In contemporary society, the term long-term care has become very important. We acknowledge the need for a long-term care that enables the older people and the people with dementia to stay in their domestic environment as long as they can take care of themselves or are helped by relatives. In order for the people with dementia to stay in their domestic environment, it is necessary to recognize their needs and capabilities. It important to support the person’s social network and to use all the possibilities of home care, that they are entitled to. Social workers have an important role helping people with dementia and their loved ones. They make sure that all the involved in the process of offering help get all the information about their rights and where to turn for help. Furthermore, they are active and help make the person with dementia the most important in the process. In order to enable people with dementia to stay in their domestic environment as long as possible, a map of long-term care for people with dementia has to be established, which shows which organizations can help, coordinate and monitor a person with dementia in their domestic environment. Only this way, the individualization of long-term care is put in the foreground. The purpose of the master thesis was to determine the needs of older people and the people with dementia in the municipalities Slovenj Gradec, Maribor and Žalec, find out what the current trends of helping people with dementia are, and what vision of helping the older people and the people with dementia these municipalities pursuit. The study shows, that people with dementia have a high need for help that enables them to stay longer in their domestic environment. Because of the lack of this kind of help the distress of relatives is very big. The relatives and the employees need information about dementia, how to recognize dementia and how to take care of a person with dementia. There is also a need for a clear and comprehensive law, that puts people with the dementia in the foreground. I saw the need for connecting and coordinating organizations at carrying out services, which would enable the people with dementia to receive the needed services and help. There is a need for new forms of services which should be adapted to the needs of people with dementia and their relatives.
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