Dipartimento di Culture, Politica e Società

Descrizione del progetto

The Italian population – more than other European peoples - is growing older and becoming frailer; at the same time, national and local governments are very concerned about containing public expenditure. Many Italian regions are pursuing policies designed to encourage people in need to use private and informal sources of help, outside the more traditional public forms of social and health care. In this scenario the project - funded by Piedmont Region – Province of Turin on the European Social Fund (2007-2013) and carried on by the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society - aims to understand the impact of a specific model of welfare mix in the area of  social care, particularly in the care of elderly and frail people. The project, in which this research is inserted, intends to create an integrated system for paid domiciliary care, favouring the link between the needs of elderly people and their kin and the supply of workers in the area of social care (caregivers). The qualitative investigation, conducted  by a research group of the Department, aims to evaluate the satisfaction of families for the efficacy of the public and private territorial job placement structures (Employment Centers, Employment Agencies, Nonprofit Organisations) in the selection of a paid caregiver for elderly and frail people. Data are collected through focus groups and interviews. From the outcomes of this project important guidelines can emerge for, at least, three economic sectors.  On one side, the research, and the whole project of which it is part, can have an important effect on the regularisation of the public and private market of home care. Moreover, this research proposes to  monitor the necessary knowledge and competences for the care of elderly and frail people. This aspect can potentiate the sector devoted to the formation and implementation of competence in the care and domiciliary assistance domain. Finally, the necessity to enrich and integrate the different data set provided by each institution involved in the project (Municipalities, Employment Centers, Employment Agencies, Nonprofit Organisations) might help implement links with industries in the area of ICT.

Foto di: Agnese Samà, Max Ferrero e Davide Giglio