Support services, clients aged 75 and over in services funded by the municipality, during year, as % of total population of same age (from 2006-) (id: 3466)
Statistics Finland: Statistics on the activities of social services of municipalities/joint municipal boards
Statistics Finland gathers information on municipal finances and activities on a yearly basis. The statistics contain information on municipally-funded services, that is, services that the municipality provides itself to its inhabitants or purchases from other municipalities, municipal federations, the state or private providers. In this context, Statistics on Social Welfare and Health Care Activities have been compiled since 1994 by order of STAKES and, as of the beginning of 2009, by order of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (the result of a merger between STAKES and KTL). A predecessor to these statistics was a report system for social welfare and health care, maintained by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health until 1993.
Keywords
non-institutional services
care and services for older people
home-help services
Classifications
Age classification
75 years and older
Geographical classification
Municipality, sub-region, region, area for the regional state administrative agency, major region, Mainland Finland/Åland, hospital district, university hospital special responsibility area, whole country
Data content
The indicator gives the number of clients aged 75 and over that have received support services during the year. Support services include meals-on-wheels, washing and bathing, help with shopping and other affairs, transportation and other services that aim to support independent living and provide help in activities of daily living. Support services can be provided in the client's home, service and day centres, institutions or other units.
Total number of clients during the year: Each person is counted only once irrespective of how many times she or he has received services during the year. Family members who have used the services are also counted as clients.
Data on clients receiving support services are given separately for ages 65–74, 75–84 and 85 and over. Clients are placed in the age group according to the situation at the end of the year (31 Dec).
The data cover services that the municipality provides itself or purchases from other municipalities, joint municipal boards, the state or private service providers.
The concepts used in the statistics on municipal activities are defined in 'Classifications used in Statistics on Municipal Finances and Activities 2006', Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. The publication is available at the website of the Association (www.kunnat.net).
Interpretation
The indicator gives the number of those who have received some type of support service at least once during the year. The figure may vary from one municipality to another, depending on whether the municipality offers plenty of help to a small number of clients or a limited amount of service to a great number of clients. In addition, the service system should always be looked at as a whole; different municipalities arrange the services in different ways. In other words, comparisons of individual services between municipalities will not tell the whole truth as the municipality may have invested in other services, according to the needs and wishes of the clients.
Restrictions
The data cover the services funded by municipalities, that is, services that the municipality has produced or purchased from other municipal or private service providers. Services that clients fund themselves or acquire with other public funding are not included.
The number of areas with joint activities in the social services has risen sharply as of the beginning of 2009. There are several possible models for joint activities.
Joint activities between municipal social services have given rise to a number of changes in statistics for this sector (services provided by the municipality, services sold by the municipality, services bought from municipalities, services bought from joint municipal boards) between 2008 and 2009. Joint activities have no impact on the category `Total¿ for activities of municipalities; as before, this category contains only services that a municipality has provided or procured for its own inhabitants.
