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Caregiving and volunteering among older people in Sweden: prevalence and profiles
- Authors:
- JEGERMALM Magnus, GRASSMAN Eva Jeppsson
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 21(4), October 2009, pp.352-373.
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This study examines the role of older people in Swedish society by exploring the prevalence of their informal caring and volunteering and by analysing the profiles of these contributors of unpaid work. Data were collected by means of telephone interviews in a Swedish representative survey conducted in 2005. The analysis reveals three distinct profiles of people involved in unpaid activities, including those involved both in informal caring and volunteering, a group that has been labelled “super helpers” or “doers” in earlier research. It is important for social policy planners to recognise these groups of older people and better understand the dynamics of their unpaid work in order to ascertain whether they might need support as providers and to enhance their well-being. There does not seem to be any simple contradiction between the parallel existence of a universal welfare model of the Swedish kind and an extensive civil society in which older people play important roles as active citizens.
Variations in older people's social and productive ageing activities across different social welfare regimes
- Authors:
- WARBURTON Jeni, GRASSMAN Eve Jeppsson
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 20(2), April 2011, pp.180-191.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study explores voluntary association involvement by older people using a six-regime model with Esping-Andersen's three worlds of welfare as a starting point. Current literature is then used to argue for the inclusion of three additional regime types. The model, with its six illustrative countries, is then used to compare type and level of voluntary association membership and volunteering by older people. The first set of findings is a descriptive account of the context of ageing and social welfare in the six countries and the relationship between this context and volunteering by older people. The second set of findings uses a broad comparative dataset, the World Values Survey (2005–2006), to explore differences in voluntary association involvement more specifically. The analyses suggest that differences across regime types are explainable in terms of the social welfare context. These findings suggest a possible line of approach to understanding differences across countries.
Policy and practices relating to the active engagement of older people in the community: a comparison of Sweden and Australia
- Authors:
- LEONARD Rosemary, JOHANSSON Stina
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 17(1), January 2008, pp.37-45.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article compares policy and practices for engaging older people in community life in Sweden and Australia. Barriers and support for active engagement through paid work, social activism, volunteering and aged services are compared. Both countries face issues of ageing populations, services for rural areas and people with small needs. Issues for Sweden were the absence of age discrimination legislation, availability of funds and lack of recognition of the growing levels of volunteering. Issues for Australia concerned the new managerialist approach to services, with associated complexities of access and limited social activism.
Intergenerational Learning in Stockholm County in Sweden: a practical example of elderly men working in compulsory schools as a benefit for children
- Author:
- BOSTROM Ann-Kristin
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 1(4), 2003, pp.7-24.
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia
This article investigates a practical implementation of strategies for augmenting social capital, as they are being used within the Granddad Project, an intergenerational learning initiative conducted in schools in the Stockholm county area. Indicators for measuring social capital were constructed on the basis of questionnaire data. Responses from a total of 580 pupils, 19 granddads and 27 teachers in 17 schools were collected. Additionally, for the granddads, a qualitative analysis was also carried out using a set of narrative data, reflecting their perceptions and experiences of their work in the schools. The results indicate that the granddads' work itself is forming part of the social capital between individual granddads and the pupils. The pupil responses indicate that boys and girls feel secure in school and that the granddad supports and assists everyone. The responses from the granddads demonstrate that they find their work demanding, but nonetheless rewarding because of the social network it has established for them with the staff and the positive response from the pupils. These results support the assumption that interaction that occurs in the classrooms in schools where there is granddad intervention provides opportunities for increased social capital to be generated on the part of both the younger and the older generation. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Angels of the night: evening and night patrols for homebound elders in Sweden
- Authors:
- MALMBERG Bo, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 43(5), October 2003, pp.761-765.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The purpose of this study was to describe the work of evening and night home care patrols in Swedish old-age care by examining how staff members view their work and the specific work content. The authors developed two questionnaires: one that was to be answered jointly by the patrol teams, and one to be completed by each individual member of a team. All patrols in the municipality of Jönköping, Sweden, were asked to participate. The most frequent kind of help provided by evening and night patrols involves personal care, but help with medications and injections are also frequent. The staff reported that it is becoming more common for the patrols to assist people with terminal illnesses. The patrols also increasingly assist people with psychiatric problems. The staff feels that the job may be becoming too diverse and that they need further education for the range of tasks they are asked to perform. The patrols are very flexible in the services provided. Without the patrols, the staff members believe that many persons would have to leave their homes to go to institutions.
Promoting inclusion: involving volunteers in reminiscence work with people with dementia
- Authors:
- BRADLEY Greta, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Europe, 7(1), 2000, pp.1-12.
- Publisher:
- Russell House
EQUAL (Enhancing the Quality of Life of People with Alzheimer's) is a research project involving younger volunteers in reminiscence work with older people with dementia or Alzheimer's disease. This article is drawn from the comparative study of the project sites in the UK, France and Sweden. It discusses the potential of volunteers in contributing positively to the lives of older people in residential settings. The article considers the cross cultural challenges of constructing and replicating a project promoting and sustaining similar initiatives.