Preventive care for the elderly.

While prevention has received a great deal of attention in the medical community in the last 15 to 20 years, little of this research or clinical activity has been addressed directly to the elderly population. Today, with an increasing emphasis on geriatric care, there is a rising awareness that clinicians' preventive efforts on behalf of the elderly can yield important benefits not only for individuals, by improving their quality of life, but also for society through potential cost savings. This chapter describes the effects of prevention strategies for the elderly.