This work presents the results of a study undertaken by Abraham Monk and Carole Cox, which analyzes how the countries of Argentina, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden have responded to the increasing need for home health care. The study, completed with the cooperation of a team of researchers in each country, avoids isolated, fragmented solutions to the problem in favor of a more holistic profile of programs and services, placing them within the general policy and cultural framework of each region. It then examines the applicability of selected aspects of those home care programs deemed most effective to the needs of the United States as it too attempts to deal with a growing older population and the prohibitive costs of institutionalized care.

After a review of existing home care in the United States, and an explanation of the operational model used to collect the data in the study, each country's home health care system is outlined with attention to its organization and operation, its manpower requirements, its place within government policy, and its most successful and innovative practices. The international scope of the work makes its evaluative material and recommendations useful to both health care professionals and international policy makers.