With the acceleration of the population aging process, the proportion of the elderly population worldwide is continuously rising. This demographic transformation has led to a sharp increase in the demand for elderly care services. The relative scarcity of elderly care talents not only affects the quality of life of the elderly but also imposes a heavy burden on families and society, becoming a key factor restricting the supply of elderly health services. China's elderly population accounts for about one-fifth of the total global elderly population. In the current context of rapid economic development, the MOOC course "Warm Companionship - Elderly Care and Practice" launched by Chengdu Medical College aims to cultivate more elderly care talents with professional knowledge and skills through information technology and jointly address the global challenge of the shortage of elderly care talents. The teaching goal of this course is to widely disseminate practical knowledge and skills of elderly care, broaden the professional horizons of learners, and keep them abreast of the latest developments in the elderly health industry at home and abroad. The course not only promotes the development of the nursing discipline to better adapt to the "Healthy China 2030" development plan outline but also cultivates care talents with high professional qualities and practical abilities through the close combination of theory and practice. These talents will provide more professional, meticulous and comprehensive care services for the elderly around the world, thereby improving their quality of life and presenting China's answer to actively promoting healthy aging.
The course uses plain language to explain elderly care knowledge, visually demonstrates core skills of elderly care through practical drills, and cultivates learners' attitudes and consciousness of caring for and loving the elderly through teachers' words and deeds. The course team has designed various interactive links in the forms of teaching videos, expanded materials, and topic discussions to facilitate flexible and effective learning for learners. At the same time, the course has chapter tests and final exams to ensure that learners can be competent in elderly care work and thus make positive contributions to enhancing the sense of gain and happiness of the elderly.
