Health Behavior and Self-Assessed Health Among Some Long-Term Unemployed Living in Turku, Finland

Background: A number of previous studies have concluded that long-term unemployment is destructive to health.Objective: This study examined health behavior and self-assessed health of some long-term unemployed persons living in the city of Turku, in Southwestern Finland.Methodology: The qualitative data were collected from February to March 2016 from 40 long-term unemployed men and women, aged between 31 to 63 years.Results: Of the participants 85% (n=34) reported that their long-term unemployment situation had had a negative impact on their health. There were 95% (n=36) who needed medical care because of their health condition. There were 59% (n=24) who were not satisfied with the healthcare and social services compared to 49% (n=16) who were satisfied with the services.Conclusion: There were more single men than single women among the participants. Half of the participants had a profession of which the women constituted the majority. Several participants were suffering from a chronic disease. The participants were not satisfied of their lives and attributed their health behavior and poor health conditions to their long-term unemployment situation. They were not satisfied also with the healthcare and social services provided to them.