For much of the developed world, health care for a surging elderly population looms as one of the most daunting problems of the coming decade. In this book, contributors from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and countries discuss resource allocation for the elderly and debate plans for the years ahead. Essays focus on five general issues: the meaning of old age, the goals of medicine and health care for the elderly, the balance between the needs of the young and old, the pressures of other social priorities, and the role of families, especially the burden on women, in long-term care.
In consideration of the difficult moral and practical issues involved, the editors conclude the volume with a special report containing policy recommendations from representatives of eight countries (the United States, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). This important volume will be of interest to policymakers and a broad spectrum of health care professionals, as well as to anyone interested in the fate of the elderly or in coming health care challenges.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Daniel Callahan, Ruud H. J. ter Meulen, and Eva Topinková
1. How We Care for the Elderly
Mark J. Hanson
2. The Meaning of Old Age: Scenarios for the Future
Harry R. Moody
3. Aging and the Life Cycle: A Moral Norm?
Daniel Callahan
4. Life Extension and the Meaning of Life
Paul van Tongeren
5. Will There Be a Scarcity of Resources? The Future Demand for Care by the Elderly
Anneke van den Berg Jeths and Mats Thorslund
6. Effects of Population Aging on Health Care Expenditure and Financing: Some Illustrations
Reiner Leidl
7. Caring for the Elderly: Priorities for an Aging Population
Mats Thorslund and Marti G. Parker
8. Solidarity with the Elderly and the Allocation of Resources
Ruud H. J. ter Meulen
9. The Elderly and High Technology Therapies
Bryan Jennett
10. The Meaning of Old Age Impeded by Chronic Disease
Gebhard Allert, Gerlinde Sponholz, Helmut Baitsch, and Frieder Keller
11. Family Caregiving for the Elderly: Are There Ways to Meet the Need?
Eva Topinková
12. Adult Daughter Caregivers: Philosophical Analysis and Implications for Health Care Policy
Sarah Vaughan Brakman
13. Institutional Care of the Elderly: Lessons from Hungary
Bela Blasszauer
14. From Generation to Generation: Why U.S. Health Care Reform Is So Difficult in the Twentieth Century
W. Andrew Achenbaum
15. What Do We Owe the Elderly? Allocating Social and Health Care Resources
Ruud H. J. ter Meulen, Eva Topinková, and Daniel Callahan
Reviews
"The strength of the book lies in its discussion of the philosophical and ethical issues of aging. . . .The book will be of particular interest to medical and nursing staff working with the elderly, but it will also appeal to politicians and the interested layman since its scope and implications clearly reach beyond the narrow confines of medicine."—The Lancet
"I recommend this book to those interested in perspectives of aging and social health policy. The authors raised many significant issues and the final recommendations are worth of thought."—Richard Hedges, The Journal of Long-Term Care Administration
