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Background: Family members provide the majority of informal care for older adults in Sweden. Nevertheless, by providing a range of assistance, peers often emerge as a central to counter social isolation among older adults. Therefore, there is a need to know more about what informal care provision by older adults to their peers means for different groups of older adults. Aim: This study investigated the types of informal care and support that older adults provide to their peers in Sweden, and how these types of care and support are associated with demographic characteristics and social isolation. We also compared older adults who provide informal care and support with those who do not. Method: For this purpose, we used a national online survey named "Involuntary loneliness among senior citizens" answered by 10,044 older adults enrolled in the Swedish Citizen Panel. We adopted a mixed‐method design to analyse the survey data, including free‐text options (n = 2155) and numerical data. Social isolation was assessed using a score built from the social loneliness items of the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Results: In our population, 21.5% of the older adults were providing informal care and support to their peers. Practical/instrumental help was frequently offered by younger participants (<75 years), men and respondents who were less socially isolated. On a general level, the factors that were positively associated with giving informal care and support to peers were older age, being male, retired, married/living in a relationship, living in an urban area/big city and exhibiting greater isolation. Focusing specifically on social support shows that older participants (>80) and those experiencing less social isolation (score < 24) were more engaged in social activities. Conclusion: This paper is unique in exploring the informal peer‐caregiver's perceptions of isolation. Data were collected during the COVID‐19 pandemic; this highlights the need to recognise informal care and support between older adults and to acknowledge their contributions as an essential component of Swedish civil society, especially during a societal crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a study conducted to illuminate older adults' perceptions of multiproffesional team's caring skills as success factors for health support in short‐term goal‐directed reablement. The fact that older adults are given perquisites to live in their own homes puts great demands on the professional care given them at home. An option offered could be short‐term goal‐directed reablement delivered by an interprofessional team. This means after periods in hospitals to strengthen their multidimensional health, older adults' reablement processes are supported to return to their daily life as soon as possible. Crucial in making these intentions a reality seems to be identifying the professional's approach that works as success factors for health support in the reablement process. A descriptive qualitative design with a phenomenographic approach based on interviews with 23 older persons who had received short‐term goal‐directed reablement at home after a period at hospital was used. The study was approved by an ethical board. The analysis revealed four major referential aspects of multiproffesional team's caring skills as success factors for health‐support in short‐term goal‐directed reablement: a motivating caregiver, a positive atmosphere‐creating caregiver, a human fellowship‐oriented caregiver and a caregiver that goes beyond the expected. In this study, all caring skills in the continuum are perceived as positively loaded necessities in different situations during the reablement process. Caring skills as success factors are initially shown at a practical level, such as how the professional caregivers encourage and motivate the older persons in different training situations. At a deeper level, the caregivers open their hearts and have the capacity to go beyond the expected in the professional caregiver–patient relationship. The multiproffesional team's best fit caring skills during the home reablement process need to be addressed as evidence base in the area of elderly home care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers in Sweden and other European Member States pay increasing attention as to how best support working carers; carers juggling providing unpaid family care for older family members while performing paid work. Exploring perceived benefits and challenges with web-based information and communication technologies as a means of supporting working carers' in their caregiving role, this paper draws on findings from a qualitative study. The study aimed to describe working carers' experiences of having access to the web-based family care support network 'A good place' ( AGP) provided by the municipality to support those caring for an older family member. Content analysis of interviews with nine working carers revealed three themes: A support hub, connections to peers, personnel and knowledge; Experiencing ICT support as relevant in changing life circumstances; and Upholding one's personal firewall. Findings indicate that the web-based family care support network AGP is an accessible, complementary means of support. Utilising support while balancing caregiving, work obligations and responsibilities was made easier with access to AGP; enabling working carers to access information, psychosocial support and learning opportunities. In particular, it provided channels for carers to share experiences with others, to be informed, and to gain insights into medical and care issues. This reinforced working carers' sense of competence, helping them meet caregiving demands and see positive aspects in their situation. Carers' low levels of digital skills and anxieties about using computer-based support were barriers to utilising web-based support and could lead to deprioritising of this support. However, to help carers overcome these barriers and to better match web-based support to working carers' preferences and situations, web-based support must be introduced in a timely manner and must more accurately meet each working carer's unique caregiving needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In 2007, a literature review was undertaken of palliative care research from Sweden during the 1970s-2006, paving the way for a follow-up study to explore the recent developments. The aim was to systematically examine palliative care research from Sweden between 2007 and 2012, with special attention to methods, designs and research foci. Methods A literature review was undertaken. The databases Academic search elite, Age line, Ahmed, Cinahl, PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus, Soc abstracts, Web of science and Libris were reviewed for Swedish palliative care research studies published from 2007 to 2012, applying the search criteria 'palliative care OR palliative medicine OR end-of-life care OR terminal care OR hospice care OR dying OR death'. Results A total of 263 papers met the inclusion criteria, indicating an increased volume of research compared to the 133 articles identified in the previous review. Common study foci were symptom assessment and management, experiences of illness and care planning. Targeting non-cancer-specific populations and utilisation of population-based register studies were identified as new features. There was continued domination of cross-sectional, qualitative and mono-disciplinary studies, not including ethnic minority groups, nonverbally communicable people or children <18 years of age. Conclusions The trend is that Swedish palliative care research has expanded in volume from 2007 to 2012 compared to during the 1970s to 2006, with increasing participation of non-cancer-specific populations. A domination of qualitative approaches and small, cross-sectional studies with few interventions is still characteristic. Still more strategies are needed to expand the knowledge development of palliative care to respond to demographical, epidemiological, therapeutic and healthcare structure changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scand J Caring Sci; 2012; 26; 104-112 My, your and our needs for safety and security: relatives' reflections on using information and communication technology in dementia care Aim: The present paper reports on a study aimed at describing relatives′ reflections on different kinds of information and communication technology (ICT) devices that are used or can be used in the daily care of persons with dementia. Background: Many persons with dementia continue living in their own homes, which requires the support of their relatives. One way to meet the needs of relatives and persons with dementia is to use ICT. Methods: An interview study was conducted in Sweden (2007-2008) with a purposive sample of 14 spouses of a person with dementia. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify categories and themes in the data. Findings: Relatives′ reflections on the use of ICT were described as ICT - a support in daily life, ICT - internal and external conditions and ICT - the decision to use or not use. Based on these categories, a theme was revealed: shifting between different perspectives: my, your and our needs for safety and security. Conclusion: Relatives struggle to create a situation of safety and security in daily life for themselves and the persons with dementia. ICT devices with the right functionality and used at the right time are regarded as useful in solving everyday problems. In the decision to use or not use ICT, the opportunity to create a safe and secure environment overshadows potential ethical problems. Providing early information about ICT to persons with dementia and their relatives could facilitate joint decision-making regarding use of ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]