The Red Cross of Serbia held a training for 14 educators of the Red Cross of Montenegro and municipal branches of the Red Cross Bar, Bijelo Polje, Cetinje and Niksic in the period from May 27 to 29 in Sutomore, focusing on the topic „Support to informal caregivers“. This was an activity envisaged within the framework of cooperation within the project „Addressing and preventing care needs through innovative community care Centres (I-CCC)“ supported by the European Union and co-financed by the Austrian Development Agency and which strengthens local communities to support older persons, especially those diagnosed with dementia, through innovative approaches.

The objective of the training was to acquire knowledge in the field of basic principles of care provided by family and informal caregivers, with the awareness that they are the ones who spend the most time with older persons and persons diagnosed with dementia and that they need to be aware of the most common problems and changes brought by the older age and cognitive decline, as well as the most common emergencies for older persins. The training placed great emphasis on communication skills, essential for this type of care, especially if caring for a person diagnosed with dementia. In addition, it dealt with the prevention of falls, maintaining personal hygiene of beneficiaries and, no less important, the prevention of burnout syndrome in caregivers themselves, which can seriously affect the quality of care, the health of the caregiver and the risk of abuse.

The training was developed and delivered by the Red Cross of Serbia experts, Natasa Todorovic and Dr. Milutin Vračević.