the factors discussed above creates a situation wherein custodial care for the elderly must be provided by organizations both public and private. Such care may be funded by the elderly themselves in some rare instances, by the families of the elderly, or by government in most instances. These funds may be provided either directly or through insurance programs. With such a patchwork system, some elderly persons will receive little or no custodial care at all, while those elderly individuals who do receive custodial care will not receive care of uniform quality or quantity, regardless of the venue in which the care is provided, and regardless of the method of funding.
The proposed study will examine the status of the provi sion of custodial care for the elderly in Bermuda. Specific ally, the research questions which will be investigated are as follows:
1. What are the characteristics of the custodial care provided for the elderly in Bermuda through (a) private organi zational facilities and programs, and (b) public organizational facilities and programs?
2. How do public and private organizational facilities and programs in Bermuda compare within the context of success and failure in the provision of custodial care for the elderly?
The purpose of the proposed study will be to develop mean ingful and reliable data relative to the status of custodial care for the elderly in Bermuda. It is intended that the data so developed will provide a valid basis for the development of political initiatives in Bermuda to deal effectively and effi ciently with the problem.
Two terms which will be used in the proposed study require definition, as they will be used in the study. These terms are as follows:
1. Elderly person: an individual aged 65 years old or older.
2. Custodial care: care provided to an individual who is not physically or mentally capable of of caring for herself or himself. Such care includes food, she...