Aging and Long-Term Care

Fulfills Requirement: Aging

This course is also offered as part of a Pre-licensing Savings Package

Since 1900, American life expectancy jumped from 47 to almost 79 years. The number of Americans 65 and older went from 3.1 million in 1900 to 41.1 million in 2019 and is projected to reach 94.7 million in 2060. Advances in genetic engineering, tissue engineering, stem cell therapies, nanotechnology, hormone therapies, and other fields are likely to foster a longevity revolution in which lifespans become longer and people look and function younger at older ages. What can psychology and positive psychology teach us about how to live longer, healthier, and happier? This course uses articles and interviews with aging and anti-aging experts to consider cognitive and personality research and clinical issues. The focus is on what helps people age better and live longer as opposed to focusing on decline and pathology. The content is both relevant to you aging better and to helping clients age better and deal with the challenges of aging.

This intermediate course is comprised of nine audio interviews with aging and anti-aging experts (text transcript available for all audios). Each interview is about 40 minutes long and they consider demographic characteristics of older Americans, nursing homes and alternatives to nursing homes, diagnostic and counseling considerations with dementia, and quality of life issues. Because elder abuse is a complicated and sometimes subtle issue with serious legal and ethical issues, the course includes guidelines on identifying and reporting elder abuse. There is also an addendum which offers bios for some of the interviewees along with notes and comments on their interviews (this information is optional reading).