A large proportion of older people wish to stay at home in their old age, which is only possible with appropriate help and support. The progression of the disease can lead to increasingly burdensome care, as a person with dementia becomes more dependent on external help. In the theoretical part of my thesis, I first defined dementia, its symptoms, and possible types of care. I then described informal assistance in a rural environment, where I place my population. After that, I wrote about the support given to families of people with dementia, their needs, and the needs of informal caregivers, and finally, I defined social work with people with dementia. Relatives who take care of people with dementia alongside their jobs and other obligations are called informal caregivers. Informal caregivers can provide better and higher quality care for a person with dementia if they have enough information and knowledge, which I also aimed to determine with my thesis. In the qualitative research, I focused on informal caregivers who care for a person with dementia in a rural environment, which is also my population. I investigated how they balance their own needs with those of the caregiver and who provides them with help and support in this. I was also interested in the challenges and difficulties informal caregivers face in providing care, who helps them, and where they get the necessary information.
I found that informal caregivers see home care as something taken for granted and expected in advance. They prioritize the person with dementia, often neglecting their own needs, which leads to overburdening and distress, with close family providing support. My research revealed that there is a lack of formal forms of assistance in rural areas. When informal caregivers first encounter the diagnosis of dementia, they have very little knowledge about it, later learning mostly through the internet. I suggest more awareness and information about dementia, as it remains a taboo topic.
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