Suchergebnisse

Pro gradu ­tutkielma koostuu seuraavista osista: Rouvinen, Kaisa. Lisääntymisterveydenhuollon haasteet ja naisten hyvinvointi vähiten kehittyneissä maissa. Tampereen yliopisto. Terveystieteen laitos. Kirjallisuuskatsaus. Osasuoritus Pro gradu ­tutkielmaan. 26 s. 2003 Rouvinen, Kaisa. Quality of care in reproductive health services at health posts in Nepal. International EuroQuan Conference on Quality and Nursing Practice. Proceedings. Norsk sykepleieforbund. 1997; 224-231. Rouvinen, Kaisa. Quality of care in reproductive health services at five government health posts in Siraha District, Eastern Nepal. A dissertation submitted to the University of Liverpool (School of Tropical Medicine) in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master in Community Health. 95 pages. 1996 ; 1. JOHDANTO 6 2. LISÄÄNTYMISTERVEYS KEHITYKSEN INDIKAATTORINA 7 3. NAISEN ELÄMÄN TÄRKEÄT JA KRIITTISET VAIHEET 10 3.1. RASKAUS JA SYNNYTYS - TURVALLISEN ÄITIYDEN TAVOITE 10 3.2. PERHESUUNNITTELU JA ABORTTI 15 3.3. HIV JA MUUT SUKUPUOLITAUDIT 17 3.4. LAPSETTOMUUS JA LAPSEN SUKUPUOLI 19 3.5. SUKUPUOLIELINTEN TRADITIONAALINEN SILPOMINEN 20 3.6. KÖYHYYDEN, TRADITIOIDEN JA OLOSUHTEIDEN MERKITYS 22 4. HAASTEET JA MAHDOLLISUUDET 23 LÄHTEET 26 QUALITY OF CARE IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES AT FIVE GOVERNMENT HEALTH POSTS IN SIRAHA DISTRICT, EASTERN NEPAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS III LIST OF TABLES VI LIST OF FIGURES VII LIST OF ABBREVATIONS AND ACRONYMS VIII GLOSSARY IX EXECUTIVE SUMMARY X CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. THE CLIENT AND THE CONCERN 1 1.1.1. Save the Children US in Nepal 1 1.1.2. Save the Children Siraha project 1 1.1.3. Problem statement 2 1.2. THE STUDY 2 1.2.1. Study question 2 1.2.2. Aim and objectives of the study 2 1.2.1. Action plan and accomplishment of the study 3 1.3. STUDY LOCATION 4 1.3.1. Nepal 4 1.3.2. Siraha District 4 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 6 2.1. GLOBAL VIEWS OF WOMEN'S HEALTH 6 2.2. PRIMARY HEALTH CARE IN NEPAL 8 2.2.1. Safe Motherhood and Family Planning 8 2.3. QUALITY IN HEALTH CARE 10 2.3.1. What is quality? 10 2.3.2. Approaches to assessment of quality in health care 10 2.4. SELECTED ISSUES IN QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE 14 2.4.1. The structure of the health care and its relevance in quality assessment 14 2.4.2. Health care providers' job motivation and its impact on quality of health care 15 2.4.3. User satisfaction 16 2.5. CONCLUSION 17 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 19 3.1. EVALUATION OF HEALTH POST FACILITIES AND SERVICE ARRANGEMENTS 20 3.1.1. Study location 20 3.1.2. Selection of health posts 20 3.1.3. Issues and variables used to explore the objective 20 3.1.4. Tools and strategies of data collection 20 3.2. EXPLORING HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS' PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF CARE 21 3.2.1. Study population 21 3.2.2. Selection of informants 21 3.2.3. Issues and variables used to explore the objective 21 3.2.4. Tools and strategies of data collection 21 3.3. DESCRIBING THE LEVEL OF USERS' SATISFACTION 22 3.3.1. Study population 22 3.3.2. Selection of informants 22 3.3.3. Issues and variables used to explore the objective 22 3.3.4. Tools and strategies of data collection 23 3.4 ADDITIONAL DATA COLLECTION METHODS 24 3.5. PRE-TESTING AND TRANSLATION 24 3.6. DATA HANDLING AND STORAGE 25 3.7. DATA ANALYSIS 25 3.8. