Study title

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

Dataset ID Number

FSD3434

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3434
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3434

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Kankaanpää, Reeta (University of Eastern Finland)
• Veszteg, Csilla (University of Eastern Finland)
• Ahonen, Tiina (University of Eastern Finland)
• Anand, Janed (University of Eastern Finland)
• 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 survey charted immigrants' social participation, mental and physical well-being, use of social and health services, experiences of discrimination, and attitudes towards work. The data consist of two surveys aimed at immigrants, which were conducted in English: a baseline survey conducted at the beginning of the research (variable id q) and a follow-up survey conducted six months after the baseline survey (variable id b). 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 (FSD3432-FSD3436).

The surveys included many scales and questions used in other studies. The scales and questions were translated into English for the surveys. 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 survey.

First, the respondents' current situation in life and language skills were charted. The respondents were asked, for instance, when they had arrived in Finland, on what grounds they had been granted a residence permit, whether they could understand, read and speak Finnish, and how they had learned Finnish (e.g. by taking courses or from friends). Studies and work were examined next with questions focusing on, for example, whether the respondents were planning to apply for higher education in Finland, whether they thought they were fully able to work in Finland, and whether they were confident in their search for work. The main obstacles that the respondents thought might prevent them from working were also surveyed (e.g. limited language skills, lack of education, ethnic background). Views on employment were investigated with questions on, for example, whether the respondents thought doing paid work gives substance and meaning to life and whether women should stay at home and not work outside the home. The surveys also charted the respondents' income, loans and need for financial aid or food assistance.

Next, the respondents' quality of life and satisfaction with various matters were examined. Questions included, for instance, how much the respondents enjoyed life, how safe they felt in their everyday life, whether they had enough energy, and how satisfied they were with their sleep, capacity to work, personal relationships, and access to health services. The respondents' social relationships were surveyed. The respondents were asked whether they often felt lonely and whether they were often in contact with other people, for example relatives or other immigrants living in Finland. 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 Finnish 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).

Experiences of unfair treatment and being discriminated against were surveyed next. The respondents were asked what they thought were the main factors (e.g. immigrant background, skin colour, age) behind the lack of respect, verbal insults, threats or harrassment they had received, as well as where they had experienced unfair treatment or discrimination (e.g. police station, KELA, a shop). Different traumatic experiences, such as combat experience, natural disasters, physical violence, and torture, were also investigated, and the respondents were asked whether the past traumatic events had effects on their life at present (e.g. in the form of disturbing dreams or feelings of shock).

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 employment or translation services or juridical advice 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 a social or health care employee in the past 12 months. Questions also focused on 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 examined with questions on their exercise, eating and drinking habits.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, year of birth, marital status, highest level of education, household composition, and economic activity and occupational status. Additionally, the background information included whether the respondent belonged to the test (intervention) or control group.

Keywords

health services; health status; immigrants; lifestyle and health; participation; physical activities; public services; quality of life; racism; second languages; social inequality; social networks; social services; trust

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Specific social services: use and availability (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Equality, inequality and social exclusion (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Migration (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• General health and well-being (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 Eastern Finland

Funders

• Academy of Finland

Time Period Covered

2017 – 2018

Collection Dates

• 2017-05 – 2017-09
• 2018-02 – 2018-04

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Kuopio, Joensuu, Mikkeli

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Persons aged 18-65 who are quota refugees or asylum applicants with a residence permit and who arrived in Finland after 1 January 2014

Time Method

Longitudinal: Cohort/Event-based

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Purposive

The baseline survey was conducted in the Kuopio and Joensuu regions in collaboration with different organisations. Some participants were offered an opportunity to participate in functional experiments, and they formed the test group. The other respondents formed the control group. The second survey was conducted approximately six to eleven months after the baseline survey.

The first test group consisted of refugees who had completed higher education (or some equivalent level of education). The second test group consisted of unemployed persons who spoke Arabic or Persian and who had not completed any vocational education. The third test group consisted of mothers who were at home with children and who could not understand, write or speak Finnish or could do so only to a limited extent. The functional experiment interventions were arranged in collaboration with local organisations that had relevant contacts and previous experience with activities aimed at population groups with refugee backgrounds.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire

Face-to-face interview

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: English.

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

Number of Cases and Variables

777 variables and 219 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Related Datasets

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

FSD3433 PROMEQ: Health and Well-being of the Long-term Unemployed 2016-2018

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 and follow-up surveys are named in the data matrix as follows: the baseline survey is marked with the initial q and the six-month follow-up survey is marked with the initial b. The data also include variables marked with the initials bv, which are background variables provided by the researchers. Some additional questions were included at the end of the follow-up survey, and some questions that surveyed the respondents' experiences in the past 12 months in the baseline survey are included as "past 6 months" in the follow-up survey. The questionnaire included as a related file in the study description was used for the follow-up survey.

Some respondents needed help from an interpreter or some other person when completing the self-administered questionnaire (e.g. if the respondent was not able to read and understand the questionnaire texts). The survey was conducted as an interview in these cases.

To prevent identification of participants, the data were anonymised as follows: variables q4 and b4 denoting the municipality where data collection took place and the respondent's country of birth were removed from the data, and most of the open-ended variables (q4a, b4a, q5a, b5a, q6a, b6a, q8_2, b8_2, a22a, b22a, q25a, b25a, q28_1a, q28_2a, b28_1a, b28_2a, q26a, b26a, q30, b30, b36a, a36a, q37, b37, q67a, b67a, b66_3_ca, b66_4_ca, q76a, b76a, q82a, b82a, q90 and b93) were removed as well. Additionally, the variables denoting household size (q24_1, q24_2, b24_1, b24_2) were top-coded and the variables denoting the respondent's native language (q6, b6, q14, b14) were coarsened as dichotomous variables. If necessary, the open-ended responses left in the data were anonymised. Changes made at FSD were marked with [square brackets].

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

Kankaanpää, Reeta (University of Eastern Finland) & Veszteg, Csilla (University of Eastern Finland) & Ahonen, Tiina (University of Eastern Finland) & Anand, Janed (University of Eastern Finland) & 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 Immigrants 2017-2018 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2020-12-21). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3434

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

Kankaanpää, Reeta & Eskelinen, Niko & Veszteg, Csilla & Anand, Janet & Mäki-Opas, Tomi & Vaarama, Marja & Neuvonen, Samuli (2019). Varhaisessa kotoutumisen vaiheessa olevien pakolaistaustaisten aikuisten elämänlaatua selittävät tekijät. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 84: 5-6. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019112744450

Anand, Janet & Kankaanpää, Reeta & Veszteg, Csilla (2019). Käyttäjälähtöisellä palvelusuunnittelulla kohti parempaa kotoutumista. [verkkodokumentti]. PROMEQ politiikkasuositus 6. http://www.uef.fi/documents/1529015/2331003/WP5_PROMEQ_PolicyBrief.pdf/23945eae-fd3f-4df2-b2f4-15df915acac6 [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].

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.