Health of older people

Abstract

Declines in mortality and fertility have largely contributed to population ageing and an accompanying epidemiological transition from infectious to chronic diseases. Significant improvements in life expectancy have occurred overall, although these have not been equally distributed between socioeconomic groups or across countries. Ageing is associated with increased health and social care needs due to the increased risk and prevalence of chronic diseases, dementia, multimorbidity, and disability that demand different types of and approaches to care. Older people benefit from a wide range of preventive interventions that reduce morbidity earlier in life, and prevent disability later on, as well as gerontological and geriatric expertise related to the delivery of care, support, and services to meet their unique needs. This chapter considers the phenomenon of population ageing, the unique health needs of older people, and specific approaches to providing health and social care to them.