Residential care centers for persons with intellectual disability in Israel. Trends in the number of children 1999-2008.

In 1998, a questionnaire was developed by the Health Services, Office of the Medical Director at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services. This questionnaire was aimed to assess, on a yearly basis, the health of the residents with intellectual disability and the services provided to them by specific residential care centers within Israel. The present study was conducted to examine trends in the number of children with intellectual disability in residential care centers in Israel during 1999-2008. We demonstrated a clear downward trend with regard to the percent of children living in residential care facilities, from 18.1% of the total population in 1999 to 12.8% in 2008.

National survey 2007 on medical services for persons with intellectual disability in residential care in Israel.

In Israel, the Office of the Medical Director of the Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for the medical service in residential-care centers for persons with intellectual disability (ID). A standard annual questionnaire was developed during 1997-1998, and the first national survey study was conducted in 1998. This present paper presents the findings of the seventh national survey in 2007, for which the following information was gathered via questionnaires: age, gender, and level of intellectual disability of persons served at the residential care center in question, status of the population served, functional profile, nursing, medical, and allied professional staff, number of annual examinations, preventive medicine aspects, medications, number of annual cases of infectious disease, annual unintentional injuries, number of deaths, number of hospitalizations, internal residential center hospitalization, ambulatory out-patient use, use of outside laboratory examinations, and dental care. In 2007, 6,872 persons were served in 9 government, 37 private, and 13 public centers. The average number of persons served per center was 116.47 (range 24 to 341). The survey in 2007 showed that 79% of the population with ID in residential care in Israel was between the ages of 20 and 60 years old, 44% with severe or profound ID, 43% with moderate and 13% with mild ID. Twenty-seven percent were nursing patients, and 18% were confined to a wheelchair, 34% had epilepsy, 86% were found to be receiving medication daily for chronic illness, and 51% received psychotropic medication for psychiatric illness.

Residential care centers for persons with intellectual disability in Israel. Trends in the number of children 1999-2006.

In 1997-1998 a questionnaire was developed by the Office of the Medical Director, Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services. This questionnaire has aimed to assess, on a yearly basis, the health of the residents with intellectual disability and the services provided to them by specific residential care centers within Israel. The present study was conducted to examine trends in the number of children with intellectual disability in residential care centers in Israel. We found a clear downward trend with regard to the percent of children living in residential care facilities, from 18.1% of the total population in 1999 to 13.3% in 2006. Children living in residential care in 2006 comprised 4.5% of the population of persons with intellectual disability serviced by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services.

Trends in pediatric mortality from food choking in children with intellectual disability during 1991-2005.

Unintentional injury is one of the leading causes for mortality in childhood. Choking or the interruption of respiration by internal obstruction of the airway, usually by food or small toys, is such a case. The present study was conducted to examine choking-related deaths from 1991-2005 among children with intellectual disability younger than 18 years of age living in residential care centers in Israel. The data for this study were obtained from the Office of the Medical Director (OMD), Division for Mental Retardation (DMR), Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services. Every case of death in residential centers is reported to the OMD, who since 1991 has registered place of residence, date of birth, age at death, gender, ethnic background, level of ID, cause of death, autopsy and review committee, if established in a data register. The data concerned with food choking were extracted from the mortality register for the period 1991-2004. Over the study period (15 years) 1,107 cases of death were reported, with 5 (0.245%) caused by food choking in children. The average rate was 8.98 per 100,000 study population for food choking in children. The solution is prevention. In recent years, the OMD together with other professionals have produced educational material and seminars on feeding and preventive measures. Not every case can be prevented, but it is important to identify risk factors, to educate the care givers and professionals, and to ensure that food products that are common choking hazards are kept away from children, who are at risk.