| CODE | GER5031 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Ensuring Quality of Life in Old Age | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Gerontology and Dementia Studies | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit illustrates how quality of life in old age is inherently a dynamic, multi-level and complex concept. For a better understanding of what constitutes quality of life and well-being in old age it examines the interaction between various issues at the macro and micro levels as well as the interplay between positive and negative influences. Special attention is given to the life course perspective, given the fact that a person's accumulation of resources and skills in later life is a lifelong process. Quality of life and well-being among older persons is the outcome of three key issues: social rehabilitation, medical rehabilitation and social welfare. In this regard The role of primary care trusts, the needs of stakeholders and the concepts behind satisfaction are also all discussed in detail, as are the challenges faced by the multi-disciplinary team. Other issues deliberated upon include the current state of social and health care services and programmes available for older persons aimed at insuring their ageing in place. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit provides a critical awareness of the welfare and rehabilitation implications related to population ageing. Specific aims include: the provision of multi-disciplinary advanced learning techniques in both rehabilitation and welfare services; the examination of current demographic, policy, social and economic concern in the management of ageing societies; the analysis of different prevalent services and programmes. It also takes into consideration the diverse functions of the professionals and semi-professionals involved in the social and medical rehabilitation processes. Special attention is made to the different stakeholders involved in such processes at the state, private, voluntary and family levels. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - demonstrate the importance of teamwork, and multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary work in social and medical rehabilitation; - identify the older persons at risk; - initiate a social work perspective to vulnerable older persons; - formulate the sustainable planning of social services; - examine how social welfare for older persons is following a public-private model; - evaluate the multi-disciplinary master and inter-disciplinary approaches in social and medical rehabilitation. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - classify the skills facilitating verbal and non-verbal communication with older persons; - apply common counselling strategies that are sensitive to the needs and expectations of older persons; - assess how ageing is characterised by various forms of inequality; - calculate the basic social and medical issues involved in rehabilitative care; - analyse the impact of improved information and training for health and social professionals. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main texts: Bowling, A. (2005). Ageing well: Quality of life in old age. Buckingham: Open University Press. Gosney, M., Harper, A. and Conroy, S. (2012). Oxford desk reference geriatric medicine. 1st Edition. Oxford University Press. Pathy, M.S.J (ed.), Sinclair, A.J. and Morley, J.E. (2006). Pathy’s principles and practice of geriatric medicine. 4th Edition. Wiley. Walker, A. (2005). Understanding quality of life in old age. Buckingham: Open University Press. Recommended readings: Edmondson, R. and Kondratowitz, H-J. (eds) (2009). Valuing older people: A humanist approach to ageing. Bristol: The Policy Press. Evans, S. (2009). Community and ageing: Maintaining quality of life in housing with care settings. Bristol: The Policy Press. Gott, M. (2005). Sexuality, sexual health and ageing. Buckingham: Open University Press. Gunilla, B. (2005). Quality of life among older people: Their experience, need of help, health, social support, everyday activities and sense of coherence. Lund: Lund University. Keating, N.C. (2008). Rural ageing: A good place to grow old? Bristol: The Policy Press. Smith, A. (2009). Ageing in urban neighbourhoods: Place attachment and social exclusion. Bristol: The Policy Press. Victor, C. (2010). Ageing, health, and care. Bristol: The Policy Press. Whitbourne, S.K. and Whitbourne, S.B. (2011). Adult development and aging: Biopsychosocial perspectives. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. |
||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Online Learning | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||||||
| LECTURER/S | Christian Borg Xuereb |
||||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
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. |
|||||||||||||