FSD3380 Sociobarometer 2018

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

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Study description in other languages

in Finnish

Related files

Study title

Sociobarometer 2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3380

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3380
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3380

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

SOSTE Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health

Abstract

The sociobarometer is a wide-ranging survey charting expert opinion on the welfare of Finnish citizens and the present state of welfare services in Finland. The 2018 sociobarometer is a special sociobarometer survey which charts the effects of the health and social services reform (sote reform) and the 2017 reform where responsibility for granting basic social assistance was transferred to the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) from municipal social welfare offices. The respondents were managers of municipal health and social service offices, the management of Kela, social workers and Kela employees. Funding for the study consisted of funding granted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment to the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) for the purpose of conducting the survey as well as funding the Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health (SOSTE) received from Veikkaus.

First, the survey charted opinions on the income security system and the development of social inequality in Finland over the past 10 years. The managers of municipal health and social service offices, social workers and the management of Kela were presented with various statements concerning the income security system (e.g. whether they thought that the level of different benefits was too low and sanctions related to social assistance lead to inequality). They were also asked to put several goals of the basic social assistance reform in order of importance.

The next theme concerned the health and social services reform (sote reform), and questions were presented to managers of municipal health and social service offices, social workers and the management of Kela. The respondents were asked for their opinion on a system that would guarantee universal basic income for all persons permanently residing in Finland and on the health and social services reform in general. Additionally, managers of municipal health and social service offices and social workers were asked how different aspects of the reform had succeeded and what factors had affected its success. The survey also examined views on how costs of the reform could be kept down in the long run (e.g. increasing preventive services and e-services, outsourcing services), and what effects the so-called freedom of choice for customers would have on e.g. the availability and quality of services. Some questions also focused on how likely the respondents thought various effects of the reform were from the viewpoint of health and welfare promotion (hyte) in municipalities and how well cooperation between organisations in health and welfare promotion was achieved at the time of the survey.

Finally, questions surveyed the respondents' attitudes towards the 2017 transfer of the responsibility for granting basic social assistance from municipal social welfare offices to Kela. The respondents were asked whether they thought it was the right call to transfer the responsibility to Kela for granting and paying basic social assistance. The respondents were also asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed on a set of statements regarding what effects had been caused by the transfer (e.g. whether the transfer had increased/decreased administrative costs, lowered the threshold of applying for social assistance, sped up getting a decision for social assistance, or reduced bureaucracy). Opinions on the cooperation between Kela and social services and the sufficiency of expertise at Kela regarding social work were also charted. Additionally, all respondents were asked whether they were concerned about the circumstances of some population group in relation to the basic social assistance transfer.

Background variables included, depending on the respondent group, time spent in current role, educational background, qualification, and major region or insurance district.

Keywords

health services; right to a minimum income; social care; social inequality; social reform; social security; social security benefits; social services; welfare policy; well-being (health)

Topic Classification

Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
Health care services and policies (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Equality, inequality and social exclusion (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Social welfare policy (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Social welfare systems/structures (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Specific social services: use and availability (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Sociobarometers

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

SOSTE Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health

Time Period Covered

2018

Collection Dates

2018-01-08 – 2018-02-19

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Organization/Institution

Universe

Managers of municipal health and social service offices and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), as well as social workers and Kela employees (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

Each respondent group had their own questionnaire. Questionnaires were sent to all managers of municipal health and social service offices, social workers, management of Kela, and a sample of Kela employees who were relevant for the survey in terms of social assistance. A total of 991 filled questionnaires were returned. The respondents were informed of the survey beforehand. With the exception of social workers, several reminder letters were sent to those who had not responded, and some respondents were also sent reminders via text messages.

Contact details for the managers of municipal health and social service offices were collected from the websites of all municipalities or joint municipal authorities in December 2017. Municipal mergers that took place in 2018 as well as new social welfare and health care regions were accounted for in data collection. Multiple respondents were selected from larger municipalities. 298 questionnaires were sent and 154 were received (response rate 52%, share of total data 16%).

Email contact details were available for the other respondent groups, but the social workers' questionnaire was sent to the Talentia Union of Professional Social Workers that forwarded the questionnaire to social workers in hospitals and social welfare offices as well as to social workers in managerial positions. 300 filled questionnaires were received (share of total data 30%). Response rate for social workers cannot be calculated because the total number of social workers is not known.

The questionnaire for Kela management was sent to managers of the business units of Customer Relations, Benefit Services and Development, as well as Directors of Customer Service Units, and Heads of Customer Service Sections. 220 questionnaires were sent and 109 were received (response rate 50%, share of total data 11%). The questionnaire for Kela employees was sent to the randomly selected sample of benefits processing and customer service employees. Contact details were received from Kela. The questionnaire was sent to 673 employees of whom 421 responded (response rate 63%, share of total data 43%).

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Different respondent groups were marked as follows: 1 = managers of municipal health and social service offices; 2 = Kela management; 8 = social workers; 9 = Kela employees.

Variables [q25_11] and [q25_12] which were included in the online survey are missing from the questionnaire for the managers in social welfare and health care services.

To prevent identification of respondents, variable q1 denoting health and social service offices was removed and variables q4 denoting educational background and q46 denoting job titles of Kela management were categorised at FSD.

In the questionnaires for managers of municipal health and social service offices and Kela management, the value labels in variable q4 denoting the respondent's educational background are not entirely identical. The question presented to managers of municipal health and social service offices contains the response option "Other social sciences", whereas the question presented to Kela management contains the response option "Other social sciences (e.g. political science)".

Open-ended variables and responses were removed before the data were deposited for archiving at FSD.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

SOSTE Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health: Sociobarometer 2018 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2020-07-31). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3380; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3380

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Special Terms and Conditions for Access

Users of the data shall send the Suomen sosiaali ja terveys ry (SOSTE) a copy of all reports, theses, articles, other publications or material based on or using the data. If printed, to the mail address: SOSTE Suomen sosiaali ja terveys ry, Tutkimus, Yliopistonkatu 5, 00100 HELSINKI, FINLAND. If electronic, to the e-mail address: tutkimus@soste.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Other Material

See downloadable files at the top of the page.

Sociobarometer 2018 on the website of SOSTE Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health (in Finnish).

Articles, results and datasets related to the 2018 sociobarometer.

Related Materials

Näätänen, Ari-Matti & Londén, Pia (2018). Sosiaalibarometri 2018. Helsinki: SOSTE Suomen sosiaali- ja terveys ry.

Related Publications