Researchers: Adi Vitman Schorr^1,2, Rabia Khalaila³, Shemuel Shamai^1,4

Background: The Nursing Care Insurance Law allows for a nursing benefit for those entitled, usually a service benefit, but the extent of its utilization seems to vary between the center and the periphery and between different sectors.

Objectives: Examining the relationship between ethno-geographical characteristics and quality of life and depression among the elderly in Israel; Also, is formal support debated in this regard.

Method: A cross-sectional study that will include a comfort sample of 360 seniors aged 65 and over, from three ethnic groups, in the center and the periphery. Participants represented one of the two groups - employers and non-employers of nursing staff.

Findings: There are ethnic differences in the quality of life in all areas among the elderly who employ nursing staff. An interaction effect for depression was also found among the elderly who employ nursing staff. The findings are similar among seniors who do not employ nursing staff. The findings showed that advanced age, lack of nursing staff, high level of religiosity, living in the periphery and satisfaction with the living area contribute to a high quality of life. Regarding depression, it was found that young age, low level of religiosity, living in the periphery, without a nursing worker and satisfaction from the area of residence predict a low level of depression.

Conclusions: The study points to ethno-geographical differences in the quality of life and depression of the elderly who are entitled to a nursing benefit from employers and who do not employ nursing workers.

Recommendations: Policymakers are required to build an intervention plan to improve and reduce ethnographic disparities in quality of life and depression among the elderly.

Research end date: 01/2021