Institute for home care Ljubljana was established in 2002. Its main activities are development of various types of home health care from past 25 years. Institute was funded by the Municipality of Ljubljana. Since its establishment acts as a public institution from the area of social care.

Services of domestic care (public service) are co-financed by local community in the height of 80%, and the rest is paid by user. Main and regular activity of the institute are services of social care that include every-day needs of users: assistance in daily tasks, household assistance and help in maintaining social contacts.
Social service, which is not a public service and is therefore fully paid by the users is contained from assistance in domestic and other chores in the event of disability, ageing, illness, accidents and other cases where such assistance is necessary to include people in everyday life. It includes pedicure, hairdressing, general cleaning, escort, etc.

The purpose of our work is therefore to ensure aid and quality life at user’s home. To provide users with care that ensures them longer stay in home environment, preventing loneliness and relief of their relatives. The vision of the institute is to become a centre for elders, where various forms of assistance (both direct and indirect), information, advices, support and professional assistance for them and their families is offered at one place. Institute provides all described care with a capacity of 130 employed workers. Applicant has all technical knowledge and equipment to ensure smooth implementation of all activites.

Applicant and initiator of the project, Institute for home care Ljubljana bears full responsibility for the realisation of the project activities, coordination among project partners and reports to the eligible authority on the progress of the project.

The reason for the application of this project is based on long-term experience of the Institute that showed that users beside services of domestic care and social services on their home need and are willing to benefit from more services. Among them we have identified the most important ones: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, nursing and speech pathology. The implementation of these activities will be (besides management and coordination of the project), biggest contribution of the applicant. In order to achieve stated objectives, applicant will employ six persons for full time and one for 10% of working time. All new employees will be required to meet the criteria for job posted and have relevant experience in the area of elderly care.

In addition to new employments, applicant will also purchase all necessary equipment, stated in this application form and take proper care for its maintenance and use. In accordance with tender documentation, the applicant will assure that all the equipment is properly ensured, listed in the book of fixed assets and will own it for at least five years after the conclusion of the project.

Applicant will, at the end of the project publish a publication with description of the project, its partners and all the results in Slovene and English language. Publication will (together with the web-page) on one place unite all key information and project results and will therefore enable their dispersion in other towns and countries.

The contribution will be mainly expert-scientific oriented. It will be based on the implementation of the mass measurement of users with mobile laboratories in order to set up normative values of physiological tests. Based on these tests intervention programs aimed at improving the effectiveness of exercises for elderly will be performed. Furthermore this partner will organise seminars with the aim of further training of professionals. In addition, the partner will be also included in informing general public via project web site and preparation of publication. Partner will also attend the final conference of the project.

Contribution would be based on training students in the field of clinical training. Students of 3^rd year, practically just before entering the labour market, would within the project perform mandatory internship. Tasks would include areas of nursing, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Professional contact of students with older people who need assistance will be an important contribution to intergenerational solidarity and the impact on strengthening the values ​​of young people. At the same time this would be their professional intervention that works both curative and preventive, each within their professional competence.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: Ten students (200 hours) and a mentor for clinical training (100 hours) will be implemented in the user’s home work – therapeutic intervention. On the research field, the Department of occupational therapy (students and teachers) will analyze the living environment regarding architectural barriers and identifying risk factors for falls and how to prevent them.

PHYSIOTHERAPY: Ten students (200 hours) and a mentor for clinical training (100 hours) will, at the user’s home perform physical therapy. Assessment of health-related physical fitness will be based on a group of functional tests that are feasible at home (Senior Fitness Test (Rikli and Jones, 2002)). After completing physiotherapy treatment, the same group of tests will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. Indicator of the effectiveness of the training program will also be the number of falls and their consequences. On the end, each individual will get “Diary of falls.”

HEALTH CARE: Twenty students (400 hours) and two tutors (200 hours) will at the user’s home perform nursing interventions. In the implementation process of nursing, students and clinical mentor will work closely together with other expert workers in order to ensure synergies between operations, a greater degree of independence and quality of life of the user and his family. The final evaluation of the services will be performed along with students and mentors in the observed performance of health care services under the project.

The partnership of the City federation of pensioners Ljubljana is very important for the project. Its members are part of the project’s target group and the final users of its services. Federation is the link that the programs, once prepared will have actual users. Partner will, within the framework of its international involvement, present project and its content at the meetings of related associations at European level. He will also, in accordance with his regular activities, inform members of federation about the options within the project that are provided free of charge.

The partner’s contribution will be based on interventions in terms of adjustment of the living environment to the needs of older people, which will lead to greater security and the ability to make a longer independent life of older people. At the activities, selected students of 3^rd year will participate, who have already acquired all the basic knowledge and practical experience and are about to enter the labour market.  Students will be part of the project to manage the mandatory practice. Under the guidance of a mentor, they will elaborate plans for the renovation of living quarters. Students will come into contact with the elderly at home will contribute to intergenerational solidarity and the impact on strengthening the values ​​of young people. In addition, students will gain valuable practical experience and possible job opportunities in this field after the end of the project.

The department of interior decoration will be actively involved in the project. Treatment of individuals older than 65 years will be individual. With the advice and implementation plans we will make suggestions on how to adjust lounge needs of the elderly in order to reduce the possibility of accidents to health problems, in order to facilitate the performance of older everyday tasks and enable them to maximize independence. This will contribute to a higher quality of life and lower costs for health care and treatment.

At the end of the project, partner will present professional publication, which will collect tips and examples of good practices in renovation of housing for the elderly.

Informing the public about the project: Using existing media channels available at the municipality in order to inform the public about the beginning of the project, its progress and the final results. With the help of these activities, the general public will gain knowledge and awareness on project’s value.

Partner will also organize workshops and presentations at two festivals and roundtables in the city quarters, and the final conference. With this partner, project gains high-quality service provider and is in contact with a very wide audience.

The current project is related to the research group Aging, health and welfare, Department of physiotherapy, see http://www.hioa.no/eng/Research-and-Development/Our-research/Research-at-the-Faculty-of-Health-Sciences/Forskningsgrupper-ved-Fakultet-for-helsefag/Ageing-Health-and-Welfare . This research group share a common orientation in studying challenges related to ‘knowledge translation’, meta-perspectives on different types of knowledge, ethnicity, ethics, service delivery, social inequality, quality of life, nutrition, health, and functioning and ageing in a holistic perspective – i.e. both biological ageing, health related ageing, psychological ageing, and social conditions associated with ageing. For example, research investigations are tied to different (physical, psychological and social) functions’ relation to the course of ageing and individual characteristics as well as characteristics of surrounding environments. The need to ensure that research into older peoples’ health is effectively translated to policy and practice is immediate and will increase as populations’ age is a key frame for the group’s work. In brief, the research activities can be described as: (1) Research related to the variation in the ageing processes due to factors such as function, quality of life, health, coping, biological, psychological ageing and social conditions; (2) The aging society related to age, integration, environment and technology; (3) Interventions and activities.

The researchers utilize a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods, consists of different disciplines such as physiotherapy, clinical nutrition, physiology, behavioral biology, sociology, social anthropology and professional knowledge, The research group Aging, health and welfare has earlier participated in several related EU-projects: (1) Building Policy Capacities for Health Promotion through Physical Activity among Sedentary Older People (EU-EAHC-Health programme) (2) Infrastructures for Leisure-Time Physical Activity in the Local Arena (EU-EAHC-Health programme) (3) European Network for Action on Ageing and Physical Activity (EU-PHEA- Health programme) (4) Prevention of Falls Network Europe Thematic Network (FP5 network)