Postgraduate Diploma in Gerontology (Dip. Ger.)

(2) The Programme of Studies shall be published by the Board before the commencement of the course. Subject to changes that the Board may, with the approval of Senate, be constrained to make, students are bound to follow the study-units and obtain the credits as indicated in the Programme of Study.

(3) The programme of studies shall be composed of:

(a) Compulsory study-units in Social Gerontology and Medical Geriatrics, to which 24 credits are assigned;
(b) Elective study-units in Social Gerontology or Medical Geriatrics to which 15 credits are assigned;

(c) Compulsory practical placements to which 4 credits are assigned;

(d) A research paper of between 10,000 to 12,000 words on a topic selected from the general areas of studies carried out throughout the course to which 8 credits are assigned;

(e) Synoptic study units to which 9 credits are assigned.

A candidate shall be eligible to apply for registration in the course if in possession of the following qualifications:

(a) a degree, or professional qualification considered by the Board to be comparable to a degree in a discipline or science pertaining to one of the caring professions; or

(b) a degree, or other professional qualification considered by the Board to be comparable to a degree deemed by the Board as relevant and adequate for the candidate to follow the course with profit; or

(c) in exceptional cases, the Admissions Board may admit candidates in possession of a professional qualification in one of the caring professions together with at least 5 years experience which altogether are deemed by the Admissions Board to be comparable to the level of a first degree.

Both the percentage mark and the grade shall be recorded in the students’ academic record. However, only the percentage mark shall be used for the purpose of calculating the final average grade of the Postgraduate Diploma.

(2) Students who fail in the assessment of a study-unit shall be allowed a re-assessment once only. If unsuccessful, students shall be required to withdraw from the course. If successful, the maximum grade that may be awarded shall be grade D.

(3) If, on assessment, the research paper fails to reach the required standard, the candidate will be allowed a maximum of three calendar months to re-submit the work.

(4) The names of students who qualify for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma shall be published in a list in alphabetical order.

GER 4001: POPULATION AGEING: A SOCIAL OVERVIEW 

Lecturer: Prof. Joseph Troisi
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%) and written exam (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Demographic determinants and projections; variables and consequences; developed\developing countries; rural\urban
Differences;
Social Care aspects;
Economic aspects;
Ethical aspects.

Recommended Readings: 
UNITED NATIONS, Department of Public Information, VIENNA INTERNATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION ON AGING, USA 88-11724
UNITED NATIONS, Department of Public Information, MADRID INTERNATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION ON AGING 2002.
 TOUT Ken, AGEING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES,Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-827276-6 (pbk)
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GER 4002: SOCIOLOGY OF AGEING 

Lecturer: Prof. Joseph Troisi
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%) and written exam (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content: 
Theories of Aging;
The International concern;
The place of Older persons in the changing world;
Effects of Ageing on Society;
Impact of Industrialisation, Modernisation and Migration;
Values and Attitudes towards Older persons;
Roles and Expectations;
The changing role of the Family; Family relations and kinship
Networks;
The place of Older Persons in the Community;
Differences based on Gender;
Integration and Participation;
Active Ageing;
From a Welfare State to a Welfare Society Model;
Inter-generation cooperation.

Recommended Readings: 
BOND John, COLEMAN Peter, PEACE Sheila (Eds.)AGEING IN SOCIETY, Sage Publications, ISBN 0-8039-8947-4 (pbk)
ALBERT Steven M., CATTELL Maria G., OLD AGE IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE, G.K.Hall & Co., ISBN 0-8161-1604-0 (pbk).
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GER 4003: HEALTH PROMOTION IN THE ELDERLY 

Lecturer: Ms. Sina Bugeja
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%)and written exam (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
General principles of Health Education and Promotion;
Scope for Prevention;
Promotion of Physical Health;
The Promotion of Mental Health;
Prevention of Dependency and Institutionalisation;
Prevention of Falls and Accidents;
Nutrition guidance;
Safer use of Medicines;
Screening and case finding;
The Health Visitor.

Recommended Readings: 
TESHUVA Karen, STANISLAVSKY Uri, KENDIG Hal, TOWARDS HEALTHY AGEING: LITERATURE REVIEW, Collinsdove, Australia, ISBN 1-86371-3069
KALACHE Alex, EPIDEMIOLOGY IN OLD AGE,
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GER 4004: BIOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF AGEING 

Lecturer: Prof. Alfred Cuschieri
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%) and assignment (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Biology of Ageing: cytogerontology;
Theories of Ageing;
Healthy versus Pathological Ageing;
Age-related changes in the immune system;
The ageing brain;
The ageing systems Part 1 and 2); 1
General discussion and review of Ageing.

