This current study examined the status of the provision of custodial care for the elderly in Bermuda. Specifically, the research questions which were investigated were stated as follows:
1. What are the requirements for custodial care for the elderly in Bermuda?
2. What are the characteristics of the custodial care provided for the elderly in Bermuda through (a) private organizational facilities and programs, and (b) public organizational facilities and programs?
3. 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?
4. What is the economic capacity of Bermuda to provide custodial care for the elderly, and what will be the probable economic impacts of providing such care?
The results of the research performed in the investigation of the research questions are presented in this chapter. The results are presented in separate discussions related to each of the research questions.
Research question number one was concerned with the requirements for custodial care. The question was stated as follows: What are the requirements for custodial care for the elderly in Bermuda?
Although Bermuda is quite small in terms of population size, its growth rate compares with that of the faster growing developing countries. While immigration, the generally high standards of health care and nutrition on the island permits the annual excess of live births over deaths to easily exceed the emigration of young adults primarily to the United Kingdom, of which Bermuda is a self governing colony, and the United States.
Trends in population growth for Bermuda are presented in Table 4.1, which may be found on the following page. The greatest requirement for custodial care involves individuals aged 65 years old and older. While the actual numbers of these individuals in Bermuda's population are relatively s...