[The concept of autonomy (synthetic and operation indicators of old age : a systemic approach).]

The present study is a follow-up of a research project made in 1978 by the Equipe de Recherche Opérationnelle en Santé (EROS) of the Department of Health Administration at the Université de Montréal. The aims were a) firstly to construct a classification instrument by type for long-term care patients, enabling us, to identify these beneficiaries' needs, as well as to guide their placement in a health services' system. And b) to evaluate this instrument (realibility and validity), c) to initiate its implementation and d) to utilize it for evaluating the present placement system. This study constitutes the first stage in an approach aimed at producing, on the basis of a systematic scanning of data collected within the framework of the above-mentioned project; a comprehensive descriptive analysis of the social/health characteristics of an aged population (65 years and over) in one of Quebec's social/ health regions i.e. Montreal's South Shore. At first, the authors define the context and the objectives of the study undertaken; secondly, they define the concept of autonomy by showing how the latter is expressed concretely according to the observation instrument (evaluation form of the individual's functional autonomy). Thirdly, a presentation is made of the method of measurement, as well as certain results concerning an index of restricted autonomy directly released to situations of observable behaviour (e, g. daily-life activities, exploring the outside world, and housekeeping).