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND ENCOUNTERED CONSTRAINTS IN DATA COLLECTION 25 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS 27 4.1. EVALUATION OF HEALTH POST FACILITIES AND SERVICE ARRANGEMENTS 27 4.1.1. Location and accessibility 27 4.1.2. Target population and service statistics 27 4.1.3. Sub-health posts, outreach clinics and staffing 28 4.2.4. Waiting facilities at health posts 28 4.1.5. Rooms for counselling and MCH and FP services 28 4.1.6. Infection prevention 29 4.1.7. Equipment and instruments for use in MCH and FP 29 4.1.8. Availability of contraceptives and essential medicines 29 4.1.9. IEC material and activities 29 4.1.10. Record keeping and reporting 30 4.1.11. Health post management and supervision 30 4.1.12. Conclusion 30 4.2. HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS' PERCEPTION ABOUT THE QUALITY OF CARE 31 4.2.1. Job satisfaction and experience as a health care provider 31 4.2.2. Health workers' perception of what is good quality in health care 32 4.2.3. Health workers' perception about users' expectations 33 4.2.4. Health workers' suggestions for improvement of health care 33 4.2.5. What are the specific reasons for low utilisation of FP and AN services 34 4.2.6. Conclusion 35 4.3. QUALITY OF CARE FROM THE USERS' POINT OF VIEW 35 4.3.1. The sample 35 4.3.2. Perceptions of the quality of care 37 4.3.3. Suggestions for improvement for the quality of care at a health post 40 4.3.4. Conclusion 40 4.4. SUMMARY OF RESULTS 41 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION 43 5.1. IMPACTS OF STRUCTURE OF HEALTH CARE ON QUALITY OF THE SERVICE 43 5.1.1. Accessibility 43 5.1.2. Clinical settings and procedures 44 5.1.3. Service arrangements 44 5.2. HEALTH WORKERS' ROLE 47 5.2.1. Users' expectations contradicting providers' perceptions 47 5.2.2. Implications of health workers' perceptions for improvement of quality 48 5.2.3. Job motivation 48 5.2.4. Quality assurance cycle 50 5.3. CONCLUSIONS 50 5.4. COMMENTS ON METHODS USED IN THE STUDY 51 CHAPTER 6. RECOMMENDATIONS 53 REFERENCES 54 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 PHOTPGRAPHS: WALL PAINTINGS AND TBA TRAINING 58 APPENDIX 2 MAPS OF NEPAL AND SIRAHA DISTRICT 59 APPENDIX 3 INVENTORY FORM FOR HEALTH POST FACILITIES 60 APPENDIX 4. BACKGROUND VARIABLES 70 APPENDIX 5.A STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE FOR USER EXIT INTERVIEW 71 APPENDIX 5.B MAITHALI TRANSLATION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE 75 APPENDIX 6 EVALUATION OF HEALTH POST FACILITIES AND SERVICE ARRANGEMENTS 79 APPENDIX 7. FINDINGS FROM HEALTH PERSONNEL IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS 84 APPENDIX 8. USERS' EXPRESSIONS OF THE QUALITY OF CARE. QUOTATIONS. 85

