FRIDE - Voluntary effort in caring for people with dementia
Background
The proportion of elderly people in the population is increasing, and the demographic changes present state authorities, municipalities and the voluntary sector with new challenges within the health and care sector. The municipal health and care services alone will not be able to ensure a dignified old age for all people living at home with dementia.
In various political planning documents and strategies, volunteering is highlighted as an important resource for increasing people's well-being and quality of life. The quality reform for the elderly - Live all your life points out that the volunteers are important partners, and it is emphasized that the welfare challenges are not a responsibility that the public can take on alone. Volunteers must be a supplement to the offer the health and care services must provide, and must not replace statutory duties. A challenge can still be the border crossings between what should be the tasks of health and care personnel, and what can be the contribution of volunteers - in a sector that is under pressure for time and finances. Although there are great ambitions and expectations for the voluntary sector in elderly care, including dementia care, research on this topic is very limited in the Nordic countries.
This doctoral project has a gender perspective and will particularly investigate the importance of voluntary efforts for people living at home with dementia and their relatives, and identify which factors respectively promote and inhibit the development and establishment of such a voluntary care practice.
The study examines how voluntary efforts in home-based dementia care can be organized in the best possible way, and what value voluntary efforts have for people with dementia, their relatives and the municipal dementia care, as well as which factors promote and inhibit voluntary care for people living at home with dementia.
About the project
The project's partial studies and research questions
The project consists of three sub-studies, one of which, through the following research questions, examines the experiences and perspectives of people with dementia who receive voluntary efforts, their relatives, volunteers and volunteer coordinators:
Substudy 1
What motivates volunteers in dementia care to take on this role - and what motivates them to continue or stop volunteering? What experiences do volunteers have in their role as caregivers for people living at home with dementia? Are there particular dilemmas that arise? What contributes to promoting a good relationship, and good care, for people with dementia - and what can make such a relationship/care difficult?
Part study 2
What attitudes do people living at home with dementia have towards people who want to take on the role of volunteer? What role can volunteers have in the daily life of people living at home with dementia? What characterizes a good relationship between people with dementia and the volunteer and how can such a relationship be developed? What can lead to people living at home with dementia not wanting to receive an offer of a volunteer?
Part study 3
What attitudes do relatives of people with dementia living at home have towards working with a voluntary visiting friend? How can volunteers be a support to the next of kin in their life situation? What expectations and needs do relatives have for volunteering? What contributes to promoting good cooperation between relatives and volunteers, and what contributes to making such cooperation difficult?
Cooperation
Universitetet i Bergen
Verdighetsenteret
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