Key policy issues in long-term care are diverse and complex and the numbers of persons needing such care continue to incease. Demographic and epidemiological transitions will result in dramatic changes in the health needs of the world's populations. Everywhere, there is a steep increase in the need for long-term care (LTC). These trends reflect two interrelated processes. One is the growth in factors that increase the prevalence of long-term disability in the population. The second is the change in the capacity of the informal support system to address these needs. Both of these processes enhance the urgency for public policies to address the consequences of these changes. The growing need for LTC policies is generally associated with industrialized countries. What is less widely acknowledged is that long-term care needs are increasing in the developing world at a rate that far exceeds that experienced by industrialized countries. Moreover, the developing world is experiencing increases in LTC needs at levels of income that are far lower than that which existed in the industrialized world when these needs emerged. This volume addresses many of these issues. Included are the role of and support to the family, integration with health, and social systems, case management,human resources, quality assurance, and choosing strategies for designing LTC systems. Recognized experts provide a comprehensive overview of these and related topics.

Table of Contents:
Part One The role of and support to the family: the role of informal support in long-term care, Joshua Wiener; the support of carers and their organizations in some northern and western European countries, Marja Pijl. Part Two Issues of integration and co-ordination: the interface of LTC and other components of the health and social services systems in North America, Robert L. Kane; long-term care integration in four European countries - a review, Dennis L. Kodner; achieving co-ordinated and integrated care among LTC services - the role of care management, David Challis. Part Three Human resources: human resources for long-term care - lessons from the United States experience, Rosalie A. Kane. Part Four Evaluating long-term care: approaches to evaluating LTC systems, Itziar Larizgoitia. Part Five Choosing overall LTC strategies: choosing overall LTC strategies - a conceptual framework for policy development, Jenny Brodsky, Jack Habib, Miriam Hirschfeld, Ben Siegel, Yael Rockoff.