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University of the Third Age at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, the University of South Bohemia
45-46Views:60The goal of the paper is to present almost 30 years of activities of the University of the Third Age at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, the history of which started in 1992.
The first discipline called Care of Humans and their Health was opened by the University of South Bohemia in the academic year 1992/93. The elderly were offered an educational six-term health and social program, while three hours of direct lessons and two counseling sessions a week (“senior Thursday) were subsidized. The students had to sit for unmarked and marked examinations, and to process and defend a thesis at the end of their study. In July 1995, 28 graduates were awarded a certificate on an extramural education in a festive ceremony. The implementation of the discipline of Care of Humans and their Health confirmed that even a non—professional leisure-time education could be provided at an “academic” level. A comprehensive view of education enabled to identify areas that should be taken into consideration during the education of elderly adults. They include areas relating to computer and functional literacy, cultivation of leisure time, culture of the interpersonal mutuality, and the human being (looking for the sense of life and higher goals).
In the course of the thirty-year history of the University of the Third Age many activities have developed and the conception has extended. The new educational subject called Man in Health, Disease and Distress was transformed into a two-stage program offering the choice of the length and type of the educational program. The option A represented the choice of an integral and topically closed discipline while the options B and C represented the choice of the educational demandingness and inclusion in the European educational program called SoLiLL: Self-Organized Learning in Later Life. Furthermore, a conception of an extending program called Quality of life in the Old Age and other programs were offered to the elderly living in our region. As a part of the project activities, the elderly were involved in the projects of Phare a Interreg IIIA. The conception of the University of the Third Age at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of the University of South Bohemia enables the applicants to complete an integral educational program, lecture blocks/cycles with various topics, and, at the same time, a unique research program called “Golden Path” focused on the Czech-Austrian border area can be completed. The uniqueness of the educational research program is evidenced by two translated monographs called “Wallern und Wallerer (Volary a Volarští - Volary citizens and Volary)“ and „Der Goldene Steig“ (Zlatá stezka – Golden Path) by the indisputably most important expert and researcher of the Golden Path, a historian living in Bavarian Waldkirchen. -
Association between leisure activities, anxiety, depression and well-being of older adults living in nursing homes in Slovakia
40-41Views:35Engaging in leisure activities (LA) is associated with physical, psychological and social benefits leading to feelings of happiness, life satisfaction and successful ageing in older adults.
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Active, Creative Aging II. – Flow
52-65Views:300Background and aims: In our research, we examined the flow and antiflow experience that older people experience in different life situations (loneliness, time with family and friends, domestic work, leisure or creative activity).
Methods: In our study, we used a questionnaire examining flow and antiflow experience (anxiety, boredom, apathy) by Oláh A.
Results an discussion: Overall, creative activity and other leisure activities provide greater flow and less antiflow experience than doing housework. The flow experienced in the family circle is higher in the elderly than in the group of friends. Those engaged in creative activity reported higher flow and lower antiflow experience during loneliness than the control group engaged in other leisure activities. -
Activity in old age, active and successfull aging
38-61Views:60Background and aims: The aim of our research was a qualitative and quantitative examination of happiness and the meaning of life in old age.
Methods: Questionnaires measuring attitudes to ageing, happiness and the meaning of life, and semi-structured interviews were recorded. In the course of the research, aging-related attitudes, happiness and the meaning of life, as well as semi-structured interviews, were recorded. The interviews were evaluated with content analysis, while the questionnaires were evaluated with statistical analysis.
Results and discussions: The qualitative and quantitative studies complemented each other well and enriched the results of the study. In old age, the same factors that give the most meaning in life are the ones that give the most joy: the existence of family and the relationship with them, activity, leisure activities, and positive human relationships. Based on the questionnaire survey, it appears that those who are characterized by a higher level of the search for meaning prefer to experience their aging as development. Those who are characterized by a higher level of meaning experience tend to experience their aging more as a growth and, at the same time, less as a loss. In old age, activities that are full of meaning and cause a sense of flow are more pleasurable than pleasures and experiences. -
Association between Personal Well-being, Functional Status, Anxiety, Depression, Social Support and Spiritual Experience of Older Adults living in nursing Homes in Slovakia
42-43Views:19Satisfaction with life is one of the most important pillars of successful ageing. Assessing the cognitive aspect of subjective well-being (which can be related to life satisfaction) is considered a useful complementary indicator for monitoring and comparing quality of life across countries.