Elder Care in Sweden

Sweden is often hailed as the paragon of elder care, and the statistics do seem to support this. Sweden has proportionately more elders than almost any other country in the world. Elder care is a responsibility divided between the family and society. Until 1956, elderly parents could demand, by law, to be cared for by their children. Then in 1982 the Swedish Social Services Act established the legal right of the individual to assistance from society. In 1997, over 94 percent of the elder care in Sweden was provided by the state in some way or another.

Informal caregivers are paid by the government through a Paid Caregiver Program. The salary is determined by the elder's care needs, and proportion to the number of hours deemed necessary to perform the required care. The paid caregiver receives all the benefits of social insurance, plus the pension credits he or she would have received in regular employment. Employees are also entitled to a maximum of 60 days paid time off from their workplace to care for elderly family members.

Elder Care

Senior Care

The form of elder care provided varies greatly among countries and is changing rapidly. Even within the same country, regional differences exist with respect to the care for the elderly.
Traditionally elder care has been the responsibility of family members and was provided within the extended family home. Increasingly in modern societies, elder care is now being provided by state or charitable institutions. The reasons for this change include decreasing family size, the greater life expectancy of elderly people, the geographical dispersion of families, and the tendency for women to be educated and work outside the home. Although these changes have affected European and North American countries first, it is now increasingly affecting Asian countries also.
In most western countries, elder care facilities are freestanding. They may also be part of a continuing-care retirement community, seniors apartment complex, or wing of a nursing home. Ownership and operations of these facilities vary also. In the United States, most of the large multi-facility providers are publicly owned and managed as for-profit businesses. There are exceptions; the largest operator in the US is the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, a not-for-profit organization that manages 6,531 beds in 22 states, according to a 1995 study by the American Health Care Association.

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