Health & Economic Status of Older Women is a collection of research issues and data sources. This book is organized in three parts. Part 1 sets the stage for the more focused discussion of health and economic issues in the lives of old women that follows in Part 2. This first section contains papers by both Troll and Reinharz. Their papers - presented as keynote addresses in the conference - provide a historical context for the subsequent material. Both authors issue challenges to those who would focus their research efforts on older women. The second part of the book contains the substantive discussions of health and economic aspects of women’s lives. The final part contains discussions of research methodologies.