Evaluation Study of Day-Care Centers in Israel

In recent years, day-care centers for the elderly have been playing an increasingly important role in the community service system for the elderly in Israel. ESHEL, one of the leading agencies in developing day-care services in Israel initiated a comprehensive evaluation study of day-care centers to identify variations among different types of centers; to identify populations who do not use the centers and whose needs are not met within the present operational set-up; and to develop a follow-up and feedback system to assist in operating the centers and in guiding their future development. The study is being carried out in 12 day-care centers and five day-care units in old-age homes. Preliminary results from interviews with 423 elderly persons and with directors include the following: (1) the population that attends the centers has high-risk characteristics; (2) the clients have limited mobility; (3) the clients also have personal care needs; (4) about 30 percent have good mobility and live alone, but have difficulty in household management--the centers provide mainly meals, supervision, and social interaction needs for these people; (5) the centers vary in environment and population served; (6) centers emphasize different services, from personal to professional to social; (7) the clients often want more days to visit the center than can be arranged because of transportation or cost; (8) nursing service is available in most centers (and will be studied extensively later in the project). (KC)