DIGITRAINING

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [Digital Training for Social and Healthcare Home Staff in Emergency Situations 2021-1-ES01-KA220-VET-000030279] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

 

In most countries in the world and during the last decades, relevant changes have been observed at the socio-demographic level. Among the most significant, it is worth highlighting a pronounced and growing increase in life expectancy. In other words and more synthetically, the population is living longer and the available projections suggest that this trend will continue in the short/medium term future. The fact that the population enjoys a longer life should undoubtedly be considered a positive outcome due to the interrelated impact of various factors (including the better design and performance of health and social protection systems, the greater presence of healthier habits among citizens or the proliferation of scientific advances in every sense, such as new types of medications and alternative therapies.

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However, this increase in life cycle poses a number of challenges that cannot be ignored. Within them, living longer does not imply that the quality with which one lives is always the same; On the contrary, increasing age is associated with an increase in the probability of suffering from various and heterogeneous pathologies to which health systems must respond. These health systems are at the crossroads of having to respond to this growing "demand" for care and social care with permanent limitation of resources. The available evidence also shows how a large proportion of public health spending is due to this older segment of the population and, therefore, has a greater number of needs that, at the same time, are the most costly.

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In this context, home care has proven to be a valid and accepted alternative to face this increase in demand in a more efficient and satisfactory way for all actors: both for users and for the system. On the one hand, when the user/patient receives care at home, said patient feels more comfortable; On the other hand, not resorting to the use of medical care resources (primary care centers, specialized hospitals, nursing homes, among others) when it is not necessary means saving resources and optimizing the available means (for those users who do). need).

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Empirical evidence and reference literature on the topic "defend" the home as the most appropriate environment for the user, unless it is not possible (because hospitalization is required or due to other contextual elements of the user/system that disable the possibility of staying at home) and consider it the one that allows a more efficient use of the resources available for the health and social protection systems.