General course information
The Action Plan for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021–2030 stresses that healthy ageing should become possible for everyone. This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) explores how we can move closer to this goal.
The MOOC was commissioned by the Competence Centre for the Future of Health Promotion (KoZuG) of Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (GÖG) and funded by the Agenda Gesundheitsförderung (Health Promotion Agenda).
Scope and possible uses
This MOOC comprises approximately 25 hours of learning and is open to anyone interested. It is suitable both for individual continuing education and for integration into courses and degree programmes in health, nursing and the social sciences.
Course contents
The MOOC provides fundamental health knowledge with a particular focus on healthy ageing. Its content is based on the fields of action of the model “Community Health Promotion for Healthy Ageing – Caring Communities” developed by the Competence Centre for the Future of Health Promotion at Gesundheit Österreich GmbH. The course examines the influence of genetic, social and environmental factors on the ageing process, as well as key concepts of health promotion in older age. One focus is on promoting physical and mental health, including exercise, nutrition, sleep, mental fitness and psychological well-being, and how these interact. The MOOC also addresses the importance of social participation, relationships, volunteering and caring communities for healthy ageing. Participants explore age-friendly living environments and the use of assistive technologies to promote independence and quality of life. A further lesson is dedicated to health promotion for people with chronic illnesses and the associated challenges in practice and care. Finally, the course deals with equal opportunities and diversity in older age and shows how health promotion can be implemented in community settings while taking social inequalities, migration and gender into account.
Learning outcomes
On completing the MOOC, participants will have a sound understanding of key concepts of health promotion with a focus on healthy ageing. They will be able to critically evaluate evidence-based measures to promote the physical, mental and social health of older people and apply them in practice. Participants will recognise the importance of social participation, age-friendly living environments and assistive technologies for independence and quality of life in older age. In addition, they will be able to assess health promotion approaches for older people with chronic illnesses in a differentiated way. They will be equipped to design health promotion for older people that is equitable and diversity-oriented, particularly in a community context.
Prior knowledge
No specific prior knowledge is required to take part in the MOOC. All you need is a basic interest in health, ageing and health promotion. Initial experience or prior knowledge from the health, social care or community sector can support the learning process but is not a requirement.
Course structure
The course runs over 6 weeks, with one lesson per week. Each lesson includes expert interviews, theory inputs with reflection questions/tasks, best-practice examples, further materials, podcasts and a quiz to reflect on what you have learned. A discussion forum gives you the opportunity to reflect, discuss and explore topics in greater depth with other learners.
Certificate
If you take an active part in the course, you will receive an automatically generated confirmation of participation from iMoox.at showing your name, the course name and confirmation that you answered at least 75% of the self-assessment questions correctly. You will also receive Open Badges for every lesson you complete and for the course as a whole.
ECTS credits: lecturers can integrate the course into their own course unit. The course is designed so that the content of all six lessons corresponds to a total of 1 ECTS.
Interested?
Register here: https://imoox.at/course/gesundesaltern?lang=de
Course team
Department of Health Sciences | FERNFH Distance-Learning University of Applied Sciences
The MOOC “Healthy Ageing” was commissioned by the Competence Centre for the Future of Health Promotion (KoZuG) of Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (https://goeg.at/zukunft_gesundheitsfoerderung). It was designed by the FERNFH Department of Health Sciences (https://www.fernfh.ac.at/institute/institut-fuer-gesundheitswissenschaften/) in consultation with KoZuG and produced in cooperation with the FERNFH Instructional Systems Design department (https://www.fernfh.ac.at/fernfh/instructional-systems-design/ (German only)).
FERNFH team – Department of Health Sciences, responsible for creating the MOOC content (in alphabetical order)
- Prof.in (FH) MMag.a Tanja Adamcik – Programme Director, BA Aging Services Management; Deputy Head of Academic Board, FERNFH
- Alexandra Gössl, BA, MA – Research Associate & Lecturer, Department of Health Sciences
- Mag.a Stefanie Kuso, Bakk. – Research Associate & Lecturer, Department of Health Sciences
- Mag. Dr. Lukas Küster – Research Associate & Lecturer, Department of Health Sciences
- Prof.in (FH) Mag.a Barbara Prazak-Aram – Programme Director, MA Digital Health Management
- Eva Plasch – Assistant, Department of Health Sciences
- Mag.a (FH) Ursula Prinz, M.Sc. – Research Associate & Lecturer, Department of Health Sciences
- Mag. Dr. Friedrich Teutsch – Research Associate & Lecturer, Department of Health Sciences
- Prof.in (FH) Mag.a Dr.in Karin Waldherr – Head of the Department of Health Sciences
FERNFH team – Instructional Systems Design department, responsible for implementing the MOOC content (in alphabetical order)
- Sabine Kolb, MSc
- Reinhard Staudinger, BSc – Head of Department
- Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Andreas Wappel
External experts (in alphabetical order)
- Assoz.-Prof.in Dipl.-Ing.in Dr.in Barbara Wessner – Sports Biologist at the Centre for Sport Science and University Sports, University of Vienna
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas E. Dorner, MPH – Head of the Academy for Ageing Research at Haus der Barmherzigkeit, Medical University of Vienna, Center for Public Health
- Dipl.-Ing.in Maria Fellner, MBA – Know Center Research GmbH, President of Digital Health and Care Austria
- Univ.-Doz. Dr. Gerald Gatterer – Clinical and Health Psychologist/Psychotherapist
- Dr.in Sabine Haas – Senior Health Expert at Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (GÖG)
- Mag.a Dr.in Petra Plunger, MPH – Senior Health Expert at the Competence Centre for the Future of Health Promotion, Agenda Gesundheitsförderung, Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (GÖG)
- FH-Prof.in Barbara Preiner, BA, MSc – Dietitian & Health Expert
- Mag.a Gerlinde Rohrauer-Näf, MPH – Head of the Competence Centre for the Future of Health Promotion at Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (GÖG)
Licence
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)