Conclusions and recommendations for policies on rural aging in the first decades of the 21st century.

The 2000 Forum on Rural Aging: Policy Debates was one of the main tracks of the first International Conference on Rural Aging held in Charleston, WVa., in June 2000. The 2000 Forum was a follow-up to the Expert Group Meeting on Rural Aging, which met at Shepherdstown, WVa., in May 1999. That group considered policy implications of the 1999 International Year of Older Persons for rural aging in four key areas: the situation of older people, multigenerational relationships, lifelong development, and the development and aging of rural populations. As a direct follow-up of the Shepherdstown Expert Group Meeting, the 2000 Forum on Rural Aging formulated the Conclusions and Recommendations for Policies on Rural Aging through a series of working groups. The Conclusions and Recommendations were endorsed by the Conference Plenary Session on June 11, 2000. The Draft Recommendations for Policies on Rural Aging were availablefor comments on the Internet in the remaining part of the year 2000. Many comments were received. Hana Hermanova and Sally Richardson incorporated the comments into the finalized version.

Epidemiology of disability and implications for practice.

The epidemiology of disability is a vast field aiming to bring more precise information about the 10% of the world's population that is disabled to the attention of national and local administrations. This information is essential for management of the problems of disability in an appropriate way and making best use of resources. The current epidemiological studies are done by different methods, and use non-standardized terminology with very free interpretation of the IDH concepts. The classifications--ICD and ICIDH--play their role in creating the disability databases. The challenge for the future is to harmonize all these processes.

The WHO programme on health of the elderly.

The aging of population is a world-wide phenomenon bearing important policy implications for both developing and developed nations. The health programme for the elderly in the years 1990 to 1995 will focus on approaches leading to the well-being of aged persons. This might be achieved by reducing their functional dependency due to the deterioration of their health, social and economic status. This objective will be realized through the following approaches: --support to Member States in the formulation and implementation of policies promoting the well-being of the elderly; --data collection and information dissemination important to decision making, service planning and policy formulation; --cooperation with national programmes in organising comprehensive care systems for the elderly including training components; --promotion of research directed towards the well-being of the elderly; --development or adaptation, when applicable, of technologies appropriate for the elderly in developing countries; --encouragement of multilateral international collaboration for the well-being of the elderly.

Disability indicators and WHO programme: "health for all by the year 2000".

The WHO worldwide policy "Health for all by the year 2000" has been adapted into "Targets for health for all by the year 2000" for Europe. The issue of the elderly is addressed by the slogan "Add life to years", the issue of the disabled by "Better opportunities for disabled persons". To support the monitoring process towards attainment of the regional targets, a list of regional indicators was proposed. These indicators are either parts of the national health information systems already, or are developed ad hoc through sample surveys. The indicators in care of the elderly and disabled are reviewed with regard to previous developments of data base on consequences of diseases, malformations and injuries.