THE IMPACT OF THE LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE ELDERLY IN ISRAEL TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF OLD ADULTS

摘要

This paper deals with the special contribution of the Local Associations for the Elderly in Israel. There are 124 such associations, who develop and operate a variety of services for the elderly people in the community, in cooperation with the local municipalities and the government.The purpose of this paper is to present the special contribution of the associations by looking into the structure, their financial stability, the operation, their cooperation with the local municipalities and the unique contribution to the network of services for the elderly and cosencuently on the quality of life of the elderly.The paper is based on a study which was not published yet. The data was collected from the year 2013 and was based on a questionnaire which was sent to the chair people and the CEO’s of the associations, 84 where received. In addition, a different questionnaire was sent to the directors of the services for the elderly in the local municipalities.The findings of the study show that that most of the associations are balanced financially with no deficit (64%). Most of the associations are providing a wide range of services for the elderly, 86%- day care centers, with the average of 130 participants, 81% - supportive communities, with the average of 312 participants, 67% - social clubs with 212 beneficiaries, and 66% physical activities programs with the average of 148 participants. The average number of volunteers in these associations was 47 who contributed 424 hours per month, 82% of them of 65+. More than half of the associations employed professional volunteers.Both, the leaders of the associations and the directors of services in the municipality indicated that the relationships are good. The directors of the associations indicated that the cooperation with the municipalities is average or high and 66% of the directors of the municipal services answered that the relationships are good.The main conclusions from the study are that the associations are financially stable, administer a large spectrum of services, employ many volunteers and make a significant contribution to the quality of life of the elderly in the community.