Unit 1: The ageing process

• Healthy ageing
• Awareness of national and global demographic trends
• The normal physiological process of ageing
• The normal psychological process of ageing
• The social impact of ageing on older people
• Differing attitudes to ageing and older people
• Promoting positive attitudes to ageing
• Role of statutory and voluntary agencies in promoting the well-being of older people
• Preparation for retirement
• Appreciation of the ethnic and cultural influences on the older person

Unit 2: Care settings

• Identify the care settings for older people
• Identify members of the health care team available in each care setting
• Identify a range of specific services that are available for older people in the areas of education, life long learning, the workplace, leisure and retirement
• Current approaches towards developing quality in the provision of services for older people and their families to include standards and quality assurance

Unit 3: Working with the older person

• Range of needs of older people: emotional, psychological, recreational, financial, environmental and spiritual
• The role of the health care assistant in providing care for older people
• Communicate effectively with the older person, his/her family and the multidisciplinary team
• Promote the following in caring for the older person: advocacy; empowerment; independence; individualised care; dignity; respect; choice; self-esteem
• Understand the importance of family/carers as partners
• Strategies to improve personal effectiveness in the workplace
• How health promotion issues can be introduced in care settings for older people
• Provision of therapeutic interventions that will enhance social interactions and quality of life of the older person

 Unit 4: Caring for older people with specific needs

• Identify and adapt care and practices to meet the needs of older people with cognitive and sensory impairment and/or physical disabilities
• Issues related to an older person with mental illness
• Issues related to an older person with dementia
• The impact of living with chronic illness
• Individual needs of the dying person and their families
• Performance of duties in a way that is respectful to the person’s body after death