People who have moved to Finland from abroad have suffered much more from the Covid epidemic than others, says a recent study by THL.
Compared to the rest of the population, immigrants were more likely to report that their physical health, mental health, and quality of life had deteriorated as a result of the epidemic.
The study also found that the Covid crisis caused more problems for migrants than for the wider population as a whole, as people in the migrant community reported difficulty sleeping, an increased sense of loneliness and isolation, and diminished hopes for the future.
Nearly a quarter of immigrants surveyed said the coronavirus epidemic has worsened their financial situation quite a bit or very much. The corresponding proportion of the total population was only six percent.
"This is a worrying observation, given that the economic situation of migrants has often been worse than average for the population as a whole, even before the coronavirus epidemic," THL Research Manager Natalia Skogberg wrote in a press release about the research findings.
"Difficult experiences often accumulate for people who are already in a weaker social position."
According to the report, loneliness increased during the pandemic by 36 per cent of immigrants compared to 28 per cent of the total population, while only six per cent of foreigners and only two per cent of the wider population said loneliness decreased.
About 38 percent of immigrants reported that their expectations for the future have diminished as a result of the epidemic and its effects, when it was 30 percent of the population. On the other hand, hope for the future increased by 20 per cent of immigrant managers and 7 per cent of the total population.
"This can tell a lot about resilience in crisis situations. Those who have experienced crisis situations in the past may feel more strongly that this too can be overcome," Skogberg said.
The study also showed that about 15 percent of people who moved to Finland said they had experienced discrimination during the coronavirus epidemic.
The results of the THL report are based on a study entitled Impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the well-being of foreign-born populations (MigCOVID). The study was conducted as a questionnaire from a population register of randomly selected foreign-born participants who participated in the FinMonik study conducted abroad in 2018โ2019 (Welfare Study Abroad).
Source: The Nordic Page