Sweden has a long history of migration. Through the immigration of about 180,000 refugees from Finland, Norway, Estonia, Denmark, and Germany during the Second World War, Sweden developed into the immigration country it is today. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the government actively recruited labour migrants from the Netherlands, West Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Turkey. EU accession in 1995 and the EU enlargement rounds in 2004 and 2007 led to a significant increase in immigration^1,2. Between 1990 and 2019, the migrant population (born abroad) and their proportion in the total population more than doubled (788,800 to 2 million; 9.2 to 20%)³.

There are 268,300 people with a migration background aged 65 or older. Of those, approx. 18,500 are estimated to exhibit some form of dementia. Calculations show the most affected migrant groups presumably originate from Finland (approx. 5,400), Germany (approx. 1,200), Yugoslavia (approx. 1,200), Norway (approx. 900), and Denmark (approx. 900)⁴.

The document ‘A National Strategy for Dementia: Documentation and Proposal for a Plan for Prioritized Initiatives by 2022’ (2017) refers to migration in a separate section. There, the increasing need to examine and care for people with dementia who speak a language other than Swedish is emphasized. Besides, the document contains a comprehensive framework for action with recommendations for care planners and service providers as well as references to existing studies, projects, care structures, and care services⁵. The national guidelines for dementia care from 2017 make only a brief reference to people with different linguistic or cultural backgrounds. The evaluation of the guidelines from 2018 has a separate chapter on migration. This indicates that the topic is becoming increasingly more important at the national level. The national guidelines give general recommendations to municipal healthcare providers and show them concrete options for actions to address the current knowledge and care gaps regarding people with foreign backgrounds with dementia^6,7.

According to an expert dementia and migration is only partly considered to be important in Sweden. Existing care services are more suitable and adequate for non-migrants with dementia. However, there are also groups of migrants for whom care is more appropriate (people from Finland/Denmark) because they are better integrated into society and there are fewer barriers.

Culturally sensitive care is partly included in the education of healthcare professionals. The proportion of people with a migration background among professional caregivers is high in outpatient and inpatient care (between 20 and 40%). Overall, the need for culturally sensitive care is not being met by sufficiently qualified professionals.

Family, care provider networks, and migrant organisations have an important role in supporting family caregivers with a migration background. Currently, there are differences in the suitability of existing information resources and support services for these family caregivers. There is a very high need for specialised services providing support and information to family caregivers with a migrant background.