The survey series charts the physical, mental and social health of undergraduate students of higher education institutions in Finland. Other main themes include health-related behaviour and associated attitudes, social relationships, studies and financing studies, opinions on and the use of student health services. In addition to core questions, each survey contains questions on particular themes. The surveys were conducted by the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) at four-year intervals between 2000 and 2016. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland proceeded to conduct the study from 2021 onwards as the Finnish Student Health and Well-being Surveys.
This national survey examined the health and health-related behaviour of university and university of applied sciences (polytechnic) students in Finland. Questions covered, among other topics, physical, mental and dental health, health-related behaviour, social interaction, and eating habits.
General state of health was charted with a number of questions relating to long-term illnesses, disabilities or disorders, and current well-being in general. The respondents were asked if they had suffered from a variety of symptoms in the previous month. Birth control methods used by the respondent and her/his partner within the previous month were surveyed. Some questions covered the respondents' weight, height, and attitude toward food. Psychological or social symptoms causing problems were investigated. Psychosocial health was further studied using items of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).
Use of healthcare services by different types of service providers and satisfaction with the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) were surveyed, along with reasons for using the services of other healthcare service providers. The respondents were also asked if they had used smartphone applications related to health and well-being, and what type of guidance they would have liked in certain issues (e.g. stress or weight management, study skills, alcohol use, smoking cessation).
Time spent sitting during the day as well as engagement in sporting activities and less vigorous physical activities were surveyed. Eating habits were investigated with a number of questions based on the Index of Diet Quality (IDQ), for instance, asking where the respondents ate their main meals, if they skipped meals, and the consumption of dairy products, fish, bread, fruit, vegetables, etc. The respondents were also asked how often they brushed or flossed their teeth and used toothpaste or xylitol products, and whether they had problems with teeth grinding (or used a bite guard), facial pain or jaw locking. Health-related behaviour was further studied by asking the respondents about their use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco products (amount, frequency). Drinking habits were further charted using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Some questions covered gambling and possible problems caused by it.
One theme pertained to the respondents' studies. The survey examined the number of years the respondents had been enrolled as 'present' for current studies, credits earned, study success, and confidence of having chosen the right field of study, as well as hours spent on study and hours spent on paid work during the study year. The sufficiency of study guidance and advice provided by the institution were investigated as well as positive and negative feelings (e.g. enthusiasm, burnout) related to their studies.
Internet use was examined with questions regarding the purposes for which respondents used the internet and how many hours per week, and if it had caused problems with their circadian rhythm, studying or relationships. The respondents' participation in paid work during the academic year was also surveyed, and they were asked to evaluate their financial situation.
The survey also studied interpersonal relationships. The respondents were asked about their household composition and living arrangements, partnerships, sexual orientation, spending time with friends, whether they felt lonely or part of a group, and whether they had someone close to them with whom they could discuss their affairs.
Some questions charted whether the respondents had been subjected to bullying or discrimination during their higher education studies or had themselves bullied or discriminated against others. The respondents were also asked whether they had been subjected to stalking or violence, and by whom. The final theme pertained to family life, and questions covered the number of children, whether the respondents would want to have (more) children, reasons for having or not having children, and support for combining studies and family life (from the university, from other people, or from society).
Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, field of study, and university/university of applied sciences.
According to the education administration's reporting portal Vipunen, the population comprised 102,126 students at universities of applied sciences and 106,699 students at universities in 2015 (Vipunen 2016). In the autumn of 2015, a total of 128,616 university students had access to the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS), but this number includes persons of all ages. The National Defence University, Åland University of Applied Sciences and the Police University College were not part of the target population and are not included in the above numbers.
The sample was selected according to higher education institution sectors so that the sample of university of applied sciences students was drawn from the institutions' student registers, and the sample of university students was drawn from the customer register of FSHS. Only students under 35 years of age at the beginning of academic year 2015-2016 (year of birth 1981 or later) were selected for this study. Having enrolled as 'present' for the academic year 2015-2016 was also a criterion.
In total, information was requested and it was received from 24 universities of applied sciences. The aim of the sampling procedure was to include a representative number of students in universities of applied sciences.
Students in universities of applied sciences were stratified so that their proportion relative to the target population was the same for each institution. Universities of applied sciences were asked to pick every 19th student who met the criteria into the sample, which would comprise 6,000 students. The selection criterion was calculated based on the number of higher education students in 2014. A sample size greater than 5,000 students ensured that the sample would not be compromised if it included some students with missing information or students who did not belong to the target population, or if a university of applied sciences delivered a smaller sample than was requested.
The stratified random sample of university students was drawn from FSHS's customer register by municipality in each location where the FSHS provided services for students. Thus, the stratification of the university student sample differs slightly from the sample of universities of applied sciences, because students in university units that are located in another municipality are included as customers of FSHS in the university's main location. Therefore, the students were stratified according to municipality and thus indirectly according to university. The university subsample was weighted according to university-specific population specifications to make the sample representative of the number of students in each university in the target population (according to 2014 statistics).
The size of the sample was 4,996 students from FSHS's register and 5,004 students from the registers of universities of applied sciences. This equals 4.8% of the target population. Males amounted to 47.7% of the sample and females 52.3%. Students under the age of 25 constituted 58% of the sample.