Hardships and difficulties of informal carers supporting people with dementia

Štrancar, Anže (author)

As the population ages, informal care is gaining increasing attention from both researchers and policymakers. The term informal carers refers to family members, friends, or neighbours of people with dementia who provide unpaid assistance and support. This article is based on research data collected as part of a larger research project conducted in Slovenia between 2020 and 2024. The aim of this article is to explore the challenges faced by informal carers supporting people with dementia in Slovenia and to identify the main characteristics of informal care in this context, in comparison to findings from studies in other countries. The data source for this study consists of five interviews with people with dementia and five interviews with informal carers, conducted in various regions of Slovenia over the project’s duration. The findings of the study are consistent with those of research from other countries. For instance, in Slovenia informal caregiving for people with dementia is predominantly carried out by wives and daughters, highlighting a significant gender dimension to informal care. The interviewees reported experiencing similar challenges to those faced by caregivers in other countries. In particular, managing the demanding coordination of informal care with jobs and other responsibilities, such as household chores and family care, was highlighted. They also reported psychological strains associated with this role, noting that its time-consuming nature deprives them of opportunities to care for themselves.

• Language: English
• Keywords: social work, people with dementia, informal care, hardships of informal carers, community care, reproductive work
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FSD - Faculty of Social Work
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2024
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 99-119
• Numbering: God. 17, br. 20
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-167417
• UDC: 364.4:616.892.3
• ISSN on article: 1857-8977
• DOI: 10.37509/socpol24201099sh
• COBISS.SI-ID: 218651139
• Publication date in RUL: 20.02.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Revija za socijalna politika
• Publisher: Fondacija Fridrih Ebert, Filozofski fakultet
• ISSN: 1857-8977
• COBISS.SI-ID: 56251139

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: socialno delo, osebe z demenco, demenca, skupnostna skrb

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: J5-2567-2020
• Name: Dolgotrajna oskrba ljudi z demenco v teoriji in praksi socialnega dela