Health differences between population groups emerge already at school
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health drawing up plans to narrow health gap
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Differences in illness and mortality rates among different population groups in Finland appear to be growing. The accumulation of health problems at the lower rung of Finland’s socio-economic ladder is apparent already at school, according to a school health survey by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES).
Life expectancy for a 35-year-old Finnish manual labourer is 74 years, while a contemporary in a managing position can expect to live to the age of 80.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is preparing a plan aimed at narrowing the gap in health among population groups in Finland.
The current trend has continued since the 1970s. While children and young people cannot be rigidly classified into socio-economic groups, there is a clear gap between a majority of school pupils who are quite healthy and a small minority who are in very poor shape.
"The great majority of young people are doing better than ever, but now an estimated 3-5 percent of the age group seem to be doing worse than ever before", says Professor Matti Rimpelä of STAKES.
He says that this group is nevertheless big enough to place a considerable burden on mental health and child welfare services.
A plan is under development at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health aimed at narrowing the health gap in Finland. Social Services Minister Liisa Hyssälä (Centre) will put forward the matter at the Ministerial Committee on Social Affairs in the coming weeks.
She says that health care officials can have only a limited influence on socio-economic differences, because the reasons for those differences are the result of so many different factors.
She says that it is important to focus on moments of transition in a person’s life - such as finishing school, or beginning retirement.
All Finns are healthier now on average than in the 1980s, but the reduction in cardiovascular disease, for instance, has been significantly greater among those who are economically better off.
Experts see alcohol consumption as the clearest single factor in the overall health gap.
"Growth in differences in alcohol mortality is clearest, so no better proposal comes to mind than taking issue with the alcohol tax", says Tapani Valkonen professor of sociology at the University of Helsinki.
He believes that a price hike might have an effect on the drinking habits of those with the lowest incomes.
Eero Lahelma professor of public health at the University of Helsinki points out that smoking is more common among pupils in vocational school than those in upper-level secondary school (lukio).
"We should think about what kind of health education to give to different target groups", he says.
The greatest challenge seen by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is how to get local authorities interested in the promotion of health. In many communities, services of post-natal clinics and school health care have been allowed to deteriorate.
Hyssälä says that the state needs to take issue with how municipalities direct their funds.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 30.3.2006 - TODAY |
 Health differences between population groups emerge already at school
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