Aging society and preventive medicine

Family medicine in an aging society.

All industrialized societies have populations that are aging rapidly. Aging is associated with rising levels of dependency and comorbidity, and the older population accounts for most costs in health services. Health and social care costs are increasing everywhere, prompting third-party payers to want reduced hospital admission and readmission rates for older people, shorter lengths of stay, and...

Geriatric Medicine in an Aging Society: Up for a Challenge?

A progressive decrease in fertility, together with lengthening life expectancy, has driven a reshaping in the age distribution of the world population (1). The main consequence of this reshaping is a progressive increase in both the number and the relative proportion of older people in our society. Current fertility rates in virtually all developed countries are below replacement levels, reflec...

Preventive Medicine

Background. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between receptivity to cigarette promotions and smoking uptake in a cohort of adolescents. Methods and Measures. This was a prospective cohort study of 480 4thto 11th-grade students conducted in three rural Vermont K–12 schools. Cigarette use was determined by self-report at baseline, 12 months (survey 2), and 21 months (surv...

Preventive Medicine

Background. African Americans have low immunization rates, yet little is known about their immunization knowledge, attitudes, and practices or about the effect of outreach to this audience. In Spring 1997, the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) launched a statewide culturally sensitive and ethnically specific media campaign directed toward African Americans. This campaign was prece...

Preventive Medicine