ABSTRACT
Health care comprises preventive care, public health strategies, health promotion and the medical and surgical treatment of established disease and illness (Barlow 1999). One of the most significant challenges of the 21st century is the international aim ‘to increase healthy life expectancy for all’ (World Health Organisation 1999). This does not mean to sustain life, despite people’s physical, psychological and social functioning, but to increase both the quantity and quality of life experienced by the world’s population. Inherent to this aim is the need to achieve a more equitable distribution of health care resources among the world’s population. So what strategies have been recommended to enhance quality of life worldwide? (Box 24.1).
