%0 Journal Article
%T Bridging the gap in ageing: Translating policies into practice in Malaysian Primary Care
%A Krishnapillai S Ambigga
%A Anis Ramli
%A Ariaratnam Suthahar
%A Norlaili Tauhid
%A Lyn Clearihan
%A Colette Browning
%J Asia Pacific Family Medicine
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1447-056x-10-2
%X Population ageing remains a global phenomenon in this new millennium and is poised to become a major issue in developing countries. Malaysia, an upper middle income country, with a population of 28 million is no exception [1]. Its ageing population of 60 years and above is rising steadily from 5.7% in 1990 to 6.3% in 2000 and is expected to be 9.8% in 2020 [2]. Like other countries, population ageing in Malaysia is a result of declining fertility, falling mortality rates and improvements in the health system. Effective prevention of infectious diseases and better nutrition has resulted in more people surviving into old age [3,4]. Life expectancy among Malaysians has also risen to 71.7 years for men and 76.5 years for women in 2007 [5]. Despite the improvement in life expectancy; poverty, lack of education and poor social support tend to influence the well being of its older population.In comparison to Australia, a developed country with 22 million population, 13.3% of its populace are aged 65 years and over [6]. Life expectancy for Australian males is 79 years and for females is 84 years [6]. The older population in Australia are healthier and better educated than their Malaysian counterparts.Whilst the definitions of chronological age for the older people in Malaysia and Australia are different, comparison can still be made because chronological age is not a precise marker for the biological changes which accompany ageing. The chronological age of 60 years and above seems young in the developed world, but for a developing country such as Malaysia where gains in life expectancy have not yet matched the developed world, this definition is more appropriate [7]. Chronological age has little or no importance in the meaning of old age in many parts of the developing world [8]. Other socially constructed meanings of age may be more significant such as the roles assigned to older people. In some cases, it is the loss of roles accompanying physical decline which is signific
%U http://www.apfmj.com/content/10/1/2