Programme area:
Work-life Balance
Outcome:
Improved work-life balance
Output:
Local systems that support work-life balance established
Project title:
A Hospice Approach to Relieve the Physical and Psychological Burden of Working Men and Women Caring for Terminally Ill and Dying Relatives
Project acronym:
IMRO
Project Promoter:
Slovenian Hospice Society
Project Partners:
Partner 1: Society for Cultural Relations SPES
Partner 2: Municipality of Solčava
Partner 3: Bjerkaker LearningLab (NOR)
Start of the project:
01/07/2022
End of the project:
30/04/2024
Co-financing source:
Norway Grants and corresponding Slovenian contribution
Total eligible project expenditure (EUR):
499,740.00
Project grant (EUR):
499,740.00
Main project results:
Development of an integrated elderly care model in the urban and rural environment (day care center); design of a programme supporting functioning of the integrated elderly care model; design of a certificate and pilot testing of the certificate “Compassionate Company”; education/training of working men and women to promote reconciliation of family and work life with an emphasis on informal caregiving.
Project summary:
In Slovenia, around 200,000 family members take care of an elderly, chronically ill, dying or disabled relative every week. Informal caregivers relieve the health systems by contributing to the care for the elderly, but they are often overlooked in the care system. Faced with work overloads, lack of professional support and a helping hand, informal caregivers find themselves experiencing heavy burden. Work demands are often a cause of distress for informal caregivers who work and care for a family member at the same time. Also, informal caregivers experience work interference and conflicts between obligations towards the employer and the family member (caring for a disabled or ill relative, caring for a child etc.). The main goal of the project is to offer relief to working men and women in the role of informal caregivers of the elderly, chronically ill or of dying family member in different environments. The project deals with a recurring problem associated with the growing population ageing. Ultimately, the project aims to introduce an integrated approach to tackling the multidimensional issue of informal caregiving which is directly linked to the inadequately regulated field of care for the elderly, dying and chronically ill individuals. The approach is a novelty in Slovenia and represents an integrated, well-planned and organized model which enables safe flexibility for support, collaboration and inclusion of all key stakeholders – informal caregivers in urban and rural environments, the elderly or the chronically ill and dying, employers and the wider general and professional public.