This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Vulnerable Groups in Adulthood and Old Age

Code: 44461 ECTS Credits: 9
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Nursing Innovation Applied to Vulnerability and Health OB 1

Contact

Name:
Caterina Checa Jimenez
Email:
caterina.checa@uab.cat

Teachers

Lidia Gimenez Llort
Andrea Moreu Valls
Francisco Collazos Sanchez
Roger Hortal Mas
David Giménez Díez
Luis Lopez Perez
Juan Manuel Leyva Moral
Cristina Casanovas Cuéllar
Jordi Puig Pla
Rebeca Gomez Ibañez

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

Not required


Objectives and Contextualisation

In this module the students will acquire the competencies for the detection and management of the vulnerable situations in younger and older adults from the nursing perspective.


Competences

  • Develop critical reasoning and social commitment to the diverse facets of today's society, based on respect for fundamental rights, equality between women and men and non-discrimination.
  • Develop scientific knowledge, critical reasoning and creativity
  • Integrate practice informed by evidence in the area of vulnerability and care.
  • Involve bioethics in diagnosis and intervention in situations that place the population at risk of vulnerability.
  • Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
  • That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse the prejudices and discrimination experienced by vulnerable populations in the short and long term.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to acquire scientific knowledge autonomously.
  3. Design an innovative research proposal relevant to the subject of the master's degree.
  4. Develop critical reasoning and social commitment to the diverse facets of today's society, based on respect for fundamental rights, equality between women and men and non-discrimination.
  5. Develop scientific knowledge, critical reasoning and creativity
  6. The student demonstrates the ability to manage adults in vulnerable situations according to the needs of the individual.

Content

Advanced models of care in chronicity and dependence  

Pre-frailty and frailty  

Neurodegenerative diseases 

Dementia and pain 

Patient safety culture

Models of care for chronicity/ageing within the primary care setting.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of nursing interventions in chronicity

Caregiver syndrome

Symbolic immortality

Compassion fatigue in healthcare professionals

Nursing care focused on diversity  

Functional impairments and functional diversity 

Minority groups in adulthood and old age  

Immigration  

Poverty  

Homelessness  

Sexual and gender diversity  

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) 

Vulnerability in international contexts

Nursing care in situations of violence 

Gender-based violence  

Obstetric violence  

Sex work 

Mental health and mental illness  

Nurses as a vulnerable group  

Concept of severe mental illness

Nursing care in mental health for people with mental disorders  

New professional strategies in the mental health network   

Nursing care in mental health for people with intellectual disabilities

Mental health and addictions

Sexuality in people with severe mental disorders


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Face-to-face problem solving/cases/exercises seminars 13 0.52 1, 5, 4, 6
Theorical lessons 32 1.28 1, 2, 5, 4, 3, 6
Type: Supervised      
Report elaboration 20 0.8 2, 5, 4, 3
Type: Autonomous      
Personal study 82 3.28 2, 5

 

During the second semester, a total of 45 hours of face-to-face teaching will be given in a master class format and seminars given by the nursing department, the psychiatry department and legal medicine and other experts in the field. The seminars will be on problem solving / cases / exercises.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Attendance and active participation in face-to-face and/or virtual lessons 10 36 1.44 1, 2, 5, 4, 6
Coursework submition 75 40 1.6 2, 5, 4, 3
Virtual discussion forums 15 2 0.08 5, 4

Assessment System

The assessment of this module is structured into three components, each with a specific weight in the final grade:

  • Virtual Discussion Forums (15%)
    Participation and the quality of contributions in the virtual discussion forums will be evaluated.

  • Attendance and Active Participation in Class (10%)
    Attendance and active participation in face-to-face sessions will be assessed. Attendance is mandatory, and students must attend at least 71.4% of the sessions. Failure to meet this minimum will result in a grade of Not Present (NP) for the module.

  • Submission of Reports/Assignments (75%)
    Students must submit 5 written assignments. The weighted average of these assignments will account for 75% of the final grade.

    • Failure to submit an assignment will result in a grade of 0 for that assignment.

    • Late submissions will not be accepted.

The final grade will be the weighted average of the three components above. A minimum score of 5 out of 10 is required to pass the module.

  • If any required assessment evidence is missing, the module will be graded as Not Assessable (NA).

  • If the module is failed, the student must re-enroll in the next edition of the program. In this case, no assessment scores from the previous attempt will be retained.

This module does not offer a single-assessment (final exam only) option.

 

Restricted Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technologies

 

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks such as:

 

  • bibliographic or information searches,

  • linguistic or stylistic correction of texts,

  • translations,

  • and other similar uses that do not replace the student’s own academic contribution in assessed activities.

 

In all cases, students must clearly identify the parts of their work that have been generated or assisted by AI technologies, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced both the process and the final outcome of the activity.

 

Failure to disclose the use of AI in any assessed work will be considered a breach of academic integrity, and may result in partial or total penalties to the grade of the activity, or even more serious sanctions in severe cases.

 


Bibliography

Vallejo Ruiloba J. Introducción a la psicopatología y la psiquiatría. 8a ed. Barcelona : Elsevier; 2015.   

Vieta i Pascual E, Ayuso Mateos JL, Arango López C. Manual diagnóstico y estadístico de los trastornosmentales : DSM-5. 5a ed. Madrid, [etc.] : Médica Panamericana; 2014.

Gordon K, et al. Nurse‑led models of care for patients with complex chronic conditions: a scoping review. Nurs Leadersh (Tor Ont). 2019;32(3):57–76

Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) [online]. (2016). York; York Health Economics Consortium; 2016. https://yhec.co.uk/glossary/incremental-cost-effectiveness-ratio-icer/

Berdud M, Ferraro J, Towse A. A theory on ICER pricing and optimal levels of cost-effectiveness thresholds: a bargaining approach. Front Health Serv. 2023 Aug 24;3:1055471. doi: 10.3389/frhs.2023.1055471. 

O'Mahony JF. Does Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Really Need to Abandon the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio to Embrace Net Benefit? Pharmacoeconomics. 2020 Aug;38(8):777-779. doi: 10.1007/s40273-020-00931-5. 

Puts MTE, Toubasi S, Andrew MK, et al. Social vulnerability and frailty: systematic review. Lancet Public Health. 2023;26(3):390–395.

Ferreira M, et al. Scoping review: cuidados de enfermería en Parkinson en AP. Rev Esp Enferm Primaria. 2021;44

Morris RL, Gagnon MP, et al. Nursing care coordination for patients with complex needs in primary healthcare: scoping review. Int J Integr Care. 2020;20(4):5518

 


Software

No required


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(SEMm) Seminars (master) 101 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TEm) Theory (master) 101 Spanish second semester morning-mixed