The proportion of older people in Sweden is increasing. This leads to significant challenges for both health care and aged services. Today, Forte’s board has granted research on ageing and health with funding amounting to SEK 38 million. Seven projects and three postdocs out of 101 assessed applications have been granted funding.

The call for proposals Research on ageing and Health 2019, which closed in February, requested research that can contribute to the promotion of active and healthy ageing in older people, research on the prevention of mental health problems among older adults, and research on care for older people with complex needs.

Forte has a special government commission to contribute to research on ageing and health, and the research should have a prevention, health promotion and interdisciplinary perspective.

Portrait photo of Sofie Wallerström, senior research officer
Sofie Wallerström

– An ageing population puts strain on health care, age services, and the whole welfare system. But this is not only a societal challenge. Being healthy and being able to remain active is centreal from an individual perspective. That is why research on ageing and health is of great importance, says Sofie Wallerström, forskningssekreterare på Forte.

As in the previous call for proposals on ageing and Health, Forte stressed the importance of interacting with relevant target groups, such as relatives, staff and government officials. Hopefully this will facilitate implementation of the research results down the line.

Seven projects and three postdocs funded

Out of a total of 101 assessed applications within the call seven project applications and three postdoc applications have been granted funding. Combined they will be awarded SEK 32 million in project grants and SEK 6 million in postdoc grants.

Financed projects

  • Good auditory ecology for active and healthy aging (Linköping University)
  • Mental health in old age: the role of social disadvantages throughout the life course and across birth cohorts (Karolinska Institutet)
  • RELOC-AGE: How Do Housing Choices and Relocation Matter for Active Ageing? (Lund University)
  • Growing older, working longer: the role of working conditions (Stockholms University)
  • Simul-Age: Simulation models that enable long-term predictions and cost-benefit analysis related to housing adaptation needs for a population ageing in place (Lund University)
  • Specialist eldercare for people with substance abuse and complex needs – promising practices or institutionalized ageism? (Lund University)
  • Stronger 60+: Personalized implementation of the FINGER multimodal lifestyle model for healthy brain aging (Karolinska Institutet)

Financed postdocs

  • Until needs do us part – Identifying supportive strategies within needs assessment interaction involving couples living with different care needs (Uppsala University)
  • The Fruits of Labor – Investigating the Influence of Working Conditions on the Initiation and Duration of the Fourth Age (Stockholm University)
  • ADHD and age-related health conditions: Establishing links, underlying mechanisms and risk factors (Karolinska Institutet)

For a more detailed list of the granted projects and postdocs, including project leader and granted  funding, go to Grant decisions.