Trends in Dementia Prevalence, Incidence, and Mortality in the United States (2000–2016)

Objectives: The prevalence of dementia has declined in the United States; how this parallels to changes in incidence and mortality, and how improvements in educational attainment may have influences these trends, is not known. Methods: Using the Health and Retirement Study (2000–2016), we estimated logistic regression models to examine trends in dementia prevalence and incidence, and mortality for those with and without dementia. Results: The relative decline was about 2.4% per year for dementia prevalence and 1.9% for dementia incidence. Mortality declined similarly for those with and without dementia. Improved educational attainment accounted for decline in incidence, some of the decline in prevalence, and had a negligible role in mortality. Discussion: The declines in dementia incidence provide evidence that dementia prevalence should continue to decline in the near future. These declines are most likely largely driven by continued improvements in older adult education.

A Collaboration-Based Spiral Model for Curriculum Development of Older Adult Education

Older Adult Education (OAE), which is considered as an effective way of dealing with social problems caused by aging society, has been widely adopted in many countries. One of the most challenging problem in OAE is curriculum development due to the unique features of OAE, such as the variety of requirements and background of older learners and multiplicity of the objectives of education providers. Fewer studies have been conducted on curriculum development for OAE, compared with those for regular school education. In this paper, we propose a collaboration-based curriculum development model, inspired by value co-creation model in service science. In the proposed model, the role of older learner is emphasized in that education providers collaborate with older learners in curriculum development, as business service providers collaborate with customers for value creation from service science perspective. We study the curriculum development in two representative OAE universities in China to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Are Slovak Universities Prepared to Create the Department of Geragogy and Train Future Geragogues?

Introduction:The authors of this paper base their research on the following assumption: the development of both geragogic education (older adult education) and profession is conditioned by the existence of a study program of geragogy provided by departments of geragogy created at universities (as public institutions of higher education). The fact remains that a qualified training of geragogues is absent in the Slovak conditions. Purpose:When compiling a graduate profile, inclusive of a list of competences that a geragogue should possess, a range of specific local circumstances needs to be taken into consideration. Subsequently, it is necessary to define a position of a geragogue. Geragogue is a professional working in the field of senior education, just like a pedagogue or an adult educator work in their fields. It is also important to identify and accentuate the philosophical and social context in which these professionals are confronted with the demands of today’s society, in a form of a society based on knowledge, questions of the ongoing social changes and defining the meaning of life. Results:The task of creating the department and program of geragogy is formulated as a social demand of the time, debunking the current myth of the crisis of universities. In history, a university was a vital place where the values serving social integration emerged. It was also a practice field for the educators to train so they could spread these values and transform them into social skills. Conclusion:In the conclusion, the authors propose key areas of undergraduate training of geragogues, including the definition of institutional anchoring, with the goal to contribute to ongoing professional discussion and to creation of the department and the program of geragogy.

A Collaboration-Based Spiral Model for Curriculum Development of Older Adult Education

Older Adult Education (OAE), which is considered as an effective way of dealing with social problems caused by aging society, has been widely adopted in many countries. One of the most challenging problem in OAE is curriculum development due to the unique features of OAE, such as the variety of requirements and background of older learners and multiplicity of the objectives of education providers. Fewer studies have been conducted on curriculum development for OAE, compared with those for regular school education. In this paper, we propose a collaboration-based curriculum development model, inspired by value co-creation model in service science. In the proposed model, the role of older learner is emphasized in that education providers collaborate with older learners in curriculum development, as business service providers collaborate with customers for value creation from service science perspective. We study the curriculum development in two representative OAE universities in China to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model.