This article investigates the prevalence of two forms of income poverty among older adults in Finland and Sweden from a gendered perspective. It examines differences in both objective and subjective (i.e. experienced) income poverty between older women and men, and asks to what extent the gender variable can explain these differences after controlling for the impact of other variables, such as education. The analysis is based on data from the Gerda 2010 survey, and covers 65-, 70-, 75-and 80-year-olds living in Ö sterbotten, Finland and Västerbotten, Sweden. The results show a stronger prevalence of both objective and subjective income poverty among older women compared to that of men, and this systematic difference remains significant after controlling for other variables, although a mediating effect upon this association can be detected from variables such as health or education. As a whole, the results suggest that these two Nordic countries, despite their egalitarian welfare states and redistributive pension systems, may face a problem of gendered injustice in old age.

Informal caregivers face risks of social isolation. Given the high prevalence of informal caregivers in Europe, a considerable proportion of the population are also former caregivers. The Finnish Expert Caregiver intervention sought to train former caregivers to become volunteers aiming to support current caregivers through mainly peer support. The aims of this mixed method non-controlled exploratory intervention study were to assess the feasibility of the Finnish Expert Caregiver intervention by co-designing and implementing the intervention, and by assessing demand and practicality with special attention to the impact of COVID-19. The findings imply that the intervention was feasible as it resulted in a co-designed training course consisting of 30 h with 25 participants enrolling and 19 of them trying volunteering activities. The participants reported high scores on well-being at all timepoints of study, however, without statistically significant differences. The analysis of the focus group interviews revealed that the Expert Caregivers experienced the intervention as meaningful and offered them a sense of belonging with the other participants. Apart from using their caregiving past as an asset, the participants also took advantage of other personal skills and resources. Risks of adverse effects were related to the participants’ expectations on their own contribution, demanding peer support recipients, poorly functioning peer support groups, and insufficient distance to one’s caregiving past. The participants stressed the need for continuing support from intervention facilitators. Future studies with larger samples should investigate whether the effects differ between subgroups of participants and explore the perspective of the peer support recipients.

No abstract