Open Journal Systems

The welfare culture and the redesign of social elder-care in Finland

Guy Bäckman

Article ID: 50
Vol 1, Issue 2, 2016, Article identifier:

VIEWS - 1227 (Abstract) 741 (PDF)

Abstract

The welfare culture consists of doctrines and ideologies, beliefs, ideas, values and ideal norms that various groups and actors in the society have concerning the welfare state. The new ways of thinking, which are derived from the cultural turn and paradigm shift in social sciences, is in actual environments influenced and strengthened by economic and social changes, and also by the increasing number of old people. The Nordic welfare model (Denmark, Fin-land, Norway and Sweden), which is distinct from the other welfare models, is because of its basic ideological foundation, which also pertains to Finland, the general frame for the welfare culture. The characteristics of the environments in which people live, such as risks and uncertainties, impact thoughts and ideas they have about actual and preferred conditions, and influence the interest in renewal of welfare arrangements, schemes and services. Following this lead, we examine the changes in the legislation concerning social eldercare services and changes in provision and use of elder-care services in Finland. We also examine the division of responsibility for social eldercare between the public and private sector. Because the welfare arrangements are embedded in a complex cultural context, the research helps us to understand the shaping of the social eldercare. Great changes in the Finnish eldercare in favour of care at home or in a home-like environment have taken place. The goal “more home care, less institutional care” will serve even in the future as guidance in social eldercare.

Keywords

welfare culture, values, social policy, social eldercare, home-like environment

Full Text:

PDF



References

1. Allardt E, 1993, Having, loving, being: an alternative to the Swedish model of welfare research, in M C Nussbaum and A Sen (eds.), The Quality of Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 88–94.

2. Antonovsky A, 1987, Unraveling the Mystery of Health. How People Manage Stress and Stay Well. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

3. Anttonen A, 1988, Perspectives to the reformulation of social policy. The case of caring. Department of Social Policy, University of Jyväskylä. Working Papers No. 50.

4. Anttonen A and Karsio O, 2016, Eldercare service redesign in Finland: deinstitutionalization of long-term care. Journal of Social Service Research, vol.42(2): 167–179. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2015.1129017.

5. Anttonen A and Häikiö L, 2011, Care - “going market”: Finnish elderly-care policies in transition. Nordic Journal of Social Research, Special Issue: 70–90.

6. Anttonen A, Häikiö L and Stefánson K, 2012, The future of the welfare state: rethinking universalism, in A Anttonen, L Häikiö and K Stefánson (eds.), Welfare State, Universalism and Diversity, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 187–196.

7. Anttonen A, Sipilä J and Baldock J, 2003, Patterns of social care in five industrial societies: explaining diversity, in A Anttonen, J Baldock and J Sipilä (eds.), The Young, the Old and the State. Social Care Systems in Five Industrial Nations. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 167–197.

8. Arts W and Gelissen J, 2002, Three worlds of welfare capitalism or more? A state-of-the-art report. Journal of European Social Policy, vol.12(2): 137–158. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0952872002012002114.

9. Ashenden S, 1999, Habermas on discursive consensus. Rethinking the welfare state in the face of cultural pluralism, in P Chamberlayne, A Cooper, R Freeman, et al. (eds.), Welfare and Culture in Europe. Towards a New Paradigm in Social Policy. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 216–239.

10. Beck U, 1992, Risk Society. Towards a New Modernity. London: SAGE.

11. Bäckman G, 2015, The European welfare states, social policy and social justice, in J Laurinkari and F Unger (eds.), The European Utopia in a Globalising Era. European Academy of Science, Kuopio, 30–52.

12. Bäckman G, 2014, The Finnish welfare state, social policy and social capital. in J Laurinkari and M Tarvainen (eds.), The Policies of Inclusion. Perspectives to Disability Policy in Connection with Changing Welfare Policy. Bremen: EHV Academic press, 74–97.

13. Bäckman G, 2013, New strategies for promoting health; with special regard to the threats to men’s health and survival in Okinawa. in J Laurinkari and M Tarvainen (eds.), The Systems of Inclusion. Perspectives to Disability and the Construction of Inclusion. Studies in Comparative Social Pedagogies and International Social Work and Social Policy, vol. XXV. Bremen: Europäischer Hochschul-verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 66–88.

