Ageing Europeans are today healthier than previous generations and often manage to live independently up to a high age. The proportion of people 80 years of age and older has increased significantly, and with high age the risk of multi-illness and dementia increases. Strong urbanisation processes have changed the demographic structure in rural areas, and young women and men have migrated towards the urban areas to study and work, while older persons have remained behind. This demographic challenge of increasing numbers of persons older than 80 years with care needs living in remote rural areas has become a major European social problem. In tackling this dilemma, many European countries have high expectations for eHealth, digitalisation and welfare technology. In this comparative study of policy debates in Italy, Finland and Sweden, we analyse how – between 2009 and 2019 – the issues of eHealth have been articulated in national and regional policies of the three countries with deep differences in terms of digitalisation and health systems, but with similar ageing populations. We identify in the documents three core topics – the role of technology, the rural issue and responsibility for care. These topics are treated in the documents with differences and similarities between the three countries. Beyond the differences and similarities, the documents reveal both a certain techno-enthusiasm about the role of eHealth in the life of the older adults as well as a limited understanding of the complexity (relationally as well as spatially) of the digital landscape of caring for older adults.

如今，欧洲老龄化人口比前几代人更健康，而且往往能独立生活到高龄。80 岁及以上人口的比例显着增加，随着年龄的增长，患多种疾病和痴呆症的风险增加。强劲的城市化进程改变了农村地区的人口结构，青年男女涌入城市学习和工作，而老年人则留守在后。生活在偏远农村地区的 80 岁以上需要护理的人越来越多，这一人口挑战已成为欧洲的一个主要社会问题。为了应对这一困境，许多欧洲国家对电子医疗、数字化和福利技术寄予厚望。在这项对意大利、芬兰和瑞典的政策辩论的比较研究中，我们分析了在 2009 年至 2019 年期间，电子健康问题如何在这三个国家的国家和区域政策中得到阐述，这三个国家在数字化和卫生系统方面存在很大差异，但人口老龄化程度相似。我们在文件中确定了三个核心主题——技术的作用、农村问题和护理责任。这些主题在文件中处理，这三个国家之间存在差异和相似之处。除了不同点和相似点之外，这些文件还揭示了对电子健康在老年人生活中的作用的某种技术热情，以及对护理数字景观的复杂性（关系和空间）的有限理解。老年人。