Older adults' attitudes toward using Euthanasia at the end-of life: cancer vs. Parkinson's disease.

Background: There is a paucity of studies that compare older adults' attitudes toward Euthanasia in two different terminal illnesses. Moreover, these studies did not relate to potentially influencing psycho-social factors. The current study aimed to examine the impact of a diverse range of variables on attitudes among older adults toward Euthanasia in two medical conditions: cancer and Parkinson's disease.

The Way Older Childless Women Value Their Life-A Qualitative Study.

Older women without children, like all older adults, evaluate their lives and face a conflict between despair and ego integrity as proposed by Erikson's theory of development. Their uniqueness lies in their deviation from the societal norm of parenthood prevalent in pro-natalist societies such as Israel. This study aims to explore how older childless women evaluate their lives.

Characteristics of Unsuccessful Balance Reactive Responses to Lateral Loss of Balance in Older Adults.

Introduction: An effective reactive step response to an unexpected balance loss is an important factor that determines if a fall will happen. We investigated reactive step strategies and kinematics of unsuccessful balance recovery responses that ended with falls in older adults.

Methods: We compared the strategies and kinematics of reactive stepping after a lateral loss of balance, i.

Direct and Indirect Predictors of Burden in Arab-Bedouin and Jewish-Israeli Mothers Caring for a Child with Epilepsy.

Objective: Caring for a child with epilepsy poses various psychological, physical and medical challenges; these can lead to caregiver burden. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of burden with mothers caring for a child with epilepsy. Our analyses included sociodemographic (e.

Later Life as a Daring Experience: Factors Associated with Older Adults' Risk Perception.

Risk perception refers to people's subjective judgments about the possibility of negative occurrences and the extent to which they are concerned with them. Previous studies have found that older adults who were exposed to ongoing terror threats developed later-life and terror risk perceptions. These studies showed that high risk perception has negative psychological and physiological consequences.

Correlates of Caregiving Burden among Bedouin-Muslim Mothers of Children Diagnosed with Epilepsy.

Unlabelled: A paucity of research exists on caregiving burden (CB) and the factors associated with it among minority groups, such as Bedouin mothers of children diagnosed with epilepsy (CDE). The aim of this study was to explore associations between CB and care-recipients' characteristics, contextual factors, and caregivers' characteristics among those mothers.

Methods: A total of 50 mothers completed self-report questionnaires while visiting pediatric neurology outpatient clinic centers, using valid and reliable measures.

Social Media Use and Well-being With Bipolar Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Path Analysis.

Background: Reliable and consistent social support is associated with the mental health and well-being of persons with severe mental illness, including bipolar disorder (BD). Yet the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing measures (eg, shelter in place) reduced access to regular social contacts, while social media use (SMU) increased concomitantly. Little is currently known about associations between the well-being of adults with BD and different types of SMU (eg, passive and active).

Ultra-Orthodox Nursing Students' Cultural Challenges Inside and Outside Their Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In line with findings that nurses from minority groups have an important role in making health services accessible to their community, our study aimed to identify the challenges ultra-Orthodox Jewish nurses faced during COVID-19 in their encounters with patients and health staff from other communities, as well as their own community. The ultra-Orthodox community is a highly religious group that maintains isolation from general society, a phenomenon that affected its member experiences during COVID-19. Our research followed sequential explanatory mixed methods.

Psychological reactions to the coronavirus pandemic: a comparative study of Holocaust survivors and other older adults in Israel.

Background: The current study examines psychological reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults living in Israel. Based on the 'life events, stress, coping and health theory,' we hypothesized that due to their traumatic early life history and dearth of emotional and physical coping resources, Holocaust survivors would be more vulnerable than other older adults to the negative effects of this difficult and prolonged life event on their mental health.

Methods: Based on structured questionnaires with closed questions, we interviewed 306 Holocaust survivors and non-survivors aged 75 + during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elderly Caregivers' Awareness of Caregiving Health Risks.

The aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness of elderly primary caregivers of being at physical and mental health risk due to their caregiving role, as well as to examine the impact of sociodemographic characteristics, patient care characteristics, and situational variables on caregivers’ awareness. Data were collected by interview of a sample of primary caregivers aged 60+. A total of 202 primary caregivers responded positively, representing a response rate of 65% (202/311).

Perceptions of Practicing Physicians and Members of the Public on the Attributes of a "Good Doctor".

Since physician-patient relationships are a central part of the medical practice, it is essential to understand whether physicians and the general public share the same perspective on traits defining a "good doctor". Our study compared the perceptions of physicians and members of the public on the essential traits of a "good doctor." We conducted parallel surveys of 1000 practicing specialist-physicians, and 500 members of the public in Israel.

Challenging and Facilitating Factors When Coping with the News of a Newborn's Down Syndrome Diagnosis: Perceptions of Activist Israeli Mothers.

Studies have shown that healthcare professionals (HP) play a significant role in parents' experience when informed of the birth of a child with Down Syndrome (DS). Past studies have focused on faith dilemmas of religious mothers that were informed that their child was born with DS and on understanding how faith was a source of emotional support for them. Studies that focus on religious activist mothers are scarce.

