Soon, older people will make up the largest population group in Switzerland. The way in which we as a society deal with this demographic development is a rapidly growing field of activity for social work, in close cooperation with professionals from other disciplines such as health, psychology, medicine, law, economics and technology.

The focus is on older people, their environmental conditions and their relatives, as well as on the support system itself. The main aim is to develop and secure differentiated care and participation opportunities that are adapted to the resources and needs of older people. The previous logic behind health services must be replaced, or at least supplemented, with new, research-based services. This requires well-founded knowledge about the older population, people’s different trajectories through life, and the resulting variety of resources and needs, as well as about social insurance issues that contribute to ensuring livelihood in old age.