Since aging is a part of life that leads to irreversible changes, the social welfare institutions should apply a multidisciplinary approach and fulfill physical, spiritual, psychological, cultural and other social needs to provide ability for an independent life.
The institutional forms of care for older persons are just as necessary as all other forms of treatment. The aging process depends on the genetic characteristics and it is certain that being old is not related to the age, but to the degree of physical and mental disorders. The concept of aging is still not sufficiently defined and determined. Many elderly people do not match with their biological age and there are big individual differences. The main goal of social work with the elderly is to establish the social and emotional balance that will allow active involvement in life and adjustment to life crises.
Social work with the elderly must be filled with love, patience, understanding, to convince them that they are still appreciated and respected. Socialization and adaptation processes are highly individualized and determined by proper diagnosis, social and psychological status, and objective assessment. The social work should ensure the social security and establish social contacts. The acceptance and understanding of the elderly needs is often more precious than anything else. They should be approached without prejudice, with complete respect for their personality and difficulties.
Social protection
The social worker of the nursing home LUG takes a variety of activities and initiatives to improve the environment in which our customers spend their days, in order to achieve the optimal quality of life. In support of the previous, we can say that the social worker has specific tasks related to:
- a life adjustment of old persons to the nursing home. This includes full activity in the field of socialization and adaptation of new users to recognize the nursing home as their new "home" and the staff as their "second family". Enrichment of social life includes: sightseeing tours of the Serbian cultural and natural heritage, visits the theater performances and other cultural events, and organizing various entertainment activities (celebrations in major holidays, various competitions in accordance with user preferences, etc.).
- Social services that provide information and assistance in achieving legal and social security (application for assistance and care, meeting committee to provide expertise, registration and cancellation of residence, providing other forms of assistance and information relevant to social and legal security).
- Preserving and encouraging users to contact the closest members of their family (mediation to resolve possible conflicts, motivating family to stronger and more effective support in order to create a warm relationship between the beneficiaries and their loved ones).
- Monitoring changes in psycho-social status of users, recognize and prevent uncertainty, anxiety, feelings of rejection and loneliness, as well as informe the closest relatives.
- Cooperation with other institutions relevant to health, social and legal status of users (hospitals, pension fund branch, police departments, centers for social work and other).
