HUS as a promoter of health and wellbeing
We offer our support and expertise in promoting health and wellbeing at HUS and in Uusimaa.
What we do
Promoting health and wellbeing is a value-based and goal-oriented activity. The goal is to maintain and improve health and wellbeing, and to prevent illness by increasing the ability and opportunity of individuals, the community and the general population to take care of their own health and that of their environment. Promoting health and wellbeing requires extensive cooperation between different actors as well as meticulous planning of resource allocation.
Inclusion is a key factor in determining health and wellbeing and therefore involves all of us. It is about working as a part of the social systems, such as education and labor market systems. The areas of inclusion are participation in one’s own life, participation in influence processes, and involvement in the local good. Inclusion is manifested as appreciation, as an individual’s experience of belonging to a group or entity that is relevant to themselves, and as an opportunity to make a difference.
We can decrease the gap between differences in health and wellbeing through measures that promote health and wellbeing. If socioeconomic health inequalities were eliminated, the savings in direct health care costs would be around EUR 1.5–2 billion or 15% of total health care expenditure.
At HUS, we coordinate the work to promote health and wellbeing in our Primary health care units.
We organize training for professionals in different fields and collect various monitoring data to help us to develop the health and wellbeing of people in our area.
The objectives and collaborators for health and wellbeing work at HUS
We promote the health and wellbeing of the residents of Uusimaa by collaborating regionally with the wellbeing services counties and municipalities on health and wellbeing. We monitor the population’s health and wellbeing and the factors that affect them. We are a training and research partner and an administrator for the health and wellbeing networks. We support and develop HUS’s internal work on health and wellbeing together with the actors of the organization, so that the work to promote health and prevent illnesses is a natural and significant part of the work of all professionals for the patient’s benefit.
We engage in statutory work in Uusimaa to collaborate with the wellbeing services counties and municipalities in line with the Act on Organising Healthcare, Social Welfare and Rescue Services in the Region of Uusimaa (615/2021, §8). We represent HUS in the reporting and planning work for wellbeing with the wellbeing services counties and Helsinki, and in annual negotiations on health and wellbeing. We collaborate regularly on practical issues regarding health and wellbeing content in our area
We work in the health and wellbeing group at the Uusimaa level together with the wellbeing services counties in Uusimaa and Helsinki. The group’s goal is to collaborate in an effective way to promote the health, wellbeing, and everyday safety of the residents of Uusimaa. The group’s activities support the shift in focus from extensive services to preventive work. We collaborate regionally with educational institutions, organizations and stakeholders in health and wellbeing research, development, and training.
We coordinate a network of regional health and wellbeing professionals and experts generated during the Good Spiral project (2019–2023). The aim is to learn and develop together and introduce effective operating models for promoting health and wellbeing. The network is being developed with the wellbeing services counties, the City of Helsinki and HUS to meet the changing needs of the citizens and professionals of the Uusimaa region.
We monitor, outline and report on a statutory basis (615/2021, Section 8; 602/2021, Section 29) on the situational picture of the health and wellbeing of patients and the population, and the measures to promote these. We report on them in cooperation with HUS information production and the wellbeing services counties, using national data and data generated by the wellbeing services counties and HUS.
We support and develop HUS’s internal work on health and wellbeing. We coordinate HUS’s multidisciplinary group for internal health and wellbeing work. The group’s task is to define the objectives of the health and wellbeing work done at HUS, as well as to monitor the achievement of these objectives and the effectiveness of the activities. HUS is a member of STESO ry, the Finnish association for health-promoting hospitals and organizations. We promote the integration of a health and wellbeing perspective into all activities with consideration of the international standards for the Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services Network (HPH).
Good Spiral network of professionals
The Good Spiral network works with five themes: Promoting a non-smoking and nicotine-free life, wellbeing of children and adolescents, services for the long-term unemployed, prevention and treatment of obesity, and prevention of falls.
The Teams platform for the Good Spiral serves as the network’s meeting and communication platform in addition to email. Our activities include various development workshops, training sessions, and seminars.
The network brings together professionals and experts in health and social welfare and promotion of health and wellbeing to develop their operations and the services they produce through collaborative methods and by utilizing the network. You can also join the network, if you are interested in learning, sharing good practices, or obtaining peer support.
The Good Spiral network meets once a year in a development workshop for each of the network’s themes. In addition, we organize a networking day in the spring and a Good Spiral day in the fall, where the members of the network meet, exchange experiences and learn from the successes of promoting health and wellbeing. On the last Tuesday of each month, we organize a morning meeting on health promotion with a topical theme.
Smoking is the main preventable cause of premature mortality. Smoking costs society around EUR 1.5 billion annually. A non-smoking and nicotine-free life facilitates the treatment of many diseases, supports healing, and reduces complications related to procedures.
In the network including professionals and experts from primary health care, specialized healthcare, and the third sector, we promote cooperation between professions as well as multiprofessional cooperation to support weaning off from tobacco and nicotine. Contents include:
- Support for mobilization of the Current Care Guideline for prevention and treatment of tobacco and nicotine addiction:
- Strengthening the availability of support for weaning off from tobacco and nicotine for different patient/client groups
- Implementation of the Tobacco-free Finland 2030 and Smoke-free Hospital programs
Contact person: Katrimaija Luurila
There are approximately 60,000 marginalized young people in Finland, and as many as 350,000 children and adolescents are at risk of exclusion. Exclusion from society and its systems challenges not only the social economy, but it is also a humane issue affecting the individual as well as involving economic, health, and social factors. The cost to society is approximately EUR 1 million if a young person is permanently excluded from the labor market.
