Activities

1 Conferences

Each year we hold a conference with the general title of “Innovations and Challenges in Geriatrics and Gerontology”. Last year the conference dealt with innovations in physiotherapy and was called “Evidence-based Practice and Rehabilitation”. This year our one-day conference centered on　“Innovations and Challenges in Geriatrics and Gerontology: Technology in the Service of the Elderly”. The conference took place in Beer Sheva, Israel on December 23, 2008. The program included two sessions.  The first session dealt with the use of technology in diagnosis, prevention and treatment in the fields of ophthalmology, audiology, orthopedic surgery, geriatrics and strategies for preventing falls in older populations.  The second session focused on the use of technology in leisure time activities with presentations by experts in the use of computers for leisure time activities among the elderly.  Finally, the Director General of the Ministry of Elder Affairs gave an overview of advances in the use of technology for improving the lives of the older citizens of the country.

In addition, we co-sponsored several conferences and workshops.

• The 3rd Annual Conference on Down syndrome took place in March 2008.  Each year we co-sponsor the special session on Down syndrome in older adults.
• The 6th Annual Conference on Issues in Psychogeriatrics took place in November 2008.  The conference is sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Center for Psychiatry of the Southern District, the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and our Center.
• Annual Panel on Patient-Doctor Communication for first year medical students at the Faculty of Health Sciences of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where Judith Bernstein Prize is given to the student showing excellence in doctor-patient communication during the course on communication skills.

2 Research Projects in Israel

Two large research projects were recently completed:

1. "Driving related adaptation patterns among elderly drivers in Israel: Description, antecedents and well-being outcomes", (supported by the Ran Naor Foundation)

This project was completed. Data was collected from 861 persons (a random sample of old drivers) by structured home-interviews. The final scientific report was submitted and the findings were presented at a scientific conference organized by the foundation on November 27th, 2008, at Kfar Hamaccabia. Currently, we are in the process of writing papers.

2. “Patterns of coping with health losses and successful aging: A longitudinal study of elderly Israelis:”

The data collection for this longitudinal, two year study on the effects of different coping patterns with deterioration in health on successful aging was completed. This study was supported by Maccabi Health Services during 2006-2008. This year we succeeded in increasing the sample from 250 to 350 participants due to the additional support from the Rochlin Foundation. The participants were interviewed twice with a one year interval, and will be interviewed for the third time in the coming year. The final scientific report on the first phase of the study has been prepared and we are in the process of writing papers on the results.

3 Other on-going research projects in aging:

1. End-of-life care
Attitudes, preferences, and behaviors of the public, elderly, parents to children in the ICU, cancer patients, formal caregivers (physicians, nurses, social workers) of severely-ill and dying patients and informal care givers (family members) of severely-ill and dying patients. Prof. Carmel continues to analyze data and present results from her studies on these issues in national and international conferences. 

2. Evaluation of health services
Prof. Carmel has continued to supervise a number of evaluation studies of services provided at the Home Hospice, long-term care and hospital services for cancer patients by the Clalit Health Services and Maccabi Health Services.
The study on “Reality and desires with respect to provision of health care services to various groups of elderly persons by age, sick fund, geographical region, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status", financed by The Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services was completed. Currently Prof. Carmel and colleagues are in the process of preparing a number of presentations and papers.
Dr. Yaakov Bachner and Prof. Carmel are collecting data as part of a new study, supported by Maccabi Health Services on: "The association between physicians' communication styles and satisfaction, self-rated health and utilization of health services among elderly cancer and stroke patients".

3. Prognostic indexes for appetite and their influence on anorexia of old age.
In July 2008 Dr. Danit Shahar began this study supported by the Maccabi Research Institute in Israel.

4. Leisure among Older Adults with Chronic Health Conditions.  
Dr. Galit Nimrod, in collaboration with Dr. Susan Hutchinson from Dalhousie University, has received a grant from the Israel Association for Canadian Studies and  Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, for her research in leisure activities among the older adults.

4 Participation in international projects

November 2008 - Prof. Carmel was invited to serve as an active participant for the European Community-funded PERFECT study, conducted by several countries on participation of the elderly in clinical research. Work meetings were held in Prague on November 10-11, 2008.
November 2008 - The Ministry of Health sent Prof. Carmel to represent Israel in the European Forum as part of the Era-Age project. The convention, held on November 26-27, 2008, focused on immigration and aging, and researchers and policy makers from dozens of European countries took part.
Prof. Carmel is a member of COST and took part in the Nicosia conference on May, 2009.

5 ILC-Israel members’ meeting

June 2009 – Meeting of ILC-Israel members took place in Beer Sheva. The following issues were discussed and agreed upon: Final version of constitution was discussed after suggested corrections, and voted on and included; payment schedule for member institutions; cooperative research among the member institutions, additional funding possibilities, ways for increasing the number of member institutions and future activities.

6 Publication of books

1. Carmel, S., Morse, C., & Torres-Gil, F.M. (Eds.). (2007) Lessons on Aging from Three Nations: The Art of Aging Well (Volume I). Amityville, New-York: Baywood Publishing Company Inc.

2. Carmel, S., Morse, C., & Torres-Gil, F.M. (Eds.). (2007) Lessons on Aging from Three Nations: The Art of Caring for Older Adults (Volume II). Amityville, New-York, Baywood Publishing Company Inc.

These books include more than 30 chapters presenting an array of issues related to aging from the perspective of three nations, Australia, The U.S. and Israel. The books are a product of Prof. Carmel's initiatives which started in 1999, with the invitation of scholars from UCLA and Victoria University, Melbourne to participate in a symposium on aging for the inauguration of the new MA Program in Gerontology. During Carmel's sabbatical at Melbourne in 2005, she initiated the writing of both volumes.

3. Carmel, S. (ed.) (2009, in press) Aging in Israel: Research, Policy and Practice. Rutgers, NJ, Transaction Publishers. (The new book to be published on November, 2009).