This paper examines gender differences in helping networks for three different illness situations (common ailments, hypothetical short-term health emergencies, and functional disability) among participants attending day hospitals and senior centres in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The findings show that women are more likely than men to receive assistance from family members other than a spouse and to receive assistance from friends as well. Gender emerged as a significant correlate of who helped, even when controlling for availability of that person, extent of the illness, other health factors, and social network characteristics.

Drawing on a qualitative study of women as givers and receivers of care, this paper explores older women's experiences of needing care. Old women find themselves in a social context in which government services are kept in the background and families are generally regarded as the proper locus of assistance to old people. Respondents described contradictions between needing support and security and wanting to adhere to cultural values of independence and self-sufficiency. Their low expectations of public services and sense of marginality in their families exacerbated these dilemmas. The fallacy of understanding old women's conduct in this constrained context as the exercise of choice is elaborated, and attention is given to ways of fostering the conditions in which elderly women can shape the kinds of supportive environments they would like to see in the future.

This research examines the nature and basis of self-identity in later life and the way in which it is maintained. In contrast to an identity crisis view, which emphasizes role as the link between individual and society and roles as the primary components of identity, this study assumes self to be the important connecting link and self-identity is conceptualized as complex and multi-dimensional. Based on the underlying assumption that identity emerges and is sustained through social interaction, the research focuses on older women's social network involvements. Data obtained through participant observation and 142 personal interviews with elderly women reveal that most of the women studied here do not view themselves as' elderly' or “old”. Age identity is found to be more relevant to some interactions than others. Moreover, the majority have managed to retain a positive identity which is deeply embedded within their informal role involvements and social network ties.

Family and kinship support have always been central to the maintenance of the elderly in western society. For the past 70 years provincial statutes have adopted the principle of filial support for indigent parents as an essential element in state policy regarding the elderly. This article discusses the history of the Canadian legislation to the present day and examines its application through the courts and state agents of Ontario and provincial officials of British Columbia. While of some significance as a mechanism of support for a brief period prior to 1951, the legislation was generally ineffective and at times counterproductive. Nevertheless, it has continued to play a role in state policy for the elderly because of the familist ideology that it reflects.

This study utilized 1985 United States National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data to explore the relationship between the drug prescribing phenomenon, measured by inappropriate prescribing and by prescription volume, and patient age. Inappropriate prescribing was relabelled potentially undesirable prescribing because limited medico-social patient information restricting circumstantial knowledge could result in an oversimplified and unduly critical judgment of prescribing. Categories of potentially undesirable prescribing were developed: 1) more than one drug in the same class; 2) drug classes not to be combined; 3) drugs serving sub-optimal treatment; and 4) drugs and diagnoses not to be combined. Of 67 different generic drugs representing 13 drug classes studied, 242 products were prescribed to the sample of 33,574 patients age 45+ years. Potentially undesirable prescribing was found to be a common problem regardless of type of medical practice and the sex of the patient: it is related to the age of the patient. The adverse effect of visiting a general practitioner is greater for older patients; and the adverse effect of attending a practice in a non-metropolitan area is larger for the older patients.

Inappropriate prescribing to the elderly is a serious problem and is one factor contributing to adverse drug reactions in this group. It is well-known that reliance on promotional literature for prescribing information leads to less appropriate prescribing. This study surveyed ads in two major Canadian medical journals which portrayed people who appeared to be over 65 years of age. The elderly were shown in just over 7 per cent of the ads. These ads did not appear to take into account the special drug needs of the elderly. Ads featuring the elderly could lead to inappropriate prescribing because of their pictorial content, their written content or a combination of both. Further research into this area is needed, specifically directed at factors which influence prescribing to the elderly. In the meantime physicians dealing with the elderly should critically analyse the message in drug advertisements and be aware of the risks of using them for therapeutic information.

This book contains a collection of works revolving around the care given to the elderly affected by cognitive defects. This text is particularly significant because it identifies the problems relating to the delivery of care within the institutions, and home care. As well, the book helps direct the development of palliative care. Although it appears to be primarily intended for nursing personnel, professional as well as non–professional care givers would find it a useful source of information.