This book is a UK adaptation of a Mosby US text, Ebersole & Hess: Toward Health and Aging: Human Needs and Nursing Response. It outlines the theoretical foundations which underpin caring for elderly people, before moving on toconsider the specific physiological and psychological problems that the elderly face and that those caring for them have to deal with. The latest research, theory and discussions of current practice are integrated throughout the book. The book acknowledges the diversity of older peoples' lives and the environment they inhabit in the UK. It also adopts a theoretical framework Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This states that each individual has an innate hierarchy of needs that motivates all human behavior. These human needs have different priorities. When people achieve fulfillment of elementary needs, they strive to meet those on the next level until the highest order of needs is reached. Maslow's model is widely known and has been found particularly helpful in facilitating a holistic view of older people.