Older persons' definitions of good health: implications for general practitioners.
General practitioners are the major providers of health-care services for the older population in Australia. Care that is provided for older persons within the general-practice setting remains crisis-orientated. Nevertheless, many of the disabling health problems of older persons neither can be "solved" nor cured. Therefore, the older population is a unique population in which to study what constitutes good health and ways in which good health can be maintained. This article describes the perceptions of a group of older persons about their health. They define good health in a remarkably non-medical way. General practitioners need to take into account this knowledge when considering ways to improve the health of these patients.
Saltman
D C
DC
School of Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Kensington.
Webster
I W
IW
Therin
G A
GA
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D010821:Physicians, Family