Review of initiatives on long-term care for older people in Member States of the South-East Asia Region

Overview

Demographic and epidemiological transitions are resulting in a dramatic increase in the proportion of older people in the world, where longer life expectancies and chronic disabilities of old age impinge upon the health and social fabric of countries. With rising long-term care needs of older people, public policies are urgently required to address the consequences of increasing prevalence of chronic disabilities and morbidities of long duration among older people and dwindling capacities of the informal/family support mechanisms.

While the issue of long-term care was previously associated with high-income, developed countries, the rapid increase in the proportion of older people in most parts of the developing world has resulted in a situation where the need for long-term care of older people assumes a signifi cant public health challenge [3]. Moreover, these developing countries are experiencing increases in long-term care needs at levels of income that are far lower than the levels that existed in the industrialized world when these needs emerged.