Class topics & expected outcomes:
Week One: Understanding the Changes Associated with Aging
Expected Outcomes:
- Better understanding of the facts and myths of aging
- Greater familiarity with the top ten causes of death in America
- Enhancing knowledge of what places individuals at risk for premature death and how to avoid these risks
- Heightened awareness of the risk of depression among seniors
Week Two: Aging Sensitivity
Expected Outcomes
- Better understanding of the biological changes associated with aging
- Greater insight into our own feelings about aging
- Heightened awareness of the advantages of growing older
Week Three: Valuing Cultural & Generational Diversity
Expected Outcomes:
- Expanded understanding of the concepts of culture and diversity
- Improved ability to name our own cultural identifications, how they impact our values and the ways we interact with others
- Better understanding of the diversity of senior citizens and the unique needs of different types of seniors
- Heightened awareness of the assumptions people commonly make about various cultural groups and how they affect social interaction
Week Four: Medication & the Older Adult
Expected Outcomes:
- Increased awareness of the prevalence of medication use among older adults
- Improved ability to identify the behaviors that lead to medication misuse
- Expanded knowledge of how to manage medication use
- Greater familiarity with drugs commonly used by older adults, typical adverse reactions to drugs, and age-related changes in how drugs are metabolized
- Improved ability to relate critical information to health care providers and ask important questions relevant to medication use
Week Five: Substance Misuse, Addiction, and Older Adults
Expected Outcomes:
- Increased understanding of addiction as a disease
- Improved ability to identify the signs of alcohol and other drug use and abuse
- Greater familiarity with the health risks and treatment options for addiction
- Improved ability to identify factors that place older adults at risk for substance abuse and protective factors that can help prevent it
Week Six: An Enhanced Quality of Life
Expected Outcomes:
- Greater familiarity with strategies for maintaining a healthy lifestyle
- Increased awareness of our personal "stress triggers"
- Heightened awareness of our personal values and how they influence the way we think and act
