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Targeting suicide - qualitative analysis of suicide prevention strategy documents in England and Finland
- Authors:
- SOLIN Pia, NIKANDER Pirjo
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Review Journal, 16(1), March 2011, pp.5-14.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
In a policy context, suicide is not easily defined, understood or prevented. It leaves a long-lasting mental and social burden on those left behind, as well as direct consequences on the health sector and society as a whole. The means policy itself is often difficult to turn into action. This review details the interpretative repertoires found in the suicide prevention strategies of both England and Finland, and examines their potential functions and audiences. In both nations, the political repertoire was formed from four themes: the public health epidemiology; the everyday; the preventive action; and the reflective repertoires. The paper outlines the polyphonic and multi-layered nature of these policy documents and how different repertoires may be used for various functions. The paper concludes that, while the polyphonic nature of policy documents is necessary to reach a wider readership and to capture suicide as a controversial phenomenon, its argumentative style may also undermine some of the measures and actions recommended by policy itself.
The determinants of mental health: a qualitative analysis of health policy documents
- Author:
- SOLIN Pia Crista Milana
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 8(2), May 2006, pp.3-11.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article reports on an exploratory analysis of the determinants of mental health in health policy documents from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, England and Portugal during 1985-2004. Similarities and differences in mental and somatic health were examined, using qualitative content analysis. The results of the analysis are compared with some frequently applied health determinant conceptualisations and with the conclusions of previous research. The article concludes by pointing out that the determinants of mentally and somatic health are constructed differently, which seems to affect the design of health promotion policy.
Analysis of the national Roma integration strategies
- Authors:
- KAMMERER Sophie, PFOHMAN Shannon
- Publisher:
- European Roma Policy Coalition
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 66p.
- Place of publication:
- Brussels
Under the new European Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies, EU Member States were required to submit strategies on Roma inclusion to the European Commission (EC) by the end of December 2011. In a first step, the European Roma Policy Coalition (ERPC) carried out desk screening assessments of the National Roma Integration Strategies (NRIS) submitted by the governments of Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Wales, as well as the Czech Republic’s Roma Integration Concept for 2010 to 2013. In a second step, the ERPC gathered the views of Roma and Traveller organisations and civil society on the processes that led to the design of the NRIS in the different Member States. This report is divided into three main parts. The first part is based on an analysis of ERPC reviewers on the NRIS for the different Member States that submitted a strategy. The second part reflects an analysis of survey results on various stakeholders’ perspectives of the NRIS. The third part reflects the lessons learnt and the recommendations.
Briefing paper: delivering children's services in the UK and other parts of the world: a short policy context
- Author:
- CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE AND OUTCOMES IN CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S SERVICES
- Publisher:
- Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 26p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Child poverty is a global problem, though in affluent societies, poorer scores on indicators of child well-being are generally associated with income inequality rather than with poverty. Consequently, conditions for children in low income families tend to be the focus of efforts to improve child well-being. This paper examines various models for children’s services delivery that exist internationally, and places them in the context of current UK policy and practice. The key sections present outlines of the different policy and service provision approaches to children’s services in the UK and top performing countries. This group comprises of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Reference is made to other countries, where appropriate. The dimensions for comparison of countries are broadly similar, but the literature sources accessed are limited. There is little detailed information on the structure of services, although it appears through this review that service structure has much less influence on child outcomes than other features, which are discussed in detail.
Report on the employment of disabled people in European countries: Finland
- Author:
- TETTINEN Antti
- Publisher:
- Academic Network of European Disability Experts
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 15p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Utrecht
- Edition:
- Rev. ed.
This report, relating specifically to Finland, is one of a series reviewing national implementation of the European Employment Strategy from a disability equality perspective. It provides an update as at November 2009 to a first report published in 2008. Evidence is summarised, along with a comment on the current economic crisis. It is then briefly reviewed in a standardised format under the following headings: academic publications and research reports; employment statistics and trends; laws and policies, type and quality of jobs; specific examples of good practice; and conclusions and recommendations. New qualitative data indicate that there are 43,534 disabled people in the public labour market in Finland. This represents a fall of 4.4% in the employment rate of this group between 2000 and 2008. However labour market training has increased in parallel. The government budget for the employment of disabled people was 36m Euro in 2008. One of the most important policies in this area is the long term development of intermediate labour markets. New research evidence shows that 15-20% of disabled people have a paid job compared to 70% of the whole population. Detailed data on the direct impact of the economic crisis on the employment of disabled people in Finland is not yet available.
