Marja Vaarama is Professor of Social Work and Social Gerontology at the University of Lapland, Finland. Her areas of research include quality of life in old age, quality and performance of long-term care for older people, gerontological social work, information technology for planning, evaluation and management of long term care for older people. She is the co-ordinator of the EU-funded Care Keys research project. Richard Pieper is Professor of Urban Studies and Social Planning at the University of Bamberg, Germany. His main fields of research are in theory of social and regional integration and collective identity, and aging and technology, elderly care planning, and social and health care systems. Andrew Sixsmith is Lecturer in Social Gerontology in the Department of Primary Care at the University of Liverpool. His current research interests focus on new technologies to facilitate the delivery of community health and welfare services.

• Research Framework.- The General Framework and Methods of the Care Keys Research.- Instrumentation of the Care Keys Research.- Care Keys Data and Statistical Methods.- Theoretical Results.- The Concept of Care-Related Quality of Life.- The Concept of Quality of Long-Term Care.- Quality Management in Long-Term Care.- Empirical Results.- Subjective Quality of Life of Care-Dependent Older People in Five European Union Countries.- Quality of Life of Older Homecare Clients.- Quality of Life in Institutional Care.- Quality of Life and Dementia.- The Target Efficiency of Care—Models and Analyses.- Quality Management and the Care Keys Quality Matrix.- The Care Keys Toolkit.- Summary.- Care-Related Quality of Life: An Overview.

From the reviews: "This book presents the findings of the Care Keys project, research that focused on quality of life in old age, especially persons who are vulnerable, frail, or disabled, carried out in Finland, Estonia, Sweden, and the U.K. ... Professionals specializing in geriatrics and having a background in research process and tools will be most interested in this book. ... The extensive reference lists at the end of each section are a valuable part of the book." (Sharon G. Thomas, Doody's Review Services, February 2008)