Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE GDM1010

 
TITLE Interprofessional and Integrated Care in Old Age

 
UM LEVEL 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 8

 
DEPARTMENT Gerontology and Dementia Studies

 
DESCRIPTION The study-unit will develop in students an understanding of the roles of health care professionals working with older persons within a geriatric team. The rationale and composition of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary team collaborations to achieve integrated and person-centred care will be highlighted. Services and organisational arrangements for the older persons be them living in the community or long-term care will set the backdrop for social and health care practices within the context of the emerging new realities for ageing societies.

Study-unit Aims:

- To explain the diversity of services available to older persons with different levels of dependence, physical and/or cognitive;
- To examine the stages of care that an older person in need generally goes through, from home care to acute care to rehabilitative care to long-term care;
- To demonstrate how integrated, person-centred care required by the older persons in any stage the persons may find themselves is central to ensuring optimal quality of life;
- To familiarise students with the roles of different health care professionals working with older persons;
- To distinguish between different models of geriatric health care teams; and
- To help students appreciate how multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary geriatric teams can work effectively in practice.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- indicate the health care professionals working in geriatric teams and describe their role;
- compare between different models of geriatric health care teams and how they can be applied in practice;
- discuss the characteristics that make up effective team functioning;
- describe the extent to which an individual is able to contribute to their own service planning and how relevant are available services to older persons' needs;
- compare between different programmes of community care services that meet the physical, emotional and social needs of physically and/or cognitively dependent older persons still living at home;
- report the importance of providing intermediate care services to frail older persons so that entry within long-term care facilities is prolonged as much as possible;
- explain that long-term care settings, seek to aid older persons to age actively, successfully and productively; and
- discuss the logistic and bureaucratic difficulties that leaders within the community and long-term care facilities face in providing optimum levels of community and long-term care respectively.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- assess the dependency status and care needs of older persons living in the community and long-term care settings;
- describe the continuum of social and health care services for older persons in the community and long-term care settings;
- develop critical evaluation skills of social and health care services for older persons in the community and long-term care settings;
- explain how social policy can improve existing care services in the community; and
- evaluate the contribution of health care professionals towards providing interprofessional, collaborative, integrated, person-centred approaches in the community and long-term care settings.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main texts:

- Anderson, M.A. (2011). Caring for older adults holistically. F.A. Davis Company. ISBN-10: 0803625006/ISBN-13: 978-0803625006.
- Clair, Jeffrey M. and Allman, Richard M. (2000). The Gerontological Prism: Developing Interdisciplinary Bridges. Baywood, New York.
- Bernstein, Carole L. (2002). Agin: the health care challenge: an interdisciplinary approach to assessment and rehabilitative management of the elderly. Davis, Washington.
- Hudson, A. and Moore, L. (2009). Caring for older people in the community. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN-10: 0470518049/ISBN-13: 978-0470518045.

Supplementary readings:

- Binstock, R.H., George, L.K., Cutler, S.J., Hendricks, J. and Schultz, J.H. (eds.) (2006). Handbook of aging and the social sciences. 6th Edition. Burlington, MA: Academic Press.
- Crawford, K. and Walker, J. (2008). Social work with older people. Learning Matters. ISBN-10: 1844451550/ISBN-13: 978-1844451555.
- Dannefer, D. and Phillipson, C. (eds.) (2010). The SAGE handbook of social gerontology. New York: SAGE.
- Froggatt, K., Davies, S. and Meyer, J. (2009). Understanding care homes: A research and development perspective. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN-10: 1843105535/ISBN-13: 978-1843105534.
- Glasby, J. and Littlechild, R. (2004). The health and social care divide: The experiences of older people. Policy Press. ISBN-10: 1861345259/ISBN-13: 978-1861345257.
- Grech, Mary Lou (2007). Interdisciplinary teamwork in the care of the elderly. M.Ger Dissertation.
- Milligan, C. (2009). There's no place like home: Place and care in an ageing society. Ashgate. ISBN-10: 0754674231/ISBN-13: 978-0754674238.
- Payne, Malcolm (2000). Teamwork in multi-professional care. Macmillan, New York.
- Ray, M., Bernard, M. and Phillips, J. (eds.) (2004). Critical issues in social work with older people. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN-10: 1403991251/ISBN-13: 978-1403991256.
- Satin David G (2009). Health Management for Older Adults Developing an Interdisciplinary Approach. Oxford University Press, New York.
- Walker, R. and Rodgers, J. (2011). Implementing personalised care planning in long term conditions. SD Publications. ISBN-10: 1447793714/ISBN-13: 978-1447793717.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Independent Study and Online Learning

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Online Moderated Discussions and Postings SEM1 No 20%
Assignment SEM1 Yes 80%

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
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The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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