Environmental Changes and Social Vulnerability in an Ageing Society: Portugal in the Transition from the 20th to the 21st Centuries

Abstract

ne of the main structural changes faced by human societies is demographic ageing, which has a strong impact on health systems and quality of life. Dependence and disability do not constitute an inevitable consequence of human ageing, but situations of fragility and vulnerability increase with age. In this scenario, the need for assistance emerges as one of the most urgent problems, on which the future of sanitarian and social policies in all developed countries will depend. O