Care for caregivers- a mission for primary care.

Background: The number of elderly people living in the community who are limited in daily activities is increasing worldwide. This generates prolonged care, which usually falls on one family member, the family caregiver. Caregivers are prone to develop psychosocial and physical symptoms.

Is the 4-factor model of symptomology equivalent across bipolar disorder subtypes?

Background: Research with the BDS (Bipolar Disorder Symptom Scale) suggests a 4-factor structure of responses: two depression (cognitive, somatic) and two hypo/mania factors (elation/loss of insight, affrontive symptoms). The two depression and two hypo/mania factors are correlated; and affrontive symptoms of hypo/mania (e.g.

The Effects of Bicycle Simulator Training on Anticipatory and Compensatory Postural Control in Older Adults: Study Protocol for a Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries among older adults. Perturbation-Based-Balance Training (PBBT) is a promising approach to reduce fall rates by improving reactive balance responses. PBBT programs are designed for older adults who are able to stand and walk on a motorized treadmill independently.

Open communication between caregivers' and terminally ill cancer patients about illness and death: The role of gender - A correlational study.

Purpose: Caregivers face severe difficulties in communicating openly with their terminally ill relatives about illness and death. Some studies suggest that females are more likely than males to hold such conversations. We compared level of open communication between male and female spouse-caregivers, and the contribution of personal and situational characteristics to the explanation of open communication level within each gender group.

Mastery avoidance: An overlooked aspect of medical students' motivation.

Background: Previous research on medical students' motivation mostly overlooked an important concept, namely, mastery-avoidance goals. The mastery-avoidance goal is defined as engaging in a task to avoid losing knowledge or skills that have already been acquired. We aimed to explore the role of mastery-avoidance goals in changes occurring in low frustration tolerance (LFT) levels over a span of one academic year.

Beliefs and Attitudes of Graduate Gerontology Students about Medical Marijuana Use for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.

Aims: The aims of the current study were as follows: 1) to assess gerontology graduate students' beliefs about medical marijuana's (MMJ) effectiveness for two common age-related conditions - Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD); 2) to assess students' beliefs and attitudes toward MMJ; 3) to explore associations linking background characteristics, MMJ-related attitudes and beliefs, and beliefs about the MMJ effectiveness for AD and PD.

Method: A sample of 104 (84 women and 20 men) gerontology graduate students voluntarily participated in the anonymous online survey.

Results: The vast majority (95%) of the participants indicated they had no formal education about MMJ and reported being unprepared to answer clients' MMJ-related questions (84.

The coronavirus pandemic and Holocaust survivors in Israel.

Holocaust survivors in Israel and abroad appear to be especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because of their early life history, advanced age, and associated health conditions. And although some survivors may experience retraumatization because of the pandemic, others appear to be especially resilient. We encourage a strength-based approach when working with survivors to foster resilience and effective coping in this uncertain time.

Is the 6-item, self-report HAM-D an effective depression screening measure with bipolar disorder?

Purpose: Brief and effective screening measures are required to detect clinical depression in bipolar disorder (BD) patients. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the clinical utility of a six-item, self-report Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-6).

Design And Method: Sixty BD outpatients completed questionnaires including the HAMD-6 before regular psychiatric appointments.

Clinical validation of the BDS scale with bipolar disorder outpatients.

Purpose: The BDS (Bipolar Disorder Symptom Scale) is a brief self-report instrument designed for repeated measurement of bipolar disorder (BD) symptoms over time. Previous research indicates that the BDS measures two depression (cognitive and somatic symptoms) and two hypo/mania factors (affrontive symptoms and elation/loss of insight). The purpose of this study was to validate BDS responses relative to diagnoses of BD mood episodes.

Use of antibiotics among end-of-life hospitalized patients with advanced directives: Status examination and association with infectious disease consultation and physician burnout.

Background: Overuse of antibiotics in end-of-life patients with advanced directives increases bacterial resistance and causes morbidity and mortality. Consultations with infectious disease (ID) physicians and burnout, which can affect antibiotic days of therapy (DOT) prescribed by physicians, have not been examined so far.

Objectives: To assess antibiotic use by physicians in end-of-life (EOL) patients with advanced directives and to investigate the association between ID consultations, physician burnout, and antibiotic DOT in those patients.

Initial Development and Validation of a Transition Readiness Scale for Adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background And Aims: To date, there are no validated measures in IBD to assess the level of preparedness for transition into adult health care. The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the reliability and validity of a "Transition Readiness" (TR) measure for adolescents with IBD, as well as to evaluate the level of TR synchronicity between adolescents themselves, their parents, and their pediatric gastroenterologists.

Methods: A self-assessment tool was created to evaluate TR.

Correlates of quality of life in mothers of children with diagnosed epilepsy.

Contrary to a plethora of studies on the quality of life (QoL) of parents caring for children with chronic conditions, information regarding parents of children with epilepsy remains limited. The main purpose of the current study was to explore associations between children's biomedical characteristics, mothers' sociodemographic characteristics, mothers' situational factors, and QoL among mothers of children with epilepsy. One hundred and fifty mothers of children with epilepsy completed valid and reliable measures.