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The rapid development of geriatric psychiatry in Israel reflects the major changes in the fields of demography, sociology and epidemiology. Faced with increased number of elderly patients with specific psychopathological problems, psychiatrists in Israel have become more interested in psychogeriatrics. In 1991 the Ministry of Health set up a special commission for the study of the needs of the elderly population in the field of geriatric psychiatry. Israel's psychogeriatricians, proceeding from the concept of comprehensive psychogeriatric medicine, made great efforts to attract other professional workers to collaborate with them.

The article discusses the growth of geriatric psychiatry round the world. The world's governments, health care, social and voluntary agencies are tackling the growth problem of mental illness in elderly people in diverse ways. Although developed industrial nations have been the first to face the urgent need to develop appropriate services, developing countries with a rapidly changing age structure are now facing a growing demand.