About half of higher education students mainly use Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) health services. In universities of applied sciences (UAS), the proportion of students using FSHS services nearly doubled, from 24% to 43%, between 2021 and 2024. These results are from the Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (KOTT) conducted last spring.
The FSHS is responsible for providing health care and medical care services within the scope of primary healthcare as well as health promotion services for all degree students in higher education institutions in Finland.
“The conclusion to be drawn from the survey results is that UAS students have started accessing FSHS services in good numbers since they became entitled to FSHS services in 2021”, says FSHS Medical Director Teija Kulmala.
“The rate of UAS students using our oral health services increased. There was also an increase in the proportion of UAS students who felt that the oral health services provided were adequate. FSHS visit data also suggest that students in universities of applied sciences have a higher need for oral healthcare than those in other universities”, Kulmala says.
Most students find the care received from the FSHS beneficial
Three in four students found that the care they received from the FSHS had been beneficial. For UAS students, the proportion of those who considered their care beneficial rose by 8 percentage points compared to the previous survey.
“This may indicate that students feel that FSHS services genuinely help them to address their health concerns. The FSHS plays an important role as an expert in and a promoter of higher education students’ health”, Kulmala says.
Nevertheless, over 40% of students felt that they had received inadequate FSHS services in relation to their needs. In addition, only one in three students said they were always able to easily contact their treatment unit. This number was similar in the previous survey.
“The feedback collected by the FSHS also indicates that the current way of contacting the FSHS, happening primarily by phone, is not to the students’ liking. To make contacting the FSHS easier, we will be focussing on developing a multi-channel digital contact model, with special emphasis on the chat, preferred by students”, Kulmala says.
“It is important that the results from the KOTT survey lead to practical action. It is the goal of the collaboration between the THL (the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare) and the FSHS that data from studies and surveys be used to further improve FSHS services”, says THL Principal Investigator Suvi Parikka.
The Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (KOTT) was conducted in spring 2024 and was answered by 3,600 students aged between 18 and 34 from higher education institutions all over Finland.
The THL has now published the results concerning student healthcare. These results are available categorised by gender, age group, and higher education sector.
The THL previously published results from the KOTT survey relating to students’ mental health and the adequacy of mental health services, as well as experienced health, functional capacity, inclusion, and living conditions. Further KOTT survey reports on higher education students’ health and well-being and their use of services will be published in late 2024 and early 2025.
Source
- The KOTT 2024 online report on student healthcare (in Finnish, thl.fi)
- Tabulated KOTT survey results (in Finnish, thl.fi)
For more information
Teija Kulmala
Medical Director
The Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS)
tel. 041 731 9420
firstname.lastname(at)yths.fi
Suvi Parikka
Principal Investigator
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
tel. 029 524 7959
firstname.lastname(at)thl.fi