| Definitions | Methodology | Contact |
Alcohol unit – a certain amount of a given alcoholic beverage which contains 10 grams of absolute alcohol. As an example – a unit of alcohol is contained in 250 ml of beer having an alcoholic content of 5–5,3% or 1 glass (120 ml) of wine at 12% abv, or 1 dram (40 ml) of 40% abv spirit.
Body mass index – was calculated by dividing the body weight (kg) with height (m) squared. BMI indicators were subdivided according to the following scale:
Daily smoker – a person who smoked every day at the time the survey was taken.
Depression symptoms – are measured based on the depression scale contained in the emotional wellbeing questionnaire. The latter has been compiled based on diagnosed criteria for depression given in international classifications of psychological disorders.
Education – respondents who noted primary or basic education as their level of education are grouped together. Secondary education also includes persons having received vocational secondary education as well as persons having received post primary-education vocational education. Higher education (including undergraduates and postgraduates) classification also includes persons having received higher vocational training.
Employment status – persons marked their employment status (at the time of the survey) as being employed (inc. full-employment, partial-employment, studying and working, working pensioner), inactive (student, domestic, maternity leave, pensioner, disability pension) or unemployed.
Nationality – persons marked their nationality as a) Estonian, b) Russian or c) other nationality. Relased data considers russians and other nationalities as one group.
Occasional smoker – a person who occasionally smoked at the time the survey was conducted.
Purchasing power index – was calculated based on whether the respondents could afford to buy the following items (either with or without leasing arrangements): vacuum cleaner (€ 95), refrigerator (€ 350), TV set (€ 640).
Self-assessment of health condition – classifications were calculated based on answers given to the following question – “How do you assess your current state of health?" Present state of health meaning the health condition of the respondents at the time the survey was conducted. The optional answers were as follows: excellent, good, average, bad, very bad.
Types of local government units – the survey samples were compiled by dividing the participating local government units (LGU) between 6 subtypes: capital city, regional centres, county centres, outskirts of large centre, local centres, rural municipalities and micro towns. LGU types were compiled based on most common variations to the inhabitants living environments and ways of life as well as the nature of local services providing healthcare, social protection and leisure opportunities (inc. diversity and availability).
Estonian community based study about health determinants is a quantitative questionnaire based study, which was conducted in postal survey form during May to June of 2011. The survey encompassed residents aged between 15–70, from 77 local government units, amounting to some 34% of all Estonian local government units. The overall sample size was 9668 persons. Response level was at 43.8% with 4239 respondents.
The territorial overall sample was made up of 226 local government units (hereinafter LGUs). The LGU sample size was determined as follows: every county (15 counties in total) contributed 3–6 LGU’s based on a systematized random choice and taking into account the particularities of individual counties. The general sample consists of a sample of LGUs included in the sample.
General and LGU samples were sector samples. Samples were compiled by taking into account the age and gender division of participating LGUs and subdividing the respondents into the following age groups 15–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–70.
The survey’s sample has taken into account the typology of LGUs. LGU typology was based on the hierarchy of Estonian population centres system and an individual LGU’s position within that regional framework. Based on typical differences in the residents’ living environment and lifestyles as well as the nature of the local services providing healthcare, social protection and leisure opportunities (inc. diversity and availability), there are 6 types of LGU’s:
Source: Sepp, V. (2011). Sampling Guide for the Study of Health Factors of Environments. Consultation and Training Centre OÜ Geomedia.in Estonian
Estonian community based study about health determinants was conducted under the auspices of the European Social Fund’s framework programme “Measures to Support Healthy Choices 2010–2013”.
Triinu Purru
Centre for Health and Welfare Promotion
National Institute for Health Development
E-mail: Triinu.Purru@tai.ee
Updated: 12.08.2020