title: Improvements and decline in the physical functioning of Israeli older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study depicts improvement and decline in functioning among 3 population groups of Israeli older adults: Jews and veteran immigrants, former Soviet Union immigrants, and Arabs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using longitudinal data from 2005 and 2010 Survey of Health and Retirement (SHARE) in Israel (n = 982), we examined 4 functional changes in late life in mobility, movement, activities of daily living (ADL), and instrumental ADL, as a function of sociodemographic, health, and social variables
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings reveal that physical functioning among older adults can decline as well as improve over time. Older age, higher number of diseases and comorbidity, living with others (not the spouse) compared with living alone, receiving informal help and formal help with homemaking, and declined mental health and cognitive status predict deterioration in physical functioning. Also, Arab older adults are at higher risk of deterioration over time compared with Jewish older adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings imply that noncompatible assistance to older adults may "save them the hassle" of doing things by themselves and thus, weakens a potential functional rehabilitation process. There is a need to guide not only professional personnel but also nonprofessional home care workers and family members on how to encourage and retain older adults' functions as much as possible in order to improve their quality of life. Another implication of investing in rehabilitation is that it might reduce the disability rate among older adults and thus save health expenditures on long-term care at the macrosocial level.
authors: Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Aging Department, Jerusalem, Israel. talspalt@gmail.com.
authors: Tal
authors: T
authors: Spalter
authors: Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Aging Department, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Jenny
authors: J
authors: Brodsky
authors: Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Aging Department, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Yitschak
authors: Y
authors: Shnoor
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018912:Arabs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015897:Comorbidity; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D007585:Jews / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014586:USSR / Q000208:ethnology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Changes in functioning; Disablement process model; Rehabilitation