0000000000970637
AUTHOR
Leena Tervonen-gonçalves
Health system reforms and the needs of the ageing population : an analysis of recent policy paths and reform trends in Finland and Sweden
AbstractPopulation ageing with an increasing number of people experiencing complex health and social care needs challenges health systems. We explore whether andhow health system reforms and policy measures adopted during the past two decades in Finland and Sweden reflect and address the needs of the older people. We discuss health system characteristics that are important to meet the care needs of older people and analyse how health policy agendas have highlighted these aspects in Finland and Sweden. The analysis is based on “most similar cases”. The two countries have rather similar health systems and are facing similar challenges. However, the policy paths to address these challenges are…
Comparisons, Categories, and Labels: Investigating the North–South Dichotomy in Europe
The paper presents genealogy-oriented analysis of how the Nordic model gained its dominant characterization as modern, advanced and superior to other European welfare models while Southern European countries came to be labelled laggards in the welfare domain. To illuminate the relational nature of these, and all, comparisons, the analysis accentuates how researchers, politicians, and civil servants alike designate Nordic and Southern European states, their societies, and their welfare models. The empirical analysis focuses on scholarly writings about welfare-state comparisons (1986–2017) and on European Union documents addressing cohesion policies (1986–2021). Analysis of the vocabulary and…