New Book from ACCESS Health: Aging with Dignity

Aging with Dignity is now available for free as a PDF on our website or for order in printed or ebook form!

Demographic change is a defining issue of our time. As the worldwide population ages, the healthcare systems of every country will meet challenges of scale in providing for their elderly.

ACCESS Health International recently released its latest book Aging with Dignity: Innovation and Challenge in Sweden – The Voice of Care Professionals.  The book is a study in the future of long term care through the lens of the Swedish healthcare system. It is based on a series of interviews ACCESS Health conducted with more than thirty long term care professionals in Sweden. Click here to read through the primary interviews on which the book is based.

If a small, wealthy nation like Sweden, with well developed healthcare and social welfare systems, encounters difficulties adapting to demographic change, so too will other nations. It is our hope that readers of our book will recognize as universal both the challenges and the innovative solutions presented here. Download a free copy of the PDF by clicking here or order a print or ecopy of the book on AmazonScroll down and click on the links to read the full length interviews and case studies on which the book is based.

Chapter One: The Reality of Demographic Change

The opening chapter of Aging with Dignity describes demographic change as a pressing concern for healthcare systems worldwide. It highlights demographic change in Sweden and around the world, especially in fast aging nations such as Italy, Japan, and the United States.

Chapter Two: The Swedish Healthcare System

Chapter two delves deeply into the Swedish healthcare system. While the Swedish healthcare is very comprehensive and high quality, the aging population places novel demands on the system. The ACCESS Health summary of the Swedish Forum for Welfare report formed part of the basis for this chapter.

Chapter Three: A Different Kind of Patient

Chapter three explains what makes elder and long term care unique. Studying the quality and effectiveness of long term care exposes the strengths and weaknesses of any healthcare system as a whole. Some of the greatest strengths of long term care in Sweden are its transparency and accessibility. Its main weakness however, is relatively poor integration of services and data.

Our interviews with Maj Rom and Eva Nilsson Bågenholm on the Most Fragile Elderly Project are featured heavily in this chapter.

Chapter Four: The Importance of Coordinated Care

Chapter four explores the organization of healthcare and long term care services in Sweden. In this chapter, we hear the voice of nurses, doctors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers on how to improve long term care in Sweden. Among the ACCESS Health reports featured are our interviews with Carina Kumlin and Pia Lagerström on coordinating care for the elderly, with Stéphanie Treschow on elder care entrepreneurship, and with Erik Weiman on government efforts to improve long term care. Our five part case study on the integrated elder care company TioHundra is also featured in this chapter.

Chapter Five: Filling the Gaps – Mobile Teams

Chapter five examines innovative services for individuals at home. The chapter describes  mobile teams that provide daily care to individuals at home and emergency care as needed. The chapter highlights two ACCESS Health case studies: Lidköping Close Care System and Mobile Teams and The Mobile Emergency Team for the Elderly in Uppsala.

Chapter Six: eHomecare

Our chapter on eHomecare describes a range of new and old technologies used by long term care organizations in Sweden, such as cameras, videoconferencing, and other assistive devices that enable more independent living at home. A series of ACCESS Health publications are featured in the chapter, including:

eHealth Technologies and the Future of Healthcare: Interview with Henrik Ahlen

Technology for the Elderly Program: Interview with Raymond Dahlberg

eHomecare: How Technology is Revolutionizing Homecare in Sweden

Magdalena Marklund on New Technologies

Technology for the Elderly: Focus Group

“Is the Use of Welfare Technology Profitable?” Åke Dahlberg Lecture

Chapter Seven: When to Leapfrog: The Case of Estonia

Unique within Aging with Dignity is this chapter, which examines technology platforms used in Estonia to share data between citizens and public authorities. On technology and eHealth, Sweden has much to learn from its neighbor across the Baltic Sea. Our case study on the Estonian eHealth and eGovernance system provided the basis for this chapter, along with our interview with Patrik Sundström on eHealth in Sweden.

Chapter Eight: Dementia Care

Chapter eight provides an in depth look at dementia care and the unique practices being implemented in Sweden. The central themes are person centered care and family involvement. The following ACCESS Health publications are featured in the chapter:

Stiftelsen Silviahemmet: A Palliative Approach to Dementia Care

Aleris: Improving Dementia Care and Care of the Elderly with Linda Martinson

Markus Merne and Everon

Supporting Relatives and Informal Caregivers: Interview with Christianne Simson

“In the Name of the Law” Jeanna Thorslund Lecture