Disembodied care: Articulations of care in municipal policy regarding welfare technologies in eldercare

• Published in: Nordic journal of social research Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 1 - 14
• Main Authors: Samén, Anna, Lindberg, Jens, Andersson, Katarina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Norwegian
• Published: Universitetsforlaget 07.02.2024
• Subjects: articulations of care; disembodied care; eldercare provision; policy analysis; sociologi; Sociology; welfare technology
• ISSN: 1892-2783; 1892-2783
• DOI: 10.18261/njsr.15.1.1

The increasing size of the elderly population has been described as a major challenge for Western eldercare. In light of such demographic changes, welfare technology has been presented as a solution. It has been claimed, in both international and Swedish government policy, that digital technologies can improve how care is given and received. However, there is limited knowledge about what happens to articulations of care when national goals filter down to municipal local level where the actual care is practised. The aim of this article is to analyse how care and welfare technology are described in municipal strategy documents, and to discuss potential consequences of such articulations for everyday eldercare. A critical policy analysis, building on theories about articulation, was conducted on a selection of 19 policy documents (N = 19) from 18 municipalities. The key analytical results show that care tends to be articulated as an organizational matter and that care is transferred into the future of older people’s lives, through self-care and prevention. Interdependence, frailty and alternatives when welfare technology fails to create independence, are not brought up in the documents. Overall, such rearticulations of care indicate a more disembodied eldercare in the future.