Introduction: Due to the aging of the population, the need for preventive health care among the elderly is growing. Preventive visits by community health nurses improve the quality of life of the elderly and can contribute significantly to the increase of knowledge of the elderly and their family members. Purpose: The purpose of the diploma work is to present the contents of preventive visits of community health nurses of elderly persons and to present the competencies of community health nurses in Slovenia. The aim of the diploma work is to describe the Slovenian and Swedish health systems according to preventive home visits of the elderly. Methods: A descriptive method was used in the diploma thesis, with a systematic overview of domestic and foreign literature. After review and analysis of the collected literature, preventive home visits of the elderly in Slovenia and Sweden were compared. 11 units of literature were used in the literature review. Results: After comparing the two health systems, the Slovenian system seems more appropriate in certain segments than the Swedish system, but there is still some potential for improvement. In Slovenia, preventive visits of the elderly are conducted by community health nurses, while in Sweden they are carried out by community health nurses with one additional year of specialty education. The content of the preventive visits in Sweden is more educational, while in Slovenia community health nurses also perform physical examinations and evaluate health and social status of the elderly, as well as evaluate family relationships. In Sweden, community health nurses are more educated, autonomous and have more competencies compared to community health nurses in Slovenia. Discussion and conclusion: Both Slovenia and Sweden are aware of the importance of preventive visits of the elderly by community health nurses, but despite that, there is not enough attention being paid to preventive visits. It is necessary to build on the fact that community health nurses in Slovenia should be more autonomous, thereby acting faster in preventing further health problems in the elderly. This could be accomplished by offering community nurses additional specialty education, enabling them to prescribe medical technical devices and medications from a limited list.
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