Foreword - Judith A Levy Introduction - Sidney M Stahl The Legacy of Aging SECTION ONE CONCEPTUALIZING AND MEASURING THE HEALTH OF OLDER PERSONS Old Equals Sick - Sidney M Stahl and Jacquelyn Rupp Feller An Ontogenetic Fallacy Assessing the Physical and Mental Health of the Elderly - Jersey Liang and Nancy A Whitelaw The Iceberg of Disability - Lois M Verbrugge SECTION TWO SOCIAL FACTORS IN WHO GETS SICK The Relative Contributions of Gender, Social Class and Advancing Age to Health - Charles F Longino Jr Old Age Health Problems and Long-Term Care Policy Issues - Jeffrey Michael Clair The Distribution of Distress by Age and Gender - Marjorie Chary Feinson Examining Data from Community Surveys Changes in Health Functioning and Mortality - Kenneth G Manton and Eric Stallard SECTION THREE THE USE OF SERVICES Health Beliefs, Attitudes and Behavior of Older Persons - Michael A Counte and Gerald L Glandon An Analysis of Advances in Research and Future Directions Predicting Nursing Home Utilization - Karl D Kosloski, Rhonda J V Montgomery and Edgar F Borgatta Is This The Best We Can Do? The Relationship Between Formal and Informal Health Care Services for the Elderly - William J McAuley, Shirley S Travis and Marcia Safewright Autonomy in Health Care for Elders - Debra David SECTION FOUR THE ORGANIZATION AND FINANCING OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES Health Needs and Services for Older Adults - Kenneth F Ferraro and Thomas T H Wan Evaluating Polices for an Aging Society The Dilemma of Poverty Based Long-Term Care - Madonna Harrington Meyer and Jill Quadagno SECTION FIVE THE INTERACTION OF SYSTEM WITH INDIVIDUAL Health Care Provider Choice and Satisfaction - Russell A Ward Physician-Elderly Patient Communication - Mary Ann Cook, Rodney M Coe and Kristin Hanson Processes and Outcomes of Medical Encounters Transition to the Status of Family Caregiver - J Jill Suitor and Karl Pillemer A New Framework for Studying Social Support and Well-Being The Caregiver Role - Michael Glasser, Susan Rubin and Mary Dickover Review of Family Caregiver-Physician Relations and Dementing Disorders