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Study associate degree community services & care online with University of Tasmania through Open Universities Australia. Explore all degrees, subjects and short courses now.

Health and Wellbeing in Social and Cultural Contexts

Creativity for Life

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing in Older Adults

Mental Health, Dementia and Challenging Behaviours

Health and Community Services in Australia

The Arts and Dementia Care

Introduction to Community Development

Indigenous Community Development

Introduction to Ageing, the Brain and Dementia

Support services, both mainstream and specialised, are adopting contemporary disability practices to enable self-determination, choice and control by people with disability. This subject examines the evolution of disability practice with particular emphasis on the reforms arising from the Disability Royal Commission and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Using a rights-based framework, you will explore themes of participation and inclusion and develop professional skills in effective communication, advocacy, support coordination and capacity building.

Contemporary Disability Practice

This subject will provide an introduction to existing evidence-based research on the benefits of engagement with the arts, through the lifespan and strategies employing creativity to support better ageing and mitigate risk factors for dementia. The subject offers opportunities for students to undertake creative tasks, develop their own creativity and reflect on the cognitive benefits.

Explore how enjoying artistic activities contributes to peoples’ wellbeing and quality of life. Learn how to engage people in imaginative pieces that communicate their thoughts and emotions—and work on your own creative project too!

Participation in the creative arts has been shown to afford a wide range of benefits to mental health and wellbeing for young and old. This subject explores ways in which the creative arts and play can be used therapeutically to support and enhance mental wellbeing for children, adolescents and younger people. It explores particular challenges associated with life events, neurodiversity, or for those who are from minority or marginalised groups. A framework derived from principles of trauma-informed practice is used to inform critical evaluation of complex issues, and to consider appropriate and effective design of creative arts and play-based activities in a variety of scenarios. You will have opportunities to explore your own creativity and gain practical insight into different roles in the therapeutic arts, and to explore your own interests by conducting individual research that will deepen your understanding of the potential of creative arts and play for supporting aspects of the mental wellbeing of a specific cohort.

Creative Arts, Play and Mental Wellbeing

This introductory subject will explore the physical and cognitive changes that occur during the ageing process, and age-related pathological changes that can lead to diseases that cause dementia. This subject will introduce fundamental neuroscience concepts in the healthy adult, ageing and diseased nervous systems, with a focus on brain structure and function. Throughout this subject, students will learn how to find scholarly literature, and how to recognise and summarise scientific evidence to use in their academic communication.

This subject explores historical and current case studies of creative arts practitioners from a range of cultural contexts living with physical or mental illness and the ways this is reflected or subsumed in their work. This engagement with creative work provides valuable perspective on lived experience and insights into the impacts of acquired or congenital disability or illness on the creative process and the impacts of the arts on health and wellbeing of individuals. The subject will draw on perspectives and literature of Health Humanities that reinforce empathy in engagement with people experiencing physical or mental illness and promotes patient-centred care and can underpin and enhance a current or future role in planning or delivery of arts programs in healthcare settings and the community.

Perspectives of the Arts on Health and Wellbeing

Practical interventions employing arts-based activities, including music, theatre, dance and visual arts, are increasingly being employed nationally and internationally to improve mood and well-being, physical activity and cognitive processing for people with dementia. Arts-based programs have also been shown to have some capacity to enhance communication of emotions and relationships with carers. This subject will explore the evidence-based research on the benefits that can be conferred through the stimulation of sensory perception, reminiscence and subconscious movement using music, theatre, dance and visual arts. These will be dealt with in three separate modules. Students will develop knowledge of model interventions employing music, theatre, dance and visual arts, and each module will also provide an introduction to key elements of successful program design and the range of activities that can be employed.

Explore how music, dance, and theatre can improve the lives of people with dementia. You’ll review case studies and research for examples of creative activities. Think about your own arts program and how you can influence patients’ wellbeing.

This subject will involve students selecting a research topic related to ageing or dementia for a major assignment and related presentation. The subject area will be negotiated with the academic staff contributing to the subject, and will involve a literature review and analysis and synthesis of research in this area. Students will be required to present their project verbally, and to respond to questions and comments in the online environment.

Negotiated Project in Ageing and Dementia

What is cultural responsiveness and why is it increasingly valued in workplaces? What does it mean to commit to cultural safety as a health practitioner? In this online subject, you will develop your understanding of culture and the need for cultural responsiveness and cultural safety. You will begin to see culture in broad terms, and to explore the cultural and social influences that shape your own beliefs, values and behaviour and your own experiences of oppression and privilege. You will reflect on how all this affects how you interact with others, and practice responding in open minded, curious ways when your values and expectations are challenged. You will draw on subject readings and reliable literature to plan your lifelong journey of living and working effectively in a world where inequitable life experiences and outcomes based on factors including race, class, ethnicity, language, gender, ability and sexuality persist. While the subject focuses on cultural responsiveness in an Australian context, international exemplars and research are included.

Living and Working with Cultural Diversity

This subject will explore strategies to strengthen the capacity of individuals, families and groups to actively participate, contribute and engage in the health and wellbeing of their communities. This subject will build the knowledge and skills needed to coordinate services, projects and activities that result in improved health and wellbeing and increased &#39;social capital&#39;. Evidence-based models of community development, citizen engagement and participation, health promotion, peer support, networking and activism will be explored and applied through real-world case studies. Particular emphasis will be placed on mitigating the risks and barriers that contribute to poorer health and wellbeing outcomes for vulnerable, marginalised and isolated population groups.

Community Health and Wellbeing

This subject will introduce you to the quality, safety and regulatory systems that govern service delivery, reporting and accreditation. Principles, policies, standards and guidelines will be considered in the context of the worker, the consumer and the organisation. A cycle of continuous quality improvement involving planning, implementation, evaluation and adaptation will be emphasised, including the central role of consumers in these processes. You will also explore the importance of organisational vision and values, and the roles and responsibilities of staff and volunteers in quality systems and practices.

Quality Systems and Practices in Health and Community Services

University of Tasmania Associate Degree Community services & care Courses & Degrees | Open Universities Australia

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