Insomnia in long-term care facilities: a comparison of seven European countries and Israel: the Services and Health for Elderly in Long TERm care study.

Objectives: To assess insomnia and its correlates as part of the Services and Health for Elderly in Long TERm care (SHELTER) study, funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union.

Design: Cross-cultural investigation.

Setting: Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in eight European countries (Czech Republic, France, Finland, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Italy) and one non-European country (Israel).

Enteral feeding in end-stage dementia: a comparison of religious, ethnic, and national differences in Canada and Israel.

Background: Although enteral feeding in end-stage dementia is thought by many clinicians to be "futile," it is still widely used. We examined rates of tube feeding (gastrostomy or nasogastric) in end-stage dementia in hospitals in both Canada and Israel, and hypothesized that Canadian non-Jewish affiliated hospitals would have the lowest (and Israeli institutions the highest), with Canadian Jewish hospitals exhibiting intermediate rates.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of six geriatric long-term hospitals: two in Israel and four in Canada (two Jewish affiliated, two not; two in Ontario, two in Quebec province).