I am Professor in Social Work at the School of Health and Welfare, Dalarna University, and Researcher at the Aging Research Center at Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University.
I am member of the Scientific Advisory Committee at the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services and member of an expert group on loneliness at the Nordic Welfare Centre. Also, I have searved on the boards of the Swedish Gerontological Society and the National Graduate School on Ageing and Health.
Previously, I have been based at Stockholm Gerontology Research Center (1994-1995), Dalarna Research Institute (1995-2004, 2009-2012) and Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom (2004-2009). In 2004, I was awarded a PhD in Political Science from Stockholm University.
At Dalarna University, I am mainly teaching on the social work programme, but also in social work at advanced level and on the postgraduate programme in care for older people.
Currently, I am supervising Isabelle von Saenger, Karolinska Institutet (co-supervisor, admitted 2020), Jerry Norlin, Dalarna University (principal supervisor, admitted 2021), and Mariam Kirvalidze, Karolinska Institutet (co-supervisor, admitted 2022). I have supervised the following PhD students to completion: Mahwish Naseer, Dalarna University and Karolinska Institutet (principal supervisor, 2022), Ann-Christine Persson, Karolinska Institutet (co-supervisor, 2022), Jing Jing, Royal Institute of Technology (co-supervisor, 2023), and Marcus Falk Johansson, Dalarna University (co-supervisor, 2024).
My research concerns living conditions of older adults, with primary focus on loneliness, social exclusion and informal care. Regarding loneliness, I lead the research programme Research Programme on Ageing, Loneliness, and Mental Health: Understanding the Links and Enabling Change (REALM) and the project Causes and Actions of Late-life Loneliness (CALL). In addition, I am involved in the project Healthy Ageing in Place at Dalarna University (Principal Investigator/PI Kevin McKee), and two projects on informal care and support at the Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet/Stockholms University: Older adults’ contribution to informal caregiving: temporal trends, profiles and adverse health consequences (PI Amaia Calderón-Larrañaga) and Cash and care. Intergenerational transfers in the families of the oldest-old and their consequences for inequality (PI Carin Lennartsson).
Causes and Actions of Late-life Loneliness (CALL)
Start date: 01/10/2021