Study title

PROMEQ: Health and Well-being of the Long-term Unemployed 2016-2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3433

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3433

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Ylistö, Sami (University of Jyväskylä. Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy)
• Mäntysaari, Mikko (University of Jyväskylä)
• Mäki-Opas, Tomi (University of Eastern Finland. Department of Social Sciences)
• Vaarama, Marja (University of Eastern Finland)
• Forma, Leena (Tampere University)
• Partanen, Jussi
• Klavus, Jan (Tampere University)
• Rissanen, Pekka (Tampere University)

Abstract

The data consist of three surveys aimed at the long-term unemployed. The surveys charted the unemployed persons' social participation, mental and physical well-being, work motivation, and use of social and health services. Main themes in the surveys included, among others, living conditions, quality of life, social relationships, use of social and health services, and lifestyle. The baseline survey was conducted at the beginning of the research and the two follow-up surveys three and six months after the baseline survey. The data were collected as part of the Inclusive Promotion of Health and Wellbeing (PROMEQ 2016-2019) research project, which studied population groups that need special support. The aim of the PROMEQ project was to develop and demonstrate novel models of promotion of health and wellbeing. Survey data from the other target groups of the project as well as combined data from all surveys are also available at FSD (FSD3433-FSD3436).

The surveys included many scales and questions used in other studies. Questions were selected, for instance, from the Finnish Youth Surveys, as well as the Regional Health and Well-being Study (ATH) and Welfare and Services in Finland (HYPA) surveys conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Most questions included in the baseline survey were repeated in the follow-up surveys.

First, the surveys charted the respondents' living conditions, income, loans and need for financial aid or food assistance. The respondents' health, well-being and quality of life was examined with questions on, for example, how satisfied the respondents were with their health, how much they had enjoyed life in the past two weeks, how safe and secure they felt in their everyday life, and whether they had enough energy and drive for their daily life. Satisfaction with different spheres of life was also surveyed with questions regarding, for example, quality of sleep, capacity to work, relationships, and support received from friends.

Social relationships and trust were examined next. The respondents were asked whether they often felt lonely and whether they had ever been discriminated based on factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, or financial situation. Questions also focused on the respondents' sociability and feelings of belonging (e.g. whether they felt they were a part of a friend group, had much in common with people around them, and could find company when they wanted to, or whether they felt left out and isolated). The respondents' participation in group activities was charted, and trust in other people and various institutions, such as public health care, the judicial system, and municipal decision-making, was examined. The respondents' opinions on their own opportunities in life were also surveyed (e.g. whether they thought they had good or bad opportunities to strive for happiness in their life and to act according to their conscience).

Next, the respondents were asked about work, unemployment and their plans for the future. Work motivation was examined with questions on, for example, how many times the respondents had applied for a job in the last six months and how willing they were at present to work full-time or part-time or set up their own company. Views on employment were investigated with questions on, for example, whether the respondents found it important to be employed and whether they thought they needed more training to become employed again. The respondents were also asked to evaluate their own capacity to work and study. Future plans were surveyed with questions focusing on the respondents' dreams, hopes and goals for their future.

Finally, the respondents' use of social and health services was surveyed. The respondents were asked whether they had visited a doctor or other health or social services professional or received services that promote employment in the past 12 months (6 months in the follow-up survey). Additionally, the respondents were asked whether they had bought medication or been in contact with an employment services employee or other social or health care employee in the past 12 months. Questions also focused on basic social assistance, the respondents' satisfaction with the availability of various social and public services (e.g. library, indoor exercise and youth services), and their participation in group activities promoting health and well-being (e.g. weight management groups, AA, NA). The respondents' lifestyle was also examined with questions on their exercise, eating and drinking habits.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, year of birth, marital status, household composition, housing tenure, highest level of education, economic activity and occupational status, and household income. Additionally, the background information collected included whether the respondent belonged to the control or test group as well as their matched pair number.

Keywords

employment services; health services; health status; participation; public services; social inequality; social services; social skills; social support; trust; unemployment; well-being (health)

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Specific social services: use and availability (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Unemployment (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Equality, inequality and social exclusion (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• University of Jyväskylä

Funders

• Academy of Finland

Time Period Covered

2016 – 2018

Collection Dates

• 2016-06 – 2016-09
• 2017-11 – 2018-03

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, Joensuu, Helsinki, Kuopio

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Clients of employment services who had difficulties finding a job

Time Method

Longitudinal: Cohort/Event-based

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Purposive

The sample for the baseline survey was randomly drawn from the registers of the participating cities. The baseline survey and the two follow-up surveys were sent to the chosen participants. The sample size was determined based on a power calculation. From the 512 persons who responded to the first baseline survey, 162 respondents completed at least one of the follow-up surveys. The size of the test group was also determined based on a power calculation. The test group participants were new clients of the cross-sectoral joint service promoting employment (TYP) model, recruited with the help of employees from the collaborating organisations. The test group participants had to have been unemployed for at least a continuous 12 months and have been found to have the need for multisectoral joint services. The data from the second follow-up survey (6 months) contain one case that was not included in the baseline survey data.

Participants in the control group were not clients of the cross-sectoral joint service promoting employment (TYP) model. The control group was formed by using the matched pairs design, in which participants from the baseline survey sample who had the same characteristics (age, gender, quality of life) as members of the test group were grouped into pairs with the test group participants. The test group met with a cross-sectoral team or a personal official regularly, and a personal service plan was drawn up for each of them. The personal service plan included employment, social, health, and rehabilitation services based on the needs of the client. The implementation of the plan was monitored in regular meetings. The effectiveness of the intervention was examined by comparing the test and control groups at the beginning and end of the study.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire

Field/Intervention experiment

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

Related Datasets

FSD3432 PROMEQ: Health and Well-being of Young People not in Employment or Education 2017-2018

FSD3434 PROMEQ: Health and Well-being of Immigrants 2017-2018

FSD3435 PROMEQ: Health and Well-being of People Aged 65 and Over 2017-2018

FSD3436 PROMEQ: Health and Well-being of Vulnerable Groups in Society 2016-2018: Combined Data

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The baseline, intervention and follow-up surveys are named in the data matrix as follows: the baseline survey is marked with the initial a, the three-month intervention survey is marked with the initial b, and the six-month follow-up survey is marked with the initial c. The data also include variables marked with the initials bv, which are background variables provided by the researchers. The background variables are also marked with a, b or c based on when they were formed. Please note that only the baseline survey variables were named after the questionnaire. The b and c variables are included in the order in which they were delivered to FSD.

The questionnaires are named as follows: quF3433_A_fin: baseline survey, quF3433_B_fin: control group follow-up survey, quF3433_C_fin: follow-up survey for respondents living in Helsinki, quF3433_D_fin: follow-up survey for other groups.

The baseline survey included variables a59 and a60 denoting the respondent's weight and height as open-ended questions. If the open-ended response was a clear number, the number was directly included in the data as a numerical value. For responses that also included the evaluation "approximately", only the given number was included in the data. For responses that included a range, an average weight/height was calculated and included in the data. Responses that did not contain valid measurements were included as SYSMIS in the data.

To prevent identification of individuals, open-ended responses regarding the respondent's participation in group activities, housing tenure, and economic activity and occupational status were removed from the data. Variables a3 and c3 denoting marital status were coarsened by combining widows/widowers into category 5. Additionally, variables a59 and a60 denoting the respondent's height and weight and variables a11_1, a11_2, c5_1 and c5_2 denoting the number of children and adults living in the respondent's household were top-coded.

Variables bk3_a, ck3_1d, ck3_1e, and ck3_1d were delivered empty and were removed from the data.

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

Ylistö, Sami (University of Jyväskylä) & Mäntysaari, Mikko (University of Jyväskylä) & Mäki-Opas, Tomi (University of Eastern Finland) & Vaarama, Marja (University of Eastern Finland) & Forma, Leena (Tampere University) & Partanen, Jussi & Klavus, Jan (Tampere University) & Rissanen, Pekka (Tampere University): PROMEQ: Health and Well-being of the Long-term Unemployed 2016-2018 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2020-11-17). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3433

Deposit Requirement

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

Disclaimer

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

Related Materials

More information on the scales used in the surveys is available in Finnish in the questionnaire for dataset FSD3436 PROMEQ: Health and Well-being of Vulnerable Groups in Society 2016-2018: Combined Data.

Related Publications

Mäntysaari, Mikko & Ylistö, Sami (2019). Pitkäaikaistyöttömien monialainen palveluohjaus on kustannusvaikuttavaa [verkkodokumentti]. PROMEQ politiikkasuositus 1. http://www.uef.fi/documents/1529015/2331003/PROMEQ_WP4_POLICY_BRIEF_1.pdf/eaf6bb33-47fe-4d0e-885f-f6867af1eba6 [viitattu 26.3.2020]

Mäki-Opas, Tomi & Vaarama, Marja & Valkonen, Tarmo & Leinonen, Jaana & Syväjärvi, Antti (2019). Työkalupakki vaikuttavaan hyvinvoinnin ja terveyden edistämiseen. Sosiaalinen laatu, elämänlaatu, vaikuttavuusindikaattorit, hyvät käytännöt, osallistavat työmenetelmät ja kypsyysanalyysi [verkkodokumentti]. PROMEQ politiikkasuositus 10. https://www.uef.fi/documents/1529015/2331003/PROMEQ_Tyokalupakki_FINAL.pdf/8eeb01ef-112e-41bc-9c7f-be2baf1c3250 [viitattu 31.3.3020].

Rissanen, Pekka & Klavus, Jan & Forma, Leena (2019). Haavoittuvassa asemassa olevien väestöryhmien hyvinvoinnin kohentamiseen on kustannus-vaikuttavia keinoja [verkkodokumentti]. PROMEQ politiikkasuositus 7. http://www.uef.fi/documents/1529015/2331003/Haavoittuvassa+asemassa+olevien+v%C3%A4est%C3%B6ryhmien+hyvinvoinnin+kohentamiseen+on+kustannusvaikuttavia+keinoja.pdf/b32ba53d-a2ca-430b-b84c-db1af98deaff [viitattu 31.3.3020].

Mäki-Opas, T., Carter Anand J., Veszteg C. & Vaarama M. (2020) Co-production of social experiments to promote health and wellbeing among disadvantaged groups together with key stakeholders. In: Knox, K., Kubacki, K. & Rundle-Thiele, S. Stakeholder involvement in social marketing. Routledge Studies in Marketing. New York: Routledge.

Vaarama M. & Mäki-Opas T. (2020). Systeemisellä ja osallistavalla otteella parempaan yhteiskunnan sosiaaliseen laatuun ja yksilöiden elämänlaatuun. Focus Localis.