The network consists of professionals and experts who are interested in the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents and who are committed to promoting it in their work. The network promotes the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents in Uusimaa by sharing good practices and operating models and by learning together. Currently, the network is particularly focused on building services that promote the wellbeing of children and adolescents as a collaborative effort in the wellbeing services counties, municipalities and specialized healthcare in the new health and social services structures.
Contact person:Paula Häkkänen
Unemployment is associated with social disadvantage, a decline in inclusion, and poor economic means. Long-term unemployment is often caused by illnesses that impair the capacity to work. When unemployment becomes a long-term issue, the risk of exclusion increases and the capacity to work decreases even further.
The network consists of professionals and experts working in social welfare and health care and in employment services in the promotion of health and wellbeing for the long-term unemployed. The network operates in Uusimaa.
The objective of the network is to support the work done in municipalities, organizations and health and social services organizations to promote the health and wellbeing of the long-term unemployed by means of sharing knowledge, experience, and skills. The viewpoint for the work of the network is to provide extensive support for the ability to work and functional capacity as well as for services that promote employment. The key is to strengthen the inclusion and engagement in society of the long-term unemployed through supporting employment.
Contact person:Paula Häkkänen
Obesity is driven by the characteristics, decisions and choices of society, the individual, and the environment. There is increasing knowledge and awareness of the biology, development and treatment of obesity. Obesity is known to predispose people to diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and many cancers. Preventing obesity through social activities and supporting the comprehensive wellbeing of individuals is a target as obesity continues to increase in both adults and children. We are working for our part in reducing the stigma of obesity.
A network of professionals, experts and managers in primary health care, specialized healthcare and the third sector who are invested in the prevention and treatment of obesity in children and adults provides the opportunity to ask a colleague, learn together, share new information and good practices, and work jointly to develop solutions. We want to be a part of creating a unified obesity care chain in the HUS area for both children and adults.
The content is support for the implementation of the Current Care Guideline for the prevention and treatment of obesity
- Meeting with customers, bringing issues up, and decreasing the stigma
- Regional care chains for children, adolescents, and adults
- Policies and tools to support the integration of primary health care and specialized healthcare in the treatment of obesity and as part of treatment chains
- Strengthening the customer/patient focus
- Strengthening prevention
Other operating models and lifestyle interventions that support health and wellbeing are also of interest, such as:
- Digital care pathways in the treatment of obesity
- StopDia operating model (THL)
- Tulppa rehabilitation for Uusimaa (Finnish Heart Association)
Contact person:Paula Häkkänen
Falling and stumbling are the most common types of accidents. In Finland, close to 400,000 stumbling and falling accidents occur every year, resulting in 1,200 deaths and 7,000 hip fractures. More than half of the injuries treated in hospitals have been caused by falls. Most of these patients are over 75 years of age and the accidents occur at home. Falls also occur in institutional and medical care at an estimate of 0.5–9 falls per 1,000 days of treatment. The cost of accidents by falling are estimated to be approximately EUR 2 billion annually, of which EUR 500 million are direct health care costs.
- Self-assessment of the risk of falling and a risk assessment carried out by a healthcare professional as part of health and social services and organizational activities.
- Introduction of measures to prevent falls in health and social services and in organizational activities, such as
- Safe environment and suitable assistive equipment
- Balance and muscle function exercises and maintenance of functional capacity
- Suitable medication and appropriate treatment of illnesses
- The activities are guided by the action plan of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health:Programme for the Prevention of Home and Leisure Injuries 2021–2030 and a description of the costs.
- Safely at All Ages: Programme for the Prevention of Home and Leisure Injuries 2021–2030 and a study on costs – Valto Institutional Repository for the Government (valtioneuvosto.fi)
The network provides its members with the opportunity to strengthen their fall prevention competencies through peer support and support for projects in their areas. Members have the opportunity to share good practices and work together to create descriptions of service chains and care pathways to support fall prevention.
Contact person: Anniina Heikkilä
Good Spiral network events
Welcome to the Good Spiral networks and/or meetings!
Audience: Professionals and experts working in the HUS area health and social services and promotion of health and wellbeing.
Programs, enrollment, and additional information will be updated on this page.
Good Spiral network days
Explore content from previous Good Spiral days
Morning meeting for promotion of health; last Tuesday of each month, from 8:15 to 8:55 a.m. (Teams)
- Jan. 30, 2024 Organizational cooperation
- Feb. 27, 2024 Digital services as a tool for promoting brain health
- Mar. 26, 2024 Preventing falls
- Apr. 30, 2024 Hypertension self-care program
- May 28, 2024 Promoting a non-smoking and nicotine-free life
Material bank
2019: Hyvinvointifaktoja uusmaalaista nuorista(pdf 3.09 MB) (opens in new window, links to another website) 2021: Tupakoimattomana ja nikotiinittomana leikkaukseen(pdf 193.01 KB) (opens in new window, links to another website) 2021: Hyvinvointifaktoja uusmaalaisista ikäihmisistä(pdf 4.42 MB) (opens in new window, links to another website)A guide on bringing up the topic of weight
The guide on bringing up the topic of weight is a practical tool for use by professionals that is as concrete as possible and takes into account the customer’s individual situation.
On the path of wellbeing video
The “On the path to wellbeing” video is intended to support primary health care professionals and families in situations where a child's excess weight is a concern for the family.
A publication to support the work of municipal decision-makers – how to promote the healthy everyday life of children, adolescents, and families with children
The publication “Building a health-promoting daily life for children, adolescents and families with children as a municipal decision-maker” contains examples of measures for promoting the health and wellbeing of children, adolescents, and families with children.