85381 - Physical Activity in Frailty and Disability

Academic Year 2018/2019

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the students gain an understanding of: - the most frequent causes of FRAILITY in people living in community; - the main profiles of physical or cognitive disability; - the interactions between physical activity and functioning in frailty or impaired people.

Course contents

Introduction to the course on "Physical Activty in Frailty and Disability"

A common language for defining health, disability and frailty: the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Health and Disability (ICF).

Principles of the ICF. The biopsychosocial model. The elements of the classification: functions, structures, activity, participation, environmental factors, personal factors.

Frailty

Definition. Epidemiology. The four geriatrics giants (the four Is): immobility, instability (falls), incontinence, impaired cognition/memory. Frailty syndromes. Consequences of frailty. Impact on health care systems. Assessment of frailty

Disability

Definition. Epidemiology. The medical model of disability. The social model of disability. The unified model of disability: functioning vs. environment. Capacity vs. performance. Consequences of disability. Impact on health care systems. Assessment of disability.

The impact of physical activity on frailty and disability

Definition of physical activity. Mechanism of action of physical activity. Physical activity as preventive factor to maintain health, well being and quality of life. Physical activity in frailty. Physical activity in disability. Barriers and facilitators to physical activity.
 

Office hours

See the website of Fabio La Porta