Care providers for older immigrants in Sweden find themselves in a paradox. Individuals and associations call for culturally sensitive elderly care. However, implementing this comes at the risk of over-culturizing needs and behaviours, drawing a negative picture of 'the problem of immigrants' that needs to be solved with special interventions. To find a balance in this paradox, we applied the welfare theory of health to grasp a new understanding of the phenomena and draw a holistic picture of a person's needs and resources available to achieve good ageing, reaching beyond the cultural paradox. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with older adults with immigrant backgrounds in Sweden. The interviews were analysed using content analysis. Combining welfare theory of health with immaterial capital theories offered a holistic theoretical approach to good ageing. This took its departure from the agency of older adults, mitigating the gap between their vital life goals and available resources to reach these goals. Although informants wanted caring interventions from close family, we identified distinct responses to mitigate the diminished trust older adults had in the capability of welfare institutions to provide adequate elderly care.
Governments have enforced measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 with varying degrees of success, which could affect people’s physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior. This study aimed to examine changes in PA levels, types of PA, and sedentary behavior in the Swedish population before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Associations between changed PA levels and demographical and behavioral determinants were also investigated. In December 2020, 1035 individuals (18–79 years old) completed a survey about their PA and sedentary behavior before and during the pandemic. Factors influencing their PA were also explored. Fifty-one percent of the sample reported reduced total PA, 18% had no change, and 31% increased their PA. Overall, organized PA decreased the most and sedentary behavior increased. The youngest and oldest age groups reported the greatest reduction in PA, while middle-aged groups reported the most increased PA. Men reported a larger increase in sedentary behavior than women. Mental and physical capability was associated with change in PA. In conclusion, this study indicates that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of the Swedish population have decreased PA levels with a concurrent increase in sedentary behavior, which may have negative health consequences. Interventions are recommended to address both PA and sedentary behavior, specifically to strengthen people’s ability to perform PA and focusing on the youngest and oldest age groups.
Societal crises and personal challenges are often followed by substantial changes in physical activity. Is there a link between such changes and psychological well-being? Seeking to answer this question, we conducted a correlational study on a representative sample in Sweden during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 1035). About 49% of the sample had decreased their physical activity compared to their self-reported activity level prior to the pandemic, whereas 32% had increased it. The results showed a positive and robust association between changes in daily activity level and corresponding changes in psychological well-being. Specifically, individuals who had reduced their physical activity over the last year reported lower life satisfaction than before, and individuals who had increased their physical activity reported higher life satisfaction than before. The amount of complete physical inactivity (sitting) showed a similar pattern as the exercise data, meaning that individuals who reported increasing inactivity per day also reported a greater decline in life satisfaction. Additional analyses showed that the association between daily activity level and life satisfaction was somewhat stronger for men than for women, but there was no difference when comparing individual versus organized activities. The current study was based on a cross-sectional design, measuring self-reported change over time. Recent work from other research teams have used longitudinal data and experience-sampling in different settings, finding similar results. We conclude that there is good reason to recommend physical exercise as a coping strategy in difficult times.
BackgroundInternational migration and aging populations make for important trends, challenging elderly care regimes in an increasingly globalized world. The situation calls for new ways of merging active aging strategy and cultural sensitivity. This study aim to illuminate the gap between cultural sensitivity and active aging to identify perceived thresholds by Swedish municipal officials in the understanding of older late-in-life-immigrants situation.MethodsDelphi methodology in three rounds. Twenty-three persons in municipal decision-making positions participated and generated 71 statements, of which 33 statements found consensus.ResultsThe 33 statements show that the decision makers prefer not to use cultural sensitivity as a concept in their work, but rather tailor interventions based on individual preferences that may or may not be present in a certain culture. However, as the complexity of care increases, emphasis drifts away from personal preferences toward text-book knowledge on cultures and activity.
There is already a large body of research on the dramatic negative effects of COVID-19 on peoples’ mental and physical health. Millions of people have died, and the pandemic has negatively influenced the lives of billions of people. Luckily however, the vast majority of people infected with the virus, recovers. The happiness and wellbeing of these people have not been extensively studied. In the current paper, we ask the question: Are people who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection happier than those who have not been infected at all? Building on previous research on hedonic adaptation and counterfactual thinking, we hypothesize, and find, that those who have had an infection appear slightly happier than others. The study relies on two surveys conducted in Sweden during the pandemic in 2020 (n=1029) and 2021 (n=1788).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.