OT 650: OT PRACTICE WITH AGING POPULATIONS

This course involves critical examination of current evidence regarding health care needs and interventions for older adults. Students will explore the continuum of current care services for the older adult population. Services include promotion of wellness and illness models of intervention, productive aging, leisure adaptations, and neuro cognition. Topics will cover wellness programs, services in adult day care centers, assistive living environments, long term care, home health, hospice, and community-based programs. Ethics, legislation, liability, reimbursement, advocacy, and documentation using Medicare/Medicaid guidelines are also included. Students will be engaged in activities that support development of professional competencies in assessments and interventions. Evidence based assessments and interventions for sensorimotor, behavioral, cognition, social, and older adult care are included. A special emphasis will be placed on understanding the unique skills required to practice with this population in rural contexts Students in good standing with all 3rd semester coursework to date will also be assigned to a Level I Fieldwork experience in a setting that addresses the needs of older adults. This experience will serve to enrich didactic coursework through directed observation and participation and allow for analysis of practice environments for application of OT practice.