micro-credential
Diversity-Sensitive Health Promotion for Older Adults
Would you like to promote the health of older adults while taking their individual life circumstances into account? This micro-credential will teach you how to implement diversity-sensitive health promotion for older adults in practice. You’ll learn to analyze individual health resources and risks and to develop tailored interventions that promote health equity.
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The population is aging, and it is essential to understand the most important health issues and concerns of older adults from a holistic, 360-degree perspective. This micro-credential helps you do just that.
This micro-credential in the field of “Health Care” can be earned as part of an existing FERNFH degree program or as a standalone short program designed exclusively to lead to this qualification.
This micro-credential is offered as part of theAging Services Management | Bachelor's degree program.
Courses
- Health and Health Promotion in Later Life (4 ECTS, Summer Semester)
- Diversity and Health Equity in Later Life (2 ECTS, Winter Semester)
Students should also take the courses in the order listed above, as they build on one another. There are no specific prerequisites for enrolling in the courses, but prior practical or technical knowledge in the field of health and health promotion is beneficial.
Skill development
Upon successful completion, students will be able to …
- to describe the most significant health issues facing the elderly population from a holistic perspective
- To create health profiles for individuals, identifying any health deficits and determining which of their resources can be used to promote their health
- Understanding strategies to promote the health and quality of life of older adults
- apply their knowledge of health promotion using illustrative case studies
- to explain relevant topics and concepts related to gender and diversity, as well as facts about the dimensions of diversity and their impact on health equity
- To understand processes of discrimination, mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion, and to reflect on the significance of diversity for one’s own living and working conditions
- to explore different perspectives on diversity and health equity and to discuss them in an informed manner
- to identify diversity-related issues in the health sector and to understand the importance of diversity in promoting health equity in older age
- To research and describe strategies, measures, projects, and tools for promoting health equity (in older age)
Duration of the program: 2semesters
Scope: 6 ECTS credits
Level: 6 – Undergraduate
Cost: €350 plus ÖH membership fee
Application deadline: Dec. 31, 2026
Start: April 23, 2027
Application deadlines
01. Jan. 1970

“Recognition of prior learning” toward a micro-credential is only possible for courses that have been successfully completed within the last five years. Examination results from earlier than that cannot be recognized toward a micro-credential. In addition, recognized ECTS credits may not exceed one-third of the total credit hours of a micro-credential.
Conversely, courses from an MC program may also be credited toward a university of applied sciences degree if they were completed within five years prior to the start of the degree program (and if the MC courses are also part of the core, elective, or individualized curriculum of the relevant degree program).
Important:Please note that the exact options and scope of credit transfer may vary depending on the specific degree program. We therefore recommend that you contact the relevant program staff directly for specific details.
If the MC is earned as part of a degree program, the relevant admission requirements apply. MCs offered as standalone short programs are considered “attendance in individual courses”; no formal admission requirements (e.g., completion of a qualification at a specific ISCED level) need to be met for these.
Subject-specific prerequisites (“relevant qualifications or knowledge”) may be required, and proof of fulfillment may be necessary. You can always find the prerequisites listed directly on the respective MC’s website.
In all courses that make up the MC, the course instructor must conduct a formal assessment of whether the learning outcomes have been achieved. This assessment is graded using the “school grading system,” similar to the courses in the degree programs. Simply acknowledging attendance in a course is not sufficient to earn an MC.
Exams can be administered as “open book” or “closed book,” as well as “online” or “on-site.”
As for the individual courses: Yes. They are structured and organized in such a way that they can usually be completed within the specified timeframe, even during busy periods. Otherwise, you might have to wait until the next academic year for exams to be offered again in your MC subject.
As for the entire MC: No. For example, if we suggest that you take two courses in the winter semester and two in the summer semester, you can also spread them out over four semesters, taking one course each semester. Or you can take even more courses and take a break in between.
The only important thing is that you must complete everything within five years of enrolling in the Micro-Credential.
Micro-credentials are typically worth 5–15 ECTS credits, which generally corresponds to two to five courses. Once you have successfully completed all the courses that make up the learning path, you will receive your micro-credential—in the form of a printed certificate and a digital badge.
Individual courses must have been completed within a 5-year period in order to count toward a micro-credential.
During the winter semester, the various application deadlines run from August through October and vary depending on the micro-credential. You can find the latest deadline for applying to your micro-credential on the page for that specific micro-credential.










