The existing state of knowledge about sleep health in community-dwelling older persons - a scoping review.

Objectives: It is widely known that sleep disorders are a common problem among older persons. Few reviews have described current knowledge about the holistic concept of sleep health of community-dwelling older people.

Aim: This study aimed to describe the current state of knowledge and identify research gaps concerning sleep health among community-dwelling older persons.

The societal costs of dementia in Sweden 2012 - relevance and methodological challenges in valuing informal care.

Background: In this study, we sought to estimate the societal cost of illness in dementia in Sweden in 2012 using different costing approaches to highlight methodological issues.

Methods: We conducted a prevalence-based cost-of-illness study with a societal perspective.

Results: The societal costs of dementia in Sweden in 2012 were SEK 62.

Informal caregiving for elders in Sweden: an analysis of current policy developments.

In Sweden, care of elderly people is a public responsibility. There are comprehensive public policies and programs providing health care, social services, pensions, and other forms of social insurance. Even so, families are still the major providers of care for older people.

Personal assistance in Sweden.

This article provides an overview of the Swedish personal assistance program for persons with severe impairments, introduced in 1994. The personal assistance program makes it financially possible for people with severe disabilities to appoint a personal assistant, by themselves or through a provider, to create support adapted to the individual and to optimize the person's influence over how the support is arranged. The article describes how the reform has increased the opportunity for people with severe disabilities to choose their own way of living.

Policies and practices in support of family caregivers - filial obligations redefined in Sweden.

This article provides an overview of how the expression of filial obligations has shifted over time in Sweden. Historically, and currently in many countries, the family, next of kin, and the social network are the only or major sources of help, as it was in Sweden till half a century ago. The article also explores how various aspects of solidarity-public and private-have developed and are changing in Sweden, known for its extensive welfare programs, with "from cradle to grave" security.

Unequal but equitable: an analysis of variations in old-age care in Sweden.

This study aimed to investigate whether contraction in services has led to inequitable service levels or simply large local variations. Previous attempts to explain service variations with aggregate, municipal level data have failed. We link representative Swedish data from 3,267 individuals aged 65 and older in 2002-2003 with coverage rates of public Home Help services in the 288 municipalities in which they reside.

[Life after stroke--a new national study. Renewed follow-up of stroke patients shows increased dependency on the support from the next-of-kin].

The National Board of Health and Welfare together with Riks-Stroke (the Swedish National Registry for Quality Assessment of Acute Stroke Care) initiated a follow-up 2 years after a stroke event in 10,303 individuals, registrated in Riks-Stroke during the first 6 months of 2001. The aim was to evaluate the health status of the patients and the burden and needs of the spouses. 6,695 patients (65 percent) were alive.

Nutritional status and a 3-year follow-up in elderly receiving support at home.

Background: Elderly receiving public services and care are often frail, suffer from chronic diseases, and sustain a high risk for malnutrition.

Objective: To evaluate nutritional status and long-term outcome in elderly living at home.

Methods: Of 507 eligible subjects receiving home care in five Swedish municipalities, we examined 353 (age 82+/-7 years, 64% females).

Attitudes towards rehabilitation needs and support from assistive technology and the social environment among elderly people with disability.

This study aimed to survey the attitudes of elderly people with disabilities who were living at home regarding their support from assistive technology and the social environment. These attitudes were compared with their identified needs by an occupational therapist and in relation to perception of social engagement, loneliness and overall contentment with life. From a sample of 102 participants who were interviewed using a standardized procedure, 53 persons were included in the study.

Time spent on informal and formal care giving for persons with dementia in Sweden.

The purpose of this paper was to explore the time spent on caring by families of persons with dementia in Sweden. As part of a European Commission project, interviews were carried out on a sample of 92 carers, caring for persons with dementia. The interviews focused on time spent on caring, IADL, ADL and surveillance, as well as formal support received and used.

The shifting balance of long-term care in Sweden.

Purpose: This study describes the Swedish debate on the role of family and state in care of elderly persons. It provides empirical evidence on the shifting balance of family, state, and market in the total panorama of elderly care.

Design And Methods: Secondary analysis of older (1954) and more recent data sources (1994 and 2000) is used to assess living arrangements and care patterns for persons 75 years or older living in the community.