Anxiety Disorders in Older Adults
Course #76690 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Anxiety is an adaptive trait that facilitates the detection and management of potential hazards; however, anxiety disorders cause considerable distress and collectively constitute the most prevalent mental disorders in older adults, the fastest growing age demographic in the world. This course addresses the prevalence, symptom presentation, risk factors, course, and consequences of late-life anxiety disorders based on data from the most recent population surveys. Assessment and treatment considerations unique to older adults will also be addressed.
This course is designed for the benefit of a broad range of allied health professionals, including but not limited to counselors, therapists, and social workers.
Older adults are the fastest growing demographic in the world, and anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorder in this age group. The purpose of this course is to provide clinicians with the knowledge and skills necessary in order to improve the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders in older adults.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Describe the history and neuroanatomy of anxiety and anxiety disorder.
- Discuss the assessment and classification of anxiety disorders in older adults.
- Analyze the epidemiology of anxiety disorders in elderly patients.
- Describe the clinical implications of late-life anxiety disorders and their treatment.
Beyon Miloyan, PhD, received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Queensland in 2015 for his thesis on late-life anxiety disorders. He completed his postdoctoral training in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics of Aging program at the Johns Hopkins University before taking a tenure-track position in the School of Psychology and Health Sciences at Federation University, Australia. Dr. Miloyan has published 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and has been teaching since 2012. He has supervised 10 student theses at doctoral, Master’s, and undergraduate levels and served as an ad hoc peer reviewer for various journals in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and public health.
Contributing faculty, Beyon Miloyan, PhD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW
James Trent, PhD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.