A population-based study on health and living conditions in areas with mixed Sami and Norwegian settlements – the SAMINOR 2 questionnaire study

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Magritt Brustad, Ketil Lenert Hansen, Ann Ragnhild Broderstad, Solrunn Hansen, Marita Melhus
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2014
• Subjects: Sami; epidemiology; ethnicity; health; Arctic; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Norway; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health; Northern Norway; sami
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v73.23147; https://doaj.org/article/ae1a3394014744259c61bd6b5c4dcab1

Objectives: To describe the method, data collection procedure and participation in The Population-based Study on Health and Living Conditions in Areas with both Sami and Norwegian Settlements – the SAMINOR 2 questionnaire study. Study design: Cross-sectional and semi-longitudinal. Methods: In 2012, all inhabitants aged 18–69 and living in selected municipalities with both Sami and Norwegian settlements in Mid and Northern Norway were posted an invitation to participate in a questionnaire survey covering several topics related to health and living conditions. The geographical area was similar to the area where the SAMINOR 1 study was conducted in 2003/2004 with the exception of one additional municipality. Participants could alternatively use a web-based questionnaire with identical question and answer categories as the posted paper version. Results: In total, 11,600 (27%) participated (16% used the web-based questionnaire), with a higher participation rate among those over 50 (37% for women and 32% for men). Some geographical variation in participation rates was found. In addition, for those invited who also participated in the SAMINOR 1 study, we found that the participation rates increased with the level of education and income, while there was little difference in participation rates across ethnic groups. Conclusion: The knowledge generated from future theme-specific research utilizing the SAMINOR 2 database has the potential to benefit the general population in this geographical area of Norway, and the Sami people in particular, by providing knowledge-based insight into the health and living conditions of the multi-ethnic population in these parts of Norway.