| Abstract [eng] |
Kristina Juškė (2023). The need of social services for relatives caring eldery parents at home. Relevance of the research. Ensuring the need for the most necessary social services would not only lead to better emotional and physical health of relatives and better long-term parental care at home but would also strengthen inter-generational communication and connection. This would be a great help to the state, because previously mentioned idea of ensuring the need for the most necessary social services is related to the maintenance costs of elderly people and the needs of creating social institutions to look after them. Problematic research questions: What are the reasons behind the decision of relatives to take care of their parents themselves? What nursing challenges do relatives face when caring for their elderly parents? What social services do relatives who care for their parents or one of their parents receive at home? How does receiving of social services affect caregivers' emotional well-being? For what reasons do relatives who care for their elderly parents not receive social services? The object of the research is social services for relatives caring for their elderly parents or one of their parents. The purpose of the study is to reveal the need for receiving social services of relatives caring for elderly parents at home. Research tasks: 1. To disclose the need for social services to relatives, who care for elderly parents at home, based on scientific literature. 2. Using the structured interview method, collect data on the social services received by relatives, caring for elderly parents or one of the parents at home in Lithuania and Ukraine. 3. By applying the content analysis method, to single out the most necessary social services for relatives due to the specificity of the disease of the person being cared for. 4. Based on the results of the research data, to compare the emotional well-being of relatives who care for parents at home, receiving certain social services (in Lithuania and Ukraine). 5. To offer alternative care recommendations to relatives caring for elderly people at their homes, ensuring a better quality of their own life. Research methodology and methods. The research is based on the theory of symbolic interactionism, the theory of empowerment, and a humanistic approach. Theoretical: analysis of scientific literature. Empirical: a qualitative study using a structured interview method. Analysis of qualitative content. Sample and selection of subjects. 15 Lithuanian and 3 Ukrainian families taking care of elderly parents in their homes participated in the study. Conclusions: The support of relatives is extremely important for relatives who care for elderly parents at home, but so is the welfare policy of social services created by the state. Both in Lithuania and in Ukraine, providing elderly people with the most necessary equipment for their care, assistance in consulting with various nursing hearings is a great support for relatives. Due to the lack of social services, relatives are constantly under tension and stress. Some research participants had not heard anything about the available social services at all. It is useful to consider and strengthen the ways of presenting information. Key words: family, elderly person, nursing, social services. |
