Describes the research, implementation, and internal and external evaluation phases of the Nation... more Describes the research, implementation, and internal and external evaluation phases of the National Suicide Prevention Project in Finland. Focus is on the external evaluation. The goals for this external evaluation were to assess the purposefulness, appropriateness, and results of the project and the usefulness of the project strategy in Finland and internationally. Most important in the research phase was a nationwide psychological autopsy study (1,397 Ss) engaging hundreds of active professionals and with a broad international presentation of the results. The implementation phase covered broad public sectors nationwide, particularly in the service sector. The implementation team developed interactive models for health promotion and published many guidebooks. The suicide frequency in 1996 dropped 9% below the initial level and 20% below the 1991 level. The Finnish suicide prevention project is the first research-based comprehensive national program for suicide prevention in the wor...
The aim of this longitudinal study was to compare the effectiveness, in terms of cognitive and cl... more The aim of this longitudinal study was to compare the effectiveness, in terms of cognitive and clinical changes, of two oral self-care promoting interventions based on a self-assessment of bleeding from gums or of presence of plaque. Adolescent students (age 14.0 + 0.7 years) from two health districts in Helsinki, Finland, participated in this one-year study. The self-assessment of bleeding group (n = 172) recorded bleeding during tooth brushing and inter-proximal cleaning with toothpicks on a single session. The self-assessment of plaque group (n = 156) recorded the presence of plaque with disclosing dye. Both programmes resulted in comparable clinical improvement in bleeding on probing over 9 months. Increased awareness of gingivitis was associated with clinical improvement. The subjects' socio-economic background, baseline gingival health status and age were statistically significantly associated with gingival health improvement during the follow-up. The results support earlier reports on self-assessment and suggest that both self-assessment approaches are beneficial for promoting gingival health in adolescents.
ABSTRACT This article describes the effects of a social inoculation program against cigarette adv... more ABSTRACT This article describes the effects of a social inoculation program against cigarette advertisements among pre-adolescent youth in Los Angeles, California, where printed advertising is allowed, and in Helsinki, Finland, where it is banned. In Helsinki, the 4th-grade students reported liking persons depicted in advertisements less at the immediate posttest, and the 6th-grade students reported liking the depicted persons less at the 6-month follow-up. In Los Angeles, reported liking appeared to diminish, but not at a statistically significant level. These results are interpreted as suggesting the influence of different cigarette advertising policies.
This paper explores the relationship between the physical strenuousness of work and the body mass... more This paper explores the relationship between the physical strenuousness of work and the body mass index in Finland, using individual microdata over the period 1972-2002. The data contain self-reported information about the physical strenuousness of a respondent’s current occupation. Our estimates show that the changes in the physical strenuousness of work can explain around 8% at most of the definite increase in BMI observed over the period. The main reason for this appears to be that the quantitative magnitude of the effect of the physical strenuousness of work on BMI is rather moderate. Hence, according to the point estimates, BMI is only around 1.5% lower when one’s current occupation is physically very demanding and involves lifting and carrying heavy objects compared with sedentary job (reference group of the estimations), other things being equal. Accordingly, the changes in eating habits and the amount of physical activity during leisure time must be the most important contri...
This paper examines the relationship between relative income inequality and health in Finland, us... more This paper examines the relationship between relative income inequality and health in Finland, using individual microdata over the period 1993-2005. Our data allows us to analyse a large spectrum of health indicators. Overall, our results suggest that income inequality is not associated with increased morbidity in the population. The results for women differ to quite a large extent from those of men and the pooled sample. There is evidence that an increase in the Gini coefficient is negatively related to the probability of good physical health and no disability retirement. For men, relative income inequality is clearly not important for health.
This paper examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and sickness absence. We use reg... more This paper examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and sickness absence. We use regional panel data from Finland over the period 1993-2005. The data on individuals’ health that we are using originates from Health Behaviour and Health among the Finnish Population conducted by the National Public Health Institute. The results show that alcohol consumption is associated with sickness absence, and particularly so for men. Therefore, the earlier aggregate time-series evidence from Sweden is largely confirmed in a regional panel data setting.
