The reputation of these wellness areas is poor—yet residents are still happy to use the services
In the Reputation&Trust " survey of well-being regions conducted by T-Media, Etelä-Savo's Eloisa is the region with the best reputation. The survey examined the reputation of all 21 well-being regions and the level of stakeholder support among the regions' own residents.
T-Media conducted a survey on the reputations of well-being regions in August 2024. A total of 4,371 respondents took part in the survey. The region with the best reputation was the South Savo well-being region, Eloisa. The Kymenlaakso and North Karelia well-being regions saw the biggest improvement in reputation compared to last year.
– The well-being regions are committed to enhancing their reputation and building trust among local residents. “It’s great to see how some of the well-being regions have managed to achieve such clear improvements in their reputation scores,” says Nina Laakso, Ph.D., a senior expert at T-Media who led the study.
The average reputation of the well-being areas is low. At the same time, there is a significant statistical correlation between the reputation of the well-being areas and the behavior and attitudes of the areas’ own residents toward them.
“The average reputation of the well-being regions has declined compared to last year’s results. At the same time, however, the differences in reputation between them have narrowed, and the well-being regions now form a more cohesive whole when looking at reputation scores,” Laakso notes.
Residents' ratings improved most significantly in terms of the employer image of the well-being sectors.
“This is an important and positive development, as the social and health care regions are struggling with labor shortages,” says Laakso. The social and health care region in North Karelia, Siun sote, has seen the greatest improvement in its reputation as an employer.
anseende subcategories, the subcategories of economics and management saw the largest average decline.
– We have noticed that the reputation of welfare regions is influenced by how local media cover issues in those regions. “Particularly in connection with declining reputation scores, we see that local media have extensively covered administrative activities and decision-making related to the well-being region—and often from a rather critical perspective,” Laakso notes.
anseende , products and services have the most significant impact on residents’ attitudes toward well-being areas. The perception of the economy does not have a particularly significant impact on residents’ behavior.
“The decline in the economic outlook has certainly also contributed to the drop in the overall average score for the well-being index,” says Laakso.
The strongest support from residents is for the use of services and funding through tax revenue
The welfare regions responsible for organizing social and health services as well as emergency services began operations at the start of 2023. Until then, these tasks had been the responsibility of the municipalities. Residents of the welfare regions report that, on average, they are happy to use the services provided by the welfare regions and support them through their tax contributions.
“This is a positive sign for the welfare sectors. Their work and the services they provide are valued,” says Nina Laakso.
– When looking at age groups, the most critical group is those aged 45–54. This age group also pays the most income tax and thus contributes significantly to funding welfare services. The 15–24-year-olds have the most positive view of welfare services, says Antti Pennala, a data analyst at T-Media.
This is how we conducted the study
The goal Reputation&Trust of the well-being regions was to assess the reputation of all 21 well-being regions among residents. Data for the survey was collected via an online questionnaire in August 2024.
Organizations were evaluated using T-Media’s Reputation&Trust, in which an organization’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different categories. These areas are corporate governance, finance, leadership, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and responsibility.
The study used a five-point rating scale (1–5). A total of 4,371 Finns participated in the study. The study’s target group consisted of residents aged 15–74 in each welfare region.
For more information:
Nina Laakso, Senior Advisor, T-Media
+358 400 808 940
nina.laakso@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com
Antti Pennala, Data Analyst, T-Media
+358 400 375 718
antti.pennala@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com
