Health and Health Care in Later Life

One of the most potent images of later life is the general association between age and ill health. The stereotype of later life is that it is characterized by universal and inevitable ill health. The ageing of the population is, therefore, regarded as problematic because of the high consumption of health and social care by older people. These two issues, the health status of older people and the provision of health and social care, are addressed in this volume. The first section of the book presents an overview of the physical and mental health in later life. It also addresses the health beliefs and behaviousr of older people. The second section of the book describes current patterns of health and social care utilization by older people and concludes with a discussion of how these may be affected by recent policy changes in Britain.