<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec id="j_sjph-2021-0024_s_006">
<h3>Background</h3>
<p>Slovenia is an aging society. Social security expenditures for the elderly are rising steadily, and the majority of Slovenians are firmly convinced that the state must provide elder care. This situation means that informal caregivers face many challenges and problems in their altruistic mission.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="j_sjph-2021-0024_s_007">
<h3>Objectives</h3>
<p>To explore the experiences and feelings of informal caregivers and to provide an understanding of how informal caregivers support the elderly and what challenges and difficulties they face in Slovenian society.</p></sec>
<sec id="j_sjph-2021-0024_s_008">
<h3>Methods</h3>
<p>The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with 10 caregivers. In addition to descriptive statistics, we conducted a qualitative study using the qualitative content analysis method.</p></sec>
<sec id="j_sjph-2021-0024_s_009">
<h3>Results</h3>
<p>We identified four themes among health caregivers’ experiences with challenges and problems in providing long-term health care for the elderly. Caregivers pointed out that they are mostly left to themselves and their altruistic mission of giving informal long-term care to their elderly relatives and friends. Systemic regulation of the national public health care system is the source of many problems.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="j_sjph-2021-0024_s_010">
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>Other social systems determine and limit the position of informal caregivers in Slovenia. This qualitative study should be understood as useful stepping-stone to future research and real improvement in this area.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Background
Slovenia is an aging society. Social security expenditures for the elderly are rising steadily, and the majority of Slovenians are firmly convinced that the state must provide elder care. This situation means that informal caregivers face many challenges and problems in their altruistic mission.


Objectives
To explore the experiences and feelings of informal caregivers and to provide an understanding of how informal caregivers support the elderly and what challenges and difficulties they face in Slovenian society.

Methods
The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with 10 caregivers. In addition to descriptive statistics, we conducted a qualitative study using the qualitative content analysis method.

Results
We identified four themes among health caregivers’ experiences with challenges and problems in providing long-term health care for the elderly. Caregivers pointed out that they are mostly left to themselves and their altruistic mission of giving informal long-term care to their elderly relatives and friends. Systemic regulation of the national public health care system is the source of many problems.


Conclusion
Other social systems determine and limit the position of informal caregivers in Slovenia. This qualitative study should be understood as useful stepping-stone to future research and real improvement in this area.

Informal care in the context of long-term health care for the elderly in Slovenia: A qualitative study

Slovenian Journal of Public Health

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Neformalna oskrba v okviru dolgotrajne zdravstvene oskrbe starejših v Sloveniji: Kvalitativna študija

Background
Slovenia is an aging society. Social security expenditures for the elderly are rising steadily, and the majority of Slovenians are firmly convinced...

Informal care in the context of long-term health care for the elderly in Slovenia: A qualitative study

Article Category: Original scientific article

Published Online: Jun 28, 2021

Page range: 167 - 175

Received: Jan 04, 2021

Accepted: Jun 01, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2021-0024

Keywords
caregivers, long-term health care, elderly, elder care, Slovenia, qualitative study

© 2021 National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Informal care in the context of long-term health care for the elderly in Slovenia: A qualitative study

Article Category: Original scientific article

Published Online: Jun 28, 2021

Page range: 167 - 175

Received: Jan 04, 2021

Accepted: Jun 01, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2021-0024

Keywordscaregivers, long-term health care, elderly, elder care, Slovenia, qualitative study

© 2021 National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
caregivers, long-term health care, elderly, elder care, Slovenia, qualitative study