Healthy Finland Survey: One in five adults have had to compromise on food, medicines or doctor’s appointments because of lack of money
Eighteen per cent of men and 23% of women have had to compromise on food, medicines or doctor’s appointments because of a lack of money. This corresponds to around 900 000 adults living in Finland. Difficulties with making ends meet were reported especially by young adults. This information is revealed by THL’s Healthy Finland Survey, which was carried out in autumn 2022 and spring 2023. A total of 28,000 people aged 20 years and over and living in Finland responded to the survey.
Up to a quarter of the working-age population aged 20–64 years reported they had had to compromise on food, medicines or doctor’s appointments during the past 12 months. Twenty-two per cent of men and 28% of women reported they had done so.
Problems with making ends meet were most common in the younger age groups. Twenty-six per cent of men and 33% of women aged 20–39 years reported they had had to compromise on food, medicines or doctor’s appointments because of a lack of money, whereas under 10% of women and men aged 75 years and over reported problems with making ends meet.
“One explanation for the weaker situation of young adults may be their more uncertain situation in the job market. Their life situations often vary quickly and young adults may have on average smaller financial buffers to help them cope with the effects of different crises and sudden expenses,” says Chief Researcher Laura Kestilä.
Compared with the 2020 survey, problems with making ends meet have increased slightly in all age groups, among women more clearly than among men.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the rise of consumer prices have definitely contributed to the fact that so many people feel they have had to compromise on important everyday commodities and services,” says Kestilä.
“The impact of the rise in the loan interest rates, which is likely to have made the situation even more difficult, is not yet fully visible in these results,” she continues.
Many find their daily life safe and are satisfied with the conditions in their living area
Sixty-seven per cent of adults found their daily life extremely or very safe. Men considered their life to be safe slightly more often than women.
It is very rare to find one’s daily life unsafe: only 4% of adults felt unsafe.
However, the sense of insecurity has become slightly more common compared with 2020. Especially an increasing number of people aged over 64 years reported they felt unsafe.
“In fact, it is a small surprise that the sense of safety has been this stable and the times of uncertainty have not essentially increased the sense of insecurity. Although the number of those who feel unsafe has increased slightly, studies show that Finland is still one of the safest countries in the world,” says Research Professor Sakari Karvonen.
The majority of people were satisfied with the conditions in the area they live in: 82% reported they were satisfied. The proportion of those who were satisfied increased with age among men, but the same did not apply to women.
Highly educated people were more satisfied with the conditions in the area that they live in.
Results of the Healthy Finland Survey will be widely reported during the autumn
Randomly selected adults aged 20 or over from different parts of Finland were invited to the questionnaire part of the Healthy Finland Survey. Some of those invited also received an invitation to a diverse health examination. A total of 28,000 people (46% of those invited) replied to the questionnaire and 5,700 (58% of those invited) attended the health examination. The research sample was formed so that the results can be generalised throughout Finland. The results are also available by wellbeing services county.
The first results on the situation in the wellbeing services counties were published in May. More results will be published on different themes during the autumn. They will provide a comprehensive picture of the health and well-being of adults living in Finland and their experiences of health and social services. The results published today concern living conditions and mental health.
Source:
Difficulties with making ends meet, web report, results of the Healthy Finland Survey (in Finnish)
Sense of security, , web report, results of the Healthy Finland Survey (in Finnish)
Healthy Finland survey, web reports (in Finnish)
Further information:
Laura Kestilä
Chief Researcher
THL
tel. +358 29 524 8795
[email protected]
Sakari Karvonen
Research Professor
THL
tel. +358 29 524 7449
[email protected]
Results of The Healthy Finland Survey
