Although studies of social contact and mutual aid between the elderly and their children suggest impressive potentials for family supports, much less is known of this potential in a situation of illness and dependency. The family's potential at that stage when the older person's health deteriorates to the point that some external support is…

Comparisons are used in this paper to identify improvements in mortality and morbidity experiences over time, to identify new environmental hazards, and to emphasize the potential for improvement. The comparisons are presented in the full belief that racial variations are fundamentally socioeconomic variations. Efforts are also made to identify…