Most adults in Viken are satisfied with their lives, in good health and prospering in the local community - but one in ten is single. This is one of the results of the Public Health Survey, which was answered by 108 residents.
The public health study was conducted between November 8-28, 2021, and now the first results are ready. The study was the result of a collaboration between Viken and the National Institute of Public Health (FHI).
Selected results
Participants were asked about physical and mental health, health-related behavior, quality of life, social environment and access to facilities and services in the local community.
Selected results:
- 82 percent of participants are satisfied with their lives
- 72 percent states that their health is good or very good
- 11 percent experience loneliness
- 74 percent feels good or very good in the local community
Differences by age and education
The report shows the results for the whole of Viken and for groups within the municipalities - by gender, age group and level of education.
– We generally notice clear differences related to age and education. Generally speaking, most things seem to improve with age and increasing levels of education. For example, interest single people it decreases significantly with age and increasing level of education. It is also interesting that several regional differences can be partially explained by demographic differences in age and education between municipalities, says senior researcher Marit Knapstad of FHI.
The total participation in the study was 40,9%. This is considered good for this type of survey. The fact that she participated in the study less than half of all invitees, however, create some uncertainty about the results.
- That is why we put the greatest emphasis on results that are quite clear or are part of consistent patterns - explains the researcher.
The differences between the sexes are often visible
Women report healthier living habits than men on many health-behavior indicators - such as diet and alcohol consumption. These gender differences are often seen across educational levels and age groups.
There is no difference between the genders in self-health in general. However, a greater proportion of women than men report health problems:
Neck pain
- women: 24,3 percent
- men: 13,7 percent
Lower back pain
- women: 21,3 percent
- men: 17,4 percent
Problems with sleeping
- women: 13,5 percent
- males: 9,1 percent
Quality of life
- There is no or relatively little difference between men and women regarding how satisfied you are with your life or what you do in life makes sense and the degree of future optimism.
- However, women experience better social relationships than men, while men experience less loneliness and feel safer in the local community than women.
- More women than men say they have a mental illness.
Differences by age
- The higher the age, the higher the proportion of having a healthy diet.
The use of a healthy diet is increasing among women with age, while among men this increase is most visible from the age of 50. - Smoking is most common in the 50 to 69 age group, while snus is most common in younger age groups. This applies to both genders and indicates that snus use has largely replaced cigarette smoking.
- Most aspects of mental health and quality of life strongly correlate with age, with most improving by age 70. Women in the youngest age group have a particularly high mental health score.
- There are quite large groups of older people, especially women, who we do not reach electronically through public health surveys in the counties. This gives more uncertainty about the results.
Education
- The higher the education, the higher the percentage of people declaring a healthy diet and physical activity, and the lower the percentage of people who smoke or use snus.
- The percentage of people declaring physical activity increases with the increase in the level of education (at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity at least 4 days a week).
- For hours of sitting still, the picture is quite the opposite: people with a university or higher education for four years reported about 1 hour more sitting still in their daily life compared to those with primary education.
- All measures of health problems and loss of function clearly relate to education and then in favor of those with higher education.
- The higher the education level, the lower the score on mental illness and loneliness, and the higher the score on social support and experience that life makes sense.
Compare Viken with other fylke
The results from Viken differ little from those of other fylke who have conducted a public health study. These gender, age and educational differences are something we see both in public health research elsewhere in the country and in research in Norway and elsewhere.
What was the impact of the coronavirus pandemic?
The data collection for this study was conducted during a period of several constraints in society.
`` We don't know for sure how the coronavirus pandemic might have affected mental illness, quality of life and social contacts. For some questions, the quality of life in Viken is slightly worse than in fylke, which collected data before the corona pandemic, Knapstad said.
This applies, for example, to general questions about how satisfied you are with your life and whether what you do in life is perceived as meaningful.
Source: National Institute of Public Health
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