ABSTRACT
Most older people live independent lives, and when they need assistance they rely on their relatives and friends. But for those individuals who are the most dependent, or the least able to access informal care or both, community care is essential to the maintenance of quality of life. This chapter focuses on a group of older people who were living in private households, using community care services, and who took part in the first stage of ECCEP, in 1995. It outlines their personal characteristics and explores some of the circumstances which gave rise to their need for community care interventions.
