Exploring Aging as an Existential Crisis: Implications for Health and Well-Being 

By exploring aging as an existential crisis, students will develop a multidimensional understanding of how biological, psychological, social, and existential factors shape the aging experience.  

Students will also learn to evaluate how health-care systems, social environments, and community structures can either alleviate or intensify existential distress. They will deepen their ability to identify protective factors—such as resilience, social connectedness, purpose, and supportive care—that enhance healthy aging. Additionally, they will develop competencies in person-centered thinking, ethical reflection, and holistic care approaches, preparing them to contribute to more compassionate and context-sensitive health and social policies. 

Students will strengthen their capacity to understand aging not simply as decline, but as a complex human process that offers opportunities for satisfying well-being. 

General learning outcomes

• Explain how aging can become an existential challenge affecting health and well-being 

Skill: Conceptual understanding, academic literacy 

• Recognize emotional, social, and health-related factors shaping the aging experience 

Skill: Analytical observation, empathy-based assessment 

• Apply holistic and person-centered perspectives in discussing or planning care 

Skill: Care planning, ethical reasoning, person-centered communication 

• Connect theory with methods 

Skill: Improved scientific writing and presentation skills