Self Care in Later Life: Research, Program, and Policy Issues

This volume is uncontestably the most comprehensive and authoritative work on the subject of self-care available to date. It should set the stage for a new policy perspective on building a health care system that incorporates self-care at its core."--Lowell S. Levin, Yale School of Public Health

Practitioners and researchers who work with older adults are challenged to find ways to strengthen an elderly person's capacity to cope wiht age-related changes that threaten independence.

This volume assesses the efficacy of self-care in maintaining autonomy. It applies a broad definition of self-care that includes a range of behaviors undertaken by individuals, families, and communities to enhance health, prevent disease, limit illness, and restore health.

Marcia G. Ory, PhD, MPH, is professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Health, School of Rural Public Health (SRPH) at The Texas A&M Health Science Center in College Station, Texas.

Gordon H. DeFriese, PhD, is professor in the Schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Dentistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.