Coordinator: Prof. Dr. R.G.J. Westendorp

Increasing age often also brings with it a combination of diseases and conditions such as osteoarthritis, heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia and depression. More disorders affecting day-to-day activities such as mobility problems, incontinence and sensory disorders also develop. Nowadays physicians often have to care for patients with several concurrent chronic conditions (multimorbidity or comorbidity). Multimorbidity has a prevalence of 60% among people aged 55 to 74. In this course, students will further deepen their knowledge of multimorbidity and obtain a thorough mastery & ability of the concept, and understand how this affects medical practice. Geriatric giants include functional impairments that influence the daily life of the elderly. Examples are problems with psychological functioning (memory impairments, emotional problems), mobility, stability (falls, dizziness), vision, hearing and continence (urine & faeces). This course is designed to teach the students the specific features of medical problems of the Geriatric Giants in elderly individuals.


Themes
Multimorbidity
Risk factors and hypertension
Dementia
Delirium
Test taking and assesment in the elderly
Impairment
Rehabilitation
Polypharmacy