Dementia, which could also be called a disease of modern times, is primarily present in the elderly population. In spite of the increasing number of the elderly population and consequently more and more people suffering from dementia, the treatment of people with dementia and their relatives in Slovenia is insufficient. Caring for a person with dementia is (especially in later periods) challenging and often places a (too) heavy burden on family caregivers, who most often take on the caring task. The relatives require a great deal of co-ordination, interpersonal communication, emotional support, etc., to care for a person with dementia, which can have a significant impact on family dynamics. The aim of the assignment is to determine the extent to which dementia affects interpersonal family relationships and, in general, the lives of relatives of people with dementia. In the theoretical part of the thesis, I first focus on the basic explanations of dementia and its prevalence in us. Following is a review of the literature on the aging of the population, long-term care and systems of welfare. I also focus on models of understanding dementia (mainly sociological) and conclude with a chapter on the life of people with dementia in a family setting. The latter is most relevant to the studied topic, as it deals with the impact of dementia on interpersonal relationships, the negative aspects of care and the quality of life of family caregivers. Following is an empirical section with an analysis of qualitative interviews that l have conducted with ten family caregivers.
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