Pitkäikäisten ihmisten terveys ja toimintakyky eri hoiva- ja asuinmuodoissa 2001-2022 - Tervaskannot 90+ -tutkimus

The number of the oldest old people will grow in Finland as longevity is increasing. The provision of care went through a major transformation in Finland during the 2000s, at the same time as the number of the oldest old people grew intensively. The ageing-in-place policy has led to reductions in residential care, yet the coverage of home care has not increased. We examined the development of chronic disease morbidity and functional ability between 2001 and 2022 in different living and care arrangements among people aged over 90 years. We used the Vitality 90+ survey data collected seven times between 2001 and 2022 in Tampere, Finland, with altogether 6,876 respondents. The proportion of respondents living in long-term care decreased and the proportion of respondents having regular home care stayed stable. The number of people living in long-term care or having regular home care increased during the study period. The proportion of participants living at home without home care increased. Despite a relative improvement in functioning and a decrease in the prevalence of dementia among those without home care, the number of dependent people and those with dementia increased. The proportion of people reporting dementia increased among participants having regular home care and among those living in long-term care. The number of diseases increased in all groups. To conclude, an increasing number of people with multimorbidity, dementia, and functional dependency live at home without formal care. Home care and long-term care have concentrated on the oldest people with dementia and a high level of functional limitations.