Sociobarometers, compiled by SOSTE Finnish Society for Social and Health (previously the Finnish Federation for Social Welfare and Health), have been carried out annually since 1991. Various service providers (e.g. local social services, health care centres, employment offices, Social Insurance Institution authorities) evaluate the state of services and changes in welfare of citizens. Some current social policy themes are also included. The FSD collections cover data from 1994.
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 2020 sociobarometer charted issues such as services for older people, basic security, employment services and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on social and health services. Respondents included healthcare managers and social workers at municipalities and joint municipal authorities, directors of operational units at Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland) and managers of local employment and economic development offices (TE Offices).
One of the themes of the survey was the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on services and support needs. Respondents were asked, among other things, which groups of people in the region are particularly concerned, how the needs of clients have been met and how services have been developed during the pandemic. In particular, they asked about the impact of the pandemic on the service needs of older people and the support targeted at them.
Another broader theme was employment, basic security and income support. For example, the survey explored how the service needs of people getting the basic social assistance and other groups were met before, during and after the pandemic. It also asked how employment had been improved in different regions. Respondents were also asked to rate different statements related to the increase in inequality.
Background variables included the respondent's sector of work, the size of the area of activity and the major region. For respondents from TE Offices, the data also include a regional variable at the level of the province.
The questionnaires were sent to all healthcare managers and social workers of municipalities and joint municipal authorities in continental Finland, management of Kela and local employment and economic development offices (TE Offices). 776 responses were received before the deadline. Each respondent group had their own questionnaire.
The social welfare and healthcare managers' contact details were collected from the websites of municipalities and joint municipal authorities in April 2020. The data collection took into consideration municipal mergers happening in early 2020 as well as new social welfare and healthcare regions. Several respondents were picked in the largest cities and joint municipal authorities, depending on the organisational structure. 288 questionnaires were sent out with 117 responses received (response rate 41%, constituting 15% of total data).
The questionnaire for social workers was sent to registry offices of municipalities and joint municipal authorities with a request that it be forwarded to social workers in the area. 496 social workers responded (constituting 64% of total data). The total number of social workers is not known, so the response rate cannot be calculated.
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. 223 questionnaires were sent and 107 responses were received (response rate 48%, constituting 14% of total data).
The questionnaire for managers of local employment and economic development offices (TE Offices) was sent to directors and managers whose contact details were received from the Ministry of Economis Affairs and Employment. 140 questionnaires were sent and 56 responses were received (response rate 40%, constituting 7% of total data).
The responses of the social welfare and healthcare managers' cover 191 municipalities, or 65% of municipalities and 3.7 million Finns. The responses from social workers cover a total of 213 municipalities and 4.9 million Finns. In total, the responses from social welfare and healthcare respondents cover 265 municipalities, which is 90% of municipalities and 5.3 million of the Finnish population.