Digital ageing in Europe: a comparative analysis of Italian, Finnish and Swedish national policies on eHealth

Heli Valokivi,Elin Kvist,Simone Carlo,Marjo Outila

doi:10.1017/s0144686x21000945

Abstract

AbstractAgeing Europeans are today healthier than previous generations and often manage to live independently up to a high age. The proportion of people 80 years of age and older has increased significantly, and with high age the risk of multi-illness and dementia increases. Strong urbanisation processes have changed the demographic structure in rural areas, and young women and men have migrated towards the urban areas to study and work, while older persons have remained behind. This demographic challenge of increasing numbers of persons older than 80 years with care needs living in remote rural areas has become a major European social problem. In tackling this dilemma, many European countries have high expectations for eHealth, digitalisation and welfare technology. In this comparative study of policy debates in Italy, Finland and Sweden, we analyse how – between 2009 and 2019 – the issues of eHealth have been articulated in national and regional policies of the three countries with deep differences in terms of digitalisation and health systems, but with similar ageing populations. We identify in the documents three core topics – the role of technology, the rural issue and responsibility for care. These topics are treated in the documents with differences and similarities between the three countries. Beyond the differences and similarities, the documents reveal both a certain techno-enthusiasm about the role of eHealth in the life of the older adults as well as a limited understanding of the complexity (relationally as well as spatially) of the digital landscape of caring for older adults.

Highlights

EHealth Europe’s health and care systems face serious challenges such as ageing citizens with complex care needs, health workforce shortages and continuing urbanisationDownloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core
Public spending on health and long-term care is expected to continue to rise in all European Union (EU) member states (European Commission and Economic Policy Committee, 2016)
Digital solutions for health and care, referred to as eHealth, are envisioned to have the potential to increase the wellbeing of millions of citizens and to change radically the way health and care services are provided (European Commission, 2018)

Summary

Introduction

EHealth Europe’s health and care systems face serious challenges such as ageing citizens with complex care needs, health workforce shortages and continuing urbanisation. In The State of Health in the EU report (European Commission, 2017), it was concluded that the health-care systems need fundamental rethinking and innovative solutions to become more resilient, accessible and effective in providing quality care in Europe. Digital solutions for health and care, referred to as eHealth, are envisioned to have the potential to increase the wellbeing of millions of citizens and to change radically the way health and care services are provided (European Commission, 2018). The benefits of increased eHealth are multifaceted, and eHealth supports continuity of care across borders, promotes health and prevents disease, supports the transition of the health system to new care models, i.e. more centred on people’s needs, and enables a shift from hospitalcentred systems to more community-based and integrated care structures. There have been concerns regarding technology’s availability and usability, especially with older age groups (Heart and Kalderon, 2013; Airola et al, 2020)

Objectives

Methods

Results