Study title

Sociobarometer 2021

Dataset ID Number

FSD3568

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3568
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3568

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 2021 sociobarometer charted issues such as changes in the responsibilities for organising services, income support, employment services and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on social, health and employment services. Respondents included healthcare managers and social workers at municipalities and joint municipal authorities, directors of operational units and service experts at Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland) and managers of local employment and economic development offices (TE Offices) and the officials responsible for employment services in municipalities.

One of the themes of the survey was the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on services and support needs at the end of the previous year. Respondents were asked, among other things, which groups of people in the area were particularly concerned, how clients' needs had been met and whether the need for multidisciplinary services had changed since the spring of the previous year. In particular, they were asked about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the service needs of older people and the support targeted at them.

Another broader theme was cooperation between different organisations and coordination of services. Questions covered issues such as the support provided by churches, associations and volunteers, as well as the division of labour within the municipality or region and its clarity. The questionnaire also asked whether, for example, some services were outsourced to the voluntary sector during the pandemic.

The third broader theme of the survey was related to changes in the responsibility for organising services, such as the health and social services reform (sote-uudistus) and the local government pilots. In the context of the reform, respondents were asked to assess the reform and its impact. The questions related to the organisation of employment services concerned, for example, the local government pilot scheme, whereby employment services for certain client groups in 25 pilot areas were transferred to Kela. Other questions included affordable housing, income support and the reform of the client fees.

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

Keywords

covid-19; elderly; employment services; health services; incentives; social inequality; social security; social security benefits; social services; social welfare; social work; 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

Funders

• Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations
• Social Insurance Institution of Finland
• Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare|National Institute for Health and Welfare
• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment|Ministry of Employment and the Economy

Time Period Covered

2021

Collection Dates

2021-01-11 – 2021-02-04

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Organization/Institution

Universe

Healthcare managers and social workers at municipalities and joint municipal authorities, directors of operational units and service experts at Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland), managers of local employment and economic development offices (TE Offices) and the officials responsible for employment services in municipalities. (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

Probability: Simple random

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) and for a sample of service experts of Kela. 1241 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 December 2021. The data collection took into consideration municipal mergers happening in early 2021 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. 293 questionnaires were sent out with 92 responses received (response rate 31%, constituting 7% 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. 412 social workers responded (constituting 33% 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. 214 questionnaires were sent and 109 responses were received (response rate 51%, constituting 9% of total data). The questionnaire for Kela employees was sent to a randomly selected sample of 833 social assistance claims specialists. Contact details for sampling were received from Kela. 434 responses were received (response rate 52%, constituting 35% 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 52 responses were received (response rate 37%, constituting 4% of total data). The questionnaire for municipal employment officers was sent to the municipal registry offices and asked to be forwarded to the employment officers. 142 responses were received (constituting 11% of total data).

The responses of the social welfare and healthcare managers' cover 172 municipalities, or 59% of municipalities and 3.7 million Finns. The responses from social workers cover a total of 200 municipalities and 4.6 million Finns. In total, the responses from social welfare and healthcare respondents cover 242 municipalities, which is 83% of municipalities and 5.1 million of the Finnish population.

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

In the data, the different respondent groups are named as follows: 1= Social and health care management, 2= Kela management, 3= TE Office management, 8= Social workers, 9= Kela employees and 10= Municipal employment officers.

Some of the last items in the question sets have been cropped out when saving the questionnaires in pdf format. Full explanations are shown in the data files and in the Aila variable descriptions.

For identification reasons, the researcher has removed open variables and some background variables, such as detailed regional and organisational information. At FSD, all respondent background data such as education level, gender, years of work experience and regional data at provincial level (except for respondents from TE Offices) have been removed from the data. Responses from directors of social and health services have been removed from the second population variable (asukas3). For directors of social and health services working in cities with more than 50 000 inhabitants, the information on the area of responsibility of the regional administrative agency and the special area of responsibility of the university hospital has been removed. In addition, the areas of activity of the Kela management have been classified.

The open variables and responses had been removed from the data submitted to 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 2021 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2022-10-19). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3568

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.

Related Publications

Sosiaalibarometri 2021:1 (2021). Tutkimusaineisto ja toteutus. Anne Eronen, Pia Londén. Helsinki: SOSTE Suomen sosiaali ja terveys ry. Saatavana: https://www.soste.fi/sosiaalibarometri/sosiaalibarometri-2021/

Sosiaalibarometri 2021:2 (2021). Koronakriisi ja palvelujärjestelmän joustavuus. Anne Eronen, Heikki Hiilamo, Merita Jokela, Pekka Karjalainen, Sakari Karvonen, Minna Kivipelto, Jade Knop, Pia Londen. Helsinki: SOSTE Suomen sosiaali ja terveys ry. Saatavana: https://www.soste.fi/sosiaalibarometri/sosiaalibarometri-2021/

Sosiaalibarometri 2021:3 (2021). Sote-uudistus ja asiakasmaksut. Anne Eronen, Pia Londen, Minttu Ojanen, Juha Peltosalmi, Anne Perälahti. Helsinki: SOSTE Suomen sosiaali ja terveys ry. Saatavana: https://www.soste.fi/sosiaalibarometri/sosiaalibarometri-2021/

Sosiaalibarometri 2021:4 (2021). Työllisyys. Aleksi Kalenius, Anne Eronen, Pia Londen. Helsinki: SOSTE Suomen sosiaali ja terveys ry. Saatavana: https://www.soste.fi/sosiaalibarometri/sosiaalibarometri-2021/

Sosiaalibarometri 2021:5 (2021). Toimeentulotuki ja asuminen. Anne Eronen, Hanna-Mari Heinonen, Anna Järvinen, Markku Laatu, Pia Londen. Helsinki: SOSTE Suomen sosiaali ja terveys ry. Saatavana: https://www.soste.fi/sosiaalibarometri/