Key fields of public health include the following:
The discipline of public health strives to improve the quality of life for the entire population. The discipline focuses on identifying ways in which society can affect the health of the population by promoting healthy lifestyles, developing health services, improving access to healthcare and influencing environmental factors that can cause diseases.
The Department of Public Health conducts high-quality and multidisciplinary research. Its high scholarly standard is based on a solid research tradition as well as extensive national and international cooperation. As part of our research, we develop new research methods.
Public engagement in matters related to public health and the healthcare system is a central part of our department’s duties. We aim to influence political decision-making in health-related matters by offering information and expertise to both the media and the public.
The Department of Public Health also houses the
We train healthcare professionals, experts and researchers in several degree programmes. Our department is multidisciplinary. Among other disciplines, the department’s teaching relates to the following:
We also teach the basics and methods of scholarly thinking and research extensively in a range of degree programmes.
The department provides basic education in its field in the
Our department provides postgraduate professional education and professional specialisation education in two specialisations, and is responsible for management training for specialising doctors and dentists in accordance with the relevant Ministry of Social Affairs and Health decree.
The training produces independently capable specialists who are familiar with the interconnections between work and health, proficient in the practices of occupational healthcare and able to cooperate multiprofessionally. The training is organised in cooperation with the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
The Virtual University of Occupational Health offers online learning materials in support of professional specialisation education, a range of online courses and the opportunity to network nationally with other specialising doctors and dentists.
The training produces specialists who understand the health of the population and preventive healthcare and are capable of investigating, producing and, above all, applying demographic data in the planning and management of services.
Medical specialists in healthcare and dental specialists in oral healthcare work in the social welfare and healthcare sector, including universities and research institutes, central and local government, the private sector, organisations, the pharmaceutical industry and international positions. Their duties usually involve management, planning and development.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Decree on specialist training in medicine and dentistry (56/2015, amended 55/2022) defines as one of the goals of the training the provision of the skills needed in healthcare management, administration, planning, multiprofessional cooperation as well as the supervision of learning and the assessment of skills in the work community. To achieve this goal, all specialising doctors and dentists complete, as part of their specialist training, a 10-credit training module in management. The module can be completed at any stage of the training. After this, further learning can be pursued by completing the Local Leadership qualification (30 credits).
To obtain further information on specialist training in healthcare and occupational healthcare as well as management training, please write to
Our department is a key contributor to the Doctoral Programme in Population Health.
Our research focuses on, among other topics, the healthcare service system, the reduction of health inequalities, social and health research, schools, work environments and registry-based studies.
University Lecturer Tuomo Laihiala
University Lecturer Anja Terkamo-Moisio
University Lecturer Jaana-Maija Koivisto
University Lecturer Riikka Lämsä
Department of Public Health
PO BOX 20 (Tukholmankatu 8 B)
00014 University of Helsinki
Telephone: 0294 1911 (switchboard)
University of Helsinki
Meilahti Student Services