This master's thesis deals with the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork for the integration of long-term care. It starts with the theoretical introduction, where I present the ageing of population, the needs of old people and long-term care, systemic regulation of long-term care in Slovenia, forms of community services, team and teamwork in general and in social work and social care and interdisciplinary teamwork in long-term care. The research focuses on the formal care providers who were part of a team in integrated care (as a part of a pilot project for redesigning the existing network and introduction of new providers for community services and programmes for the elderly) and employees in social homecare. The aim of the research was to establish to what extent is the interdisciplinary teamwork important from the perspective of the formal care providers who include in their team the beneficiaries of the services as well as their families; what are the roles of the providers and the beneficiaries and their families in the team and how can the interdisciplinary teamwork contribute to integration of long-term care in Slovenia. The research is qualitative; it includes seven formal care providers of different professions. The results have shown that the implementation of the system of long-term care is a complicated process; one of the factors of its successful implementation might be the interdisciplinary teamwork. Professional staff, executive staff as well as care providers in the long-term care system should all be adequately trained for working in teams. The success of teamwork is mainly dependant on the attitude of the members, the equality among them, respect and high work motivation; care providers should also strive for this in their organization. One of the key contributions of teamwork in integrated long-term care is the equivalent role of the beneficiary and their family as members of the team. Interdisciplinary teamwork where the beneficiary plays the central role, where their wishes and needs are met, which also influences their quality of life, can have long-term positive consequences in the field of long-term care; and this should be taken under consideration when implementing the system of integrated long-term care.
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