Assessment: Essay

Word count: 1500 words

Aim of Assessment:

On successful completion of this assessment task students will have met the following learning outcomes:

1. Critique representations of older people in policy, laws and legislation, and health/social service delivery;

2. Recognize that healthy ageing is a highly achievable goal for most older people, with the majority retaining high levels of independence and having greater expectations for quality and length of life than their predecessors and the potential for positive experiences of ageing;

3. Analyse issues associated with the cost of health and community support for older people in the current economic and political climate;

4. Evaluate the rationales for resource allocation, service provision and coordination of services for older people using a social capital approach;

5. Critique models of health service delivery for older people, including models of wellness and user-pays;

Details:

In this assessment task you are required to write an essay on the following topic:

Describe the concept of social capital and demonstrate how this has been applied in health & social policy and programs relating to either housing, healthcare or other services, and support for older persons. This discussion needs to be completed with reference to the literature and critical discussion of findings.

This assessment requires you to:

• Write in essay format incorporating an introduction, body and conclusion (NB no headings). If you have just returned to study or have difficulty constructing essays please refer to the ‘Academic Literacy' document on how to develop an essay under ‘Assessment' on the vUWS site.

• Define the term ‘social capitol' and provide examples of how this concept has been applied in health and social policy and programs

• Critique these examples with reference to the literature.