Residential care for the elderly : an assessment of current situations and prospects at St. Vincent de Paule Hospital

Abstract

Population ageing is a twentieth-century phenomenon! It has become a major concern facing the world and Malta is no exception. Although one cannot deny the fact that since time immemorial there were some people who lived to a ripe old age, these however, only formed a very small proportion of the population and formed part of the extended family. In Malta, it was considered almost a crime to separate the old ones from their family and send them to live in an institution for the aged. Prior to this period, the world's attention was taken almost entirely by problems which had to do with birth, infancy, early childhood and the young, where the highest increases of the population were registered. After World War II, benefiting from advances in medical science (decline in birth rates and infant mortality, control of communicable diseases), improvements in nutrition, and improved social conditions, the world's progress towards higher living standards, resulted in an increased life-expectancy. Various highly industrialized societies faced significant ageing of their population as the number of persons of 60 years and over, and their proportion to the total population increased perceptibly. This phenomenon will become more outstanding over the next four decades, as a result of a dramatic increase of the older people in the whole world, especially in developing countries.