More users, greater need for assistance

Published:

More than 355 000 persons received one or more nursing and care services as home care or in institutions during 2016. This represents a 2 per cent increase from 2015 and 8 per cent from 2009. The youngest and the oldest have the most extensive need for assistance, but it has been increasing in all age groups.

From 2009, there has been a steady increase in the number of users within the nursing and care services provided by the municipalities. While 329 306 persons used one or more services during 2009, the number increased to 355 635 during 2016, which corresponds to an increase of 8 per cent.

Measured by the numbers of persons using the services at the end of the year – as opposed to during the year – the tendencies are the same, but are not of the same magnitude. In total, 278 161 persons used one or more services by the end of 2016, which represents a 4 per cent increase in the period from 2009 to 2016.

Figure 1. Users of nursing and care services during the year

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Users 329306 327444 330468 336864 340093 342216 349419 355635

Mostly female users in different age groups

Among the users of nursing and care services, women are in the majority, both in total and in the age groups, with the exception of the youngest group – the under 18s. 6 in 10 users of one or more services were women in 2016. Among the youngest aged 0-17, the picture was quite the opposite, i.e. 38 per cent women and 62 per cent men. The trend is that the share of women increases with age.

Figure 2. Users of nursing and care services during the year, by gender and age

0-17 years 18-49 years 50-66 years 67-79 years 80 years and older
Women 37.8 51.0 52.7 57.7 69.5
Men 62.2 49.0 47.3 42.3 30.5

More users below retirement age

Except for the youngest and the oldest age groups, there has been an increase in the number of users from 2009 to 2016. The largest increase is seen for users in the age group 18-49 years, where the number has increased by 30 per cent since 2009, from 57 165 to 74 475. In the same period, the number of users below retirement age, i.e. under 67 years of age, increased by 19 per cent. During 2016, about 40 per cent of all users of nursing and care services were under 67 years of age.

Figure 3. Users of nursing and care services during the year, by age

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
80 years and older 150495 149506 149345 150219 148329 146870 146289 145280
67-79 years 60874 59586 59524 61294 63170 64533 67318 70009
50-66 years 42796 43299 44129 45833 46189 47338 48611 50344
18-49 years 57165 57626 59810 62243 64915 66532 69780 72475
0-17 years 17964 17422 17652 17255 17462 16911 17388 17469