The Oldest Old Project, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (KPMCP), Northern California Region, is proposing to convene a scientific meeting of national experts concerned with specific aspects of the compression of morbidity issue. Declining mortality over the past several decades has contributed to an increase in the proportions of people over age 65 in the U.S. Accompanying this increase are changes in the burden of chronic disease and disability in the older population. These changes have implications for national health policy and the provision of health services in the future. The conference will address several key issues: * Evidence of changes in the age of onset of chronic diseases * Evidence for changes in survival trends in persons with different chronic conditions such as heart disease or cancer * Evidence for changes in the incidence and prevalence of disability associated with chronic disease * Appropriateness of current epidemiologic constructs and methods for modeling chronic disease processes * Implications for national policy of current and projected changes in morbidity and life expectancy Participants will be asked to prepare presentations for the conference. Plenary and workshop discussions will be recorded as well. All papers and discussions will be edited and published for distribution.
