Healthy Aging, Updated 1st Edition

Course overview

This course describes the reduction of health risks in older adults: Relevant topics include sleep, alcohol use, constipation, smoking, and exercise. Also included are topics such as eye complaints and diseases; foot, skin, and dental care; and nutrition, including the use of vitamins, herbal remedies, and other dietary supplements. Common health concerns are described, such as depression, bereavement, cancer, hearing loss, hypertension, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, stroke, incontinence, dementia, and patterns of memory loss. The discussion of geriatric health care includes vaccination, hospitalization, surgery, the use of online health information, working with caregivers, medication adherence, and adverse drug reactions. Other topics relevant to elder health include sexuality, fall prevention, hyperthermia and hypothermia, transportation and driving, crime, and elder abuse. Numerous case studies are provided to illustrate concepts.