Key Concepts of the Health and Social Services Reform

Sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon uudistamisen keskeiset käsitteet, Centrala begrepp i social- och hälsovårdsreformen, Основные понятия по реформе системы здравоохранения и социального обеспечения

The glossary is available:
- in Sote-sanastot
- in the TEPA Term Bank
- in the Finnish Government Termbank Valter

Languages of the glossary:
- Terms: Finnish, Swedish, English, Russian
- Concept descriptions: Finnish, Swedish, English

The glossary ”Key Concepts of the Health and Social Services Reform” contains 40 concepts related to health and social services. The concepts are provided with definitions and supplementary notes in Finnish, Swedish and English. Term recommendations are given in Finnish, and term equivalents in Swedish, English and Russian. Relations between concepts are illustrated by means of concept diagrams.

The target users of the glossary are people working in the domains of social and health services, and the glossary serves as a guide towards a harmonised usage of the central concepts and terms in these domains. In this way, the glossary also aims to clarify data transfer and communication and to facilitate translation.

The terminology work was initiated in 2017 during a then ongoing health and social services reform, but was left unfinished due to the reform failing. In spring 2020, when a new health and social services reform was taking place, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health commissioned from the Finnish Terminology Centre a new terminology project.

The resulting glossary is a collection of new concepts and of concepts introduced earlier. Some of the existing concepts have changed or are in the process of changing. One of the reasons for the change is that technological advances have made it possible to create novel service channels.

The Finnish section of the glossary was prepared by a working group of experts from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the Institute for the Languages of Finland, and the Translation and Language Division of the Prime Minister’s Office. The group worked under the lead of the Finnish Terminology Centre, and consulted experts outside the working group as the work progressed.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health organised a consultation round on the draft glossary, and the working group finalised the glossary on the basis of the comments.

The work was funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The Translation and Language Division of the Prime Minister’s Office produced the content in Swedish, English and Russian.