More and more people are staying in their home environment, with the help of close family members, neighbours or friends. However, because the people who provide help do not bear such a burden, they often use help at home. This is done by formal caregivers, at the user's home, and the help process itself is individually tailored to the needs and wishes of the user.
In my diploma thesis I focused on the home help service in the municipality of Medvode. I wanted to find out if users are satisfied with the care available and if there is anything they would like to change. A large part of care is also provided by caregivers, so in my research I also focused on them. I was interested in whether there are problems they face in the field and how they deal with these problems, how they resolve them. In addition, I was also interested in their suggestions for improving care.
The results of the survey showed that users are satisfied with the service itself. The only thing that bothers them is that they receive care only a few times a week, not every day, and that the caregivers change. Therefore, they suggested increasing the number of hours and the continuity of caregivers as opportunities for improvement.
Among the problems they most often face in the field, the employees I interviewed highlighted the desire of users to work with the caregivers in question. They also say that they often meet users who do not want help. These problems are most often solved through communication. Education, both theoretical and practical, also helps them to solve this problem. Their suggestions for improving the service thus include more training and an increase in the number of employees. This would relieve the burden on existing employees and increase the quality of the service provided. They also want higher wages and more days off.
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