Results of the School Health Promotion Study published – Helsinki’s report will be published in October 

The results of the national School Health Promotion Study 2023 have now been published. The results are available to everyone on the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) website. A summary examining Helsinki’s results will be published in week 43.  

In THL’s results service, the study’s indicators have been categorised into seven areas, such as wellbeing, inclusion and free-time, the safety of one’s environment as well as schooling and studying. Data is available for 4th and 5th graders, 8th and 9th graders as well as 1st and 2nd year students in upper secondary schools and vocational institutions. The results can be examined by region, education level and gender. The situation of regions can be compared to the situation of other municipalities, counties or the entire country. For some indicators, follow-up data is available since 1996.  

The results of the study are available to everyone free of charge in the electronic results service on the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) website. School-specific results are protected with a password, i.e., they are not openly available online. Links and passwords to the school-specific results will be sent to principals in September.  

Helsinki’s own summary examines municipality-specific results in more detail 

Helsinki will compile its own municipality-specific report of the results which will be published in week 43. The comprehensive summary dives deeper into, for example, the mental well-being, hobbies, schooling, the experienced safety of one’s environment and lifestyles of children and young people in Helsinki. The publication highlights the key positive and alarming issues related to the health and wellbeing of children and young people in Helsinki. The publication also includes long-term development trends of the various indicators. 

On the basis of an initial review, it can be said that most children and young people in Helsinki are satisfied with their lives and enjoy their school environment. Even so, challenges with mental wellbeing remain common: more than a third of girls in 8th and 9th grades experience moderate or severe anxiety. Similarly, 15 per cent of 8th and 9th graders experience loneliness often. This number is lower compared to the previous study; however, higher than in the studies before the COVID19 pandemic. These and other phenomena related to children and wellbeing will be reviewed in more detail in Helsinki’s results publication. 

Helsinki’s results will be presented at a virtual coffee hour 

Helsinki’s results will be presented and discussed at Helsinki’s Health and Welfare Promotion HYTE’s virtual morning coffee on 27 October from 9 to 10 a.m. The event is open to everyone who is interested in the results. You can participate in the event here: https://hyte.hel.fi/stadin-hyte-virtuaaliaamukahvit/.