Presentation of the results of the study on the satisfaction and quality of life of clients in the area of "assisted living" of the Austrian Red Cross in the context of the ÖRK symposium on 24 May 2022 in Klagenfurt.

The Austrian Red Cross offers "assisted living" services as part of its comprehensive care and support services. This enables the clients to lead a self-determined and safe life in a vital social environment. The Red Cross aims to continuously develop the assisted living services. For this purpose, it is important to understand how the current offer is accepted by the clients and where there is still potential for improvement. This is the main objective of the study we conducted on behalf of the Red Cross. Furthermore, the study investigated the impact of the assisted living services on the quality of life of the clients.

For this purpose, a survey of the residents of the "assisted living" sector in Lower Austria and Styria was conducted. The aim was to conduct a full survey in the six Red Cross assisted living facilities in Lower Austria and the eleven facilities in Styria. The survey was conducted in writing in autumn 2021. Among other things, the satisfaction of the clients with the currently available services of the Red Cross and their quality of life were surveyed. In order to ultimately be able to address the influence of the restrictions of the Covid 19 pandemic and the associated changes in "assisted living", the survey also dealt in part with current social events. These aspects were particularly important for the assessment of the clients' quality of life and the impact of the covid 19 pandemic on their living situation.

The survey showed a very high overall satisfaction with the assisted living services. The increased satisfaction of the clients with their own life as a whole and with their living situation after moving into the assisted living facility clearly show the positive influence of the service on the clients.

The results of the study were presented at the annual GSD spring conference of the Austrian Red Cross, which took place in Klagenfurt between 23 and 24 May. Other exciting items on the agenda of the expert conference were the presentation and discussion of the measures for care reform presented by the federal government as well as a World Café on various current social issues, such as violence against women and older people, the Ukraine conflict or the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on the social sector.