The issue of seniors' lack of knowledge about how they can interact and live their intimate and personal relationships has public health consequences (mental health, isolation, sexual health, etc.). But health and social care professionals can be reluctant (uncomfortable) to deal with these issues with senior citizens. To remedy this, the Edusexage project (EDUcation for healthy SEXuality in old AGE) look to train health and social care professionals on sexuality and aging through an online course containing three topics.As an international initiative co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, the EDUcation for healthy SEXuality in old AGE project aims at helping health and social care professionals to overcome the taboos surrounding sexuality, and addressing these issues. It is also necessary for public health reasons in particular.

The training is available in six languages and it is accessible for free, in open access format and with no need of log-in registration. 

The structure of the training is as follows:

Topic 1: Sexuality and ageing

• Module 1.1 - Facts about sexuality and ageing
• Module 1.2 - Health related changes (physical health, medication)
• Module 1.3 - Views on ageing and their influence on older people’s self-perception and behaviour

Topic 2: Challenges and barriers to sexuality expression in older people

• Module 2.1 - Health and social care professionals’ perspectives/own attitudes on older persons
• Module 2.2 - Views on ageing and ageism
• Module 2.3 - Older persons’ barriers to the expression of sexuality

Topic 3 : Creating professional environments to overcome barriers to sexuality expression in older people

• Module 3.1 - Professional environments in residential aged care
• Module 3.2 - Overcoming barriers to social connectedness and sexuality expression in older people living in the community

The content of each training area is then divided into sub-didactic units and training modules, each with its own learning outcomes, recommendations and supporting references to provide a complete learning experience. Each module contains written content, images and ends with a quiz to allow learners to test what they have learned. At a later stage in the implementation, the training material was tested and validated by 80 representatives of the target groups (i.e. health and social care learners and professionals) to check the pedagogical relevance and reliability of the content.

To access the training deliverables produced by partners, please consult: https://edusexage-mooc.eu/