View - Dalarna University

Project leader

Project Members

Kevin McKee
Johan Fritzell, Aging Research Center Karolinska Institutet & Stockholms universitet
Carin Lennartsson, Aging Research Center Karolinska Institutet & Stockholms universitet

Project Period

01-01-2018 - 31-12-2021

Project Status

Completed

Description

Compared to the EU average, older people in Sweden have a high relative risk of poverty, and this is especially
true of women. Addressing poverty requires that its connection to disadvantage in other life domains is
considered. Social exclusion provides a framework for understanding the complexity of disadvantage across
different life domains, and is a process whereby some individuals are prevented from participating fully in society. Social exclusion is associated with low well-being, poor health and mortality, and low levels of Equity and social cohesion in society. Recent reviews of social exclusion research find little focus on older people and a lack of a gender perspective.

The aim of this project is to examine the process of social exclusion in older women and men in Sweden, using data from the Swedish Level of Living Survey (LNU) and the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD). These are nationally representative longitudinal studies with data from 1968 onwards linked at individual level. They provide the opportunity to explore social exclusion in relation to the life domains of: production activity; material resources; social relationships; civic activities; local neighbourhood and services.

This project will answer the following questions: 1) to what extent are older people excluded across different life domains?; 2) how is exclusion across domains interrelated?; 3) to what extent do people move into/out of social exclusion?; 4) what are the risk factors for social exclusion?; 5) what are the outcomes of social exclusion?; and 6) how does social exclusion vary between women and men?

With input from representatives of a number of user and stakeholder groups, the project findings will contribute to more integrated and effective national and local policy to combat social exclusion among the older people, thereby strengthening Sweden’s capacity to influence current and future European policy in this area.

Keywords

social exkludering; äldre människor; levnadsvillkor; utanförskap, social exclusion; older people; living conditions

Research Profile

Health and Social Welfare

Subject

Social Work

Financiers

FORTE

Publications

Dahlberg, Lena. Loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, Part of: Loneliness and Social Isolation in Old Age, Taylor and Francis, 2023. Chapter of book.
Dahlberg, Lena, McKee, Kevin, Lennartsson, Carin, Rehnberg, Johan. A social exclusion perspective on loneliness in older adults in the Nordic countries, European Journal of Ageing, 2022, Vol. 19, No. 2, 175-188. Article : refereed.
Nilsen, Charlotta, Celeste, Roger K, Lennartsson, Carin, McKee, Kevin, Dahlberg, Lena. Long-term risk factors for old-age social exclusion in Sweden : a 30-year longitudinal study, Archives of gerontology and geriatrics (Print), 2022, Vol. 103. Article : refereed.
Dahlberg, Lena, McKee, Kevin, Frank, Amanda, Naseer, Mahwish. A systematic review of longitudinal risk factors for loneliness in older adults, Aging & Mental Health, 2021, Vol. 26, No. 2, 225-249. Article : refereed.
Dahlberg, Lena. Loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic., Aging & Mental Health, 2021, Vol. 25, No. 7, 1161-1164. Article : refereed.
Dahlberg, Lena. Introduction : Framing exclusion interrelationships, Part of: Social exclusion in later life, Springer Nature, 2021. Chapter of book.
Lennartsson, Carin, Rehnberg, Johan, Dahlberg, Lena. The association between loneliness, social isolation and all-cause mortality in a nationally representative sample of older women and men, Aging & Mental Health, 2021, Vol. 26, No. 9, 1821-1828. Article : refereed.
Morgan, Deborah, Dahlberg, Lena, Waldegrave, Charles, Mikulionienė, Sarmitė, Rapolienė, Gražina, Lamura, Giovanni, Aartsen, Marja. Revisiting loneliness : Individual and country-level changes, Part of: Social exclusion in later life, Springer Nature, 2021. Chapter of book.
Myck, Michal, Waldegrave, Charles, Dahlberg, Lena. Two dimensions of social exclusion : Economic deprivation and dynamics of loneliness in later life in Europe, Part of: Social exclusion in later life, Springer Nature, 2021. Chapter of book.
Dahlberg, Lena, McKee, Kevin, Fritzell, J., Heap, J., Lennartsson, C. Trends and gender associations in social exclusion in older adults in Sweden over two decades, Archives of gerontology and geriatrics (Print), 2020, Vol. 89. Article : refereed.
Lennartsson, Carin, Rehnberg, Johan, Dahlberg, Lena. Social isolation and loneliness as risk factors for all-cause mortality in older women and men, 2019. Conference paper : refereed.
Dahlberg, Lena, McKee, Kevin, Fritzell, Johan, Lennartsson, Carin. Trends in social exclusion among older women and men in Sweden, 2018. Conference paper : refereed.
Lennartsson, Carin, Agahi, Neda, Shaw, Ben, Dahlberg, Lena. Loneliness, social isolation, and all-cause mortality in older women and men, 2018. Conference paper : refereed.
Burholt, Vanessa, Winter, Bethan, Aartsen, Marja, Constantinou, Costas, Dahlberg, Lena, de Jong Gierveld, Jenny, van Regenmortel, Sophie, Waldegrave, Charles. An evidence review of exclusion from social relations : From genes to the environment, Knowledge Synthesis Series: No. 2. ROSEnet COST Action (CA 15122), 2017. Report.

Research Project: Pushed to the edge of society: Social exclusion among older women and men in Sweden