SIENHA Project: Strategic and Innovative European Network for Education in Healthy Aging

• Author(s): Alves Lopes, António ; Almeida, Patrícia
• Date: 2023
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/47147
• Origin: Escola Superior de Saúde do Alcoitão
• Document Type: Conference object
• Language: English
• Contributor(s): Repositório Comum

Description

Background and purpose: Addressing health challenges of an ageing population necessitates a upgrade in Europe's social and health policies (WHO, 2020; Rudnicka, 2020). This project emphasizes the Healthy Ageing (HA) paradigm's call for innovation in education, health, and social sectors, and the requisite preparation of professionals therein. It advocates for enhancing higher education and skill development for students and professionals in health and social services across Europe. Description: The SIENHA project involves a 36-month multilateral academic cooperation between seven Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), funded by the ERASMUS+ program. It comprises four key intellectual outputs: 1) Identification of a professional competences framework in Healthy Ageing (HA), 2) Development of a higher education curriculum, 3) Creation of an innovation and research toolkit in HA, and 4) Production of a dissemination tool, a Handbook in Healthy Ageing. This collaborative effort aims to advance education, research, and practice in the field of healthy ageing. Summary of use: Throughout this project, the partners developed a list of core and enabling competencies derived from a scoping review. This led to the creation of four main capstones that systematically structured the assessment strategies and the syllabus. In order to apply implementation research and innovative teaching strategies, a toolkit grounded in theoretical foundations was developed. This toolkit included descriptions of the best available practices and suitable teaching and learning methods that could be integrated into educational programs. This comprehensive and strategic approach ensured that the educational programs were grounded in the most current, effective, and relevant strategies and practices. Importance: The final output of the project involves developing an educational curriculum focused on healthy ageing throughout the lifespan. This curriculum could be implemented by partner HEIs to better prepare healthcare and social professionals, including physiotherapists, to promote health and well-being throughout the life cycle.