"This research-based edited volume offers a clear, multifaceted and practical overview of the Finnish health and social care sector trends in the 2020s. The health and social care reform is again current as new ways of organising the sector are being developed on the foundation of the reform that fell through in spring 2019.

The book introduces the Finnish health and social care services reform from three perspectives. The first part of the book looks at the sector from a macro perspective, that is, from the perspective of the service system reform. The articles deal with a historical overview of previous reforms, integration, and research on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. The second part focuses on the organisational level issues such as reform of management and know-how and the challenges digitalisation poses for the health and social services. The third part of the book centres on the perspective of the people who implement the changes. The themes of the articles include care workers' multi-actor collaboration, person-centred case management and client involvement.

The book is based on research done at the University of Eastern Finland as well as Finnish and international research literature. The authors represent various disciplines: health and social management, social work, social psychology and other social sciences and law. The book is aimed at managers and professionals, experts, decision makers, researchers and teachers in the field of health and social care. It is also suitable as a textbook for management studies at the university level." - "Tämä tutkimukseen perustuva kokoomateos tarjoaa selkeän, monipuolisen ja käytännönläheisen yleiskatsauksen siitä, mihin suuntaan suomalainen sosiaali- ja terveysala on kehittymässä 2020-luvulla. Sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon uudistus on jälleen hyvin ajankohtainen, kun keväällä 2019 kariutuneen uudistuksen perustalle ollaan rakentamassa uudenlaisia hyvinvointialueita tai sote-maakuntia ja monialaisia sosiaali- ja terveyskeskuksia.

Kirjassa avataan monipuolisesti maamme sosiaali- ja terveyspalvelujen uudistumista kolmesta eri näkökulmasta. Teoksen ensimmäisessä osassa tarkastellaan sosiaali- ja terveysalaa makrotason eli palvelujärjestelmän uudistumisen näkökulmasta. Artikkelien aiheina ovat historiallinen katsaus aiempiin uudistuksiin, integraatio sekä vaikuttavuuden ja kustannusvaikuttavuuden tutkimus. Toinen osa kohdistuu organisaatiotason kysymyksiin, kuten johtamisen ja osaamisen uudistumiseen sekä sosiaali- ja terveysalan digitalisaation haasteisiin. Kirjan kolmas osa keskittyy sosiaali- ja terveysalan muutoksiin niitä toteuttavien ihmisten näkökulmasta. Artikkeleiden teemoina ovat sote-työntekijöiden monitoimijainen yhteistyö, asiakaslähtöinen palveluohjaus sekä asiakasosallisuus.

Kirja pohjautuu Itä-Suomen yliopistossa tehtyihin tutkimuksiin sekä kotimaiseen ja kansainväliseen tutkimuskirjallisuuteen. Kirjoittajat edustavat monia eri tieteenaloja: sosiaali- ja terveysjohtamista, sosiaalityötä, sosiaalipsykologiaa ja muita yhteiskuntatieteitä sekä oikeustieteitä. Kirja on suunnattu sosiaali- ja terveysalan johtajille ja ammattilaisille, asiantuntijoille, päätöksentekijöille, tutkijoille ja opettajille. Se soveltuu myös oppikirjaksi yliopistojen ja ammattikorkeakoulujen johtamisopintoihin."

The growth of cultural diversity in Finnish social and health care workplaces challenges to develop not only ways of working and interaction but also organizational structures. Work communities as a whole are facing new challenges. The aim of this book is to help work communities develop well-functioning practices for intercultural work. Effective interaction between cultures provides the foundation not only for the well-being of staff and customers, but also for the financial success of the organization. The paper presents five action studies in the social and health care organization, which analyzed the abrasion points of everyday interaction, developed functional practices and corrective measures, and evaluated the effects of interventions. The aim of the project was to bring about structural reforms in support of inter-cultural work, since only the changes would become permanent. - Kulttuurisen monimuotoisuuden kasvu Suomen sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon työyhteisöissä haastaa kehittämään paitsi työskentely- ja vuorovaikutustapoja myös organisationaalisia rakenteita. Työyhteisöt kokonaisuudessaan ovat uusien haasteiden edessä. Tämän teoksen tavoitteena on auttaa työyhteisöjä kehittämään hyvin toimivia käytäntöjä kulttuurien välisen työn arkeen. Toimiva kulttuurien välinen vuorovaikutus luo pohjaa paitsi henkilöstön ja asiakkaiden hyvinvoinnille myös organisaation taloudelliselle menestymiselle. Teoksessa esitellään viidessä sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon organisaatiossa toteutettua toimintatutkimusta, jossa selvitettiin arjen vuorovaikutuksen hankauspisteitä, kehitettiin toimivia käytäntöjä ja korjaavia toimenpiteitä ja arvioitiin interventioiden vaikutuksia. Hankkeen tavoitteena oli saada aikaan kulttuurien välistä työtä tukevia rakenteellisia uudistuksia, sillä vain siten muutoksista tulee pysyviä.

