Riggs J A
Alzheimer's Association, Washington, DC 20004, USA.
Aging Ment Health. 2001 May;5 Suppl 1:S138-45.
The growth of the aging population, the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity of that population, and the changing nature of Alzheimer treatment and care demand change in the financing and delivery of health and long-term care in the US. These challenges will require public policies that are well informed by behavioral, social, and health policy research. The issues fall into three broad categories, each of which raises questions for research: the cost of Alzheimer care, Medicare and health care policy, and long-term care policy including support of the appropriate role of family caregivers and meeting the need for affordable long-term care. The paper calls for a closer collaboration between the research community, policy makers and advocates to assure that science is addressing the most urgent policy questions and that relevant research is being translated and communicated to policy makers in a timely fashion.
美国老年人口的增长、该人口中日益增加的种族和文化多样性，以及阿尔茨海默病治疗与护理性质的变化，都要求美国在卫生与长期护理的融资及服务提供方面做出改变。这些挑战将需要以行为、社会和卫生政策研究为充分依据的公共政策。这些问题可分为三大类，每一类都引发了研究问题：阿尔茨海默病护理的成本、医疗保险与卫生保健政策，以及长期护理政策，包括对家庭护理人员适当作用的支持和满足对经济适用的长期护理的需求。本文呼吁研究界、政策制定者和倡导者之间加强合作，以确保科学研究正在解决最紧迫的政策问题，并且相关研究成果能及时转化并传达给政策制定者。
