Healthy aging: Course on creativity and commitment during COVID‐19

Abstract

Older people are a rapidly growing segment of the population, with the expectation being that by 2050, people over 60 years old will comprise 22% of the world population, a sharp increase from today's 12%. 1 In Israel, 11% of the population are 65 and older, 2 which will have broad implications on healthcare and nursing, because, as noted by Garbrah et al. 3 nursing students and nurses find gerontological nursing unattractive. In a subsequent study, 4 the researchers concluded that the teaching faculty must seek the resources to establish a strong gerontological nursing curriculum to ensure that the demand for qualified personnel will be met. At the same time, the faculty is also called upon to develop and sustain a positive attitude towards older people among nursing students. Although the importance of creating a positive gerontological perspective among nursing students has been demonstrated, courses on healthy aging are still uncommon, and students are not familiar with it. Studies revealed that maintaining consistency of engagement and collaboration were often dependent on a person rather than organizations. 5