Gerontology
When you qualify as a doctor, it is very likely that the majority of patients you treat will be older people. Rapid population ageing means that for the first time in UK history, there are more people aged over 60 than there are children under 16. Life expectancy both at birth and at age 65 in the UK has reached its highest level ever for both men and women. Never before have we seen such wide variation in the health status of older people (for example the length of life, physical or mental health status achieved), their financial standing, or heard such debate about how we should manage our ageing societies in the decades to come. Older people are a very diverse group, yet all have healthcare needs, ranging from sexual health to complex co morbidities, dementia and long-term care.
This degree provides essential exposure to the key debates surrounding growing and being old in contemporary societies. It will equip students to address matters of current social and economic concern about ageing and later life and will help to develop knowledge and understanding of multi-disciplinary, multi-professional and multi-agency working with older people. The programme will provide students with key insights into how policy, public services and individual level factors influence how later life is experienced. For example, how does health and social care policy respond to the key health challenges that face older people (including dementia, falls, stroke, and cancer)? What are the key issues faced by individuals and NGOs working to provide formal and informal support and care to older people?
Gerontology is the multidisciplinary study of ageing and later life. The Institute of Gerontology is one of the foremost gerontological research and teaching institutes in Europe. The Institute enjoys strong links with King’s Health Partners, in particular with geriatricians working at our partner hospitals and with the Institute of Psychiatry. Our multidisciplinary teaching programmes draw on our cutting-edge research into the ageing process and ageing populations. The Institute is a leading contributor to key public policy debates concerning the ageing population. Our students come from many different backgrounds including medicine and allied health professions, national and local government, NGOs, the voluntary sector, policy, social science, humanities and international relations. Many of our alumni now occupy strategic positions enhancing the wellbeing of older people all over the world.
The programme includes four compulsory modules: Ageing, Health & Society; Population Ageing & Policy; Understanding and Designing Research; Biology of Ageing and a 30 credit research project.
Further information
Programme Adviser
Dr Karen Lowton
Room K4.23,
King’s College London,
Strand Campus
Telephone: 020 7848 2566
Email: karen.lowton@kcl.ac.uk
Department Administrator
David Hardy
Department of Social Science, Health and Medicine
Room K4L.21,
King's College London
Strand Campus
Telephone: 020 7848 2735
Email : gerontology@kcl.ac.uk