Describes the research, implementation, and internal and external evaluation phases of the Nation... more Describes the research, implementation, and internal and external evaluation phases of the National Suicide Prevention Project in Finland. Focus is on the external evaluation. The goals for this external evaluation were to assess the purposefulness, appropriateness, and results of the project and the usefulness of the project strategy in Finland and internationally. Most important in the research phase was a nationwide psychological autopsy study (1,397 Ss) engaging hundreds of active professionals and with a broad international presentation of the results. The implementation phase covered broad public sectors nationwide, particularly in the service sector. The implementation team developed interactive models for health promotion and published many guidebooks. The suicide frequency in 1996 dropped 9% below the initial level and 20% below the 1991 level. The Finnish suicide prevention project is the first research-based comprehensive national program for suicide prevention in the wor...
The aim of this longitudinal study was to compare the effectiveness, in terms of cognitive and cl... more The aim of this longitudinal study was to compare the effectiveness, in terms of cognitive and clinical changes, of two oral self-care promoting interventions based on a self-assessment of bleeding from gums or of presence of plaque. Adolescent students (age 14.0 + 0.7 years) from two health districts in Helsinki, Finland, participated in this one-year study. The self-assessment of bleeding group (n = 172) recorded bleeding during tooth brushing and inter-proximal cleaning with toothpicks on a single session. The self-assessment of plaque group (n = 156) recorded the presence of plaque with disclosing dye. Both programmes resulted in comparable clinical improvement in bleeding on probing over 9 months. Increased awareness of gingivitis was associated with clinical improvement. The subjects' socio-economic background, baseline gingival health status and age were statistically significantly associated with gingival health improvement during the follow-up. The results support earlier reports on self-assessment and suggest that both self-assessment approaches are beneficial for promoting gingival health in adolescents.
ABSTRACT This article describes the effects of a social inoculation program against cigarette adv... more ABSTRACT This article describes the effects of a social inoculation program against cigarette advertisements among pre-adolescent youth in Los Angeles, California, where printed advertising is allowed, and in Helsinki, Finland, where it is banned. In Helsinki, the 4th-grade students reported liking persons depicted in advertisements less at the immediate posttest, and the 6th-grade students reported liking the depicted persons less at the 6-month follow-up. In Los Angeles, reported liking appeared to diminish, but not at a statistically significant level. These results are interpreted as suggesting the influence of different cigarette advertising policies.
This paper explores the relationship between the physical strenuousness of work and the body mass... more This paper explores the relationship between the physical strenuousness of work and the body mass index in Finland, using individual microdata over the period 1972-2002. The data contain self-reported information about the physical strenuousness of a respondent’s current occupation. Our estimates show that the changes in the physical strenuousness of work can explain around 8% at most of the definite increase in BMI observed over the period. The main reason for this appears to be that the quantitative magnitude of the effect of the physical strenuousness of work on BMI is rather moderate. Hence, according to the point estimates, BMI is only around 1.5% lower when one’s current occupation is physically very demanding and involves lifting and carrying heavy objects compared with sedentary job (reference group of the estimations), other things being equal. Accordingly, the changes in eating habits and the amount of physical activity during leisure time must be the most important contri...
This paper examines the relationship between relative income inequality and health in Finland, us... more This paper examines the relationship between relative income inequality and health in Finland, using individual microdata over the period 1993-2005. Our data allows us to analyse a large spectrum of health indicators. Overall, our results suggest that income inequality is not associated with increased morbidity in the population. The results for women differ to quite a large extent from those of men and the pooled sample. There is evidence that an increase in the Gini coefficient is negatively related to the probability of good physical health and no disability retirement. For men, relative income inequality is clearly not important for health.
This paper examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and sickness absence. We use reg... more This paper examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and sickness absence. We use regional panel data from Finland over the period 1993-2005. The data on individuals’ health that we are using originates from Health Behaviour and Health among the Finnish Population conducted by the National Public Health Institute. The results show that alcohol consumption is associated with sickness absence, and particularly so for men. Therefore, the earlier aggregate time-series evidence from Sweden is largely confirmed in a regional panel data setting.
Uploads