In the theory section of my master's thesis, I describe the issue of aging population in modern society, the definition of long-term care in Slovenia and the providers of care for older people. I continue by defining the term dementia, presenting the epidemiological data on the prevalence of dementia, the types of dementia and the impact of dementia on the lives of people with dementia and their loved ones. I also describe the forms of assistance available to informal caregivers and the role of social work in the informal care of people with dementia. In the research section I present a qualitative study I conducted that involved 14 informal caregivers of people with dementia from several different localities in Slovenia. In the study I looked at the informal caregivers' experiences when caring for people with dementia, what they need to make caring for a relative with dementia easier, and what their attitudes are towards training aimed at informal caregivers. Since technological development has facilitated a variety of technological support services, I also examined their attitudes towards technology, their familiarity with technological forms of assistance and whether they make use of them. I was also interested in whether they would be willing to try out new, online forms of assistance developed on the basis of their stated needs. The findings show that the experience of caring for a person with dementia changes the caregiver’s life in numerous ways, both positive and negative. The availability of help is an important factor for informal caregivers caring for a person at home. They would like the home help service to be available for more hours/several times a week, and they would like financial support so that they are able to afford it. The informal caregivers, so long as they have the support of family and/or friends, do not feel the need for training and lectures and support groups. The informal caregivers are familiar with technology and the possibilities of technological assistance for the older people. They have an unfavourable view of such technological forms of assistance, fearing the possibility of the technology failing at a critical moment. They feel that new generations of informal caregivers will be able to make better use of the technological forms of support, being already more immersed in the technology and more intimately familiar with it. Based on the findings and conclusions, I propose establishing a registry of informal caregivers who care for a person with dementia on their own, providing support to those whose caregiver role has concluded (because the person with dementia has either died or moved to a home for older people), the development of a common portal (or app) providing relevant dementia-related information and setting up temporary accommodation for people with (advanced) dementia, as well as a mobile unit providing relatives/caregivers advice and education in care of a person with dementia.
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