Aging and Disorders of Communication
Communication links all human beings together. As individuals age, their ability to perceive information through their senses is often distorted or impaired. Age-related sensory changes impact the quality of life and the quality of communication.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Mysteries and Possibilities
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a condition in which the concept of loss is central – the loss of one’s memories, independence, the ability to recognize loved ones, and the loss of dignity. Often referred to as “the long goodbye,” AD is the most common t… Read more »
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Animals have been a part of our lives as long as we have been on the planet. The health benefits of the human-animal bond are far reaching. From guide dogs, to watching fish in an aquarium, to swimming with dolphins, animals provide us with companion… Read more »
Caregiving at the End of Life – Issues and Considerations
Caregivers are individuals who provide care to an individual who needs assistance. Caregivers can be professionals but are often unpaid individuals who support a loved one through an illness or the last phase of life. The experience can be immensely… Read more »
Centenarians: Keys to Longevity
Living to be 100 years old was once considered a rare occurrence, but with advancements in medicine and lifestyle changes, living to be 100 is not so improbable today. As a group, there are more centenarians worldwide than ever before, with the large… Read more »
Chronic Pain: An Integrative Approach to Effective Pain Management
Pain interferes with the enjoyment of life. It makes it difficult to work, socialize with friends and family, sleep, and accomplish activities of daily living. It may reduce productivity and create financial hardships in terms of lost work and high m… Read more »
Contemporary Ethical Dilemmas in Healthcare
With the advent of astounding scientific and technological advances in every area of health care, today’s health care environment is increasingly fraught with complex patient care issues. Health care professionals often have varying views on legal an… Read more »
Cultural Competence in Health Care
The culturally diverse health care populations in the United States provide health care professionals with tremendous opportunities to bridge cultural gaps, incorporate new treatments and disease prevention strategies into their practices, and learn… Read more »
Cultural Considerations at the End of Life
At the end of life, attitudes about the loss of a loved one profoundly affect how both a dying person and his or her family and friends address the dying and the grieving processes. Diverse populations in the United States provide health-care profess… Read more »
Death and Dying
What is grief? What are normal grief responses? What is involved in the final life transition—death? These are some of the questions that will be discussed in this course. The role of culture, palliative and hospice care, advance directives, and the… Read more »
Diabetes in Pregnancy
Diabetes during pregnancy can provide a special challenge to the patient and her health care providers. The effects of poorly controlled blood glucose levels can result in life-threatening effects for both the mother and the fetus. This course provid… Read more »
Elder Abuse
Older adults today are vibrant, independent, living longer, and in better health than their ancestors. However, as this growing population increases, so does the issue of caring for elderly individuals. Caregivers must often cope with stressful econo… Read more »
Elder Abuse and Neglect
Older adults today are vibrant, independent, living longer, and in better health than their ancestors. However, as this growing population increases, so does the issue of caring for elderly individuals. Caregivers must often cope with stressful econo… Read more »
Emerging Global Infectious Diseases
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) present an ever-present threat to the health and livelihood of individuals, families, communities, and countries all over the world. The greatest burden of EIDs lies in developing countries and with infants and chi… Read more »
End-of-Life Issues: Death, Dying, and Grief
The dying experience is a profound, individual experience. The experience of loss and grief are as individual and unique as the persons involved. During this time, people often raise questions about the meaning of life.
End-of-Life Issues: Ethical Issues
End-of-life care presents health care professionals with many ethical challenges and dilemmas. Understanding ethical theories and ethical principles can provide a foundation for decision making. This course provides health care professionals with the… Read more »
End-of-Life Issues: Pain Assessment and Management
Pain assessment and management are especially important for high-quality end-of-life care. To provide quality care to individuals at this stage of their lives, health care practitioners must be particularly skilled at assessing pain, understanding mi… Read more »
End-of-Life Issues: Physiologic Changes at the End of Life
For health care professionals to provide compassionate, quality care to patients at the end of life, they must understand the many changes the patient undergoes. Holistic end-of-life care provides relief, comfort, and support whenever possible. It in… Read more »
Ethical Foundations in Healthcare
Healthcare professionals face ethical dilemmas every day of their professional lives. Ethical decision-making is an important part of the care they provide to their patients and clients. A sound understanding of key ethical issues helps health care p… Read more »
Health Effects of Meditation
Meditation is a mind-body practice with many methods and variations that are all grounded in the silence and stillness of present-moment awareness. Evidence of meditation’s health effects has been well documented: the practice offers improvement in t… Read more »
Healthy Aging
This course is designed to introduce the health professional to a broad, conceptually integrated perspective on the topic of healthy aging. This course discusses healthy aging as it relates to cultural similarities and differences, complementary and… Read more »
Healthy Lifestyles: How Stress, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Substance Abuse, and Nature Affect Brain Health
Individuals’ lifestyles can have a powerful impact on the health of their body and mind. The brain is affected by virtually every aspect of their life including their levels of stress, the foods they choose to eat, the amount and type of physical act… Read more »
Holistic Stress Management
Stress affects each of us every day and while some of us rise to the occasion, others experience a myriad of physiological, psychological, and spiritual effects. How we cope with stress can determine the current and future state of our health and wel… Read more »
Humor and Health
How many times have you felt better after laughing? Humor and laughter make people feel alive and bring a unique perspective to life. They relieve stress and connect people to one another. Humor is a complex phenomenon and an essential part of human… Read more »
Influenza: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention
Influenza (commonly called the “flu”) is a highly contagious respiratory disease that strikes all ages and can cause significant illness and death. Striking hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide every year, this disease can be prevented usin… Read more »
