72610 - Psychology of Ageing

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes will be:
Knowledge about ageing and trajectories of emotional, cognitive and social changes across life span;
Knowledge about psychosocial interventions in elderly people and with older persons with emotional disorders and neurocognitive disorders
Acquired skills needs to assess, plan and undertake psychosocial interventions with individuals and groups in the area of care for elderly

Course contents

The course will take place during the first semester (october -novembre 2018) at Bologna,Department of Psychology

1- demographic change e the challenge of non-comunicable disease (NCD). A new health definition
2- Aging: life span perspective. Trajectories of change during life span; cognitive and emotional change and related theoretical models.

3- Frailty, vulnerability and dependency in elderly: assessment and interventions.

4- Multidimensional geriatric assessment: models and instruments

5- Cognitive impairment and dementia: classification and care models

6- Psychosocial care model for people with dementia : theoretical framework, approach and context

7- Emotional disorders in elderly: delirium, depression, anxiety and psychosis.
8- the familycaregiving :psychosocial diagnosis and interventions
9- institutional care and interventions

10-End of life, supportive and palliative care for people with dementia

Readings/Bibliography

Non so cosa avrei fatto oggi senza di te. Manuale per i familiari delle persone con demenza. Regione Emilia-Romagna. www.http://sociale.regione.emilia-romagna.it/documentazione/pubblicazioni/prodotti-editoriali [http://www.http:/sociale.regione.emilia-romagna.it/documentazione/pubblicazioni/prodotti-editoriali] .

Chattat Rabih (2018). la mia vita scritta con gli occhi. La salute in eta' senile: bisogni e prospettive. Edizioni Erickson, Trento.

Dementia: prevention, intervention and care Lancet Neurology 2017

Updated litterature review will be suggested during lectures

Teaching methods

The course is divided into modules 30th hours the first one and 15th the second.

The classroom lecture will provide basic knowledge on the different topics and methods for interventions

Movies will be used to support knowledge transfer into practice
Case discussions will be also used to discuss clinical practice
Class exercise on planning interventions will be also suggested.

Attendance at lessons is a fundamental part of the acquisition of clinical competences and for evaluation purposes.

Assessment methods

Learning assessment for this course is aimed to accertain the fulfulling of the following objectives:

1- acquired knowledge about theroeticals frameworks on the psychology of aging described during the classroom lectures

2- acquired knowledge on psychosocial aspects regarding the main mental disorders in elderly populations

3- acquired knowledge about carers issues working with elderly peoples with disabilities.

4- the ability to use acquired knowledge in order to develop a need assessment process of elderly people and to set a psychosocial diagnosis.

5- the ability to use described knowledge in order to set-up a psychosocial intervention plan regarding elderly people and carers as well as to assess outcomes of intervention.

For the assessment of knowledge a written test will be used and the grade score will be up to 30pts. the exam will include 2 parts; 1- a set of 10 quiz questions with the aim to explore the overall knowledge about the programme (10pts of the grade score); 2- an open question, with a grade score of 20pts, aimed to invite students to use acquired knowledge in order to analyze and plan an intervention proposal for a specific issues regarding clinical aspects of elderly people and their carers. The open question usually ask the student to describe a specific issues, to present the related theroetical framework and to propose an intervention plan or suggest solutions for. As an example the question can be about behavioral problems of people with dementia and the student is asked to describe the behavioral aspects, to report psychosical theoretetical models related and to suggest a plan of intervention.

Teaching tools

Slide projector
Laptop
role playing and case study

Office hours

See the website of Rabih Chattat

See the website of Andrea Fabbo