Centre co-director Lauri Kokkinen co-edits new book on disadvantage in Finland

Lauri Kokkinen, co-director of the WHO Collaborating Centre at Tampere University, has co-edited the new open-access book Huono-osaisin Suomi with Juho Saari. The book examines the lives and well-being of Finland’s most disadvantaged people, focusing on social status, inclusion, services, and livelihood. Kokkinen also co-authored three chapters in the volume.

A new open-access book, Huono-osaisin Suomi, examines disadvantage, well-being, and inequality in Finland during the early 2020s. The peer-reviewed volume was edited by Lauri Kokkinen, co-director of the WHO Collaborating Centre at Tampere University, together with Juho Saari.

Drawing on extensive national survey data, the book explores disadvantage through four dimensions of life satisfaction: social status, inclusion, access to services, and livelihood. Its findings show that people experiencing disadvantage have limited opportunities to influence their everyday lives and quality of life. Inequalities between disadvantaged groups and the wider population have also persisted and, in some areas, increased.

In addition to co-editing the volume, Kokkinen contributed to chapters on disadvantage in Finland, life satisfaction, and equality in social relationships. The WHO Collaborating Centre is proud to highlight this important contribution to understanding the social determinants of health and advancing equity in Finnish society.

Published by Tampere University Press, the book and its individual chapters are freely available online: Read Huono-osaisin Suomi