Useful links
Unit of study_
BIOS3345: Physiotherapy and Ageing
2022 unit information
This distance mode elective gives students the opportunity to develop a theoretical understanding of anatomy and physiology relevant to the provision of physiotherapy services to older patients. Older people experience a range of age and disease related changes that must be considered by healthcare professionals. Underpinning professional practice is an understanding of key concepts in aged care such as the relationship between ageing and disease, the effects of ageing on reserve capacity, the fact that maintenance of function is frequently more important than the elimination of disease, the significance of the 'geriatric giants', and the importance of multi morbidity and polypharmacy. Having addressed these topics, the unit will focus on pain in older people, continence/incontinence, implications of dementia and delirium for the provision of health care and care providers, preoperative and palliative care, principles of geriatric rehabilitation and masters athletes. Students will obtain fundamental knowledge of these topics through notes, recorded lectures and online structured learning activities. Students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge to 'real-life' scenarios using case studies that support each topic.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Medicine and Health
| Study level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Department of Medical Sciences |
| Credit points | 6 |
|
Prerequisites:
?
|
None |
|---|---|
|
Corequisites:
?
|
None |
| Prohibitions:
?
|
BIOS1172 or BIOS1173 |
| Assumed knowledge:
?
|
None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. Explain the general goals of the provision of physiotherapy services for older people. Understand the core skills for geriatric physiotherapists. Explain the demographic changes that are influencing the demand for healthcare services in Australia and other countries. Explain their implications. Explain what is meant by compression of morbidity, why it is important, and how it can be achieved.
- LO2. Describe the genetic and ‘wear and tear’ theories of ageing. Explain why ageing is considered to be a multifactorial phenomenon and the implications of this observation.
- LO3. Explain the significance of the maintenance of function as a goal of health care for the aged. Explain what is meant by the term geriatric giants, list the key geriatric giants and explain their implications for older people. Explain what is meant by the term frailty. Explain what is meant by ‘atypical presentation’ in relation to older people. Explain the factors that contribute to successful ageing.
- LO4. Describe in general the changes that occur in the skeletal muscle and bone with ageing and explain why they occur, the factors that contribute to bone quality and how they are affected by ageing. Explain the risk factors for, causes and treatment of, post menopausal osteoporosis. Using the general concepts that you have established describe in general the changes that occur in the skeletal muscle with ageing and explain why they occur.
- LO5. Using the general concept is that you have established explain how ageing affects function in the nervous system. Explain how motor function is affected by ageing. Explain how and why gait changes with age ; explain the importance of walking speed in the assessment of an older person and describe some of the important systemic diseases that have an adverse effect on gait. Describe how and why balance changes with age and why these changes occur. Explain the inputs that are relied upon by older people to maintain balance.
- LO6. Explain what is meant by delirium, how it develops, and its implications for the care of patients. Explain the strategies that you can use to manage delirious patients. Describe what is known of the experiences of a person who has suffered delirium. Discuss the importance of sleep for older people, how ageing affects sleep, and the adverse effects of disturbed sleep.
- LO7. Using the principles that you have established describe how function in the respiratory system changes with age. Describe the structural, physiological, and functional changes that occur in the respiratory system with age. Describe the effects of ageing on the interpretation of basic pulmonary function tests. Explain why the risk of respiratory disease increases as people age. Explain the impact of skeletal changes on the ageing respiratory system. Explain the age-related changes that affect interpretation of chest radiographs.
- LO8. Explain how the structure of the skin is affected by ageing and the implications of those changes
- LO9. Explain in general terms why hospitals can be considered to be dangerous places for older people. Explain what is meant by the term atypical presentation of disease in older people and give some examples. Explain why people experience a functional decline during hospitalisation, describe the time course of the functional decline, and explain what can be done to prevent it.
- LO10. Define polypharmacy. Explain the relationship between multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Describe the stages of pharmacokinetics, explain how they are affected by ageing and the implications of these changes. Explain what is meant by the term pharmacodynamics and how pharmacodynamics is affected by ageing. Explain how ageing affects half-life of drugs and the implications of the change. Define the term adverse drug reaction, describe the common manifestations of ADRs and the risk factors for them. Explain the principles of deprescribing. Describe the issues around adherence to medication by older people. Explain the role of the caregiver in the safe use of medications.
- LO11. List the most common types of pain in older people and their frequency. Describe the current concepts regarding post-operative pain in older people and how pain management can be planned and managed. Describe the age-related changes in the central and peripheral nervous systems that occur with ageing that are relevant to pain and how ageing affects the perception of pain by older people. Describe the consequences of inadequate pain management in older people, including psychosocial effects. Describe the challenges associated with the assessment of pain in cognitively impaired people, and how these challenges can be overcome. Describe the impact of families on the perception of pain by older people.
- LO12. Describe the general benefits of exercise for older people. Describe the general principles of exercise for older people and the details of resistance, aerobic, balance and flexibility training. Describe the common barriers to exercise participation by older people and methods by which these barriers can be overcome. Describe the effects of ageing on athletic performance.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
There are no availabilities for this year.
Find your current year census dates
Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
