[Community aid to the aged between self care and social planning]

The aid to the aged at the local level is aimed at compensating for deficiencies in the economic and social environment in the face of decreasing capability for self-reliance. An analysis of the present system demonstrates its rather narrowly confined scope. If the planning process concerned with social service provision was more geared towards specific needs of the elderly, this scope could be increased. The methods as well as the procedures applied in analyzing the needs have a crucial impact on the success of such an attempt. In the context of the currently ongoing discussion on self-help, the results of an investigation into the actual needs and wants of the concerned population can provide definite guidelines for the future developement of of programs in favor of aiding the aged at the local level. In the concluding section, a design incorporating the individual or specific needs--the integrated open system of service and care for the aged--is introduced. Chances and possibility for introducing such a system are discussed.