Formation from professionals to professionals

The project

Europeans are living longer than ever before and this pattern is expected to continue due to unprecedented medical advances and improved standards of living. By 2020, a quarter of Europeans will be over 60 years of age. Combined with low birth rates, this will bring about significant changes to the structure of European society. This demographic change is one of the greatest challenges currently facing Europe and it is necessary to adapt EU policies and strategies to meet the demands associated with this phenomenon. Thus, the European Commission (EC) is prioritising initiatives that will contribute to building a healthy and active population for the future and its headline strategies such as the EU 2020 Strategy are heavily influenced by these prospects.

A key challenge related to the quality of life of older people with impairments is the training and skills of the professionals working in care services addressed for this specific target group. Care services and rehabilitation for older people with sensorial impairments must be understood as the individual support in daily living situation, as well as a holistic perspective on care services and various activities that leads to an equal and independent way of life.

Based on this knowledge base, the project SENSNET is aimed at creating a European Academy that will design, develop, collect, test and valorise innovative approaches and contents that will be tailored to the specific needs of professionals that work with ageing people with sensory impairment. Thus, the main target group of the project are workers at day care centres for older people, geriatric social workers, care workers for seniors, therapists for seniors, GPs, nurses, home-visiting care workers and other professionals that provide services to support ageing people with sensory impairments.