Eldercare in Sweden: An Overview

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the policies and practices related to help and support for older dependent people in Sweden. The Swedish model of eldercare is situated within the Nordic universal care regime and the key features of this welfare regime are outlined. The article provides a historical background and describes the development of universal care services as well as current policies and the characteristics of the organization and provision of eldercare services. Three trends, retrenchment, re-familiarization and privatization of care (through the tax deduction for household services) are described and analysed in terms of the challenges they pose for universalism. The article also examines more specifically the dilemmas and consequences related to the marketization of eldercare services within the current so called “customer choice model” in Sweden. Finally, the article describes the conditions of care work for older people, particularly in home care services, and highlights that a revaluation of care work is still a pending issue in the supposedly “women friendly” welfare state of Sweden.