# Disseminated Knowledge: The Advancement of Finnish Occupational Medicine and Work Psychology in a Transnational Context, c. 1945–1952

## TL;DR

This paper explores how Finnish occupational medicine and mental health care developed after World War II by drawing on international influences.

## Contribution

It presents a new case study on the transnational connections of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

## Key findings

- FIOH adopted reformist ideas from transnational medical communities.
- Experts advanced new theories of mental disorder for Finland's industrial society.
- The case study highlights the role of the Roffey Park Rehabilitation Centre in this development.

## Abstract

This article focuses on the advancement of Finnish occupational medicine in the immediate post-war period, situating its development within a transnational context. Its objective is to offer insight into Finnish post-war industrial medicine and particularly developments in mental health care. The empirical methodology addresses a previously unexplored case study: the connections between the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) and Roffey Park Rehabilitation Centre, established in 1943 to address various cases of industrial neurosis. The case study sheds light on the ways in which FIOH adopted reformist ideas from transnational medical communities by aligning them with the needs of Finland’s war reparations industry. The article argues that FIOH’s experts advanced new theories of mental disorder for Finland’s newly modern industrial society, and that these initiatives should be situated within broader transnational endeavours in the mental hygiene movement.