Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Healthy aging frameworks prioritize opportunities for good health and wellbeing in older people to enable them to enjoy active participation in society, independence, and quality of life. Getting older should be seen as a time of opportunity whereby societies and communities benefit from the skills, experience, and participation of older people. This view of older people as valuable and the promotion of positive aging, is however challenged by most health curriculum which overall remains focused on the disease model of aging. An understanding of knowledge and awareness of healthy aging in nursing students will inform the gaps in curriculum objectives which need to be addressed to improve healthy aging literacy in the nursing workforce. A shift in the discourse of healthcare providers from a focus on illness to wellness, will impact policy and public perspectives of aging. This study describes the knowledge and perceptions of healthy ageing in a cohort of undergraduate nursing students. The outcomes of the investigation will be reviewed alongside existing curriculum for teaching and learning activities in this area. A short answer survey is administered to a cohort of undergraduate nursing students. The questions for the survey were developed using the Active Aging Index Tool.