Assisted living for the elderly-Features of a swedish model

Book chapter, 2020

In Sweden, the provision of assisted living (AL) for older people is a municipal responsibility. Most eldercare provision is given directly by the municipalities, but a fast-growing private sector is emerging. Sweden shares the demographic problems related to ageing with other countries but has specific challenges to meet concerning economic, demographic and organizational issues. Like in many other countries, care provision is moving from the hospitals out to the older patients in ordinary and special housing. This necessitates a discussion of what AL should provide and how to address residential aspects, caregiving and service provision in AL, targeting the physical environments. Home aspects in AL must be related to aspects of control, at-homeness and personalization. There are also trends and challenges on different levels, concerning, for example, family structures, existing facilities in use, quality of life and alternative options for housing and care in advanced age. To address the current situation, we need to increase the attractivity of AL, both concerning residential and workplace aspects. We also need to stimulate long-term planning and cooperation in order to update AL schemes, for example, concerning tenure, options and choices in order to have effective, usable and resilient facilities over time.