Demographic Challenges and Health in Germany

Demographic challenges are affecting the health care system in Germany and globally: a growing aging population; low birth rates; sociopolitical, women's health, and health care economic issues; and immigration. During a recent Fulbright Scholar program, scholars from several disciplines including demography, sociology, medicine, and nursing examined these demographic challenges facing Germany and other industrialized countries. Enormous challenges exist for industrialized and developing countries related to these demographic changes, the complexity of health care economics, and population issues. In Germany, the shifting population demographics are affecting health care, financing of the German health care system, and the growth of immigrant populations.