Research and development in geriatrics in the Netherlands

This article presents a survey on the developments of geriatrics in the Netherlands in the past few decades. It is described how a small number of pioneers in the sixties and seventies indicated the necessity for special care of geriatric patients. This, finally, lead to full recognition of geriatrics as a clinical specialism in 1983. The developments appear to be fast now. Considerable growth of geriatricians and geriatric hospital beds is necessary to cope with the increased numbers of elderly patients in the future. Scientific research has to be continued with much effort. From this literature survey it becomes clear that in the beginning especially epidemiological research with emphasis on care facilities, was done. Research on particular subjects followed, such as nutrition, drugs, cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, infections, dementia, etc. The number of geriatric textbooks and monographs has grown in recent years and raises expectations for the future. Bottle-necks at this moment are the relatively small numbers of training possibilities for geriatricians-to-be and lacking structural attention for medical gerontology and geriatrics in the medical curricula of our universities.