14. Bäckman G, 2007, Perspectives on social protection in welfare policy and experience from Finland. The Hong Kong Journal of Social Work, vol.41(1/2): 3–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S0219246207000034.

15. Bäckman G and Stenman M, 2004, Social welfare: a tour From West to East. Meddelanden från Ekonomisk-Statsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Åbo Akademi. Ser. A: 545. Åbo.

16. Bäckman G and Dallmer J, 2000, Pekka Kuusi’s Plan”Sozialpolitik für die 60er” und der Beginn der Modernisierung der finnischen Sozialpolitik. Meddelanden från Ekonomisk-Statsvetenskapliga Fakulteten vid Åbo Akademi. Ser. A: 511. Åbo.

17. Bäckman G and Sharma S, 1998, Changing social welfare systems in the Nordic countries: some observations and analyses. New Global Development, vol.14(1): 33–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17486839808412602.

18. Cameron D, 2010, Big Society Speech, 19 July 2010, viewed April 17, 2016,

19. Chamberlayne P, Cooper A, Freeman R, et al. (eds.), 1999, Welfare and Culture in Europe. Towards a New Paradigm in Social Policy. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

20. Charron N, 2013, Evaluating EU countries by QoG: national level, in N Charron, V Lapuente and B Rothstein (eds.), Quality of Government and Corruption from a European Perspective. A Comparative Study of Good Government in EU Regions. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 37–69.

21. Erikson R, 1993, Description of inequality: the Swedish approach to welfare research, in M C Nussbaum and A Sen (eds.), The Quality of Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 67–87.

22. Ervasti H and Hjerm, M, 2012, Immigration, trust and support for the welfare state, in H. Ervasti, J. G Andersen, T Fridberg, et al. (eds.), The Future of the Welfare State. Social Policy Attitudes and Social Capital in Europe. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 153–171.

23. Esping-Andersen G, 1990, The Three Worlds of Capitalism. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

24. Ferrera M, 1996, The “Southern” model of welfare in social Europe. Journal of European Social Policy, vol.6(1): 17–37.

25. Freeman R and Rustin M, 1999, Welfare, culture and Europe, in P Chamberlayne, A Cooper, R Freeman, et al. (eds.), Welfare and Culture in Europe. Towards a New Paradigm in Social Policy. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 9–20.

26. Freeman R, Chamberlayne P, Cooper A, et al. 1999, Conclusion. A new culture of welfare, in P Chamberlayne, A Cooper, R Freeman, et al. (eds.), Welfare and Culture in Europe. Towards a New Paradigm in Social Policy. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 275–281.

27. Fritzell J, Bäckman O and Ritakallio V M, 2012, Income inequality and poverty: do the Nordic countries still constitute a family of their own? in J Kvist, J Fritzell, B Hvinden, et al. (eds.), Changing Social Equality. The Nordic Welfare Model in the 21st Century. Bristol, UK: Polity Press, 165–185.

28. Giddens A, 2000, Runaway World. New York: Routledge.

29. Grönlund K and Setälä M, 2012, In honest officials we trust: institutional confidence in Europe. The American Review of Public Administration, vol.42(5): 523–542. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0275074011412946.

30. Grönlund K, Setälä M and Herne K, 2010, Deliberation and civic virtue: lessons from a citizen deliberation experiment. European Political Science Review, vol.2(1): 95–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1755773909990245.

31. Henriksson L and Wrede S, 2012, The making of medico-managerial care work culture in public home care for the elderly, in C Ceci, K Björnsdόttir and M E Purkis (eds.), Perspectives on Care at Home for Older People. New York: Routledge, 171–185.

32. Inglehart R, 1997, Modernization and Postmodernization. Cultural, Economic, and Political Change in 43 Societies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

33. Inglehart R and Welzel C, 2005, Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy. The Human Development Sequence. New York: Cambridge University Press.

34. Jolkkonen A, Kilpeläinen R and Koistinen P, 2009, Formal and informal work in the work-welfare arrangement of Finland, in B Pfau-Effinger, L Flaquer and P H Jensen (eds.), Formal and Informal Work. The Hidden Work Regime in Europe. New York: Routledge, 62–88.

