Course Description

This course is designed to introduce the students to the concept and issues of Long Term Chronic Care.  Long Term Chronic Care is a major concern of the older population, as well as, the health and social service networks who must plan for and provide the needed care.

Long Term Chronic Care is a developing concept which traces is history to English Poor Laws of the 16th Century.  The expansion of the concept from family and institutional care to a continuum of family cagegiving, institutional, community and home care, is one of the main developments of the past thirty years.  It is also one of the critical issues which today’s health care reform needs to address.

This course will explore the concept of long term chronic care, its history and the issues relating to policy, planning, needs assessment, treatment, program evaluation and financing.  Each concept will be discussed in relation to the aging phenomenon in general, and address the specific issues that relate to the older African American population.

The course will explore the nature of the specific health and social needs experienced by the older population, and the services for treatment.  Emphasis will be given to the major health conditions and practices of the African American older population.

The analyse of demographics will focus on the segment of the older population which has greater vulnerability for long term care services.  The students will explore and analyze the methodologies used to determine the need for long term care services.

Students will explore and discuss the LTC concepts, complete a comprehensive assessment on an older African American, observe and report on a specific long term chronic service, analyze census data and employ planning methodologies to determine the need for long term care services for specific populations, and describe a model long term chronic care network.

Individual classes will consist of presentations, class participation, and experiential exercises which will address the content for each session.

Student grades will consist on 10% class participation, 20% for planing paper, 20% mid semester paper and 50% on the final paper.

Course Outline

1. Definition and Concept of Long Term Chronic Care
2. History of Long Term Care
3. The Demographics of Long Term Care
4. Long Term Care Services - The Continuum Of Care
5. Long Term Care Services - The Continuum Of Care Continued
6. The National and Local Long Term Care “Networks”
7. Family Care giving and Long Term Care
8. The Church as Informal Provider
9. Models for Long Term Care Delivery
10. Health Conditions
11. Research on the delivery of Long Term care Services
12. Planning For Long Term Care
13. Summary, Wrap-up and Evaluation