The Aged and Chronic Disease: Research in a Local Health Department. Monograph Series, Number 9

This report presents information regarding the methods and results of a research and program development project dealing with the health of the elderly, with particular attention to chronic illness. The general purposes are to delineate the needs of the aged within the population of a retirement area, to plan and initiate programs of service to satisfy the important needs met through the community endeavors, and to measure the degree of effectiveness of the new or modified programs in reaching their goals. The introductory chapter identifies the problems and objectives of the study. Chapter 2 describes the area in which the study was conducted, its people, and its health resources. Chapters 3 through 7 describe the methods and results of a field investigation of certain health and behavioral characteristics of the population of the county aged 65 and over. Chapter 8 reports supplementary studies of indicated community health services that required more precise knowledge for planning and initiation. Chapter 9 relates in some detail the steps taken to bring research findings to the community and to apply them to program development. Chapter 10 discusses the benefits and problems of research in the local health department in the light of the authors' experience. Finally, chapter 11 summarizes the principal findings. (Author/JA)