35. Karsio O and Anttonen A, 2013, Marketisation of eldercare in Finland: legal frames, outsourcing practices and the rapid growth of for-profit services, in G Meagher and M Szebehely (eds.), Marketisation in Nordic eldercare: a research report on legislation, oversight, extent and consequences. Stockholm University. Department of Social Work. Stockholm/studies in Social Work 30, 85–125.

36. Kautto M, 2001, Two of a kind? Economic crisis, policy responses and well-being during the 1990s in Sweden and Finland; SOU 2000:83, in M Kautto: Diversity among welfare states. Comparative studies on welfare state adjustment in Nordic countries. National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health. Research Report 118. Saarijärvi. 7–131.

37. Kehusmaa S, Autti-Rämö I, Helenius H, et al. 2013, Does informal care reduce public care expenditure on elderly care? Estimates based on Finland’s Age Study. BMC Health Services Research 13:317, viewed April 9, 2016,

38. Knowles C, 1999, Cultural perspectives and welfare regimes. The contributions of Focault and Lefebre, in P Chamberlayne, A Cooper, R Freeman et al. (eds.), Welfare and Culture in Europe. Towards a New Paradigm in Social Policy. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 240–254.

39. Koskinen S, Manderbacka K and Aromaa A, 2012, Koettu terveys ja pitkäaikaissairastavuus (Perceived health and chronic illness), in S Koskinen, A Lundqvist and N Ristiluoma (eds.), Terveys, Toimintakyky ja Hyvinvointi Suomessa 2011 (Health, Functional Capacity and Welfare in Finland 2011). National Institute for Health and Welfare. Report 68/2012. Helsinki, 7–9, 77–79.

40. Kosonen P, 2011, Experiences from two financial crises in the Nordic welfare states: 1990–93 and 2008–10 compared, in K Farnsworth and Z Irving (eds.), Social Policy in Challenging Times. Economic Crisis and Welfare Systems. Bristol, UK: Policy Press, 219–230.

41. Kotroyannos D, Kamekis A, Tzagkarakis S, et al. 2014, The necessity of a new welfare culture in the context of financial crisis in Greece. European Quarterly of Political Attitudes and Mentalities, vol.3(2): 65–74.

42. Kröger T and Leinonen A, 2011, Transformation by stealth: the retargeting of home care services in Finland. Health and Social Care in the Community, vol.20(3): 319–327. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2524.2011.01047.x

43. Kröger T, Anttonen A and Sipilä J, 2003, Social care in Finland: stronger and weaker forms of Universalism, in A Anttonen, J Bal-dock and J Sipilä (eds.), The Young, the Old and the State. Social Care Systems in Five Industrial Nations. Cheltenham, UK: Ed-ward Elgar, 25–54.

44. Kvist J, Fritzell J, Hvinden B, et al. (eds.), 2012, Changing Social Equality. The Nordic Welfare Model in the 21st Century. Bristol, UK: Polity Press.

45. Laurinkari J, 2014, The economy of social welfare politics, in J Laurinkari and M Tarvainen (eds.), The Policies of Inclusion. Perspectives to Disability Policy in Connection with Changing Welfare Policy. Bremen: EHV Academic press, 52–61.

46. Layard R, 2005, Happiness. Lessons from a New Science. London: Penguin Books.

47. Lin K, 2005, Cultural traditions and Scandinavian social policy model. Social Policy & Administration, vol.39(7): 723–739. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2005.00466.x.

48. Lyubomirsky S, 2008, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. New York: Penguin.

49. Mikkonen J, 2013, The politics of poverty in Finland. Social Alternatives, vol.32(1): 24–30.

50. Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (MSAH), 2013, Quality recommendation to guarantee a good quality of life and improved ser-vices of older persons. Publications 2013:19. Helsinki.

51. Mohan B, 2011, Development, Poverty of Culture, and Social Policy. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

52. Official Statistics of Finland (OSF), 2016, Income distribution statistics 2014, viewed April 18, 2016,

53. Official Statistics of Finland (OSF), 2014, Institutional care and housing services in social care 2014. Statistical Report 21/2015. National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki.

54. Official Statistics of Finland (OSF), 2012, Health care and social welfare personnel 2012. Statistical report 8/2015. National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki.

