Minimum Data Set for Elderly Health: A comparison of Selected Countries

The progressive increase in the elderly population in many developed countries leading to focus on health in this age group. Recording adequate data for the elderly people is considered as the basis for future planning for this part of society. Therefore, this study was aimed to compare the minimum data about elderly health in selected countries.
This is a review article was carried out through internet and library studies. The Keywords were extracted from search engines and databases including Google, Yahoo, Google Scholar, PubMed and Proquest, and the Iranian National Medical Digital Library using inclusion criteria included English language and no time limit. All papers, research projects, theses, guidelines and progress reports were retrieved from America, Sweden, Japan and Iran. Also, Web sites of organizations responsible for elderly health in each country were visited and their documents were reviewed. The results of this search were presented narratively and within comparative tables.
The results of this study showed that in selected countries, elder’s data collected in four axis. Most of demographic data is completed in America. In Sweden, Iran and Japan some data from medical histories and health assessment are considered as well as some financial data in Iran.
Given the importance of the health minimum data set for future planning, using the experiences of the pioneer countries in health is necessary, but localization of it according to the country’s needs is inevitable.