'Integrative' or 'defensive' youth activation in nine European welfare states
- Author:
- HARSLØF Ivan
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Youth Studies, 8(4), December 2005, pp.461-481.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Young unemployed persons are a prioritised group in active labour market programmes. Such programmes can be regarded as ‘integrative', facilitating integration into the labour market for young people in accordance with their own preferences. However, such programmes can also be regarded as ‘defensive', discouraging young unemployed persons from claiming transfer incomes and urging them to lower their sights when looking for jobs. The article examines the conceptions of the young participants themselves, analysing whether activation programmes are experienced in ways endorsing the integrative or the defensive perspective across different European welfare states. Survey data from these countries indicate that activation programmes for youth are at the integrative end of the spectrum. This is especially the case in the universal welfare regime countries, which are also the group of countries in which youth activation schemes are most widespread. Participant's scheme evaluations are least favourable in Scotland, in line with expectations of a liberal welfare regime approach. Most conservative welfare regime countries fall in between.
Parental reported bullying among Nordic children: a population-based study
- Authors:
- NORDHAGEN R., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child: Care, Health and Development, 31(6), November 2005, pp.693-701.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The study is part of a cross-sectional comparative study in 1984 and 1996, focusing on children's and their families' health and welfare in the Nordic countries. At each point of time parents of 3,000 randomly selected children aged 217 years in each of five Nordic countries received a postal questionnaire. Altogether approximately 20 000 questionnaires were completed. The prevalence of bullying, risk factors for bullying and possible effect factors were analysed. Parents reported bullying of their child in 15.1% of the cases. Bullying varied from 7.2% in Sweden to about 20% in Denmark and Finland. There was a small increase in bullying from 13.7% in 1984 to 16.4% in 1996. Bullying was most frequent in boysand in children 2-6 and 7-12 years old. Children of single parents and of parents with low education had increased risks. Children with chronic conditions had higher risks for being bullied. In 1996 children with psychiatric/nervous problems and hyperactivity had high risks for being bullied and for bullying others. Being bullied was associated with poor thriving and psychosomatic and psychological problems. No countries had national interventions before 1984, but Sweden had early focused on the problem and implemented a strong national policy before 1996. After 1996 national anti-bullying policies were strengthened in the Nordic countries, most in Sweden and Norway.
Integrating mental health services: the Finnish experience
- Authors:
- LEHITEN Ville, TAIPALE Vappu
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Integrated Care, 1(2), 2001, Online only
- Publisher:
- International Foundation for Integrated Care
The aim of this paper is to give a short description of the most important developments of mental health services in Finland during the 1990s, examine their influences on the organisation and provision of services, and describe shortly some national efforts to handle the new situation. The Finnish mental health service system experienced profound changes in the beginning of the 1990s. These included the integration of mental health services, being earlier under own separate administration, with other specialised health services, decentralisation of the financing of health services, and de-institutionalisation of the services. The same time Finland underwent the deepest economic recession in Western Europe, which resulted in cut-offs especially in the mental health budgets. The article also looks at some of Finland’s key national programmes. The Schizophrenia Project 1981–97, whose main aims were to decrease the incidence of new long-term patients and the prevalence of old long-stay patients by developing an integrated treatment model. The Suicide Prevention Project 1986–96 aimed at raising awareness of this special problem and decreasing by 20% the proportionally high suicide rate in Finland. The National Depression Programme 1994–98 focused at this clearly increasing public health concern by several research and development project targeted both to the general population and specifically to children, primary care and specialised services. The latest, still on-going Meaningful Life Programme 1998–2003 which main aim is, by multi-sectoral co-operation, to improve the quality of life for people suffering from or living with the threat of mental disorders.
Freedom of choice through the promotion of gender equality
- Author:
- SAXONBERG Steven
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 43(6), December 2009, pp.666-679.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The main argument of this article is that family policies which promote gender equality as practised in Scandinavia also increase freedom of choice more than either liberal or conservative types of policies, by increasing the amount of available choices to both mothers and fathers, making it easier for women to choose to have careers while still having children and for men to choose to spend time with their children. It looks at maternity leave policies, paternity leave policies, the flexibility of parental leave policies, child care policies, and policies towards non-nuclear families. The author asserts that within the realm of such policies, it is still possible to offer more or less freedom of choice with more or less flexible policies, that generous public support for child care facilities increases the freedom of choice of parents by allowing them to decide themselves when they want to return to work, and that policies that promote gender equality offer greater freedom of choice for the group of women considered to be family oriented as well as for lesbian and homosexual couples.