Comparing elderly care and disability services for people with dementia

What is it about?

The position of older people with dementia is complicated. Should they be considered disabled? Or should their rights to services be based on general social welfare legislation or other laws? This paper discusses these questions through the case of Finland, where new legislation was recently passed concerning the rights of the older population to access care services. We show that disability legislation, rather than elderly care legislation, should be the framework through which the right to services should be secured for people with dementia.

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Why is it important?

The situation of people with dementia is globally topical, in particular the question should they be considred disabled. Also, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was recently ratified in Finland.