A comparative study of the patterning of womenʹs health by family status and employment status in Finland and Sweden

The main aim of this study is to compare the patterning of health by family status and employment status among women in Finland and Sweden and to explore whether the patterning of health by family status is influenced by employment status and income. An additional aim was to identify which combinations of family status and employment status are especially disadvantageous for womenʹs health . The data derived from comparable interview surveys carried out in 1994/1995. The analyses were restricted to ages 25–49; 2282 women in Finland and 2685 in Sweden. Firstly, age-adjusted prevalence percentages were presented by family status and employment status. Secondly, the patterning of health by family status and employment status, and the influence of adjusting for income, were studied by logistic regression analysis. The main results showed that women living in couples with children had the best health in both countries. Additional analyses showed that in Finland particularly poor health can be found among women who are simultaneously non-partnered and non-employed, whereas in Sweden poor health can be found among all non-employed groups of women. Income did not explain the poor health among the non-partnered and non-employed. This study confirmed that health is patterned by family status and employment status both among Finnish and Swedish women. It was found that non-employed women without a partner are likely to have poor health. In order to reduce inequalities in health among women, more efforts should be put on promoting health among these groups.