Old people living in Dorset; a socio-medical survey of private households.

The present investigation is part of a more comprehensive study of old people living in Dorset (Simonds, 1954). The main survey, which was sponsored by the Health and Social Services Committee of the Dorset County Council, had as its immediate objectives: (1) to discover the extent and nature of latent welfare needs among old persons living in the county; (2) to decide which of the permissive clauses in Part III of the National Assistance Act (where the responsibilities of the local authorities towards disabled, infirm, and aged persons are outlined) should be recommended by the Health Committee. The facts required were partly medical and partly social, and three categories of old people had to be considered: (i) inmates of institutions for the aged, (ii) tenants of almshouses, bungalows, and flats reserved for the use of old people, (iii) tenants or owners of other dwelling houses. Only the findings in respect of the third group are described here.