Tekijät

• Kolehmainen, Ari (FCG Finnish Consulting Group)
• Miettinen, Heikki (FCG Finnish Consulting Group)
• Hokkanen, Olli (FCG Finnish Consulting Group)

Asiasanat

child day care, dissemination of information, health services, leisure time, local government, local government services, medical care, municipalities, neighbourhoods, offences, personal safety, primary schools, public services, towns

Sisällön kuvaus

This survey charted Finnish people's opinions on municipal services and leisure activities in the respondents' municipality of residence. Views on housing, safety and security were also studied.

First, the respondents' opinions on various services in the municipality were assessed with a set of attitudinal statements. The statements concerned the municipality's general affairs, guidance services and communications, healthcare services, social services, education, culture and leisure services, infrastructure, traffic safety, environmental affairs and services, and rescue services.

Next, the respondents were asked which municipal services they or members of their family had used in the last 12 months. The respondents who had used public healthcare services were asked how satisfied they had been with various aspects, such as getting an appointment, transport service, and the waiting time at the reception. The use of culture and leisure services, such as libraries, theatres, concerts, museums, movies and sports events was also covered, and the respondents evaluated whether their municipality offered an adequate number of these services. Questions were also asked about whether the respondents had visited the municipality's web page and how satisfied they were with it.

Housing satisfaction was measured by enquiring how long they had lived in their current municipality of residence and residential area. The respondents' type of housing and housing tenure were also queried. In addition, the respondents' satisfaction with their own residential area, as well as wishes of relocating, were examined.

The respondents were asked whether they felt safe walking in their neighbourhood or in the centre of their municipality during the day or at night, and how worried they were about becoming a victim of various crimes, such as theft, vandalism, or sex offence, in their municipality of residence. The respondents were presented with a list of problems related to coping with everyday life (e.g. unemployment, housing trouble, economic difficulties, illness or disability, and loneliness) and asked whether they or their family members had faced any of them and received or sought for help because of them.

The last questions revolved around child day care and elementary school. The parents rated various characteristics of their children's kindergarten and school, including the cooperation between home and the kindergarten/school, the proficiency of staff, and group sizes in the kindergarten/school.

Background variables included, among others, birth year, gender, household composition, education level, status in employment, municipality of residence, and the number of children under 18 living at home.