Alex Berg: Older Immigrants in Finland May Face Multiple Forms of Social Exclusion

My research on older immigrants in Finland is approaching its final stages. My third and latest manuscript addressed the risk factors for social exclusion among older immigrants. This study focused on exclusion from services and social relations. This study is based on empirical evidence from semi-structured interviews with 26 older immigrants and 19 social and healthcare service providers.

In this blog post, I provide a summary of the findings of this study. The results showed that older immigrants may face racism in public spaces because of their ethnicity, appearance, or religious affiliation. Hidden factors, such as unemployment or being a refugee, can result in exclusion from social relations with Finns when discovered. Minority culture norms and values may impact older immigrants’ social relations with other immigrant groups. For example, shame associated with dementia, mental illness, and depression can limit social relations with other immigrants. Limited social relations can affect older immigrants’ health if they have no one to help them seek healthcare. In addition, care institutions may be viewed as prisons in some cultures, and immigrant communities may avoid the services offered by these institutions. This can, in turn, compromise older immigrants’ health when they do not receive adequate care from their children.

Moreover, negative stereotypes and prejudices in Finnish society can have detrimental effects on older immigrants’ access to social services, healthcare, and public transportation. The study also revealed that, in addition to ethnic Finnish doctors, it may be more common for immigrant doctors to discriminate against other immigrants seeking services. Furthermore, foreign names can trigger the assumption that older immigrants do not speak Finnish, potentially resulting in delays in their access to services. The homogeneous Finnish service system may lack an understanding of the unique situations of some older immigrants, which can result in misunderstandings and unintentional structural discrimination. Although Finnish law prohibits discrimination based on age, origin, language, and religion (see Finnish Equality Act, 1325/2014, Section 8), it may not be effective in addressing negative attitudes or instances of structural discrimination.

Considering these results, this study recommends that professionals avoid misunderstandings and assumptions that can result in exclusion from services. Prejudices in Finnish society must be addressed, and the Finnish government and media must ensure objectivity in their discourse about immigrants and avoid bias to facilitate a change in attitudes.The study also underscores the need for more research on the social exclusion of older immigrants, including other aspects not addressed in this study, such as exclusion from the labor market and civic participation.

This study was conducted within the Neuro-Innovation PhD program, which is funded by the University of Eastern Finland and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 101034307.

For further information, please contact:

Doctoral Researcher Alex Berg, University of Eastern Finland: alex.berg(at)uef.fi

Research article:

Berg, A., Issakainen, M., Montonen, T., Ervasti, K., Solje, E., & Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen, A. (2026). Older Immigrants’ Experiences of Social Exclusion in Finland. Journal of Population Ageing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-026-09541-z