Unexpected perturbations training improves balance control and voluntary stepping times in older adults - a double blind randomized control trial.

Background: Falls are common among elderly, most of them occur while slipping or tripping during walking. We aimed to explore whether a training program that incorporates unexpected loss of balance during walking able to improve risk factors for falls.

Methods: In a double-blind randomized controlled trial 53 community dwelling older adults (age 80.

Application of the clinical version of the narrow path walking test to identify elderly fallers.

Introduction: Falling during walking is a common problem among the older population. Hence, the challenge facing clinicians is identifying who is at risk of falling during walking, for providing an effective intervention to reduce that risk. We aimed to assess whether the clinical version of the narrow path walking test (NPWT) could identify older adults who are reported falls.

Attitudes of emergency department staff toward family presence during resuscitation.

Background: While family presence during resuscitation has been researched extensively in the international and especially American medical literature, in Israel this subject has rarely been researched. Because such policies have become common practice in many countries, it is important to investigate the attitudes of health care staff in Israeli emergency departments to better understand the potential implication of adopting such policies.

Objectives: To examine the attitudes of the physicians and nurses in the ED of Soroka Medical Center to FPDR.

[Has the time arrived to allow family members to be present during resuscitation?].

In the last few years, family presence during resuscitation (FPDR) has emerged as an important topic. Traditionally, family members were not allowed to be present during resuscitation. The logic behind the practice of separating family members from their relatives during resuscitation was that watching a family member during resuscitation--a process that involves invasive procedures, is a traumatic and unnecessary experience for the family.

Late life alcohol use and gender differences among Former Soviet Union immigrants.

Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union tend to drink more frequently than other Israelis. However, little is known about alcohol consumption among older Former Soviet Union immigrants in Israel. In the current study, male and female Former Soviet Union immigrants residing in independent living facilities were studied to determine their patterns of alcohol use and attitudes toward drinking.

The diagnosis of delirium among elderly patients presenting to the emergency department of an acute hospital.

Delirium is prevalent among elderly people presenting to an emergency department (ED). However, despite the fact that delirium is associated with longer hospital stays, an increased rate of institutionalization and higher mortality (especially in the case of undiagnosed delirium), this condition often goes undiagnosed by ED doctors. We examined the rate of mental status assessment and the prevalence of delirium in the ED among patients older than 65 years in a large teaching hospital in Southern Israel via a retrospective chart review.

Interactive effects of memory structuring and gender in preventing posttraumatic stress symptoms.

This study retested effects of a Memory Structuring Intervention (MSI) and the moderating role of gender in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Thirty-four traffic accident victims with high pulse rates were randomly assigned to MSI or supportive listening (control) phone conversations soon after accidents. Based on converging clinical and neuroscience research, the MSI taught chronological organization, labeling emotions/sensations, and describing causality.

Appropriateness of soldiers' referrals to the emergency department.

Background: Emergency departments (ED) in Israel deal with a large number of referrals from the Israel Defense Force. In a recent study, we observed that only 3% of soldiers referred to the ED in Soroka Medical Center were hospitalized.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the appropriateness of soldier referrals to the ED, using a proposed set of criteria for ED appropriateness.