As children survive: Dilemmas of aging in the developing world

The decline infant mortality now occuring in the developing world assures a growing population of older persons with a chronic disease morbidity burden that is predictable and costly. The health needs and related social requirements of the elderly are not always well met even in countries where reso...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science & medicine (1982) 1989, Vol.28 (1), p.59-67
Main Authors: Bicknell, William J., Parks, Cindy Lou
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Ageing
Aging
Child
chronic disease
Chronic Disease - economics
Chronic Disease - therapy
Developing Countries
developing nations
developing nations aged health policy chronic disease health care costs primary care aging
health care costs
Health care industry
Health Policy
Health Services for the Aged - economics
Humans
Infant mortality
LDCs
Life Expectancy - trends
Medical care
Medical sociology
Old age
Older people
primary care
Social research
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The decline infant mortality now occuring in the developing world assures a growing population of older persons with a chronic disease morbidity burden that is predictable and costly. The health needs and related social requirements of the elderly are not always well met even in countries where resources are substantial. In the developing world, this morbidity burden can quickly overwhelm fragile and often underfinanced health infrastructures already unable to meet fully the prevention and treatment needs of a younger population with relatively low-cost, easy-to-prevent, easy-to-treat illnesses. Inappropriate application of costly technology could easily result, accompanied by diversion of resources from existing primary-care services, and paradoxically poor service to the emerging aging population. This paper examines the dilemma, and spells out the issues by examining several chronic diseases in detail. We conclude with suggestions for a policy-oriented research agenda aimed at the development of affordable and humane approaches to the health needs of aging populations, and the prevention and care of chronic diseases in the developing world.
ISSN:0277-9536
1873-5347
DOI:10.1016/0277-9536(89)90307-9