Is there a doctor in the house? Availability of Israeli physicians to the workforce.

Background: Israeli policymakers have expressed serious concerns about being able to meet the growing demand for physician services. For this reason, the Israel Ministry of Health (MoH) undertook studies based on 2008 and then 2012 data to obtain an accurate assessment of the size, specialty mix, demographic and geographic composition of the physician workforce. This paper highlights the findings from these studies about the number and percentage of licensed physicians in Israel who were not available, were only partially available, or were about to leave the Israeli healthcare workforce.

Psychiatric disorders and other health dimensions among Holocaust survivors 6 decades later.

Background: No previous community-based epidemiological study has explored psychiatric disorders among those who survived the Holocaust.

Aims: To examine anxiety and depressive disorders, sleep disturbances, other health problems and use of services among individuals exposed and unexposed to the Holocaust.

Method: The relevant population samples were part of the Israel World Mental Health Survey.

Emotional distress and other health-related dimensions among elderly survivors of the Shoa living in the community.

Background: In prior community studies survivors of the Shoa (Hebrew for Holocaust) scored higher on emotional distress (ED) than Europe-born Jews who were not in Nazi-occupied countries during World War II (WWII).

Objective: Are elderly Shoa survivors, who by definition have survived the difficulties of a long life, equally distressed? ED was assessed among a population of elderly survivors living in the community, about 55 years after the end of WWII. ED was also examined by the severity of exposure to adverse life conditions during the war.

Psychopathology and other health dimensions among the offspring of Holocaust survivors: results from the Israel National Health Survey.

Background: Holocaust survivors show long-lasting psychopathological wounds and scars. The experiences they endured during WWII were thought to impair their parental functioning. A trans-generational transmission of the trauma has been reported by clinicians and by researchers exploring the vulnerability of the adult offspring when facing major stressful events.

Implementation of the Healthy Cities' principles and strategies: an evaluation of the Israel Healthy Cities network.

The Israel network of Healthy Cities has been operating since 1990, and the first evaluation of its performance was carried out in 2004. The objectives were to evaluate the level of implementation of the 'Healthy Cities' principles and strategies in each network city and to assess the contribution of the network to its member cities. Coordinators of 18 active healthy cities participated in the study by completing a questionnaire with the aid of key informants in the municipality.

What is in a name? Professionals and service users' opinions of the Hebrew terms used to name psychiatric disorders and disability.

Objectives: Stigma constitutes the hidden burden of mental disorders. Its ubiquitous presence may be reinforced by iatrogenic factors, such as the terms used to name mental disorders and disability. This preliminary study examines opinions with regard to the use of these terms in Hebrew.

A community study on emotional distress among Arab and Jewish Israelis over the age of 60.

Background: The elderly constitute a vulnerable group for psychopathology, yet research on their mental health among both Arab and Jews in Israel remains limited. The same is the case in Arab countries. This paper reports on the contrasting distribution of the mean emotional distress (ED) scores and rates of suspected clinical cases, and their related risk factors, among community residents over the age of 60.

A community study on emotional distress among the elderly in Israel.

Background: The elderly constitute a group at risk for elevated emotional distress. The Ministry of Health, the Central Bureau of Statistics and other national agencies jointly conducted a survey to investigate the health status of the elderly, including emotional distress and selective determinants.

Objective: This paper reports the distribution of the emotional distress mean scores by socio-demographic and health-related variables.