Long distances and lack of services portray the life in rural areas in Finland - Results from Emotional survey. Virpi Kuvaja-Köllner, Anna Karttunen, Aija Kettunen and Kerstin Wessig

1. Virpi Kuvaja-Köllner, Anna Karttunen, Aija Kettunen and Kerstin Wessig
The EmotionAAL project
has received funding
from the European
Community

2.  Started 9/2009, Duration 36 months
 Partners from 3 countries
 Austria: Vitaphone
 Germany:
 Universities from Marburg and Kassel
 B Braun Melsungen,
 Protestant Univ. of Applied Sciences Darmstadt
 German Retail Federation
 Opsolution NanoPhotonics
 German Aerospace Center
 Finland: Diaconia University of Applied
Sciences and ActiveSoft Ltd.

3.  Integrated health and care concept in rural
areas in Europe
 that enhances self care management
 new biofeedback concepts
 in two pilots in rural areas in Finland and
Germany
 In practice for example: Health corners with
web portal in village shops

4. Was to get information about four main themes before
the pilot phase
 Computer using and Internet connections
 Interests in doing shopping or health measurements via
the computer
 Interests for health corners in village shops or schools
 Distances and use of services and care.
This presentation will
focus on distances and other
important issues for living in the
rural areas.

5.  Was done in Finland 7/2010
 Questionnaires were sent to 586 people, who
were living in Pieksämäki rural areas
 Over 64-years old
 Response rate 50 %
 Was done in Germany 5/2011
 Questionnaires were sent to 600 people, who
were living in Ringgau rural areas (Hessen),
only 57 answers
 All age groups

8. FINLAND GERMANY
Village centre 3 65
Near centre 10 23
Sparsely 87 12
populated
areas

9. FINLAND GERMANY
Shop 12 3
Post office 15 5
Bank 20 4
Bus stop 6 0,5

10. FINLAND GERMANY
Health centre/
physician
15 4
Pharmacy 15 4
Hospital 21 18

11. In Finland driving license and own car!
 Public transport is insufficient in the
rural areas, especially during the
summer holidays of schools.
In Germany the closeness of relatives.
 Different kinds of social and health care
systems and cultures.

12.  The rural areas in Finland and Germany face
same problems
- services die out
- distances grow longer
But…Still there is a big difference between
distances in Finland and Germany…

13.  The results are comparable only in the issues
which have been presented
The aim of Emotionaal project was to support
with ICT solutions the elderly people in rural
areas – but
in Finland the most thankful group
has been the people from summer residences
 The presence of a nurse increases the interest
to visit the health corner

14.  The respondents in Finland prefer to do
health measurements at home, not in village
shop or village school
 Health corner alone does not attract people,
there needs to be a person present – such as
a nurse!!!
 The respondents did not have a lot of interest
to get more services to the village shop
 Respondents in Finland had the feeling that
they are worse off because they are living in
sparsely populated areas – the services are
not offered in all areas

15.  virpi.kuvaja-kollner@diak.fi
 040-19 88 146
 https://sites.google.com/site/ekylae/
 http://pieksamaki.diak.fi/sosiaalitalous