Care workers are occasionally lauded as “heroes” of society, but the special challenges they face are not fully understood. This course examines how the organization of care has changed in modern times and the dilemmas those developments pose to helping professionals. Among the questions it engages are: How does the meaning of care change when it is performed outside the family? Do bureaucratic systems discourage individuals from taking responsibility for others’ suffering? How do care professionals manage their emotions and those of their clients? Can and should care work be rehumanized? In addition to helping learners develop informed responses to these pressing issues, The Challenges of Modern Caregiving will give students the chance to learn a method that identifies gaps in existing care systems.
The Challenges of Modern Caregiving
This course is part of Caring for Others Specialization
Instructor: Don Grant
Included with 
Recommended experience
What you'll learn
Identify trends in how care is organized
Discern key differences between private and public care
Assess the available supply of care
Analyze the emotional challenges of being a care provider
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6 assignments
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There are 5 modules in this course
In this module, you will learn how the provision of care has recently been restructured.
What's included
3 videos4 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts
In this module, you will learn about the demand for vs. supply of care.
What's included
3 videos1 reading1 assignment1 discussion prompt
In this module, you will learn how our understanding of care changes when provided by strangers.
What's included
4 videos1 reading1 assignment1 discussion prompt
In this module, you will learn about the emotional challenges of professional care work.
What's included
3 videos1 reading1 assignment1 discussion prompt
In this module, you will learn about two controversies concerning the impersonal nature of modern care systems.
What's included
6 videos2 readings2 assignments1 peer review2 discussion prompts
Instructor
Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Education
Johns Hopkins University
University of Pennsylvania
Universiteit Leiden
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