Finnish psychiatric practice has been heavily based on institutionalization, and mental hospitals have played important cultural and historical roles in Finland. Our multidisciplinary research focuses on the bodily, spatial, affective, and multisensory aspects of the memories of patients, relatives, staff, and their children. The memories were collected and archived in the Finnish Literature Society in 2014–2015. These 92 written pieces cover the period from the 1930s to the 2010s. They reflect significant changes in Finnish psychiatry and provide crucial insights into the various meanings of mental hospitals in people's lives, and the social and cultural forces that shape attitudes to and ideas about mental health problems, psychiatric care, and service users today.
Drawing on our backgrounds in history, artistic research, and visual, cultural and literary studies, we provide new ways of reading and interpreting the memories and experiences in psychiatry. The study discusses memory, mental hospitals as lived spaces, the history of Finnish psychiatry and the relation between the memories of the different groups of writers. The chapters approach memories from the perspectives of affects and atmospheres, violence and abuse, everyday life at the hospital in the 1930s, feelings of fear and safety in the memories of the children of the staff, and the historically and culturally contingent tensions between hospitals and homes.

In this book [titled Home, welfare work and vulnerability] the authors take the reader on welfare workers' home visits to clients in need of support in their living. Welfare workers refer to professionals in health and social care who in the book are represented among others by social workers, social care workers and nurses. The main concepts of the book are home, welfare work and vulnerability and these are contemplated from different angles. Welfare work entails encountering people who are in vulnerable situations in the midst of their everyday lives. They may need support in coping with their mental health, with physical illnesses, with the challenges of achieving sobriety and recovery or perhaps with the difficulties accompanying old age. On the one hand their ability to act is limited and weak but on the other they have many kinds of strengths and resources.

The book addresses a significant turning point in welfare services and work at which the objective is defined as the right of every individual to their own home and making living at home feasible for as long as possible. In the last fifty years or so many societal factors have made possible the dismantling of institutions, the reduction of places and the shortening of stays in institutions, the further development of care in the community, the construction of small residential and care facilities and most recently the further development of services to be taken into people's homes. The last stage of this dismantling of institutions is referred to in the book as the "home turn". As a societal change the home turn is complex – and that is how it is approached in the book. When one's own home is the main place in which welfare policy and work are implemented, it is important to scrutinize more closely what actually occurs there and what special issues are connected to this given context.

The book offers a timely point of view on the development of welfare services and the grass-root level welfare work done in the homes. It draws on interaction research based on ethnomethodology and human geography. Research data consist of recordings of home visits, researcher's field diaries and interviews with clients and workers. The work includes both chapters providing conceptual and theoretical overviews and empirical research on the encounters between client and worker(s) on home visits. Welfare work accomplished in people's homes entails many tensions and ethical issues which are analysed in the book and made visible through the means of research.

