Readers are invited to respond to research findings on the care of older people in different cultures

In the East, it is often claimed, families are strong, older people are respected and they are cared for at home until they die. However, in the West, families are commonly presented as dysfunctional and older people are considered a burden and put into care homes at the earliest opportunity. There is an even bleaker belief that Europeans use euthanasia to solve the problem of an ageing population.