Publications
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) publishes various studies and analyses on persons with disabilities, on disability policies and on challenges of data collection. The majority of the publications are in Finnish. Some of the publications are published by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
Below you can find a sample of our publications, which are either translated into English or include an English abstract.
On this page
- Frequency of domestic violence experienced by persons with disabilities and availability of services: A quantitative and qualitative examination
- Right to social inclusion and equality: National Action Plan on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2020–2023)
- Young people with mobility limitations in Finland
- Disability-related information and information needs
- Finland's Disability Policy Programme (VAMPO) 2010–2015: Final report
- Report on international disability legislation
- Roadmap for Systematic Data Collection
Frequency of domestic violence experienced by persons with disabilities and availability of services: A quantitative and qualitative examination
The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of domestic violence experienced by persons with disabilities and the factors related to it. The outcomes of the project will be used to take the phenomenon of domestic violence and its frequency into account and to issue recommendations for measures.
Domestic violence is more common for persons with disabilities than in the rest of the population. There are differences between genders in the frequency of experiencing different forms of violence. Violence experienced by persons with disabilities may start in childhood, and it is more common among them up to adulthood.
Domestic violence may especially cause psychological consequences for those who have experienced it. Successfully acquiring help for domestic violence may depend on the disability, the people close to the person and the circumstances. There are major challenges associated with acquiring help, and these challenges deserve attention and require taking measures to improve the situation.
Improving the situation of persons with disabilities who have experienced domestic violence in our society begins by identifying the phenomenon, its diversity and persons who experience it.
Right to social inclusion and equality: National Action Plan on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2020–2023)
Finland has a National Action Plan on the UN Convention for the period 2020–2023, which determines the measures to strengthen the implementation of the Convention at national level. The EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the National Action Plan will serve as key tools for Finland’s disability policy in the future.
The National Action Plan on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities determines the measures that will be taken to promote the implementation of the Convention in different administrative branches during the second action plan period 2020-2023.
Disability organisations and other stakeholders have been consulted during the process of drawing up the Action Plan to obtain information about the matters that according to the Convention should primarily be promoted in the Action Plan.
The Action Plan comprises 110 measures, and the ministries have committed themselves to their implementation. The implementation of the measures will be monitored during the action plan period and assessed at the end of the period.
The Action Plan emphasises the importance of social inclusion of persons with disabilities in the changing operating environment and the importance of accessibility as a precondition for implementing the other rights. One of the main objectives of the Action Plan is to increase awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities and to mainstream these rights in different administrative branches and more widely in society.
Young people with mobility limitations in Finland
The study “Young people with mobility limitations in Finland” (published in 2019) was conducted in cooperation between the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities.
The study aimed to evaluate the number of young people with mobility limitations in Finland by studying THL’s two different birth cohorts and material from the School Health Survey 2017. In addition, young people’s quality of life and risk of exclusion were measured by combining the registry data of various authorities and by studying the responses to the School Health Survey.
Young people with mobility limitations in Finland
Disability-related information and information needs
The publication, “Disability-related Information and Information Needs – an Analysis of Data Production Activities of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare”, describes information needs related to disability, explores existing information and outlines future information needs. It examines the topic from the viewpoint of experts at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, using data collected by the institute as its principal source of information.
There is an obvious need for data on disability as, for example, information on the status of persons with disabilities, and the development of this status in the State parties is required to implement and report on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This information also plays a key role in the planning, evaluation and organisation of health and social services. It is vitally important for counties to know how many persons with disabilities are and will be living in their areas and what type of disabilities these persons have. As disability legislation changes, information on how the changing legislation affects the realisation of the rights of persons with disabilities will also be needed.
Finland's Disability Policy Programme (VAMPO) 2010–2015: Final report
Finland's disability policy programme VAMPO 2010–2015 ("A strong basis for inclusion and equality") was published in August 2010. Basic and human rights as well as the development of society in accordance with the principle of mainstreaming formed the starting point of the programme. Behind the goals of the programme were the UN's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Government report on Finland's disability policy 2006.
The aim of the VAMPO programme, with the help of the measures recorded in it, was to safeguard a just position in society for persons with a disability and to draw up the development paths with which to reach for a sustainable and responsible disability policy. The final report examines the realisation of the goals during the programme period, as set out in VAMPO. VAMPO's measures form an ambitious whole, where all policy sectors have been developed from the perspective of the rights, freedoms and equal opportunities of persons with disabilities.
VAMPO's total of 122 measures has been divided into 14 different content areas: Independent living, social inclusion and involvement, built environment, transport services, education and study, work, health and rehabilitation, social security, legal protection, safety and integrity, culture and leisure time, discrimination encountered by persons with disabilities, knowledge base, substitution of tax aid with direct appropriation support, and international activities.
Finland's Disability Policy Programme (VAMPO) 2010–2015: Final report (English abstract on p. 4)
Report on international disability legislation
Report on international disability legislation. Review of the situation in six countries.
In May 2013, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health appointed a working group to explore reform of the special legislation on social services for persons with disabilities. Amending the legislation on services for the disabled calls for information on disability legislation in other countries and how it works. In November 2013, the Ministry commissioned the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) to conduct an international comparison of disability legislation as a literature study. The aim was to obtain an overview of disability legislation and its impact on the countries concerned. The “Report on International Disability Legislation. Review of the Situation in Six Countries” describes the situation in 2014 and eventual problems and shortcomings in disability legislation in the following countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands (Holland), the UK (Scotland) and Canada (Province of Ontario).
In the study, particular attention was paid to provisions concerning the housing, immediate care, care support services, personal assistance and mobility services for persons with disabilities and the status of children and adolescents with severe disabilities and their families.
The Disability in Society blog series deals with phenomena connected with disability in our society and services for people with disabilities.
Disability services to be developed by listening to employees too (THL -blog)