Data protection in research studies

Modern research in the fields of health and medicine strongly relies on national registry data and data collected from patients themselves. Ensuring data protection is a cornerstone of scientific research, and the related processing of personal data is regulated by law. Making sure that the data controller’s responsibilities are fulfilled builds the foundation for confidentiality in scientific research.

For every scientific study that involves the processing of personal data, a study-specific data protection notice is drawn up. The data protection notice contains information about the personal data used in the study and the rights of the participants. The data protection notice is also a way for the data controller to fulfil their accountability requirements. “Accountability” means that the data controller must be able to demonstrate their compliance with data protection legislation.

Research can also involve the use of anonymised data. Anonymisation refers to the processing of personal data in a way that makes it impossible to identify an individual from the data. Anonymised data are no longer considered to constitute personal data and are not subject to all data protection regulations, such as the rights of the data subject.

In the menus below, you can find more information on data protection in our surveys as well as information on surveys which have ended and for which data are no longer stored.

For our registry studies which fall under the Finnish Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data, data protection notices based on the Finnish Data Protection Act and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are available on request from GDPR-DPO@oriola.com.