Israel Ministry of Health

About: Israel Ministry of Health is a government organization based out in Jerusalem, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 1633 authors who have published 2108 publications receiving 65387 citations.

The transplant team's role with regard to establishing contact between an organ recipient and the family of a cadaver organ donor.

Abstract: Aims and objectives To understand how the recipients of cadaver-harvested organs and donor families perceive the role of the transplant team and transplant coordinator in bringing them into contact Background Studies dispute the benefits and disbenefits of contact and their differential weights with the two parties For the donor family, contact with the recipient after a successful transplant renders positive meaning to the tragedy of the family’s loss, but expectations of the recipient can also be disappointed For recipients, contact with the donor family lets them express gratitude and shake off the guilt of having their life saved by a death but can also draw them into the family’s mourning and into feeling the family are owed a ‘return’ for their life-saving gift The transplant team have to weigh these potential benefits and disbenefits If the answer is positive, what should they do to bring the contact about? Design A sample of 135 donor family members and organ recipients (representing all successful transplants in Israel from 1998–2007) were interviewed by structured questionnaire Some had made contact, some not Method Data were analysed by means, frequencies and correlation coefficients Results Far more ‘contacters’ than ‘non-contacters’ wanted the transplant coordinator to take an active role in establishing contact No less than 60% of non-contacters wanted contact in the future, and 50% were dissatisfied with the absence of contact Conclusions This is the first study to investigate the benefits and disbenefits of not making contact Both donor families and organ recipients would respond positively to the coordinator taking the initiative in establishing mutual contact Relevance to clinical practice Transplant coordinators are given convincing backing for taking the initiative in promoting contact between donor families and organ recipients The coordinator’s intervention, information and guidance are needed to make a success of such contact

Trends in overweight, obesity and blood pressure among Israeli working adults--implications for public health.

Abstract: Backgrounds: Reports from the last decade suggest an epidemic of overweight and obesity in Western countries. Since obesity has been associated with increased blood pressure, we aimed to describe the secular trends in overweight and obesity and blood pressure among Israeli working adults. Methods: Two cross-sectional studies were conducted in the setting of the Civil Servant Registry, Tel-Aviv District Health Office, Ministry of Health, Israel, including 1949 adults aged 17–69 years, who entered the Israeli civil service in 1993 and 2002. Results: Compared with other reports, the overall prevalence rate (32.2%) of overweight and obesity was relatively low in our study population, however, an increase of 34% in the odds of being overweight or obese was noted during the study period (adjusted odds ratio: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.09–1.65). Despite this increase, the adjusted mean systolic blood pressure significantly fell from 119.3 (18.2) to 117.0 (14.3) mmHg ( P < 0.001) during the 10-year period, and the respective mean diastolic blood pressure declined from 74.5 (9.0) mmHg to 73.2 (9.8) mmHg ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: Israel joined the universal trend of increase in overweight and obesity. This study demonstrated a concomitant decline in blood pressure that could not be attributed to antihypertensive treatment. The decrease in blood pressure could partially explain the decrease in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality seen in Israel.

Refuah Shlema: a cross-cultural programme for promoting communication and health among Ethiopian immigrants in the primary health care setting in Israel Evidence and lessons learned from over a decade of implementation

Abstract: The Refuah Shlema programme was established to reduce health disparities, promote health literacy and health indicators of the Ethiopian immigrant community in Israel, and included: (i) integrating Ethiopian immigrant liaisons in primary care as inter-cultural mediators; (ii) in-service training of clinical staff to increase cultural awareness and sensitivity; and (iii) health education community activities. Qualitative and quantitative evidence showed improvements in: (i) clinic staff–patient relations; (ii) availability and accessibility of health services, and health system navigation without increasing service expenditure; (iii) perception of general well-being; and (iv) self-care practice with regards to chronic conditions. Evidence significantly contributed to sustaining the programme for over 13 years.

Epidemiology of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in Israel, 1999-2010.

Abstract: SETTING The Israeli national tuberculosis (TB) surveillance system. OBJECTIVES To describe the epidemiology of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in Israel between 1999 and 2010 and identify more susceptible populations. DESIGN Data were retrieved from the National Tuberculosis Registry and the Israeli Bureau of Statistics. RESULTS During the study period, 995 EPTB patients were notified, corresponding to 19.6% of all TB cases. The average annual male:female ratio was 0.8, and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection rate was 5%. Most EPTB affected the lymph nodes (39.8%), pleura (16.9%) and urinary system (11.1%). Most EPTB patients (81.8%) were non-Israeli born. The estimated average annual incidence in Israeli-born citizens, non-Israeli-born citizens and migrant workers was respectively 0.23, 2.2 and 7.5 per 100,000 population. The ratio of non-Israeli-born migrant workers to non-Israeli-born citizens with EPTB decreased from 1:6.3 in 1999 to 1:0.78 in 2010. Culture results were obtained for 624 (62.9%) of all cases. Of these, 41 (6.6%) were resistant to at least one first-line anti-tuberculosis drug and 8 (1.3%) were multidrug-resistant. Treatment success was achieved in 86.5%. CONCLUSIONS Physicians should be aware of the possibility of EPTB in older patients, especially in the non-Israeli-born. Innovative screening procedures should be implemented for migrants from high-burden countries.

Factors Influencing Nursing Career Choices and Choice of Study Program

Abstract: In advance of a recruitment campaign, Israeli first-year nursing students of all ethnicities were surveyed to elucidate what factors had influenced them to make nursing their career and what sort of training track they preferred. The responses made it clear that different factors influence different groups differently. There were noticeable differences by gender, age, and ethnicity. Overall, training institutions were chosen for their closeness to the student's home but other factors also operated among particular groups, such as institutional prestige and flexible entry criteria. There was a blatant preference for academic, particularly university-sited, programs over diploma programs.