Current projections indicate that by 2050 the number of people aged over 80 years old will rise to 395 million and that by this date 25-30% of people over the age of 85 will show some degree of cognitive decline. Palliative care for older people: A public health perspective provides a comprehensive account of the current state of palliative care for older people worldwide and illustrates the range of concomitant issues that, as the global population ages, will ever more acutely shape the decisions of policy-makers and care-givers.

The book begins by outlining the range of...