The figures concern interventions for individuals with harmful use of alcohol, narcotics, medications, solvents, or gambling for money. They show that more people sought help for gambling problems in 2024.
At the same time, the number of people who were forcibly cared for under the Act on Care of Abusers (LVM) decreased by 12 percent. The decline is part of a long-term trend – since 2014, the number of forcibly cared for individuals has decreased by more than 36 percent. The decrease is slightly more pronounced among men than among women.
"Those who receive forced care primarily live in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. During the period 2022–2024, it was nearly four times more common with forced care in these areas compared to areas with better socioeconomic conditions," says Daniel Svensson, researcher at the National Board of Health and Welfare, in a press release.
Following a legislative change in 2018 gave social services responsibility for interventions for individuals with problems related to gambling for money, the number of individuals who received interventions has doubled, from nearly 500 to almost 1,000. One quarter of these were women.
Gambling problems rise: Interventions from social services for gambling problems have doubled since 2018 – from nearly 500 to almost 1,000 individuals in 2024.
Forced care decreases: The number of individuals who were forcibly cared for under LVM has decreased from 730 individuals (12 percent) between 2023 and 2024, a trend that has been decreasing since 2000.
Inequitable care: Forced care is nearly four times more common in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas compared to areas with better socioeconomic conditions.
Open interventions dominate: Social services provide increasingly more individually tailored open interventions, while institutional placements decrease.
Source: National Board of Health and Welfare
