organization is to support the official healthcare system, so our volunteers follow official recommendations and guidelines in their work.

On this page, you will find links to reliable sources of health information.

General Health Information

Reliable health information is available through Health Village (Terveyskylä), a public service developed by Finland's university hospitals.

Independent, national evidence-based clinical guidelines can be found at Current Care Guidelines (Käypä hoito -suositukset). The clinical guidelines also include Patient Versions designed for patients themselves.

Terveyskirjasto makes reliable, independent, and up-to-date information on health and diseases accessible to everyone in Finland. Terveyskirjasto contains over 10,000 articles written by experts.

First aid instructions can be found at First Aid Instructions – Red Cross.

Mental Health

Reliable information on mental health support and various mental health disorders is provided by Mental Hub (Mielenterveystalo). The Mental Hub also offers information on substance addictions and gambling addiction.

Physical Activity and Functional Capacity

The Finnish Red Cross's Accident Prevention work provides materials to support functional capacity. You can find the materials on these pages.

Information related to physical activity is provided by the UKK Institute, including physical activity recommendations.

Nutrition

The latest nutrition recommendations are published by the Finnish Food Authority at Nutrition recommendations and food-based dietary guidelines. The site also includes recommendations for special groups.

More detailed information on food products can be found in Fineli, the national food composition database maintained by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

Infectious Diseases and Hygiene

The best ways to prevent upper respiratory tract infections are masks, physical distancing, good ventilation (airing, air purification), and hand hygiene. The prevention of infectious diseases is the responsibility of the physician in charge of infectious diseases in the wellbeing services county. Information on infectious diseases and their prevention is produced by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

Reliable information on sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases is provided by the Family Federation of Finland (Väestöliitto) at Sexuality – Väestöliitto.fi.

Health Security

Multidisciplinary national health security work is coordinated by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. THL serves as the expert agency for infectious diseases. Finnish Red Cross volunteers contribute to maintaining health security by ensuring health-safe practices in all their volunteer activities, and during emergencies by participating in various tasks, such as during the previous COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.