Local culture and social system as explanatory factors for health and well-being;

from welfare practices among elderly in a bilingual setting in Finland.

It has been shown by the various statistical analyses that there are obvious differences in health indicators between Swedish and Finnish speakers in Finland. Among the many explanations of this difference, “social capital” is one of the on-topic ratifications.

The idea of social capital after Puttnam is based on the idealistic premise that mutual trust within a society is “good”. This premise has also contributed to the trend of “local” studies, such as local medicine or local welfare. In such studies, researchers tend to stress social factors rather than technology or states policies. In other words, social capital is understood as a device for improving the function of the system, society and services. However, the actual process of the development of human relationships within local communities has not yet been researched thoroughly. Therefore, the main purpose of this presentation is to take a deeper look into the dynamism of the local welfare system.

This presentation is based on the materials from a long-term anthropological fieldwork which has been conducted in a bilingual town in Finland. People speak Swedish and Finnish, build human networks with their related groups, participate to the welfare service structure, and use the formal/informal services. By introducing the development of a day service center and possible life trajectories in this town, we can see how the local welfare service is supplemented by an informal network.

This can be analyzed as a reversal of user-provider relationship. This flexibility of relationship itself is the core value for the welfare provision. There are physical needs to be fulfilled by care services, but also socio-psychological needs that can be achieved by “being social”. It is important to see mutual trust or social capital as a potential resource for improving society, but simultaneously it is an ultimate purpose for the welfare principle.