Recommended Readings: 
BENNETT Gerald, SHAH Ibrahim (Eds.), THE ESSENTIALS OF HEALTH CARE OF THE ELDERLY, ISBN 0-340-54559-3
BROCKLEHURST John, TALLIS Ray, PHILLIT, TEXTBOOK OF GERIATRIC MEDICINE AND GERONTOLOGY, ISBN 0-443-02696-3 
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GER 4005: PSYCHOLOGY OF AGEING 

Lecturer: Ms. Christiane Sullivan
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%) and written exam (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content
What is a healthy old age;
Aging and its problems;
Older people, their families and environment;
Psychological theories of ageing;
Common emotional reactions as expressed in old age;
Emotional reactions to age-related life crises;
Adaptive techniques and other defence mechanisms;
Professional attitudes;
Abnormal learning and minor processes;
Psychometric testing.
Dying and bereavement;
Special concerns: gender issues, crime, alcoholism, hearing and
visual empowerment, sexuality;
Psychological, social and rehabilitation therapies.

Recommended Readings: 
BUTLER Robert N., LEWIS Myrna, SUNDERLAND Trey, AGEING AND MENTAL HEALTH - POSITIVE PSYCHOSOCIAL AND BIOMEDICAL APPROACHES,Macmillan Publishing Co.,ISBN 0-675-20920X
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GER 4006:  RESEARCH AND EVALUATION 

Lecturer: Mr.Marvin Formosa
Method of Assessment: Class participation(20%)and written exam (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Literature review, different methods;
Research designs, qualitative, quantitative, descriptions,
Correlations;
Sampling techniques and probability;
Types of Data and Data representation;
Reporting studies; Evaluation of Research;
Validity of reliability.

Recommended Readings: 
PEACE Sheila M. (Ed.), RESEARCHING SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY, Sage Publications, ISBN 0-8039-8285-2 (pbk)
NEUMAN, L., RESEARCH METHODS: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE APPROACHES, New Work: Prentice Hall
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GER 4007: CLINICAL ASPECTS OF OLD AGE 

Lecturer: Dr Anthony Fiorini
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%) and assignment (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Causes of morbidity and mortality;
Characteristic features of disease in old age;
The clinical assessment of older patients;
Falls and instability;
Faecal incontinence;
Confusional states;
Drugs and older persons;
A medical geriatric service;
Continuing care;
The day hospital;
The nursing care of older patients.
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GER 4008: MEDICAL AND SOCIAL REHABILITATION 

Lecturers: Dr. Anthony Fiorini and Mr.Marvin Formosa
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%), assignment (40%) and written exam (40%)
Credit Value: 3

Content: 
Assessment; multidimensional approach;
Roles of different services;
Medical rehabilitation and disability;
Social rehabilitation;
The role of the physiotherapist;
The role of the occupational therapist;
The role of the nurse;
The role of the social worker;
Organisation of rehabilitation services;
Rehabilitation of older stroke patients;
Rehabilitation of older patients with fractured femora.

Recommended Readings: 
DAVIS Martin, THE BLACKWELL COMPANION TO SOCIAL WORK, Blackwell, ISBN 0-631-19877-6
SCHNEIDER, R.L., and KROPF, N.P., (Eds.), GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIAL WORK: KNOWLEDGE, SERVICES, SETTINGS AND SPECIAL POPULATIONS, Chicago, Nelson-Hall
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GER 4009:  PRACTICE PLACEMENT 1 

Method of Assessment: Writing of a report
Credit Value: 3

Practice Placement of 3 weeksíduration of both observational and hands on type. The practice placement enables the students to apply theoretical knowledge to practical solutions.
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GER 5001  SOCIAL POLICIES AND STRATEGIES 
 
Lecturer: Prof.Joseph Troisi
Method of assessment: Class participation (20%) and written test (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Conceptual framework;
Developmental implications of ageing trends;
Identification of policy options;
Short term and long term planning;
National and communitarian approach;
Co-ordination and collaboration;
Needs assessment;
Voluntary and non-governmental agencies;
Policy Evaluations.

