Wieland G D, Pálsdóttir D
Soc Sci Med. 1986;23(12):1333-45. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(86)90296-0.
In the present paper, we provide a general overview of the changing position of the aged population in Iceland. After a long history of subsistence, Icelandic society has evolved only recently from pre-industrial conditions compared with other Western developed nations. The 1000-year preindustrial record is in large part one of a struggle for survival in which formal and informal measures to support the frail and disabled were often overwhelmed by disease and famine; this history is outlined to provide a baseline for recent changes. Both the speed and propinquity of Iceland's transition from these conditions have left a unique stamp on the present-day society: development has driven a quick elaboration of occupational roles and other social status shifts, vast health status improvements, and great population and urban growth. Public and personal health services have grown in scope and adequacy in comparatively recent decades, contributing to the now unsurpassed health status of the general population. The effect of these trends on the condition of elderly is described. As the birth rate in Iceland has dropped in recent decades, the proportion and number of Icelanders in the older and especially the oldest age-strata has been steadily rising. The current and planned organization of health and social services is reviewed, as Iceland faces new tasks of caring for elderly.
在本文中，我们概述了冰岛老年人口地位的变化情况。在经历了漫长的生存历史后，与其他西方发达国家相比，冰岛社会直到最近才从工业化前的状态演变而来。长达一千年的工业化前历史在很大程度上是一部为生存而斗争的历史，在这场斗争中，支持体弱多病者的正式和非正式措施常常被疾病和饥荒所压倒；概述这段历史是为了为近期的变化提供一个基线。冰岛从这些状况中转型的速度和临近程度都给当今社会留下了独特的印记：发展推动了职业角色的迅速细化和其他社会地位的转变、健康状况的大幅改善以及人口和城市的大幅增长。在最近几十年里，公共和个人卫生服务在规模和充足程度上都有所增长，这有助于使普通民众的健康状况达到如今无与伦比的水平。描述了这些趋势对老年人状况的影响。由于冰岛近几十年来出生率下降，老年人尤其是高龄老年人在冰岛人口中的比例和数量一直在稳步上升。鉴于冰岛面临照顾老年人的新任务，本文对当前和计划中的卫生与社会服务组织进行了审视。
