Formulating a curriculum on aging and health for university undergraduates

There is a need in our society to raise the national consciousness about aging, health, and the prospects for longevity, so that many more persons take responsibility for their personal health and understand what we will need in an era of health-care reform to promote health across the life course. We address this imperative by offering a relevant curriculum through a public-health lens, designed especially for university undergraduate students. Unlike the traditional educational focus on graduate students who are already committed to a career in the health professions, the students in our sights have little prior exposure to the course content and are still largely uncertain of their career plans. We believe this proposed course will help students understand aging processes as these evolve over time, understand the opportunities that arise from greater life expectancy, encourage them to promote their own health, and make a social contract to do so for society.