Abstract The present study concerns the recruitment of foreign workforce in municipalities and private enterprises which provide local services. We scrutinize in which professions the workforce is required in the future. This research also focuses on ways how the employer can hire the best suitable foreign employees in the organization. As the final step the aim is to develop a model for recruitment of foreign workforce. This topic is currently interesting because of the increase of the share of older population and the decrease of available workforce in Finland in the near future. It is estimated that for example there will be 185 000-210 000 new jobs available in social and health care sectors during 2005-2020. The purpose of this dissertation is to increase the knowledge regarding the recruitment of foreign workforce in the municipality sector. The research was carried out using questionnaires for ten different organizations in Northern Ostrobothnia. These are Pudasjärvi, Kempele, Liminka, Muhos, Hailuoto, Sievi, Lumijoki and Tyrnävä municipalities, Mäntykoti ry in Oulu and the Family home Ojantakanen in Pulkkila. The main research question of this dissertation is: How the recruitment of foreign workforce can be carried out in the municipality sector? The theoretical background of the analysis is based on international human resource management and multicultural literature, knowledge about the quantities of foreigners, and demographic prognosis of population statistics. Methodologically the study is a qualitative study. The research method is content analysis based on research data. The data were collected during 2011-2013 using three questionnaires to municipality and business managers. According to the results of this research the organizations need further information on how to organize the recruitment of foreign workforce the best way. There is need for the recruitment of foreign workforce in the Northern Ostrobotnia, but there are no strategies of how to carry out work-based immigration, or the strategies are inadequate. The personnel and the managers need further education to learn how to meet and orientate foreign employees. ; Tiivistelmä Tutkimus käsittelee ulkomaisen työvoiman rekrytointia kuntiin ja kunnallisia palveluja tuottaviin yksityisiin yrityksiin. Työssä selvitetään, mille aloille työvoimaa tulevaisuudessa tarvitaan ja millä keinoilla työnantaja voi palkata sopivimmat ulkomaiset työntekijät organisaatioonsa. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa on tavoitteena kehittää ulkomaisen työvoiman rekrytointimalli. Aihe on ajankohtainen, sillä väestön ikääntyminen ja työvoiman tarjonnan väheneminen vaikuttavat lähivuosina Suomen työvoiman määrään. On arvioitu, että muun muassa sosiaali- ja terveyssektorilla avautuu 185 000–210 000 työpaikkaa vuosina 2005–2020. Väitöskirjatyön tarkoituksena on lisätä tietoa ulkomaisen työvoiman rekrytoinnista kuntasektorilla. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin Pohjois-Pohjanmaalta kymmenestä eri organisaatiosta. Nämä ovat Pudasjärven, Kempeleen, Lumijoen, Limingan, Muhoksen, Hailuodon, Tyrnävän ja Sievin kunnat, Oulun Seudun Mäntykoti ry ja Ojantakasen perhekoti Pulkkilassa. Väitöskirjan keskeinen tutkimuskysymys on: Miten ulkomaisen työvoiman rekrytointi voidaan toteuttaa kuntasektorilla? Tutkimuksen teoreettinen tausta perustuu kansainvälisen henkilöstöjohtamisen sekä monikulttuurisuuden kirjallisuuteen ja väestötilastoihin liittyviin demografisiin ennusteisiin. Tutkimusote on laadullinen. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin aineistolähtöistä sisällönanalyysiä. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin vuosina 2011–2013 kolmella kunta- ja yritysjohtajille suunnatulla kyselyllä. Tutkimustulosten mukaan organisaatiot tarvitsevat lisätietoa siitä, mikä on paras tapa toteuttaa ulkomaisen työvoiman rekrytointi. Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla on tarvetta ulkomaisen työvoiman rekrytoinnille, mutta suunnitelmia työperäisen maahanmuuton toteuttamiseksi ei ole tai ne ovat puutteellisia. Henkilöstö ja esimiehet tarvitsevat koulutusta ulkomaalaisten työntekijöiden kohtaamiseen ja perehdyttämiseen.

"The dependency on social security: Social bums in disengaged society? In Finland, most discussion on the welfare state's condition has focused on stabilizing the public-sector's finances. However, more essential for the future of the welfare state is its' social foundation, meaning people's experiences of fairness, equality and reliability of the society as well as the welfare state's capability of taking care of the most vulnerable groups of people.

A functional welfare state combines economic stability with the social foundation. However in the mid 2010s there are cracks in the social foundation of the welfare state .

In this book the cracks of welfare state's social foundation are analysed from the perspective of dependency on social security. Especially the Finns' attitudes and political divisions, policies, the length of customership of last-resort social security, the functionality of service and income transfer systems, social segmentation created by breadlines and coping on the last-resort social security are observed.

The book is meant for all interested in the condition and future of the welfare state. It is suitable as a textbook in universities and universities of applied sciences.

The editor of the book, Juho Saari, is Professor in social and health policy at the University of Tampere and part-time Professor in welfare sociology at the University of Eastern Finland. He has also a docent at the University of Helsinki, at the University of Turku and at the University of Jyväskylä. " - "Suurin osa hyvinvointivaltion tilasta käydystä yhteiskuntapoliittisesta keskustelusta on kohdentunut julkisen talouden vakauttamiseen. Kuitenkin keskeisempää hyvinvointivaltion tulevaisuudelle on sen sosiaalinen perusta, eli ihmisten kokemukset yhteiskunnan reiluudesta, tasa-arvoisuudesta ja luotettavuudesta sekä hyvinvointivaltion kyky kantaa vastuu kaikkein haavoittuvimmassa asemassa olevista ryhmistä. Toimiva hyvinvointivaltio sovittaa yhteen taloudellisen kestävyyden ja sosiaalisen perustan. Kuitenkin 2010-luvun puolivälin hyvinvointivaltion sosiaalisessa perustassa on halkeamia.

