Health, Functioning, and Disability in Aging

Aging is one of the most important forces shaping our society, healthcare system, and economy. As people live longer than ever before, understanding how to support health, function, and quality of life in later years has become a central public health challenge.This course provides an overview of these issues with emphasis on the epidemiology of age-related health conditions and how they translate into functional limitations, disability, and participation in everyday life. It is organized into three modules: (1) major public health challenges of aging, (2) how function and disability are defined, measured, and experienced, and (3) the laws, services, and systems designed to support older adults. Topics include conceptual frameworks of health function and disability, major types of functional limitations—physical, sensory, cognitive, and developmental—as well as common conditions associated with aging and the challenges faced by individuals with functional limitations.