Knowledge of dementia and ways of helping them and their family members

POVZETEK Teoretična izhodišča: V razvitem svetu se zaradi izboljševanja življenjskih pogojev in napredka medicine podaljšuje življenjska doba, ki skupaj s stalno nizko rodnostjo vpliva na staranje prebivalstva. Ljudje smo v starosti krhki in dovzetnejši za različne bolezni. Ena od starostnih bolezni je demenca. Osrednji predmet raziskovanja v diplomskem delu je poznavanje demence ter oblik pomoči dementnim osebam in njihovim svojcem. Raziskovalna metodologija: Pri izdelavi diplomskega dela smo uporabili deskriptivno in kvantitativno metodo raziskovanja. Osnovni raziskovalni instrument je bil anketni vprašalnik z 20 vprašanji, raziskovalni vzorec je zajemal 95 anketirancev, raziskava pa je bila opravljena v juniju 2019. Pridobljene rezultate smo obdelali v programu MS Excel in jih prikazali z grafi. Rezultati: Iz rezultatov opravljene raziskave izhaja, da anketiranci sicer poznajo demenco, vendar le do določene mere, zlasti v okviru osnovnih dejstev o bolezni. Najbolje jo poznajo ženske srednjih let, ne glede na izobrazbo. Anketiranci poznajo tudi najosnovnejše oblike pomoči, ki so dementnim osebam in njihovim svojcem na voljo v okviru zdravstvenega varstva, slabše pa poznajo oblike pomoči v okviru socialnega varstva in nevladnih organizacij. Diskusija in zaključek: Kljub zadovoljivemu poznavanju demence in oblik pomoči, ki so na voljo dementnim osebam in njihovim svojcem, to še ne zagotavlja pravočasnega in ustreznega ukrepanja v konkretni situaciji. Glede na to, da imamo kar tretjino možnosti, da se v času življenja srečamo z demenco, ter da sta zgodnja diagnoza in dobra osveščenost o oblikah pomoči pri tej bolezni bistvenega pomena za čim kakovostnejše življenje obolelih in njihovih svojcev, bi bilo smiselno okrepiti preventivne programe s tega področja.ABSTRACT Theoretical background: Improving living conditions and advances in medical science are prolonging the life expectancy in the developed world. Together with a low birth rate this influences the ageing of the population. When humans are older they are more fragile and more susceptible to various diseases. One of these age-related diseases is dementia. The main subject of research in this thesis is the familiarity with dementia and kinds of assistance for people with dementia and their relatives. Research methodology: While working on the thesis we used descriptive and quantitative research methods. The basic research tool was a survey with 20 questions. The research group included 95 respondents and the research was done in June 2019. We processed the results with the program MS Excel and displayed them with graphs. Results: The results of the research show, that the respondents know dementia, however only to a certain extent, especially regarding the basic characteristics of the disease. Middle-aged women were most familiar with the disease, regardless of their education. The respondents also knew the most basic forms of help, which are available for people suffering from dementia and their relatives in the healthcare framework. Respondents were less familiar with forms of help offered in the social protection framework and non-government organizations. Discussion and conclusion: Although the knowledge of dementia and forms of help, which are available for people suffering from dementia and their relatives, was satisfactory, this does not guarantee a timely and proper action in a particular situation. We have a 33 % chance to be confronted with dementia in our lifetime. Early diagnosis and good awareness about the different forms of help, are crucial for a better life quality of the people suffering from dementia and their relatives. For these reasons it would make sense to strengthen preventive programs in this field