Tässä teoksessa analysoidaan hyvinvointivaltion sosiaalisen perustan halkeamia ja murroksia sosiaaliturvariippuvuuden näkökulmasta. Erityisesti tarkastelemme siihen liittyviä suomalaisten asenteita ja poliittisia jakolinjoja, politiikkalinjauksia, viimesijaisen turvan asiakkuuksien kestoa, palvelu- ja tulonsiirtojärjestelmien toimivuutta, leipäjonojen luomia yhteiskunnallisia jakolinjoja ja ihmisten selviytymistä viimesijaisella turvalla.

Teos on tarkoitettu kaikille hyvinvointivaltion tilasta ja tulevaisuudesta kiinnostuneille. Se soveltuu oppikirjaksi yliopistoihin ja ammattikorkeakouluihin.

Teoksen toimittaja Juho Saari on Tampereen yliopiston sosiaali- ja terveyspolitiikan professori ja Itä-Suomen yliopiston hyvinvointisosiologian osa-aikainen professori sekä Helsingin, Turun ja Jyväskylän yliopistojen dosentti.
"

Marxismin mukaan kapitalistisen yhteiskunnan jäsenet jakaantuvat kolmeen luokkaan: porvaristoon, keskiluokkaan ja työväenluokkaan. Jotkut marxismin tukijat jakavat keskiluokan talonpojistoon ja muuhun keskiluokkaan. Talonpojisto on vähenevä luokka. Koska marxismin luokkateorian mukaan poliittiset puolueet vaalivat yhteiskuntaluokien intressejä, tutkin pitääkö tämä väite paikkansa. Ensin selvitin marxilaisen teorian luokista ja niiden intresseistä eli eduista, joiden puolustamiseski luokat järjestäytyvät poliittisiksi puolueiksi. Ne laativat itselleen yhteiskuntapoliittiset ohjelmansa, joita ne pyrkivät politiikansa avulla toteuttamaan. Tutkimusaineistona käytän Suomen eduskunnassa tutkimusvuosina edustettina olelleiden puolueiden tavoite- ja yleisohjelmia, joista selvitän sisällön analyysiä käyttäen niiden sisällön ja julkilausutut tavoitteet. Erityisesti pyrin selvittämään orientoituvatko puolueet ohjelmissaan tiettyjen luokkien etujen puolustajiksi vai missä määrin ne esiintyvät yhteiskunnan yleisten etujen vaalijoina. Tutkimus tapahtuu toisaalta puolueiden eduskuntoimintaa selvittämällä. Tällöin pyrin saamaan selville sen toimivatko puolueet periaate- ja tavoiteohjelmiensa mukaisesti laatiessaan lakialoitteita eduskunnassa. Kolmantena tutkimuskohteena on hallituksen esitysten sisällön eritteleminen intressiorientaation pojalta. Kysymys kuuluu palvelevatko hallituksen esitykset yleistä vai luokkien erityisetuja. Tutkimuksessa selvisi, että puolueet niin ohjelmalausumissaan kuin eduskuntatoiminnassaan vaalivat sekä yleistä etu, josta käytän nimitystä luokkien yhteisetu, että luokkien erityisetuja. Eniten puolueet vaalivat yhteisetua. Erityiseduista puolueet vaalivat kukin tiettyä luokkaetua enemmän kuin toista. Tämän perusteella puolueet jakaantuvat ensijaisesti porvariston, keskiluokan ja työväenluokanetuja vaaliviksi. Hallituksen esityksissä luokkaorientaatio on heikompaa kuin kansanedustajien lakialoitteissa. Tutkimustuloksistani selviää myös se, että vaikka puolueet ovat viime vuosikymmeninä ottaneet vaaliakseen aikaisempaa enemmän kaikkien luokkien intressejä ja niiden yleispuolueominaisuudet ovat lisääntyneet, tietty luokkaorientaatio on säilynyt. ; Classes continually alter and influence party strategies and also the behaviour of voters. The members of classes form economic, professional and political organisations. Every class aims to exert the greatest influence upon the state with the help of its political party. This study researches the class basis of political competition, the effect of class interests on the policies of nine Finnish parties in their political programmes and initiative work in the Parliament. The investigation is based on historical materialism and its class structure theory developed by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and other Marxists. The aim of study is to estimate how appropriate the class schema of historical materialism is for analysing the political partisanships and ideological conflicts in advanced industrial society. The statements and aims of political party programmes are put into practice in Parliament. This research analyses how parties represent their aims in their political programmes and what their parliamentarians do in Parliament. Is a party the representative of one class or does it equally promote the interests of many classes? Is it a class party or a generally oriented party? As in historical materialism, the programmes and legislative initiatives have been classified into five groups. The first group contains general class interest, oriented towards the common good. The next four groups comprise bills with a specific class interest orientation: bourgeoisie, the middle class, farmers and workers. The parties investigated are The National Coalition Party /The Conservative Party, The Swedish People`s