The health of Swedish-speaking and Finnish-speaking schoolchildren in Finland.
BACKGROUND
It is well known that Swedish-speaking adults in Finland have higher life expectancy and better health than their Finnish-speaking counterparts. Among young people, similar comparisons have been scarce. The present paper aims to compare the health of Swedish-speaking and Finnish-speaking schoolchildren.


METHODS
Survey data from 1997, representing children at grades 8 and 9 of compulsory school in a bilingual region, are analysed with the help of logistic regression models. Self-rated health as well as objective measures of health are explored.


RESULTS
We find that Swedish-speaking schoolchildren are healthier than Finnish-speaking ones in terms of objective measures of health, whereas there is no difference between language groups in terms of self-assessed health. Self-rated health seems to reflect well-being in a very broad context rather than objective health from a medical perspective. Risk factors and health behaviours being equal, both language groups consequently assess their health in a similar manner.


CONCLUSIONS
Policy makers should be careful when advocating the health needs of schoolchildren based on survey results concerned with self-assessed health measures, particularly when they are concerned with targeting measures towards specific subgroups of the population. Self-rated health is obviously not well suited for reflecting overall and specific needs of medical assistance and expertise for schoolchildren.
Saarela
J M
JM
Department of Social Sciences, Abo Akademi University, Vasa, Finland. jan.saarela@abo.fi
Finnäs
F S A
FS
D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000208:ethnology