Intimacy, Sexuality, and Healthy Aging
Loving and being loved are essential to maintaining a positive, healthy attitude. Quality of life is often related to affection and tenderness shared with loved ones. With a healthy self-esteem and a willingness to communicate with a partner, older a… Read more »
Introduction to Gerontology
Opportunities are unlimited for the individual who knows the field of gerontology. Demographic changes and changes in health care have influenced the development of a variety of gerontologic roles. This course will provide a broad overview of the fie… Read more »
Journaling: Healthy Living Through Self-Discovery
Writing has been an important part of the human experience for centuries but has only recently been recognized as a therapeutic tool for healing. Used to document personal and historical events, describe emotions and feelings, reduce stress, and expl… Read more »
Legal Issues in Healthcare
Health care professionals today are acutely aware of the need to understand the legal environment in which they practice. Ever-shrinking resources, shorter lengths of stay, high-acuity patients, availability of more complex information, diverse patie… Read more »
Light, Health, and Healing
Light has been a part of all life since the beginning of time. It plays a critical role in the health and well-being of every living thing on the planet. As humans have evolved, they have often moved away from the natural light of their ancestors and… Read more »
Meditation for Health and Energy
Meditation is a mind-body practice with many methods and variations that are all grounded in the silence and stillness of present-moment awareness. The regular practice of meditation not only calms and helps focus the mind, it is also an effective pr… Read more »
Mental Health and Aging
This course will provide health care professionals with an overview of mental health and aging, including mental health wellness strategies, mental health disorders, cultural competence, cultural diversity, complementary and alternative medicine trea… Read more »
Music Therapy and Sound Healing
In an age where people increasingly turn to holistic methods of healing, music therapy and sound healing have entered mainstream health care and can be used successfully with people of all ages and disabilities. This course examines sound and music a… Read more »
Natural Sweeteners: Healthy Options for Your Sweet Tooth
Most Americans consume far more sugar than they require, and this contributes to obesity as well as many types of diseases. The role of sugar in the American diet is an important one, and understanding its effect on the body and its role in inflammat… Read more »
Nutrition and Healthy Aging
Increasing scientific, clinical, and social interest helps us understand the relationship between nutrition and aging. Eating well is essential in all stages of life but is especially important for maintaining good health and slowing the aging proces… Read more »
Nutrition, Stress, and Immune Function
Most individuals enjoy sitting down and eating a delicious meal. Food provides an opportunity to socialize and, if the food is nutritious, it also supports a healthy body and mind. However, if individuals are stressed before, during, or after a meal,… Read more »
Obesity In America – A Public Health Epidemic
Two-thirds of adults and one-third of children in the United States are overweight or obese. Left unchecked, the effects of this crisis on the nation’s health, health care costs, and productivity could be catastrophic. As a nation, we’re getting more… Read more »
Pain Assessment and Management in the Older Adult
Pain is a symptom that signals distress in virtually every population and every age. To provide quality care to aging adults, health care providers must be particularly skilled at assessing pain, understanding misconceptions of pain management, addre… Read more »
Physical Activity and Healthy Aging
Physical activity is essential for healthy aging and well-being. Throughout life, engaging in enjoyable movement, such as walking, dancing, golfing, swimming, and cycling can increase the chances for health and vitality in later years.
Physiology of Aging
There are more older adults in the United States than ever before in history, making this segment one of the fastest-growing portions of the population. The appropriate care of older adults requires health care providers to have a solid understanding… Read more »
Physiology of Stress
Stress is at epidemic levels in the world today. Currently, as many as 90 percent of all visits to health-care providers in the United States are considered to be stress-related. Stress affects every aspect of the body, mind, and spirit, resulting in… Read more »
Place and Space: Healing Environments
Health care providers can assist clients with their healing process through the creation of healing environments – spaces that support the individual’s inner healer and utilize the environment to maximize its healing effects. This course will provide… Read more »
Play and the Brain: Why Play Matters to Your Gray Matter
“Act like a child” is probably not a phrase that is on the top of anyone’s mind. Yet, researchers are discovering that there are many health benefits to rediscovering our inner child. Play is vital to who we are as human beings and it is an essential… Read more »
Pneumonia in Adults and Children
Pneumonia is an infection in one or both of the lungs. Globally, it is the leading killer of children under the age of 5 years. It is also common in the United States. There are several types of pneumonia, depending on the type of germ (bacteria, vir… Read more »
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
When individuals experience a traumatic, terrifying, life-changing event or series of events, with a real or threatened risk of death, they may experience a variety of symptoms known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although this condition h… Read more »
Psychology of Stress
Events, people, and circumstances fill our normal daily lives–along with a certain amount of stress. Some of us experience psychological effects from this stress, while others seem to be unaffected or even thrive when challenged. Why do we react diff… Read more »
Sleep and Aging
Sleep is essential to a healthy, productive life. While sleep disorders and changes affect all of us as we age, older adults undergo many sleep-related changes that can affect their physical and psychological well-being. This course presents a review… Read more »
Sleep and the Brain: What’s the Connection?
Do you wake up in the morning feeling sleepy? Do you feel sleepy during the day? A good night’s sleep is as essential for your brain and your body as food and water. Sleep deprivation affects the brain in multiple ways, impairing judgment, affecting… Read more »
Sleep Disorders: An Integrative Approach
Sleep disorders are very common complaints and they include difficulty falling asleep, early awakening, and interrupted sleep. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only one-third of adults say they get enough sleep every night… Read more »
Social Context of Stress
A strong social support network is important during difficult times. A social support network consists of friends, family, and peers. Developing and maintaining supportive relationships provides feelings of belonging, self-worth, and security. Withou… Read more »