In 1988 the World Health Organization convened an Expert Committee to identify the principles of policy for care of ageing populations of the world over the next decade. The Committee commissioned a series of background papers from an international body of experts to form the basis of its deliberations. This volume is a compilation of those papers. While the signs of ageing of populations is commonly assumed to be a problem restricted to the developed world, more than half the world's population of people aged 65 and over live in developing countries. The Committee therefore had to consider a wide range of issues including the applicability of models of care for the elderly in the developed world to less-developed nations.

The book surveys common geriatric problems, issues about delivering health care and social services to older people, and policy issues with regard to improving care. The chapters are designed to provide practical, as well as theoretical, approaches to meeting the challenges of geriatric care.