Kela in Health and Social Services Centres
In this study, the focus is on examining the cooperation between Kela and the work ability programme regarding customer work in pilot projects. A particular interest is on the significance of collaboration in relation to answering the service needs of unemployed persons with partial work ability. The study is a multimethod research including register-based research, interviews, and surveys.
Researchers
- Sari Miettinen, Leading Researcher
Project Implementation Period
02/2021–02/2023 The project has ended.
Project Results
This study examines Kela’s role in multidisciplinary customer service collaboration for providing work capacity support services to unemployed persons with partial work ability. Kela participated in the work ability programme implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment through the Kela in Health and Social Services Centres project over two years from 2021 to 2022. The ways in which Kela’s project staff and the experts in the trial project networks collaborated were studied as a three-way dialogue between interview, survey and register data.
The study shows that Kela participating in customer service collaboration facilitates the development of a timely and appropriate service path for supporting the client’s work capacity, speeds up the process for providing work capacity support services, prevents clients from being directed to services that do not benefit them and streamlines the work of organisations. Kela participating in customer service collaboration in work capacity support services also seems to improve motivation, understanding and trust among the clients of these services.
The study shows that Kela benefits play a key role in the work capacity support service offering, and the study gives some indication that unemployed work capacity support service clients underutilise benefits that relate to rehabilitation and basic social security. Customer service collaboration also seems to even out differences in the age group distribution of clients who had been granted rehabilitation.
Publications
- Kela työttömien työkyvyn tuen asiakasyhteistyöverkostossa: Tutkimus Kelan ja työkykyohjelman kokeiluhankkeiden monialaisesta työkyvyn tuen asiakasyhteistyöstä (Kela, työpapereita 180)