Party, The Finnish Centre Party, The Finnish Social Democratic Party, The Left Alliance, The Liberals, The True Finns, The Christian Democratic Party and The Greens. The changes in politics and in party relationships over thirty years are investigated by comparing the parliamentary actions of parties from the 1960´s to the 1990´s. The study concerns the legislative initiatives of the years 1965, 1972, 1988 and 1999. The data on the programmes were collected from the two political programmes of nine parties from the years 1950 2003. The programmes of political parties are the public flag of the party as Engels expressed it, although their programmes have lost some of their class orientation. In the programmes of all nine political parties the contents aiming at the common good are the first, most important aim, the percentages being 76 98 %. Differences in the programmes of the political parties can still be found. The political parties emphasise their interests and aims in their own ways. The Conservative Party, The Swedish People´s Party and The Liberals have the next important interest in the bourgeoisie. The Swedish People´s Party, The Finnish Centre Party and The True Finns emphasise the middle class and the farmers. The Finnish Social Democratic Party, The Left Alliance and The Greens take care of working class. The main task of Parliament is to enact legislation. Bills can be submitted to Parliament by the Government or as private members bills. In this process the class interests notably emerge in private members bills of plenary sessions. The main Finnish political parties took into consideration the interests of all classes. All nine parties have made in the largest extent common good legislative initiatives. For all nine parties, the most prevalent type of legislative initiatives was those for the common good (84 -67 %). At the same time they tended to favour special class interests. The least specific class parties were The Christian Democratic Party, The Green Party and The Swedish People´s Party. Among special class interests all the parties oriented more to middle class interests in Parliament than in their declared objectives (18.8 7.0 %). The Liberals, The Conservative Party, The Social Democratic Party, The Left Alliance and The True Finns had the strongest middle class orientation. The Conservative Party were the most bourgeois party (10.2%). The strongest working class interest was found in The Left Alliance, The Social Democratic Party and The Green Party (18.8 13.1 %). The Finnish Centre Party and The Social Democratic party, The Left Alliance and The True Finns were closest to working class interests. Are there class oriented differences in the contents of the legislative initiatives and political programmes of the nine political parties? The contents were classified into eleven groups: administration, civil rights, nature conservation, economics, occupation structure, social policy, public health, education, culture, labour market and international affairs. All nine parties have the same three most important contents of legislative initiatives. These were finance/economics, social policy and administration systems. And all nine parties were more interested in financial and economic aims than their political manifestos suggest. The fourth important content for The Conservative Party, The Swedish People`s Party, The Liberals and The Christian Democratic Party was education. Employment was the fourth aim of The Finnish Centre Party and The True Finns. The Labour Market was also important to The Finnish Social Democratic Party, The Left Alliance and The Greens. Nature conservation was important to The Greens, too. The contents of government bills are more oriented towards the common good than are the private members bills. The conclusion is that the main Finnish political parties took the interests of all classes into consideration. At the same time they reveal preferences for special class interests. This emerges in political manifestos and legislative initiatives and government proposals. The Finnish political parties are not purely general parties devoid of class background. Finance and economics was the basis upon which the people arranged their lives and formed political opinions. The class structure of historical materialism is suitable to demonstrate political partisanship in Finland during the second half of the twentieth century. Social changes affect both the class structures and the political aims of parties and give rise to social and ideological conflicts in advanced industrial societies. The consensus policy is one appearance of civilized class struggle.