Facing the ageing population challenges of the 21st-century, & the dependency or need of support from people who have chronic diseases, mental disorders, or other incapacitated illness, the provision of care is becoming one of the most important occupations. However, estimates suggest that as much as 80% of care across the EU is provided by informal carers which are at least twice as many as the formal carers.
Despite the challenges/needs that this occupation may have, initiatives to increase the training opportunities for carers remain extremely fragmented in the EU. Moreover, it is well known the need for the formal recognition of the provision of care as a paid profession, through the validation of an occupational profile.
Combining the efforts of organizations from different countries, with different cultural background, history and experience will bring the diversity and richness of experiences, which will be beneficial to yielding more qualitative results, than potential separate regional approaches.
Recognizing these needs, our project will develop learning outcomes-oriented content in the four Universities of the partnership: Santa Maria Health School Coruña University, Ljubljana University and Jagiellonian University.
Goals
The main objective of the GivingCare is to empower formal & informal personal caregivers & personal assistants, & other health professionals, by developing technical, soft & digital skills, responding to the gap in the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) provision, through the design & implementation of an innovative Continuous Education Programme (CEP) & respective materials/resources, based on independent modules. Our project seeks:
- Develop and promote a professional occupational profile for personal caregivers and personal assistants fostering their social and professional recognition
- Promote the role of informal personal caregivers and personal assistants at today’s society
- Empower them to better provide care to persons in need while taking care of themselves
- Modernize the academic offer responding to today’s societal challenges and needs
- Generate awareness to ageing and ageing-related diseases and need of providing care to the individuals in need
- Offer personal caregivers and personal assistants the capacity of recognizing their add-value role and limitations during the care process
- Empower health-related professionals to provide formal care
- Provide digital skills to personal caregivers and personal assistants
- Use of digital devices and solutions that will allow them to exploit the potential for everyday life
Direct Target Groups
informal personal caregivers and personal assistants
- formal personal caregivers and personal assistants
- health professionals in general (nurses, therapists, etc) willing to up/re-skill their knowledge and embrace a new career option;
- associations/NGOs/business proving care services (houses of mercy, day centres, etc.) and/or supporting ill, disabled or incapacitated individuals and/or their families
- associations/NGOs supporting carers;
- higher education providers in the health sector
- decision-makers, including employment services and national ministries responsible for the recognition of professional occupations
Indirect Target Groups
- adult education providers;
- families of individuals in need of care;
- individuals in need of care.