Recommended Readings: 
LACZKO, Victor, SOCIAL POLICY AND ELDERLY PEOPLE, Ashgate Publishing Company, USA, 1995, ISBN 1 85628 303 8.
JAMIESON, Anne; ILLSLEY, Raymond (Eds.)., CONTRASTING EUROPEAN POLICIES FOR THE CARE OF OLDER PEOPLE, Athenaeum Press Ltd., Newcastle, 1990,  ISBN 1-85628-035-7
TRACY, Martin B., SOCIAL POLICIES FOR THE ELDERLY IN THE THIRD WORLD, Greenwood Press, new York, 1991, ISBN 0-313-26377-9
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GER 5002:  MEDICAL PROBLEMS IN OLD AGE 

Lecturer: Dr.Anthony Fiorini
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%) and assignment (80%)
Credit Value: 3
 
Content:
Disorders of homeostasis;
Pressure sores;
Sleep disorders;
Cardiovascular problems;
Endocrine disorders;
Neurological disorders;
Disorders of the locomotor system;
Common Infections in the older persons;
Infection control;
Disorders of nutrition;
Oral diseases;
Investigations in older persons;
Speech problems and their management;
Eye problems and their management;
Ear problems and their management.
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GER 5003: PROGRAMMES AND SERVICES - INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON 

Lecturer: Prof.Joseph Troisi
Method of assessment: Class participation (20%) and written test (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Health and nutrition;
Housing and the environment;
Urbanisation;
Building types;
Family support;
Social welfare and services;
Employment;
Education;
Income security programmes.

Recommended Readings: 
KRISHNAN P. & MAHADEVAN K. (Eds.) THE ELDERLY POPULATION IN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING WORLD: POLICIES, PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES, B.R.Publishing Corporation, Delhi, 1992, ISBN 81-7018-724-9.
TRACY, Martin B., SOCIAL POLICIES FOR THE ELDERLY IN THE THIRD WORLD, Greenwood Press, new York, 1991, ISBN 0-313-26377-9
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GER 5004: PSYCHOGERIATRICS 

Lecturer: T.B.A.
Method of assessment: Class participation (20%) and written test (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Psychiatric problems and assessment; 
Behaviour problems; 
Paranoid and Schizophrenic disorders; 
Suicide and Para suicide;
Team management and services;
Reminiscence therapy;
Personality aspects of old age;
Neurotic disorders;
Dementia;
Manic depressive psychosis;
Acute and chronic organic brain syndromes;
Psychotropic drug treatment.

Recommended Readings: 
ATKINSON, A.B.; and REIN, Martin, (Eds.), AGE, WORK AND SOCIAL SECURITY, St.Martin's Press, New York, 1993, ISBN 0-312-08548-6                      
BYTHEWAY, Bill; and JOHNSON, Julia, (Eds.), WELFARE and the Ageing Experience, Athenaeum Press Ltd., Newcastle, 1990, ISBN 1-85628-102-7
HUGMAN, Richard, AGEING AND THE CARE OF OLDER PEOPLE IN EUROPE, St.Martin's Press, New York, 1994, ISBN 0-312-12193-8.
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GER 5005: GERIATRIC SUPPORTIVE SERVICES 

Lecturer: Dr.Anthony Fiorini
Method of assessment: Class participation (20%) and assignment (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Community care;
General hospital care;
Specialised hospital geriatric care;
Nursing services;
Occupational therapy services;
Physiotherapy services;
Institutional care;
Terminal care;
The development of geriatric services.
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GER 5006:  DRUGS IN THE ELDERLY 
 
Lecturer: Ms.Therese Bellia
Method of assessment: Class participation(20%) and written test (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Biopharmaceutical and pharmacokinetics on drugs 
Changes in pharmacodynamics in older persons;
Adverse drug reactions and interactions in older persons;
Compliance in older persons;
Therapeutic care of the bowels;
Treatment of the older diabetics;
Drugs used in pain, arthritis and parkinsonism;
Cardiovascular drugs in older persons;
Drugs used in depression;
Hormonal replacement therapy and prevention of bone fractures
in older females;
Management of Prostrate problems in older males;
Improving drug use in older persons.
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GER 5007:  SOCIAL WELFARE WITH OLDER PERSONS 

