Care services for older and disabled persons in Sweden. : A comparison from the perspectives of service recipients, families and staff

• Care services for disabled and elderly persons are essential parts of the Nordic wel¬fare states. While these services are often not separated in statistics and research, a comparison reveals sub¬stantial differences in Sweden. This paper focuses on the recent develop¬ment of the two services and its consequen¬ces for the parties concerned: the elderly and disabled persons, their next of kin and the care staff.The analyses show that the financial resources for elder care have declined in relation to the increasing number of old people, while the resources for disabil¬ity care have increased substantially.The boundary line bet¬ween formal and informal care has changed partly in opposite directions. There is a trend of informali¬sation among elderly people, especially those with lower education, while there is an opposite trend towards more formal care among disabled persons with large needs of assistance.The care workers in the two services report very different working conditions, e.g. regarding their workload and the possibility to meet the users' care needs.In relation to the Nordic welfare state model, care services for elderly and for disab¬led people in Sweden seem to be moving in different directions. An increasing number of disabled people with extensive care needs can lead their lives with greater autonomy and less family dependency than previously. Among frail elderly people, decreasing public support and increasing, often coerced, family dependency, might instead be a sign of a departure from the Nordic model.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialt arbete (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Work (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Care services

older persons

disabled persons

welfare states

informal care

working conditions

Disability research

Handikappsforskning

Older people and ageing

Äldre och åldrande

Publikations- och innehållstyp

pop (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)