In developed world, because of aging population, there is a growth in need for elderly care. In Slovenia, the system for long-term care in no sufficiently organized and most often too expensive. This leads to a increase of informal caregivers, especially family members.
In my thesis I am focusing on experiences and challenges of informal caregivers, who are most often employed middle aged persons. I was interest in their form of support, what is their motivation and how they see their role, what kind of relationship they have with care-dependent person and what kind of experience they have with formal support. I wanted to highlight the importance of their role, which is most often overlooked in the system of long-term care.
In literature review I described period of old age, aging process, needs of a senior person, social network, intergenerational solidarity and long-term care with an emphasis on the informal type of help. Understanding these topics seems crucial for appreciation of the role of informal care-givers.
In qualitative research I used semi-structure interviews to collect experiences of informal caregivers, who offer support and care to their elder relatives or acquaintances; the reasons and needs of elder people, which lead to their long-term care. I was interested in the motives of informal care-givers and how they organize the care they offer. In addition, I focused on relationship between care-givers and care-recipients, on their level of knowledge about possibilities of formal support and what are their experiences with this kind of services. I researched if the informal care-givers have suitable skills for providing sufficient care, how they see their role and what kind of challenges they might face.
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