Sharpening the Focus on Ageing with Longterm Physical Disability

Abstract

Ageing with long term physical disability is largely uncharted territory. This review focuses primarily on the experiences of the people who incurred some paralytic effects following polio or spinal cord injury. It is suggested that the concentrated medical debate on specific syndromes, such as the post-polio syndrome, might be unproductive and that more effective knowledge might be obtained by studying the implications of ageing on the emerging group of older people who have been physically disabled for decades. With such knowledge, lifespan health care models and health promotion strategies can be developed to assist people who are ageing and have physical disabilities to stay healthy and productive members of the community.