Abstract:

It is posited that cross-national comparisons of geriatric health care policy must incorporate the different ways countries characterise policies in both factual & value-related dimensions, & that it is the role of gerontology to uncover & assess these dimensions. Given U.S. interest in adoption of the Canadian geriatric health care model, factual dimensions in the US, eg, the demographic-economic crunch, the generational equity debate, & the role of technology, are compared with the findings of Canadian studies on resource allocation & population aging. Observations are made on the relationship between the ethnics & politics of health care. An examination of the value dimensions of individualism in the US & collectivism in Canada shows that the former leads to concern for self-sufficiency & freedom of choice in contrast to the Canadian social & political commitment to a process that will result in a public consensus. It is argued that the absence of this public process in the U.S. reduces the chances of ever reaching a consensus on a geriatric health care policy.