Ingemar Kåreholt

Research Summary

Ingemar "Pingo" Kåreholt, Professor of Gerontology, Jönköping University

Overall Research Focus

During the past years, my research has combined a life-course perspective on ageing, work, stress, and health, with a growing focus on digital innovation and quality improvement in eldercare. My work integrates quantitative longitudinal analysis of large register and cohort datasets (SWEOLD, CAIDE, FINGER, and national registers) with applied and co-produced research involving care professionals, municipalities, and regions.
Thematically, my research bridges social epidemiology, psychosocial working life research, and gerontological intervention studies, contributing both to theoretical understanding and practical implementation in health and social care for older adults.
 
Main Research Themes

1. Psychosocial Work Environment, Stress, and Ageing

A central strand of my work investigates how working conditions, stress exposure, and socioeconomic position across the life course shape late-life physical and cognitive functioning.
Findings have been published in Social Science & Medicine (2025), Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics (2023), and Scandinavian Journal of Public Health (2024).
This line of research gained wide media attention in 2023, with coverage in over 60 national and regional outlets (SVT, Sveriges Radio, TV4, etc.), highlighting how poor work environments predict poorer health decades later.

2. Digitalisation and Person-Centred Care

My more recent research expands into digital health technologies and co-production in dementia care.
The MISU and Daily-BPSD projects develop and evaluate digital tools to support daily monitoring of behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD).
These studies apply mixed-methods and participatory design, strengthening implementation relevance.
Findings have been presented internationally (e.g., GSA 2023, HAN University 2024) and to Swedish health authorities such as Region Jönköping and SALAR.

3. Socioeconomic Conditions, Life-Course Stress, and Cognitive Ageing

Collaborations with Karolinska Institutet, University of Eastern Finland, and the FINGER group (Kivipelto, Solomon, Sindi) explore how financial and psychosocial stressors in midlife affect later-life brain health.
Recent key articles include Advances in Life Course Research (2025) and Social Science & Medicine (2025).
These studies emphasize modifiable social and lifestyle factors influencing cognitive and physical ageing trajectories.

4. Inequality and Access to Care

I contribute to large register-based analyses examining educational and income-related inequalities in dementia diagnostics, treatment, and long-term care.
Findings published in Social Science & Medicine – Population Health and Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (2023–2024) highlight structural inequities within the Swedish welfare system.

5. Leadership and Psychosocial Work Environment in Elder Care

Together with colleagues at Jönköping University, my studies show how leadership and team climate affect both staff well-being and care recipients’ satisfaction in home care and nursing homes.
 
Overall Description

My research over the last five years demonstrates a unique integration of longitudinal epidemiology, social gerontology, and applied digital innovation. I have advanced understanding of how social and work-related inequalities accumulate across the life course while simultaneously developing practical tools to improve dementia care.
By combining strong international collaboration (e.g., FINGER, ARC, KI) with regional partnerships (ARN-Jönköping, Geriatrikum, SALAR), my work bridges the gap between research, policy, and practice, strengthening Jönköping University’s national and international visibility in gerontological research.