"This paper is the second part of a study of the old old population, those aged 80 years and older, in Australia.  It poses the question, as the experience of advanced old age becomes increasingly the norm, are more people living longer because of better health, or surviving longer in poorer health?  Three aspects of population health are examined:  patterns and trends in mortality, the morbidity implications of these findings, and service utilization.  The study identifies a need to integrate analyses of mortality, morbidity and service use, and to develop a methodology able to express the diversity of the old old population."