strategies include the strengthening of primary health care and the inclusion of specific health care services for older persons specialized assistance for outpatients hospital patients and within the home and pharmaceutical services the basic principles of primary health care are the following universal access to care and coverage based on needs health equity community participation in the formulation and implementation of health agendas and an intersectoral approach to health primary health care is usually the first contact older persons have with health services it is the area in which shortterm health problems are resolved and most chronic health problems are managed paho