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Course Outline

HLT500 Ageing in Australia

Course Coordinator:Stephen Neville (sneville2@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Nursing

2026Trimester 1

Online

 Online You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement.

Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.

What is this course about?

Description

The health and wellbeing of the older person is a priority, and the way in which policy is related to care of the older person in Australia is central to this. You will explore biophysiological and psychosocial processes associated with ageing as well as consider how older people respond and adapt to health challenges. You will examine evidenced based principles in promoting optimal health and wellbeing of the older person and explore the way that autonomy and agency are promoted in the application of these principles.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Online
Online – Online Self-directed study 3hrs Week 1 12 times

Course Topics

Module 1 

  • Ageing and the global, national and local context
  • Aged care policy in Australia
  • Aged care standards

Module 2

  • Biophysiological and psychosocial processes associated with ageing
  • Promoting optimal health and wellbeing
  • Health challenges

Module 3

  • Contexts and models of care for the older person
  • Promoting autonomy, agency and independence

What level is this course?

500 Level (Advanced)

Engaging with new discipline knowledge and skills at an advanced level or deepening existing knowledge and skills within a discipline. Independent application of knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts.

What is the unit value of this course?

12 units

How does this course contribute to my learning?

Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... Professional Standard Mapping * Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
1 Describe health challenges for older people, and how these challenges are best met within contemporary health systems. Knowledgeable
Engaged 
1.1
2 Interpret and use of evidence to plan and manage care to support the health needs of the older person in diverse health settings. Creative and critical thinker
Empowered
Engaged 
1.1, 5
3 Analyse contemporary policy directions related to older people. Knowledgeable
Ethical 
1, 1.1, 1.5
4 Analyse the concepts of autonomy, advocacy and agency in aged care. Ethical
Engaged
Sustainability-focussed 
1, 1.1, 1.3, 2, 4.3
5 Apply principles and practices of academic writing and referencing Ethical 
1, 3.7
6 Demonstrate ethical use of intellectual property Ethical 
6.5

* Competencies by Professional Body

CODE COMPETENCY
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
1 Standard 1: Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice
1.1 The RN accesses, analyses, and uses the best available evidence, that includes research findings for safe quality practice
1.3 The RN 1.3 respects all cultures and experiences, which includes responding to the role of family and community that underpin the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people of other cultures
1.5 The RN uses ethical frameworks when making decisions
2 Standard 2: Engages in therapeutic and professional relationships
3.7 The RN identifies and promotes the integral role of nursing practice and the profession in influencing better health outcomes for people
4.3 The RN works in partnership to determine factors that affect, or potentially affect, the health and well being of people and populations to determine priorities for action and/or for referral
5 Standard 5: Develops a plan for nursing practice
6.5 The RN practises in accordance with relevant nursing and health guidelines, standards, regulations and legislation

Am I eligible to enrol in this course?

Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.

Pre-requisites

Enrolled in any postgraduate program.

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Not applicable

Microcredential Information

Not applicable

How am I going to be assessed?

Grading Scale

Standard Grading (GRD)

High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL).

Details of early feedback on progress

Early assessment and formative feedback will be provided through submission of task 1 outlining a topic area and plan for task 2 report.

Assessment tasks

Delivery mode Task No. Assessment Product Individual or Group Weighting % What is the duration / length? When should I submit? Where should I submit it?
All 1 Plan Individual 0% 
250 words
 Week 4 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 2 Report Individual 40% 
1500 words (not including references or appendices)
 Week 8 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 3 Case Study Individual 50% 
3000 words
 Exam Period Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 4 Activity Participation Individual 10% 
Weekly course engagement for 12 weeks.
 Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) Online Discussion Board
All - Assessment Task 1:Plan
Goal: 
The purpose of this task is to choose from a provided list of Australian national or state policies aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of older people within a contemporary Australian
ageing context and develop a plan for your Task 2 report about your selected policy.
Product: Plan
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
A list of policies and a plan template will be provided. In this plan, you will select and articulate your chosen policy area. You will use contemporary research to support the scope of your report on the plan template and outline your plan for your Task 2 report.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Identification of a policy within contemporary Australian ageing context;
 3 4
2 
Relevance of research and other evidence to support your plan;
 2
3 
Use of literacy conventions including use of APA (7th ed.). referencing, structure and grammar.
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Organisation, Information literacy
All - Assessment Task 2:Report
Goal: 
The purpose of this task is to write a report based on your plan from task 1. You will critique your chosen policy to identify the enablers and barriers to the success of the policy in the contemporary Australian aged care context.
Product: Report
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
You will use a provided report template format to present the critique of your chosen policy and use contemporary research evidence to support your critique.
Critique the policy in terms of the extent to which the program:
• responds to health priorities for the older person in Australia
• promotes health and wellbeing of older people
• enables autonomy and agency of older people
• safeguards the wellbeing of the vulnerable older person
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Quality and clarity of your critique of the chosen policy;
 1
2 
Depth of analysis;
 2 3 4
3 
Relevance of research and other evidence to support analysis;
 2 3
4 
Use of literacy conventions including use of APA (7th edn) referencing, structure and grammar.
 1 5 6
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy
All - Assessment Task 3:Critical Incident Account
Goal: 
The purpose of this task is to choose from a list of provided critical incidents in aged care and
provide an in-depth analysis using evidence to prevent or better manage similar incidents in the future. Consider the bio-psycho-social needs of the older adult, the setting and policy aspects contributing to the incident.
Product: Case Study
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
Your critical incident account will be presented in essay style. Your audience is management and leaders in aged care and/or healthcare services. You need to include a critical synthesis of potential causes and risks contributing to the described incident and recommended management for the future prevention of such incidents. Your information must relate to the issues of the provided incident.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Critical analysis of evidence used in support of ideas;
 2 3 4
2 
Application of knowledge of the ageing process;
 1 2
3 
Integration of data and evidence to inform future practice in the context of aged care;
 2 3
4 
Use of literacy conventions including the use of APA (7th edn) referencing, structure and grammar.
 1 5 6
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy
All - Assessment Task 4:Module engagement
Goal: 
The purpose of this task is for you to engage with the activities through posting and responding to other post from activities and tasks supplied in the online learning materials to assist your learning.
Product: Activity Participation
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
You will work through the learning modules and complete all online quizzes for each module. You will post to the discussion board when prompted in the learning materials.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Engagement with learning materials
 2
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Collaboration, Applying technologies, Information literacy

Directed study hours

A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.

What resources do I need to undertake this course?

Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.

Prescribed text(s) or course reader

You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.

Required? Author Year Title Edition Publisher
Required Maree Bernoth,Denise Winkler 2022 Healthy Ageing and Aged Care 2 Oxford University Press, USA

Specific requirements

Not applicable

How are risks managed in this course?

Health and safety risks for this course have been assessed as low. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

What administrative information is relevant to this course?

Assessment: Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.

Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.

In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.

Assessment: Additional Requirements

Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment

Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale

Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct

Assessment: Submission penalties

Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.

The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty

Links to relevant University policy and procedures

For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:

  • Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
  • Review of Assessment and Final Grades
  • Supplementary Assessment
  • Central Examinations
  • Deferred Examinations
  • Student Conduct
  • Students with a Disability

For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching

Student Charter

UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.

General Enquiries

For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.  

For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: 

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