The population is ageing because life expectancy increases, and the birth rate is falling. There are nearly 1.5 million old-age pensioners, and fewer children are born than ever before. In 2022, fewer than 45,000 children were born, compared to 50,000 over the age of 90. According to the projection, by 2065 there will already be 190,000 people over the age of 90.
The sustainability gap is not the fault of older people, but ageing involves needs that are important to be considered in society.
All older people are not similar – individual differences are great. As in all age groups, there are also many special groups among the elderly: all genders and many ethnic groups, religions, language groups, and backgrounds.
Almost 90 per cent of pensioners live a normal adult life without support or help. Many people work or volunteer to be useful and have meaning in their lives. Grandparents and, increasingly, great-grandparents help families with children, and their contribution is also significant in terms of the national economy. Majority of them also adopt new practices due to new knowledge in environmental issues, the use of online services and health maintenance.
Even when there are more healthy years of life than before, chronic diseases increase and functional capacity decreases towards the end of life. Everyone needs care and nurturing at some point. Finnish professors Marja Jylhä, Teppo Kröger and Lea Pulkkinen have on various occasions been concerned about the position of older people. Marja Jylhä points out that securing the quality of life of the elderly requires new kinds of expertise and cooperation, as well as better resources for care.
However, not enough resources are allocated to this, either when it would still be possible to maintain a person’s functional capacity or when a person can no longer cope alone. More and more frail elderly people are living in their own homes, and inequality in coping with everyday life is growing. According to statistics of THL (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare), home care calls decreased by nearly two million last year compared to the previous one. It is more difficult than before to become a home care client and the clients are in worse condition than before. According to Teppo Kröger, the main reasons are the continued underfunding of services for the elderly, poor availability of services, and lack of staff. A subjective right to services for the elderly should be included in the legislation – otherwise older people would not be considered as valuable as other population groups.
Lea Pulkkinen has highlighted the downside of the mindset of life cycle. It includes the image of decreasing functional capacity already from middle age, which easily leads to age discrimination. This is also reflected in older workers’ access to employment. Human functional capacity is a multidimensional concept, and individual differences are often more significant than age differences. Even when physical functioning decreases, psychological functioning may be better than in younger people. This kind of life arch thinking also leads to a downgrade of childhood.
Ombudsman for the Elderly Päivi Topo has highlighted the problems that arise when services are transferred online. Using digital devices can be difficult for the elderly. Not everyone has the necessary equipment at home or there are difficulties using a smartphone. Many elderly people are therefore at risk of social exclusion. It is not always a question of incompetence, but sensory impairment, for example, can make it difficult to use online services.
It is important that everyone keeps up with the changes in society. Older people must receive guidance and support in the use of digital services in the same way as other age groups receive in schools, studies or working life. Support is particularly important in social and health services, where services are being brought online on a large scale. Here, support persons should be trained to support the use of online services and as guides.
The key to a meaningful life is to meet other people, to be able to decide on one’s own affairs, to feel that one can cope with everyday life, to feel meaningful and to make one’s voice heard.
Human rights treaties and the Constitution of Finland guarantee equal fundamental rights for all. Discrimination in any form or in respect of any age group shall not be tolerated. The elderly must be involved in all decision-making that affects them, and their needs and wishes must be heard. Only an elderly person can know what ageing entails.
Inkeri Näätsaari
Master of Social Sciences
Member of the Board of the Elderly Greens in Finland