Maintaining health and quality of life and decreasing the number of years lived with disabilities in old age are among the main challenges of aging societies worldwide. This paper aims to present current worldwide health-related gender inequalities throughout life, and especially in late life, as well as gender gaps in social and personal resources which affect health, functioning and well-being. This paper also addresses the question of whether gender gaps at younger ages tend to narrow in late life, due to the many biological and social changes that occur in old age. Based on international data regarding these gender gaps and the trends of change in personal resources and health-related lifestyles in the more and less developed nations, conclusions regarding future changes in gender gaps are presented, along with practical implications for future improvements in women's health and well-being.

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Health-care professionals, families and patients who are religious will frequently want more extensive treatment than affiliated individuals. Views on active euthanasia are influenced by both religion and region, whereas views on patient autonomy are apparently more influenced by region.

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Our results indicated a psychological pathway by which SPA affected physical functioning through self-efficacy. SPA also affected self-efficacy, which in turn probably motivated people to use effective coping patterns for maintaining their physical functioning.

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Quality of life was more important for physicians and nurses than patients and families. More medical professionals want fewer ICU treatments and prefer being home or in a hospice for a terminal illness than patients and families.

The results of these analyses indicate that the WTL scale is a valid and reliable instrument. Considering the importance of the WTL concept in late life, and the psychometric properties of the WTL scale, we recommend it for use in research and practice related to older adults' SWB and end-of-life care.