This chapter traces some of the intricate origins of the Swedish and Nordic Models discourse and representations, explain the various dimensions that they came to incorporate, from social democracy and universal welfare to strong egalitarian norms, transparency and accountability. It reflects on some of the more recent changes and uses of this notion in light of policies of social welfare and economic reforms that have taken place over the last three decades. However, the successful ‘packaging’ of these values in international branding strategies goes along with a ‘good Sweden/bad Sweden’ historical duality that is increasingly used in social media. Social scientists have stressed the problematic flexibility of the uses of the Swedish model that became evident in light of the recent debates on a specific Swedish strategy in the COVID-19 crisis.
Support coordination for people with disability and complex needs should assist in personalising and implementing individualised funded supports in a coordinated manner. Yet, this also relies on policy and organisational arrangements being conducive to good practice. Designed according to street-level policy research, this study sought to explore challenges and adaptations associated with the implementation of support coordination in Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme through interviews with 20 support coordinators and front-line personnel. Findings suggest that more explicit oversight of, and attention to, norms of practice and capacity to work collaboratively with choice and control are warranted to enhance support coordination.
This article focuses on the ethical caring practices of general practitioners in dealing with intimate partner violence. In-depth interviews were conducted with general practitioners to inquire about their concrete experiences and conflicts, which were then submitted to a thematic analysis based on Tronto’s elements of an ethics of care. The results show the difficulties faced by general practitioners when it comes to clarifying their patients’ caring needs, determining what is meant by competent care and dealing with the conflicting expectations of the caregiver and care receiver particular to the issue of intimate partner violence.
For the first time, this article will provide a cross-national profile of adolescents who provide unpaid care to their ill or disabled family members in six European countries with varied levels of awareness, policy and service provision regarding adolescent young carers. Utilising an online survey, 2,099 adolescent young carers were identified in Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. This article focuses on the impact of unpaid care on their mental health, well-being, physical health and education. Their preferences for informal and formal support were also examined. These groundbreaking findings help promote a ‘rights’ approach to adolescent young carers, which can serve as a critical driver for supportive policy creation on both a country-specific and pan-European level.
Using ethnographic data, this article aims to analyse the provision of informal care by asylum-seekers in Sweden and how this intersects with the(ir) asylum process. The article argues that asylum-seekers are framed by the Swedish welfare system and immigration authorities as ungrievable and deportable, which not only impedes their access to formal care systems and values, but also creates a strong need for informal care. Further, it is suggested that the informal care provided by asylum-seekers should be included in current debate on informal care and its impact on people’s lives.
The provision of care, in particular, long-term care, is a major policy concern across Europe, one exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-crisis, a universal basic income may be a progressive way to address how care is rewarded in society. In this article, we examine the relationship between caring responsibilities, labour market participation and support for a universal basic income across a number of European countries. Our findings indicate that support for such a scheme is extremely divided, even among care-providing groups who may potentially gain from its introduction.
The goal of this article is to reflect on the value that care and caring currently assumes in the context of Brazilian health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Some denialist narratives served to transform doctors and nurses into public enemies, who often began to be harassed. The collected data were based on government documents, scientific articles and current information from journalistic media, aiming to deepen reflection on the issue of the need for recognition of the professional and humanised role of health caregivers in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