Lecturer: Mr. Marvin Formosa
Method of assessment: Class participation (20%) and written test (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Problems older persons encounter;
Outreach programmes;
Assessment skills;
The skills of communicating with older persons;
Identifying and working with the older abused client 
(household and institutional);
Skills in running a day centre programme;
Casework recording skills;
Enabling older persons to function more adequately;
Using the health care services effectively;
Enlarging the social service programmes for older persons;
Skills in understanding and coping with bereavement.
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GER 5008:  EPIDEMIOLOGY 

Lecturer: Dr. Julian Mamo
Method of assessment: Class participation (20%) and assignment (80%)
Credit Value: 3
 
Content:
Introduction to epidemiology;
Use of epidemiology in ageing;
Distribution in time, place and person;
Sources of data: (a) routine, (b) surveys;
Cases and populations;
Research methods;
Steps in survey design;
The literature review;
Measurement tools;
Critique of a paper;
Epidemiology and public health;
Strategies for prevention.
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GER 5009:  STATISTICS AND COMPUTING 

Lecturer: Mr.Francis Curmi
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%) and written test (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Collecting data through interviews, questionnaires and published data;
Summarising and presenting data by tabulation, diagrams and graphs;
Analysing data: mean, median and mode
                Standard deviation and variance
                Coefficient of skewness;
Probability: Basic concepts including the additive and multiplicative rules;
Probability distributions: binomial, normal and poisson distribution;
Sampling theory: Types of sampling methods
                 Estimation using confidence intervals for means
                 The sample size
                 The "t" distribution for small samples;
Tests of hypothesis: Two-tail and One-tail tests;
Testing a sample mean; Type I and Type II errors; the Chi-square Test, contingency tables;
SPSS: Its commands for defining the survey data; Its use to 
obtain statistical results and for testing hypothesis.
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GER 5010: INCOME SECURITY FOR OLDER PERSONS 

Lecturer: Mr. Emmanuel P. Delia
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%) and assignment (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Income generation and poverty alleviation programmes: Theory and application;
The production - distribution trade-off;
Income generation problems;
Income-expenditure circular flow model;
Poverty measurement;
Criteria to run income maintenance programmes: universal, liberal, market-oriented;
Income maintenance experiments in developed countries: work response, marital stability and family composition, non-labour Supply response;
Rising costs and reconsideration of welfare systems;
Impact of funding welfare programmes;
Policy lessons.
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GER 5011:  FOOD AND NUTRITION IN OLDER PERSONS 

Lecturer: Ms. Maria Ellul
Method of Assessment: Class participation (20%) and written test  (80%)
Credit Value: 3

Content:
Introduction to nutrition, food and health policies and non-communicable diseases (NCDs);
Carbohydrates;
Proteins;
Dieteray fats; 
Vitamins and minerals;
CINDI Dietary guidelines and their role in the prevention pf NCDs;
Nutrition in older persons;
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GER 5012  PRACTICE PLACEMENT 2 

Method of Assessment: Writing of a report
Credit Value: 3

Practice Placement of 3 weeksíduration of both observational and hands on type. The practice placement enables the students to apply theoretical knowledge to practical solutions.
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GER 5020  DISSERTATION

Credit Value: 6
 
This is seen as a piece of work which will place qualitatively different demands on the candidate from those arising during the Course. It requires a sustained eggort over va long period first in defining the chosen area of investigation then in researching the background, in integrating the empirical data collected into a wider context of the subject and finally in drawing conclusions and recommendations on the subject.

The dissertation of between five to ten thousand words (5,000 to 10,000 words) on a topic selected from the general area of studies carried out throughout the course, should include a critical analysis of the issues covered by the topic. Candidates will be expected to analyse concepts, weigh and assess evidence, and compare alternative theories and assumptions. .
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GER 5021  SYNOPTIC STUDY UNIT

Credit Value: 3

This study unit consists of a final exam paper (Paper 1) covering the following study units: GER 4001, GER 4002, GER 4005, GER 4006, GER 4008 (Social Rehabilitation) 
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GER 5022  SYNOPTIC STUDY UNIT

Credit Value: 3

This study unit consists of a final exam paper (Paper 2) covering the following study units: GER 4003, GER 4004, GER 4007, GER 4008 (Medical Rehabilitation) 
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GER 5023  SYNOPTIC STUDY UNIT

Credit Value: 3

This study unit consists of a final exam paper (Paper 3) covering the study units chosen from those offered in Semester 2)