Originally published on Essity.com

Background

The world is evolving and changing, perhaps faster than ever. New pandemics and a shift in world order have affected people immensely - physically and mentally. It has also affected our ideas of health and well -being, and of ourselves. The stages of life are not as set as they used to be. Boys and girls hit puberty two years earlier than before, first time parents can be up to 40 years apart, and we see a ”new” generation of youthful and active seniors. Essity is a part of all stages of life. Not only offering solutions and products for people’s everyday hygiene and health needs, but also spreading awareness about social stigmas and taboos, which have a negative affect on people’s well -being. Taboos and stigmas that hinder access to the right solutions for people’s needs and are detrimental to their mental well -being. In order to bring awareness to the importance of hygiene and health and its link to well-being, Essity is looking at the future of well-being to find the solutions for a healthier next generation. This survey is a part of the foundation of this effort.

From Now to the Future of Well-Being

Previously, we conducted the “Essentials Initiative Survey” to investigate attitudes and behaviors towards health and hygiene, with the aim of breaking existing stigmas and taboos that have a negative effect on people’s lives.

This year, the “Global Hygiene and Health Survey” will investigate the future of well-being, looking at the gap between the current behaviors and attitudes of people towards well-being and how they would like to live in the future. The report will also explore knowledge gaps and lived experiences with respect to health and hygiene - in order to outline the barriers and solutions for well-being throughout the modern day life-cycle.

Survey Methodology

• The survey has been planned, monitored and analyzed by United Minds and the data has been collected with the assistance of survey provider CINT.
• The standard method for carrying out quantitative surveys are digital questionnaires.
• Digital questionnaires are distributed through web panels and reach the respondents by e-mail.
• Data collection took place during May 3 – May 31 in 2022 through web panels in the respective countries.

Markets Participating in Survey

• Answers from a total of 15 246 respondents have been collected in 15 markets.
• National quotas have been used to obtain accurate representation of age and gender
• This report presents the overall results as a mean average of the answers from all countries

Topics seen as barriers to well-being

• 67% say they experience a barrier to living healthier - time and motivation are the biggest barriers
• 13% of people aged 66-80 years old feel safe about hygiene standards in public washrooms
• 59% of men think that nothing can be done about pain and mood swings women experience during menstruation
• 42% say that society and the scientific community should focus most on improving well-being
• 23% with urine leakage avoid talking about urine leakage

Positive enablers seen as contributors to well-being

• 61% agree that digital healthcare and services save time for caregiver to spend with patients
• 45% say schools creating spaces for dialogue and education are necessary to reduce the shame and reluctance to discuss health and hygiene area
• 34% say being free from pain and discomfort is essential for their daily well-being
• 38% say better hygiene standards would make the biggest difference to help stop spread of resistance to antibiotics
• 61% say themselves are responsible for consuming sustainably

As a leading global hygiene and health company, we continuously gather insights that help us break barriers to well-being and contribute to inclusive, stigma-free societies. This time, we have talked to more than 15,000 people in 15 countries all over the world about the gap between their current behaviors and attitudes towards well-being and how they would like to live in the future.

One key insight from the survey is the link between physical and mental well-being. Our hygiene solutions, educational initiatives and partnerships help reduce shame and social exclusion and to improve both people’s physical and mental health in the process.

Download the Essity 2022 Global Hygiene and Health Survey to learn more

Learn more about Essity here

Essity

Essity

Essity is a leading global hygiene and health company that develops, produces and sells Personal Care (Baby Care, Feminine Care, Incontinence Products and Medical Solutions), Consumer Tissue and Professional Hygiene products and solutions. 

Our vision is; Dedicated to improving well-being through leading hygiene and health solutions. The name Essity stems from the words essentials and necessities. Sales are conducted in approximately 150 countries under many strong brands, including the leading global brands TENA and Tork, and other brands, such as Leukoplast, Libero, Libresse, Lotus, Nosotras, Saba, Tempo, Vinda and Zewa. Essity has about 48,000 employees and net sales in 2017 amounted to approximately 12.8 bn USD (SEK 109bn, EUR 11.3bn). The business operations are based on a sustainable business model with focus on value creation for people and nature.

The company has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. Essity used to be part of the SCA Group.

About Tork

Tork is a brand of Essity. Essity is a leading global hygiene and health company that develops personal care, professional hygiene and consumer tissue products and solutions. Essity offers Tork paper towels, toilet paper, skin care products, facial tissue,  wipers, wet wipes, napkins and other hygiene products for washrooms, wash stations, healthcare areas, food and beverage handling, food preparation, manufacturing and maintenance. For more information, visit http://www.torkusa.com/

Visit Tork's Facebook page

Visit Tork's Twitter page

Visit Tork's Youtube channel

Visit Tork's LinkedIn page

More from Essity