55. van Oorschot W, 2007, Culture and social policy: a developing field of study. International Journal of Social Welfare, vol.16(2): 129–139. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2397.2006.00451.x.

56. van Oorschot W, Opielka M and Pfau-Effinger B, 2008, The culture of the welfare state: historical and theoretical arguments. in W van Oorschot, M Opielka and B Pfau-Effinger (eds.), Culture and Welfare State. Values and Social Policy in Comparative perspective. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 1–26.

57. Pfau-Effinger B, 2012, Analyses of welfare-state reform policies towards long-term senior care in a cross-European perspective. European Journal of Ageing, vol.9(2): 151–154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10433-012-0233-9.

58. Pfau-Effinger B, 2005, Culture and welfare state policies: reflections on a complex interrelation. Journal of Social Policy, vol.34(1): 3–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0047279404008232.

59. Pierson P, 2001, Coping with permanent austerity: welfare state restructuring in affluent societies, in P Pierson (ed), The New Politics of the Welfare State. New York: Oxford University Press, 410–456.

60. Pierson P, 1994, Dismantling the Welfare State? Reagan, Thatcher, and the Politics of Retrenchment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

61. Puthenparambil J M and Kröger T, 2016, Using private social care services in Finland: free or forced choices for older people? Journal of Social Service Research, vol.42(2): 167–179.

62. Rostila M, 2013, The social capital of welfare states and its significance for population health, in I Kawachi, S Takao and S V Subramanian (eds.), Global Perspectives on Social Capital and Health. New York: Springer, 277–305.

63. Saajanaho M, 2016, Personal Goals in Old Age. Relationships with Resources in Life, Exercise Activity, and Life Space Mobility. Studies in Sport, Physical Education and Health 234. Jyväskylä.

64. Sharma S, 2010, Goals, values, and strategies of personal and societal well-being: Gandhi, Tolstoi, Ruskin, and Thoreau, in J Laurin-kari (eds.) In cooperation with V P Isomäki, Health, Wellness and Social Policy. Essays in honour of Guy Bäckman. Studies in Comparative Social Pedagogies and International Social Work and Social Policy, vol.X. Bremen: Europäischer Hochschulverlag.

65. Sipilä J, 1993, Home care allowances for the frail elderly – a contradictory innovation, in A Evers and I Svetlik (eds.), Balancing Pluralism. New Welfare Mixes in Care for the Elderly. Aldershot, England: Avebury, 255–276.

66. Sipilä J, Anttonen A and Baldock J, 2003, The importance of social care, in A Anttonen, J Baldock and J Sipilä (eds.), The Young, the Old and the State. Social Care Systems in Five Industrial Nations. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 1–23.

67. Sotkanet, 2014, The Sotkanet Indicator Bank, National Institute for Health and Welfare, viewed April 11, 2016,

68. Swallfors S, 1991, The politics of welfare policy in Sweden: structural determinants and attitudinal cleavages. The British Journal of Sociology, vol.42(4): 609–634. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/591450.

69. Swedner H, 1983, Human Welfare and Action Research in Urban Settings. Essays on the Implementation of Social Change (DSF:s report studies). Stockholm.

70. Timonen V, 2003, Restructuring the Welfare State. Globalization and Social Policy Reform in Finland and Sweden. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

71. Walker A, 1993, A cultural revolution? Shifting UK’s welfare mix in the care of older people, in A Evers and I Svetlik (eds.), Ba-lancing Pluralism. New Welfare Mixes in Care for the Elderly. Aldershot, England: Avebury, 67–88.

72. Willner J and Grönblom S, 2016, The Organization of Services of General Interest in Finland. Working paper CIRIEC No 2015/20, viewed April 7, 2016,

73. Yeandle S, Kröger T and Cass B, 2012, Voice and choice for users and carers? Developments in patterns of care for older people in Australia, England and Finland. Journal of European Social Policy, vol.22(4): 432–445.

74. Zetterholm S, 1994, Introduction: cultural diversity and common policies, in S Zetterholm (ed.), National Cultures & European Integration: Exploratory Essays on Cultural Diversities and Common Policies. Oxford/Providence, US: Berg Publishers, 1–12.


DOI: https://doi.org/10.18063/ESP.2016.02.007
(1227 Abstract Views, 741 PDF Downloads)

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2016 Guy Bäckman

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.