SFOA09082U Interdisciplinary Aspects of Healthy Aging

Volume 2014/2015
Content

Lower fertility, decreased infant mortality rate and better health care have given rise to the aging population – one of the most important demographic events of the 21st century. For the first time in history, the elderly population will make up the larger part of our society. It is evident that the shift towards an aging population has a profound economic, political and social impact in the society in all the countries affected. This course offers a unique opportunity for participants to gain new knowledge on how more people can live healthy lives and enjoy a robust old-age.

The course is designed for students who would like to gain diverse experience in the Aging research field. It focuses on interdisciplinary research projects, which reflects Center for Healthy Aging (CEHA, http://healthyageing.ku.dk/;  http://sundaldring.ku.dk/) diverse research projects and interdisciplinary nature.

The objective of this course is to explore how we could understand the ‘aging population’ phenomenon better, and how to prepare and deal with the impact it brings with it. Participants will gain good foundation knowledge and practical experience in the field of aging research. The aim is to give the students the exciting opportunity to learn and use research methods from other disciplines, and they can develop projects within the practical projects. The course combines lectures and project work, and the students will learn the basic research concepts and principles in diverse disciplines. The lectures will cover basic knowledge in different aging research fields including: humanities, social science, public health, epidemiology, neurology, physiology, molecular biology and business/innovation.

Students will form groups and carry out a research project under the supervision of CEHA researchers. These projects are examples of the research that contains shared interests across different research areas of aging research: Spanning from molecular biology through humanities to business and innovation. Hence, the projects will represent different scientific methods from: laboratory work, to statistics and qualitative analysis.

At the end of the course, the students will write a report about their findings/conclusions and present their report. The students will be closely supervised by the CEHA researchers during the course.

Furthermore, different social activities and field trips will be arranged. Among others: Visit to a Danish care home, field trips at different Departments of Center for Healthy Aging, Welcome dinner, Tivoli, etc. More information will be available later.

Learning Outcome

After completing the course, the student is expected to be able to:

Knowledge:

  • Define the aging population's associated social, economic, and political impacts.
  • Define aging related research areas
  • Define the main methods that can be used to conduct aging research
  • Explain the principles for carrying out interdisciplinary aging research
  • Summarize principles for collaborating with people from different educational and cultural background

 

Skills:

  • Assess the problems related to the aging population
  • Evaluate and discuss to various ‘aging-population’ related issues
  • Evaluate the research methods and identify research collaborators to address ‘aging population’ related questions
  • Structure and conduct scientific presentations
  • Organize and conduct molecular biology experiments, statistical analysis or qualitative analysis with supervision

 

Competence:

  • Coordinate with the others by both writing and speaking in a professional, scientific manner
  • Plan research in the aging research fields
  • Take leadership and responsibility when working with people from different educational and cultural backgrounds
  • Independently adapt to a new environment and take responsibility for their professional development and specialization further.

Examples (on articles) from previous years:

Anne Beaulieu (2004): Mediating ethnography: objectivity and the making of ethnographies of the internet, Social 3 Epistemology: A Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Policy, 18:2-3, 139-163

Danah m. Boyd1,†,, Nicole B. Ellison2,‡: Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Volume 13: 1, 210–230, October 2007

Wallach-Kildemoes et al.: Is the high-risk strategy to prevent cardiovascular disease equitable? A pharmacoepidemiological cohort study, BMC Public Health 12:610, 2012

Diana C. Sanchez-Ramirez, Allan Krasnik & Helle Wallach Kildemoes: Do immigrants from Turkey, Pakistan and Ex-Yugoslavia with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes initiate recommended statin therapy to the same extent as Danish-born residents? A nationwide register study, Eur J Clin Pharmacol, 31 May 2012, DOI 10.1007/​s00228-012-1306-6

Jocelyn Cornwell et al.: Continuity of care for older hospital patients - A call for action, The King’s Fund, March 2012

Kirsten Avlund: Fatigue in older adults: an early indicator of the aging process? Aging Clin Exp Res, Vol. 22: 2, 100-115

Stephanie Studenski et al.: Gait Speed and Survival in Older Adults, NIH Public Access JAMA. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011, April 20.

T. W. Kragstrup, M. Kjaer, A. L. Mackey: Structural, biochemical, cellular, and functional changes in skeletal muscle extracellular matrix with aging. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2011: 21: 749–757, doi: 10.1111/​j.1600-0838.2011.01377.x

C. Suetta et al.: Effect of strength training on muscle function in elderly hospitalized Patients, Scand J Med Sci Sports 2007: 17: 464–472, DOI: 10.1111/​j.1600-0838.2007.00712.x

Joel Aanerud et al.:Brain energy metabolism and blood flow differences in healthy aging, Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism (2012), 1–11.

Mikhail V. Blagosklonny et al.: Impact papers on aging in 2009, Aging, March 2010, 2:3,111-121.

Vilhelm A. Bohr: REPAIR OF OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE IN NUCLEAR AND MITOCHONDRIAL DNA, AND SOME CHANGES WITH AGING IN MAMMALIAN CELLS, Free Radical Biology & Medicine, Vol. 32, No. 9, pp. 804–812, 2002.

Carlos López-Otín et al.: The Hallmarks of Aging, Cell, 2013,153:6,1194-1217. http:/​/​dx.doi.org/​10.1016/​j.cell.2013.05.039

Completed BSc degree.
Students who have obtained a bachelor degree from any discipline, have interests in aging research, and have good English skills are welcome to apply for this course.
The teaching methods in this course includes: lecturing in classroom, close supervision in practical projects, and self-conducted group discussion and presentations.
The course also includes three excursions and two dinners, as part of the social program.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 29
  • Lectures
  • 20
  • Preparation
  • 32
  • Project work
  • 50
  • Seminar
  • 7
  • Total
  • 138
Credit
5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Each student must submit a report of 10 pages describing the practical project she/he has carried out.

Active participation in the research projects and plenary discussion is a prerequisite for completing the written report.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
passed/not passed
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period
Report must be submitted on the last day of the course (26 July)
Criteria for exam assesment

The written report should cover the practical project the student has carried out. The following learning goals should be adressed:

Knowledge:

  • Define the aging population associated social, economic, and political impacts.
  • Define aging related research areas
  • Define the main methods that can be used to conduct aging research
  • Explain the principles for carrying out interdisciplinary aging research

 

Skills:

  • Assess the problems related to the aging population
  • Evaluate and discuss to various ‘aging-population’ related issues
  • Evaluate the research methods and identify research collaborators to address ‘aging population’ related questions
  • Organize and conduct molecular biology experiments, statistical analysis or qualitative analysis

 

Competence:

  • Writing in a professional, scientific manner
  • Demonstrate how to plan research in the aging research fields