Supply or demand? Institutionalization of the mentally ill in the emerging Swedish welfare state, 1900–59

Bibliographic Data

ID19445629
AuthorsLiselotte Eriksson (0000-0003-2591-6579, Umeå University, corresponding author), Johan Junkka (0000-0003-1527-279X, Umeå University), Glenn Sandström (0000-0001-7559-2571, Umeå University), Lotta Vikström (0000-0001-9042-9166, Umeå University)
Year2022
Volume33
Issue2
Pages180-199
Publication date2022-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory of Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0957-154X • E-ISSN: 1740-2360
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0957154x221084976
PMID35588215
OpenAlexW4280586127
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited35

Historical studies on the institutionalization of the mentally ill have primarily relied on data for institutionalized patients rather than the population at risk. Consequently, the underlying factors of institutionalization are unclear. Using Swedish longitudinal microdata from 1900–59 reporting mental disorders, we examine whether supply factors, such as distance to institutions and number of asylum beds, influenced the risk of institutionalization, in addition to demand factors such as access to family. Institutionalization risks were associated with the supply of beds and proximity to an asylum, but also dependent on families’ unmet demand for care of relatives. As the supply of mental care met this family-driven demand in the 1930s, the relative risk of institutionalization increased among those lacking family networks

Economics · Environmental health · Institutionalisation · Market economy · Population · Psychiatry · Supply and demand · Welfare · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies