Housing and service for the elderly in Denmark

Abstract

During the past fifteen years, Denmark has been forced to develop new attitudes towards old age and new ways of housing and servicing the elderly, due not only to the increasing number of elderly but also because of societal change. Institutional care is insufficient, and nursing homes are no longer built. “Staying home as long as possible” is the policy, supported by flexible and efficient home help service and nursing care, which is given to all according to their needs, free of charge. Every elderly person has the right to independent living. In accordance with the Housing Act for the Elderly, which sets a standard for a self-contained dwelling, a variety of housing is being built, ranging from co-housing with opportunities for mutual support and exchange of resources among the elderly themselves to special housing for frail elderly.

Denmark will face the next boom of elderly in about fifteen years. To ensure that elderly people can live independent lives, using their own resources, the challenges ahead are to remove the societal barriers hindering independent living, to develop a greater variety of housing options and to ensure access to services. The housing and care policy for the elderly depends on the view of old age and the chosen model of ageing.