Ageing population is the greatest challenge facing modern society. Europe, including Slovenia, is also facing a declining birth rate. In order to ensure a quality old age for the elderly, we several forms of social services that provide care even in the autumn of life. Although institutional (residential) care is still the predominant form, society is increasingly focusing on alternatives to ensure that old people remain in their home environment for as long as possible. In my master's thesis I focused on my local environment, the municipalities of Ribnica and Sodražica, where the Centre for Social Work Osrednja Slovenija - zahod, enota Ribnica has been providing social care services to families at home since 1993. In this thesis, I was interested in why the users decided to use the home care service, whether their needs are met and how they evaluate the individual support services and their relationship with the providers. I was also interested in what suggestions users have for improving the service itself and, ultimately, what they would like to see to meet their needs. In the theoretical part, I defined in more detail the problems of ageing, defined informal and formal carers and presented the legal basis of home care services. I then sought the views of users through questionnaires and interviews. I have analysed and presented the results in more detail. Home care users are overwhelmingly satisfied with the service and see it as a great help to remain independent in their home environment for longer. There are not many opportunities for socialising in the local environment and they miss the possibility of day care. Improvements have focused more on the quality of the lunch and the increased presence of social carers, who are severely understaffed due to the norms.
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